The recent case of a husband taking the lives of his wife and 2 children prior to taking his own life is yet another example of how debt is being linked to suicide. This man was apparently attempting to pay off his debts with an IVA. All became too much for him and the stress, which must have been unbearable, resulted in tragedy. 

In this particular case, the questions that should be asked are;

Do IVA's actually work?

Was it the correct solution for this particular individual?

Was there a “face to face” meeting where the real extent of this mans situation and maybe state of mind could be properly assessed?

Did the IVA Company simply fit his situation to their solution?

There are many examples of such tragic circumstances over the past few years, information for which is available if one searches for it, however, its one of those things that people don’t like to talk about in particular the families involved.

A well known television programme which focused on the problem went as far as to declare that “X (the person will remain nameless) was one of at least 17 debt related suicides over the past year”.

Clearly there is a major problem existing and with the increase in personal debt, will it result in even more tragic outcomes.

If you are worried / concerned about your personal finances or know someone who is in financial difficulties, act now, don’t let the situation get out of hand. Reviva UK deal with cases like this every day, we are the experts in debt solution and will listen to you without being judgmental.

You can start again, there are solutions. Reviva UK are here to help.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has said that following one of the directors of Northern Rock whom has been banned for misreporting mortgage arrears in the run up to the banks failure in  2007,  “all FSA approved persons must take their responsibilities seriously at all time or suffer the consequences”.

The Northern Rock Story is one of incorrectly reported figures in as much that the real picture would have shown that arrears would have increased by 50% and repossession figures by about 300%.

For investors and depositors, a truer picture of the real health of the bank would then have been more apparent.

A reliance by Northern Rock on positive perceptions in order to attract funds enabled it to become the UK fifth largest lender.  When all revealed as unsound however, its near collapse resulted in nationalisation.

Publicans continue to face soaring costs and more and more are preparing to leave the industry as its becoming so difficult to break even on the financials.

One publican recently advised Reviva UK that his turnover has declined to such an extent and his costs soared to such unacceptable levels that he is no longer breaking even, and, "we have to face VAT increases next year yet, so reluctantly, I'm throwing in the towel, I've had enough"! 

Other pub news ....... Apparently Sky's new system for charging pubs has already been met with derision by publicans. Yet another frustration and this in addition to the tie arrangements in place with the brewers that are currently such an issue.

So Is there going to be any light at the end of the tunnel? Well Business Secretary Vince Cable has sent out fresh warnings to pubcos that if reform is not delivered before June next year, then legistative action may well be the case.

Reviva UK will be follow all with interest, as more and more publicans are making approaches, seeking help.

If you are currently in the pub trade and feel that you would like a friendly confidential chat then call us today.

Certain Mortgage Advisors have accused Northern Rock Asset Management of treating its customers unfairly according to a BBC news item today. Northern Rock in its defense disagree and insist that the oposite is the case, "all customers have been treated fairly".

In a statement on the companies website, chairperson Richard Pym wrote:

"Economic conditions remain,challenging and have placed increased financial strain on many households and we remain committed to the fair treatment of all our customers".

If you have financial problems and are finding it difficult to manage your affairs why not call Reviva UK where we really do treat all clients fairly.

If a recent poll carried out with Landlords with property portfolios is correct, then some 40%+ claim that rents from tenants barely cover the cost of loan repayments and that even small increases in the mortgage interest rate could force some into  financial difficulties.

Should you find yourself in similar difficulties why not call  Reviva UK now.

The Big Banks have a meeting today with the chancellor to discuss how to avoid a second credit crunch. Banks have already reduced lending to businesses which is having quite an affect on those trying to run a company with limited funding, so the big question is, will the chancellor direct the banks to increase lending thus avoiding tipping some businesses over the edge into serious debt?.

If you have concerns over the financial situation with your company and would like a non judgmental chat, call Reviva UK now.  

According to the advice service, of the 17 Banks, only 2 are prepared to open basic bank accounts for those declared bankrupt.  A Basic Bank Account is one where income benefits are paid in and direct debits can be set up to pay bills. These types of accounts offer no cheques books or credit however.

A spokesperson for the British Bankers Association said "that it was a commercial decision for each bank whether they offered these types of accounts or not".

If people who are facing the restrictions that come with bankruptcy, can't even open a basic bank account when they are at a vulnerable point in their lives, then how can their wages be paid directly into a bank account? Does it mean job losses? The world is no longer cash driven, Direct Debits, Standing Order etc. all are via the banks.

If you think you are facing such a situaion and that life will come to a stop, then speak to the experts. We at Reviva UK deal with these type of situations daily. Give us a call now   and find out we at Reviva UK can help you.

