It is important that you understand the difference between a bailiff and a debt collector, as each one of these has different legal powers when it comes to retrieving your debt.

How to Deal with Debt Collectors

Debt Collectors are not court officials, meaning that they do not possess the same legal powers as a bailiff. It is illegal for a debt collector to pretend they are bailiffs and they do not have the right to force entry into your home. Our page on What’s the Difference between a Bailiff and a Debt Collector?, gives you further information about the differences and what this means to you.

Debt Collections agencies are increasingly being used by companies who have failed to claim back the money which is owed to them through the usual methods. This will happen if your account has fallen into default, which could be caused by failing to pay your credit card bill or falling into arrears with a loan and have not been in contact with your loan provider.

Once the debt has gone to a debt collections agency, your original creditor will not personally be dealing with the debt.

Try to come to an agreement about a manageable repayment plan, and don’t be pressured into making payments that you cannot afford. Debt Collectors have to follow certain guidelines and it is important that you familiarise yourself with them. For example, debt collectors are not allowed to intimidate you, discriminate or pretend that they have more legal powers than they do. Please see our Debt Collector & Bailiff Harassment page for more information about how you can deal with this situation.

The OFT guidelines offer you further information about how to deal with debt collectors and will inform you about the guidelines that the debt collector must adhere to:

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/consumer_credit/oft664.pdf

If you are having problems with debt then you may find this situation rather distressing. No matter how serious your debt problem, One Advice are here to help. We can offer you expert information about your finances as well as possible debt solutions.

Before you agree to an IVA, it is essential that you consider all of the IVA alternatives. Even if you do not qualify for an IVA, there are alternatives which are designed to help you with your debt problems.

To discover which of the following IVA alternatives is best for you, please contact a member of our team.

Bankruptcy: IVAs were first introduced as a bankruptcy alternative, but you may still be wondering if bankruptcy is right for you instead of an IVA. It is important to know that bankruptcy is a very public procedure with a stigma attached to it; the bankruptcy order will be in the public domain and is advertised in your local paper.

Bankruptcy typically only lasts for 12 months and a majority of your debt could be written off as part of the process. But you also lose control of your finances and you may have to sell your home or your car in order to repay some of the debt to your creditors.

Protected Trust Deed: A Protected Trust Deed is the Scottish IVA alternative. Like an IVA, you will be debt free after a set period of time, typically 36 months.

Debt Consolidation Loan: A debt consolidation loan is often a loan secured against your home which allows you to consolidate your unsecured debts into a lower monthly payment. You may find that you can benefit from a lower payment, but you should be aware that as the debt is now secured against your home you are at risk of losing it if you fall behind on payments.

Debt Management Plan: Like a Debt Consolidation Loan, a debt management Plan is an IVA alternative which lets you consolidate your debt into one lower monthly payment. It has one major difference, the debt is not secured. Instead of getting a loan to pay off your debts, your current debts are made more affordable to you by negotiating with your unsecured creditors to offer you a lower monthly payment.

For further details about our IVA alternatives, please call today.

If you feel as though you need to seek debt help, you may be wondering, ‘What is Debt Help?’, and how can help it you. Speaking to a debt advisor is the first step that you need to take. One Advice have a team of expert debt advisors who can offer you debt help in a number of ways.

First we will need to take details of your financial circumstances as this will provide us with the information necessary to suggest a debt solution for you. So we will need to take details of:

How much unsecured debt you owe
Who your unsecured creditors are
How well you are coping with making your debt repayments
Your monthly income, including wage and benefits.
Your expenditure, including priority debt payments and food bills.

What happens after the initial debt help?

After we have taken details of your current financial situation, we can offer you suggestions on the potential debt solutions which are suitable. Dependant on your circumstances, there could be a number of potential ways for you to tackle your debt through a debt help solution.

What Debt Help is Available?

During the debt help process, the types of debt solutions which you may learn about include:

Debt Management Plans: This type of debt solution would be most recommended to those who are looking for debt help with debts below £10,000. It is an informal creditor agreement where you make one lower monthly payment to your unsecured debt.

IVA: For those seeking debt help to deal with debts over £10,000. This is a formalised agreement with your creditors where you make reduced monthly payments over a typical 60 month period and any unaffordable debt can be written off.

Getting debt help can be the first step for many when getting their financial life back in order, and One Advice are here to offer you that debt help. For further information and advice about how we can help you with this debt, please contact our debt help team

Harrington Brooks  have a debt advice team which aim to offer you the best ethical debt advice available. We will take full details of your current financial situation so we are in the best position to help you with a debt solution.

Finding the right debt solution is one of the outcomes from seeking debt advice. You may need further help in dealing with your debts and our debt advisors are on hand to help you do just that.

For example, you may wish to make your debts more affordable through a debt management plan, debt consolidation loan or an IVA. And, although any one of these could reduce your required monthly payment to your unsecured creditors, our debt advice is designed to offer you the right debt solution for your circumstances.

Our debt advisors are on hand to help, so for further debt advice please call Harrington Brooks today on and we will give you an overview of what debt advice is available and which debt solution could be right for you.

1. Pay More than the Minimum – To get you on the road to solving your credit card debt, it is important that you pay off more than the minimum. Only paying the minimum means that you will be only be paying off the interest and barely paying off your actual debt.

2. Get a Lower APR – The lower your APR the better, as this means that you will be charged less by your credit card company for the debt. It might be worth shopping around and doing a balance transfer onto a card with a lower APR (but remember about the balance transfer fees).

You could also try calling your credit card company and ask them for a lower interest rate, if you never ask then you will never know. Tell them about lower APRs you have been offered or say that you are tempted to go with another company who can offer you a good introductory rate. The likelihood of them agreeing to requests will vary, dependant on your payment history with the company and your credit rating.

3. Cut Up Your Credit Card – Even if you have followed the above tips, your credit card debts are never going to be solved if you continue to get yourself into more debt. Cutting up your credit card means that you won’t be tempted to use it and you can begin to tackle your credit card debt and begin to see a difference.

4. Get Debt Help – Sometimes credit card debt gets too much to handle on your own and you need professional help. Creditors calls and letters can be very distressing, especially if you know that you cannot afford to pay the amount that they are asking for.

There are debt solutions out there and it could be in your best interest to take advantage of them. You might benefit from a debt management plan. This is best suited to those who have unsecured debts, which can include credit card debt, of under £12,000 and are struggling to make payment to their creditors. A financial solutions company, such as Harrington Brooks will go through your finances and ensure that you are making a reduced payment that you can afford.

For more information about our debt management plans or if you are looking for an alternative way to solve credit card debt, then please get in touch. We have a team of professional debt advisors that are specifically trained to help you deal with your debt problems and solve your credit card debt.