Issue 19 - April 2012 (PDF) - Chipping Norton Times

Exposure to debt is invisible.
Article researched and written by Carole Foster
The world has certainly changed over the past five years
and many of us have changed with it. Remember when
Greece was a land of sunshine and sleepy islands? Since
we’ve all been exposed to their rollercoaster trauma of
meeting their loan payments it has shown itself to
simply been a bigger reflection of what many families go
through each month trying to manage their own debts.
One in five of us are struggling with debts according to
the Money Advice Trust and a recent survey by the
charity, the Credit Counselling Service, shows that
thousands of households across the Midlands spend at
least a quarter of their total income meeting credit cards
and loans repayments. This doesn’t include mortgage or
rent payments and nearly half of them say it was hard to
make it to payday. More than 60% of the people
questioned said they were worried about the amount of
debt they were carrying.
For those trying to keep a business afloat or hold onto
their house, it has been a time of huge stress and worry.
When one man shot dead his family and animals at their
home in Oswestry four years ago, rather than let them
be exposed to his possible bankruptcy, it was an extreme
reaction to a situation many families are grappling with
in this region. Exposure to debt is invisible but it affects
all social levels and even lurks behind long gravel drives.
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Exposure to debt is invisible but it affects
all social levels and even lurks behind long
gravel drives. There might be more
noughts on the end for some but the level
of stress for any debt is just the same. A
marriage crumbles, self loathing and
feelings of failure, shame, depression and
isolation are some of the feelings people have to cope
with, on top of their debt.
But there is help and free, straightforward advice
available. Along with the Credit Counselling Service, the
National Debtline and it’s sister charity, the Business
Debtline show people how to negotiate with creditors
and why it is vital to keep talking to the people you owe
money to. They offer standard letters you can use to fill
in your own details to ask for time but most importantly
they offer personal advice on the telephone and will talk
you though your situation.
They are exceptionally busy, the National Debtline and
Business Debtline deal with fifty thousand calls from
worried people every month and that figure is expected
to rise with the growing problems of repaying payday
loans which have massive interest rates and the
increasingly people who have fuel bills they can’t pay.
So with closed shop fronts, lingering unsold properties
and the rise in repossessions there is undoubtedly a
hidden scenario taking place in some peoples lives. It
could be time for you to seek help or for you to just talk
to someone you think might need support. Remember
it’s only money, it’s not the end of the world, at least it
certainly shouldn’t be.
If you need someone to talk to, call The National
Debtline on 0808 808 4000 or look online at
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk . The Credit Counselling
Service is on 0800 138 1111 / www.cccs.co.uk .
Contact National Debtline for free, independent and
confidential advice on 0808 808 4000 or visit the website
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
For help with business worries try the Business Debtline
0800 1976026 or their website www.bdl.org.uk .
These are free, confidential support services and you
might find that the people working there deserve a
medal
Warning
Claims management companies
There are lots of companies out there who say they can
get your debts written off for you, or get compensation
for you by claiming that your credit agreements are
unenforceable.
Be very careful!