 So you thought that the credit crunch was actually over?  Be prepared, it looks like another one is on the way. Why?  Well the Major Banks are once again starting to get “a bit edgy” about lending money to each other!

This all follows on from last weeks warning from The Bank of England that in the coming months banks could lend far less to their customers. If indeed this happens, one source said that “we will all be affected”.

The knock on affects of this could be that mortgage deals will be hard to come by, credit will be tightened dramatically and families might once again struggle as they did at the height of the financial crisis.

So what about those already in financial difficulties and drifting into serious debt problems? Well it could certainly impact upon this sector so its best be prepared well in advance.

Once solution is,  not to wait for it to happen, but to face up to your situation now and seek help.

Reviva UK are the experts in debt. solution and management, so don’t wait hoping it will all work out o.k. call us now for an informal chat.

So the equity in some pensioner’s homes is now having to be unlocked in order for them to pay their debts according to a report issued by Charity Age UK.

What a position to be in. You work all your life, dedicate yourself to paying off the mortgage and save a reasonable sum in the hope that when you retire your going to be reasonably comfortable in your retirement, then find you’ve got debts.

If you are retired and are finding your debts are a causing you a problem, why not talk to the experts, Reviva UK. We find solutions for debt. situations just like yours, every day.

This is your retirement. Don't delay, call us now.

Recent reports show that to have an acceptable standard of living these days, a single person needs to earn £14.500 P/A and a couple £29,000 P/A.

So what is “an acceptable standard of living”? It will of course differ from person to person, couple to couple, so it’s difficult to measure, however, we all like the nice things in life and being able to afford them is getting more and more difficult.

Recent increases in general standard of living never mind acceptable standards has seen peoples disposable income shrink dramatically and now what with the fear of a another mortgage squeeze a possibility, people are going to find themselves with a lot less to spend.

Pity those however who currently are in financial difficulties. If trying to pay off debts now is a problem, what it going to be like in the near future?

For debt help and advise call Reviva UK now. We are the experts.

A recent Public Accounts Committee report shows that the UK’s personal debt figure has now reached some £1.5 trillion with 11% of adults now in desperate situations with their debts.

This despite the fact that the government in 2004 launched a “strategy” to offer support and reduce the number of people struggling with debts that have become unmanageable.

Apparently those given the responsibility for managing the “strategy” has failed to even hold their first meeting, failed to produce progress reports and, failed to give the support that the government identified was necessary to help those in serious debt.

The knock on affect is of course that targets set to reduce the UK’s personal debts have not been met, indeed they seem to continue to escalate.

If you need help & support in dealing with your personal debt situation, why not call Reviva UK for a chat. We give guidance to many people every day who are in similar situations to you and they now realise, that you can become debt free and restart your life, much, much sooner, than you may think.

Go on. Call us now.

So the budget has come and gone, or has it (?)  The government tell us that we will all be affected in one way or another.

The real affects may not be experienced until later this year but with certainty Q1 2011 when VAT increases.

With Christmas already in some people’s minds, will the increase encourage limitless spending on credit cards during the run up to the festive season, in an attempt to beat the vat increase?  Only time will tell.

The real cost of credit and the need to make regular repayments, for  some, will of course be felt now, certainly if ones finances are already in a shaky situation so, it might be that a spending spree will tip a lot of personal finances into even greater difficulty.

If you think you might be in debt now or you think your heading that way, why not call us now for a non judgemental chat. It won’t cost you anything at this stage, but it might help you feel a little less stressed.

So the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has warned Loan Companies that they must not attempt to take legal action (sue) against customers who may have defaulted on their loans, in a legal jurisdiction, different to that in which the customer lives:

i.e. Scottish defaulting customers cannot be sued in an English Court and vice versa.

 Obviously there is great pressure within loan companies to retrieve their monies however, do they ever consider that their customer may be seeking a solution and actually want to start making inroads into their debt?  It seems that Loan Companies will take whatever route they think fits, even if it’s not correct, hence the warning.

The best thing that anyone with financial problems can do is to face their financial problems before they get out of hand by seeking the help of a Debt. Solution Specialist Reviva UK, who really can produce a workable solution to help overcome financial difficulties and thus avoid possible legal action.

Home Credit Loans or “pay-day loans” as they are also known are now getting labelled as “extortionate”.

Interest charged by some “pay-day loan" companies can be as high as 10,000% according to a report from the shadow housing minister Grant Shapps who recently said “they prey on those already saddled with debt and struggling with very poor credit ratings”. This fact came to light after investigations showed that some doorstep loans started at a low184% and reached an extortionate 10,000%

These interest charges were labelled obscene by the minister who went on to say that the problem could be tackled by the wider use of credit unions and the creation of a service, a National Financial Service.

