Past Articles for June, 2005

Yes, Londoners are easier to lend to - that’s because many of them earn more than the rest of us and also because the capital’s absurd property prices leave many with masses of equity. That’s the sting in the tail - all that notional money means that Londoners who get into trouble with debt often have a major asset creditors can claim on - and which they will claim on if things get bad enough. Losing one’s home is distressing for individuals and catastrophic for familes.

Whilst the Bankruptcy Advisory Service is absolutely right that people could spend most of their working lives paying into debt management schemes (and we also think the BAS is a great help to the hopelessly bust), we think that, for many cash-strapped Londoners, especially those with a job and a mortgage - an IVA could be a better, more certain, less damaging route out of debt than either bankruptcy or debt management.

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Martin Lewis of moneysaving expert.com thinks it’s wrong that children’s TV channels are carrying advertisements for credit and debt products. We agree. We wouldn’t advertise our IVA product there.

Martin says: “Children’s TV channels are advertising high-interest loans aimed at families that find it hard to get cheaper credit, and with the possibility of losing their house. Nearly a third of children are repeating the slogans, and a tenth actually pester parents into getting such loans”.

If you want to sign the petition to stop this - click here (will open in a new browser window)

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Monday, 13th June 2005
Debt crisis is a boost for advice companies
Kevin Feddy

A MANCHESTER-based firm is to become the fourth north west debt advice company to float on the stock market.
ClearDebt intends to raise up to £3m when it joins the Alternative Investment Market in September.

The web-based business helps consumers struggling to cope with their levels of debt. It specialises in setting up Individual Voluntary Arrangements – agreements between consumers and lenders, under which people agree to repay a percentage of their debts over a five-year period.

Problems have mounted for millions of families because of five interest rate rises since November 2003 and a flat housing market. In addition, credit has become easier to obtain and banks have been accused of reckless lending.
New figures show more and more people under 30 are being declared bankrupts, many of them women.

Mr Mond said ClearDebt went live in March and is helping scores of consumers, ranging from those who owe £7,500 to a man who earns £20,000 a year but has run up £250,000 of debts using 25 credit cards.

Link to article : Click here to read

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Here’s how Simon Foley of the Independent reported our intentions:

Debt Free Direct faces aggressive new rival

ClearDebt was set up earlier this year by David Mond, the Manchester-based chartered accountant. He was in the news 18 months ago because he was the administrator of Fads who went on to lead a buy-out of the collapsed DIY chain for £1.

He reckons ClearDebt will charge half the fees of its nearest competitors. Instead of employing large numbers of administrative and call centre staff, the company will focus its efforts on an interactive website, building relationships with lenders and their advisers, and hiring local lawyers and insolvency practitioners on a case-by-case basis. Just five permanent staff can handle 500 cases a year, he maintains.

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