Much more than debt, IVA and personal finance from ClearDebt.

Pumpkin monster mash

by Debt Monster on November 5th, 2010

As it was Halloween last week, we’ve picked this pumpkin carving video for our “monster friday” themed blog.

Set to a song called “Monster Mash” this short video shows you how to make your very own pumpkin monster!

At ClearDebt, we take the issue of personal debt seriously. We also believe moments of humour are affordable to everyone, including those in a serious situation. This Friday blog post is part of the monsters series. If you are concerned about your personal finances, we recommend you complete our short online form or ask a ClearDebt advisor.

Tags: monster, pumpkin
Posted in Monsters | No Comments »

women, debt and a lot of judgement

by Nazma Noor on October 25th, 2010

Back in July we commented on the increase in bankruptcies amongst women based on figures released at the time by the Insolvency Service. Last week the Daily Mail reported on a further increase in women with debt problems.

The article included lots of stats and figures to show that the number of women in debt in the UK is at an all-time high and generally gave the impression that women can’t manage their money. If you’ve read any of my previous blog posts, such as my comment on “shopaholic britain” then you’ll know that I disagree with the generalisations that women end up in debt because they spend so much money on shoes and handbags!

However judging from some of the comments left on the Daily Mail’s article, not everyone shares my view:

Women and the youth of today no common sense or money control.

It probably hits them hardest because they are not very good at handing money

200 pairs of shoes? You don’t need them love

Sorry, but I have zero sympathy

Sadly lots of people feel this way towards women in debt, when actually the stereotypical “shoes and handbags” types of people in debt are a minority. Most of the people we speak to have debt problems due a change in their life circumstances, such as the break-up of a relationship, redundancy, or pregnancy – which we all know involves both men and women!

It’s also funny how you never see articles about men being in debt because of their spending habits. As an example to address the balance let’s take look at a favourite male pastime: football.
Virgin Money have been collecting data from 2006 onwards for their Football Fans’ Inflation Index and last year they published a report which showed that one in every five (20%) football fans is having to borrow money as a direct result of supporting their team.

That’s just one example and I won’t turn this into a men vs women debate on who has the most debt. I just wanted to point out that women can be treated a little unfairly when it comes to debt issues and making judgements, so the next time you see a headline about “women in debt” don’t automatically jump to the shoes-and-handbags conclusion.

Tags: Personal Debt, shopoholics, shopping, spending, women and debt, women in debt
Posted in Personal Debt | 2 Comments »

Aidan’s Monsters

by Debt Monster on October 22nd, 2010

This week for our “monster friday” story, we’d like to highlight Aidan’s Monsters:

These monsters are the creation of 5-year-old Aidan who very recently was diagnosed with Leukemia. His family set up a blog (which you can view here) to raise awareness and donations for his medical care.

Aidan’s monster drawings were made available to buy online and within a short space of time the prints sold out! That’s over 400 prints! Keep an eye out on Aidan’s blog for more of his monster prints and info on when you can buy them.

At ClearDebt, we take the issue of personal debt seriously. We also believe moments of humour are affordable to everyone, including those in a serious situation. This Friday blog post is part of the monsters series. If you are concerned about your personal finances, we recommend you get in touch by completing our online contact form or ask a ClearDebt advisor.

Tags: monster
Posted in Monsters | No Comments »

Praise and positive feedback for the team at ClearDebt

by Nazma Noor on October 18th, 2010

We recently received some praise and positive feedback from someone who has an IVA with ClearDebt.

The individual who left the feedback would prefer to remain anonymous, but has agreed to share his praise for personal insolvency advisor Kim Osbourne on the ClearDebt blog.

Kim has been my Personal Insolvency Advisor for I think well over a year now and I have to say Kim’s professionalism, advice, support, understanding and helpfulness has been first class. I have told Kim many times that I cannot thank her enough for the help, advice and support she has given me in such a difficult and stressful situation.

Most notably, in the last few weeks Kim has made significantly helpful suggestions one of which was to enable me have some major and costly repairs made to my car.

I have to say it has been a pleasure having Kim advise me and act on my behalf, Kim has made a very stressful and difficult time so much easier to deal with.

A few months ago another satisfied ClearDebt IVA holder publicly thanked ClearDebt on their blog, you can read their review here: ClearDebt thanked for their debt management services.

For more reviews on ClearDebt, written by the people who use our services, visit our testimonials page here: what people say about ClearDebt.

Tags: ClearDebt review, IVA, thanks cleardebt
Posted in Inside ClearDebt | No Comments »

Full and final IVA settlements

by Nazma Noor on October 11th, 2010

I’ve been reading The Guardian’s “Diary of Debtor” blog series with great interest. It’s not often that people are open and willing to talk about their debt problems, even anonymously via a blog.

In the latest instalment, the anonymous debtor was considering an IVA and then almost out of nowhere a rich relative appeared offering a lump sum of money, amounting to around 30% of their debts, to offer to creditors by way of a full and final IVA settlement.

Full and final IVAs are generally quite rare and I’m sure some of you reading this may be scratching your heads and wondering – why and how? Here’s what you need to know about full and final IVAs!

A full and final IVA can be proposed when the person in debt has access to a lump sum of money, such as from a relative or remortgage, but they do not have any other ongoing disposable income which could be used towards monthly debt repayments, unless the full and final offer was such as to pay creditors in full. The offer of a full and final IVA settlement can be made at the initial IVA proposal stage or at any point during the IVA to bring it to an early conclusion.

For anybody already in an IVA, they would need to speak to their IVA supervisor who would make this offer to creditors on their behalf.

If you are already in an IVA, you will need to speak to your IVA supervisor about changing the terms of your agreement by way of variation.

Like all repayment offers in an IVA, you would need 75% of your creditors (by value of the debt) to agree.

One important point about full and final IVAs is that the debtor is not allowed to take on more debt, in the form on an unsecured loan, in order to raise the money for this type of IVA proposal. Additionally, any arrangement of money from family or friends would require written confirmation that the money will not need to be repaid.

If you’re considering an IVA whether it be a standard IVA or a full and final settlement, it’s worth taking the ClearDebt online debt analyser to find out if an IVA right for you and if you have any other options. Take the debt analyser now or call one of our experienced advisors on 0800 019 2095.

Tags: full and final iva, IVA, process of IVA, windfall
Posted in IVA | 1 Comment »