Why wait for something that might take months to create when there already exists a company, Reviva UK, that anyone already in serious debt can turn to for help and guidance. Where the experience is friendly and understanding with professional solutions to help overcome debt problems.  Call Reviva UK now for a friendly (free) chat.

So the Government's proposed financial cuts are now being seen as possibly drastic to say the least. It may not only affect the public sector but the private sector also.

Job loses are a real possibly and there are many worried families out there, wondering how they are going to cope financially over the next few years.

Some estimates now put the cost of protecting your family against salary loss at an estimated £6,700 per year, which must be really good news to those families already facing financial hardship, never mind debt.

If you fear losing your job then it’s a good idea to pay down your debts now, as the cost, if managed professionally, can be a lot less than getting into costly salary protection schemes.

Before making any decision of this nature it would be worthwhile discussing your financial situation with Reviva UK. who are experts in the field of debt solution.

Even more frightening statistics that show that the pub trade is still not showing any signs of real recovery.

 “There are various reasons for this says a high profile publican (who wants to remain anonymous) but the main reason is that so many pub tenants have locked horns with their landlords, the breweries, over rents and the price they pay for beers etc.”

It's not just the smoking ban, the weather, the economic situation and the supermarkets that are affecting trade. Just being a publican today is a tough, tough business especially when your overheads are artificially high”.

So who’s making the money then?  Not the publicans?

If you’re worried about your situation and maybe would like to conversation about your financial situation, why not talk to Reviva UK. Would it surprise you to know that we are currently in discussion with numerous other publicans who are in the same situation as you?

Recently announced figures suggest that personal Bankruptcy numbers will continue to rise, there being both a seasonal element to the figures plus a "debt lag". The reality is that currently no one can predict just where the "debt ceiling" will be.

The ongoing UK downturn in the economy has of course had an enormous affect. Some, fighting to stay afloat for the last 2 years are finally saying "enough is enough" then seeking the help of competent debt solution companies. 

A recent survey shows that the banks have been increasing charges for both Credit Card use and Personal Loans by huge amounts. This despite record numbers of customers finding it difficult to cope with their already over stretched finances.Barclays as an example have increased their overdraft rates on certain accounts, twice during the last year. 

A spokesperson for Barclays suggested the increases have been implemented to protect the banks profits which have been affected dramatically due to more customers defaulting on their debts.

Figures just announced show that a record 35,682 persons went bankrupt in Q1 of this year. Not surprising perhaps when you learn that the banks yet again are coming under fire for raising current overdraft rates to their highest level for the last 10 years. Customers, both business and personal, who find themselves "in the red" and who are already struggling desparately with the cost of banking, will now have to pay 14.22% for their overdraft.

Bank of Englands report says:

Personal loans and overdrafts will only be available to "better quality" borrowers in the next three months, according to a survey of lenders.

Tighter credit scoring for non-credit card unsecured lending, already seen this year, will continue, the Bank of England's report said.

Harry Wilson journalist on The Daily Telegraph reports:

"Former shareholders with Northern Rock will be left with nothing after the mortgage lenders independent valuers confirmed the company's shares were worthless and there was no requirements to pay compensation to those who lost money when the Government seized control of the business."

UK banks may make it easier for customers to opt out of using unauthorised overdrafts, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) says.

If people did opt out, it would mean seeing payments blocked as the price for avoiding high overdraft fees.

Last year the Supreme Court threw out a challenge to the way banks charge fees.

But the government and the OFT have still been putting pressure on the banks to change their charges, which earn them billions of pounds each year

The Prime Minister Gordon Brown stated today that, "the Economic slump is not over and that there are still bumps in the road ahead".

A Conservative spokesperson said " A New Economic model was need to replace an Economy burdened by Public and Private debt".

A watchdog is to put the largely unregulated UK debt management industry under the spotlight to ensure fair treatment for customers.

A decision by a county court judge could mean thousands of borrowers being able to renege on their debts.
Judge Jacqueline Smart at South Shields county court has decided that the MBNA credit card company cannot demand the repayment of a customer's debt. It tried to force Mrs Lynne Thorius to repay the £8,000 she owed on her card. But the Judge decided there had been an unfair relationship between Mrs Thorius and MBNA because of the way she had been sold payment protection insurance.
 
'Massive ramifications'
Mrs Thorius's case was pursued on her behalf by a claims management firm Cartel Client Review, based in Manchester, and the law firm Consumer Credit Litigation Solicitors. Carl Wright of Cartel Client Review said the court decision was a landmark judgement. "This will have massive ramifications for consumers up and down the country," he said. But MBNA downplayed the importance of the court decision. "The judgement went against MBNA for a number of reasons," a spokeswoman said. "In principle, because the deputy district judge felt that MBNA had not on this occasion provided the appropriate documents to the customer and as such was not able to rely on the clauses MBNA would ordinarily seek to rely on in these cases," she explained.
 
"The case is a county court case and each case is decided on its own merits and on the factual circumstances of each case. This does not set any legal precedent," said MBNA.
 
'Secret commission'
The credit card in question was branded with the logo of Sunderland football club and was sold to Mrs Thorius in the club's shop in 2002. The PPI policy was strongly recommended by MBNA to her at the same time, to pay off her account if she fell ill or was made redundant.
 
But, critically, she had not been told that MBNA would be receiving regular commission payments from the insurance provider ITT London & Edinburgh, a subsidiary of the Aviva insurance group.
 
Judge Smart agreed with the argument of Mrs Thorius's barrister, Paul Brant, that this "secret" commission meant the credit card deal was unfair and therefore in breach of the Consumer Credit Act. This point could potentially undermine many other agreements where PPI has been sold by the lender alongside a loan.
 
These include car finance deals, other personal loans and even mortgages.
"This practice is believed to be widespread and formed part of the Competition Commission's decision to prohibit the co-sale of PPI with credit in its report published on 29/1/09," her solicitors noted. "This point is likely to affect many thousands of individuals within England and Wales," they added.
 
Repayments
The main ground on which Judge Smart said Mrs Thorius's credit card debt was unrecoverable was because MBNA could not provide a copy of the original signed loan agreement, which is also a requirement by the Consumer Credit Act.
 
The Judge ordered the company either to repay Mrs Thorius's PPI premiums and interest, or the value of the commissions it had received which so far has been undisclosed.
 
The PPI premiums, which rose each month as the credit card debts increased, amounted to £2,500 over the time the card had been in use. The claims management industry which has emerged in the past few years has been highly controversial. Many firms advertise in newspapers and on television, encouraging people to come forward to write off their debts.
 
This year the authorities, such as the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), Ministry of Justice (which regulates claims management firms) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority, have warned firms not to make exaggerated claims about their ability to get debts written off because of apparent technical errors in the lenders' paperwork.
 
Appeal?
Since April 2007 more than 100 such firms, or those advertising for people to pursue personal injury claims, have been shut down by the OFT. But the South Shields ruling appears to open up a new and genuine line of attack for claims firms.
 
"We have been using this argument for some time but lenders have been settling outside the courts to avoid publicity," said Mr Wright.
MBNA applied for leave to appeal, which was rejected, but it may now apply directly to a higher court for permission to appeal.
 
Or it may be able to appeal if it can find the original loan documentation. Only when higher courts have decided the issue will the legal ramifications, and the effects on lender and borrowers, be clear.
 
 

A carpenter from Bridgend has won a five-year stay on any repossession proceedings against him by his lender.
Peter Bentley challenged the right of Blemain Finance, who specialise in second loans secured on a home, to repossess him. He claimed that his contract with them involved an unfair relationship that was illegal. The lender also agreed to charge no further interest and cut his repayments from £550 to just £150 a month.
 
Financial problems
Mr Bentley's financial problems started when his mother died in 2007 and he was forced to work part-time to look after his father, who was suffering from Alzheimer's.
 
He took out a secured loan in February 2007 for £40,000 to try to alleviate his financial problems. But his caring responsibilities meant he had to slash his working hours from 48 hours a week to just 19, leading to a big drop in income, and he fell behind with his repayments.
 
Although his father moved to a care home for the last eight months of his life, and died in January 2009, Mr Bentley was unable to increase his loan re-payments significantly because the recession meant that by that time he could not work longer hours.
 
Mr Bentley said that Blemain then started chasing him for the repayment of his loan, which had ballooned to £47,000 by the time of this month's High Court hearing in Cardiff. "Blemain were very aggressive and were not prepared to listen," he said. "I was in a state of panic."
 
Legal challenge
Mr Bentley was represented in the proceedings by lawyers CCCL, employed by the claims management company Cartel Client Review. "The relationship between the parties was an unfair one within the meaning of Section 140A of the 1974 Consumer Credit Act," argued Andrew Settle of the law firm. Mr Bentley's lawyers claimed that Blemain had lent the money to him irresponsibly, taking advantage of his naivety, vulnerability and desperation.
The High Court order was made by Judge Milwyn Jarman.
 
The parties agreed that in exchange for Mr Bentley withdrawing his argument that there had been an unfair relationship under the Act, and in exchange for agreeing not to pursue that legal argument against Blemain again, the finance firm agreed:
• to re-write the secured loan account, cutting the repayments to £150 a month
• not to levy any interest, charges or legal costs "whatsoever."
Blemain's repossession claim was dismissed and it cannot enforce repayment of the loan by this method for five years.
After that, it can be enforced by repossession, but only if there are at least 12 months' arrears on the new level of payments, ie £1,800.
 
'Substantial financial settlement'
"Mr Bentley fell behind with his loan payments," said a Blemain spokesman.
"However, the matter was resolved before it went to court and we agreed to give him further time to repay what he owed. "For the avoidance of doubt there has been no court decision on this case as a satisfactory arrangement was agreed," the spokesman added.
 
Carl Wright of Cartel Client Review put a different interpretation on the outcome. "Peter Bentley was offered a substantial financial settlement, to ensure the case was not heard by the High Court," he said. "It is believed to be the first time a mortgage and loan lender has offered a client a legal undertaking not to repossess the client's home.... for the sole purpose of preventing a judge in the High Court from setting a legal precedent against their lending practices."
 

Court lets woman off £8,000 loan

A total 6,893 companies went into liquidation, receivership or administration in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2009, a 56 percent increase from the same period a year earlier, according to data on the www.insolvency.gov.uk Web site. A record number of companies, 1,311, went into administration in the quarter. A change to insolvency law in 2003 meant companies in administration could keep trading while its assets are being sold.

Since the economic downturn the hospitality industry has suffered terribly. We are providing more advice to pubs and restaurants all over the UK.

Generally profits have been squeezed as owners have been worried about increasing their prices so they have sucked up the cost of increasing supplies

Landlords and restauranters need to be supported and also come up with acceptable offers that will increase more trade through the door. Less people go out these days which has been driven by cheap alcohol at supermarkets and the smoking ban but they can't blame these factors forever. The clever owners look for ways to increase business rather than keep complaining.

Most of us have heard of negative equity, where your house is worth less than the amount owed on your mortgage. For those that don't want or need to move house this situation may be ok if and when, in the long term, house values increase and the negative equity problem disappears.

However for those who are in negative equity and do want or need to move, the situation is somewhat different.

Whilst the scale of negative equity is far lower than it was 15 years ago when 1.5 million were reckoned to be in this position compared to an estimated 900,000 today, its effect, coupled with changes in the way building societies are offering their products, is having a marked effect on house sales.

Although interest rates have dropped there are fewer lenders in the market offering fewer products. Only a few are prepared to accept a 10% deposit with the majority of deals asking for at least 25%. With an estimated 2 million existing home-owners not able to raise at minimum a 10% deposit from the sale of their home it is not surprising that house moves have stagnated.

This of course has a knock on effect at the lower end of the market. With people unable to move, first time buyers, who may already be having trouble raising a deposit, simply do not enter into the frame.

Ironically whilst Building society interest rates have rarely been so low, falling house prices, negative equity and high deposits mean that many home owners are trapped and having to sit tight for the time being.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) are running a pilot to test the benefits and impact of working with private sector debt collection agencies in recovering taxes.

Although many organisations, including other government departments, use debt collection agencies successfully to help them with debt recovery, this is a first for HMRC.

The agencies will take some debts across a range of taxes covering both businesses and individuals. The agencies will be involved in 'resolution work' only, and will not do any home or face to face visits or litigation work as part of the pilot.

The pilot is to run for six months.

200,000 people in Britain are at risk from illegal loan sharks because they cannot access credit from traditional lenders according to a new report published.

A combination of the reduction in sub-prime lending, often known as "door-step lending", and the economic downturn may lead to more people having to use illegal money lenders according to the independent think tank the New Local Government Network.

The report predicts that an additional 35,000 people are likely to have to use loan sharks during the recession but admit that the figure could be even higher. The think tank is urging local authorities to put additional resources into local credit unions and even to use new Council Banks to offer affordable credit to people who can't access high-street loans.

NLGN warns that the legal sub-prime market has declined since the recession. It predicts that an additional 250,000 people will lose access to doorstep lending under the downturn. This period has also seen the number of loan refusals by the Government's emergency Social Fund increase from 316,000 to 596,000. The report warns that customers who would have previously used these services may now have to turn to loan sharks.

It argues that local authorities need to step in to protect vulnerable people in their local community by offering a range of support including more Credit Unions, mapping predatory lending and enhancing enforcement against loan sharks.