Stop Debt Collectors

Can you stop debt collectors ? . . .You better know you can

You can stop debt collectors under the law provided by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If you use credit cards, owe money on a personal loan, or are paying on a home mortgage, you are a "debtor."

If you fall behind in repaying your creditors, or an error is made on your accounts, you may be contacted by a "debt collector." You should know that in either situation, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act requires that debt collectors treat you fairly and prohibits certain methods of debt collection. Of course, the law does not erase any legitimate debt you owe.

What debts are covered?

Personal, family, and household debts are covered under the Act. This includes money owed for the purchase of an automobile, for medical care, or for charge accounts.

Who is a debt collector?

A debt collector is any person who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes attorneys who collect debts on a regular basis.

How may a debt collector contact you?

A collector may contact you in person, by mail, telephone, telegram, or fax. However, a debt collector may not contact you at inconvenient times or places, such as before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., unless you agree. A debt collector also may not contact you at work if the collector knows that your employer disapproves of such contacts.

Can you stop a debt collector from contacting you?

You can stop a debt collector from contacting you by writing a letter to the collector telling them to stop. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again except to say there will be no further contact or to notify you that the debt collector or the creditor intends to take some specific action. Please note, however, that sending such a letter to a collector does not make the debt go away if you actually owe it. You could still be sued by the debt collector or your original creditor.

May a debt collector contact anyone else about your debt?

If you have an attorney, the debt collector must contact the attorney, rather than you. If you do not have an attorney, a collector may contact other people, but only to find out where you live, what your phone number is, and where you work. Collectors usually are prohibited from contacting such third parties more than once. In most cases, the collector may not tell anyone other than you and your attorney that you owe money.

What must the debt collector tell you about the debt?

Within five days after you are first contacted, the collector must send you a written notice telling you the amount of money you owe; the name of the creditor to whom you owe the money; and what action to take if you believe you do not owe the money.

May a debt collector continue to contact you if you believe you do not owe money?

A collector may not contact you if, within 30 days after you receive the written notice, you send the collection agency a letter stating you do not owe money. However, a collector can renew collection activities if you are sent proof of the debt, such as a copy of a bill for the amount owed.

What types of debt collection practices are prohibited?

Harassment. Debt collectors may not harass, oppress, or abuse you or any third parties they contact.

For example, debt collectors may not:


use threats of violence or harm;


publish a list of consumers who refuse to pay their debts (except to a credit bureau);


use obscene or profane language; or


repeatedly use the telephone to annoy someone.

False statements. Debt collectors may not use any false or misleading statements when collecting a debt. For example, debt collectors may not:





falsely imply that they are attorneys or government representatives;



falsely imply that you have committed a crime;



falsely represent that they operate or work for a credit bureau;



misrepresent the amount of your debt;



indicate that papers being sent to you are legal forms when they are not; or



indicate that papers being sent to you are not legal forms when they are.





Debt collectors also may not state that:





you will be arrested if you do not pay your debt;



they will seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless the collection agency or creditor intends to do so, and it is legal to do so; or





actions, such as a lawsuit, will be taken against you, when such action legally may not be taken, or when they do not intend to take such action.

Debt collectors may not:





give false credit information about you to anyone, including a credit bureau;



send you anything that looks like an official document from a court or government agency when it is not; or



use a false name.





Unfair practices.

Debt collectors may not engage in unfair practices when they try to collect a debt. For example, collectors may not:





collect any amount greater than your debt, unless your state law permits such a charge;



deposit a post-dated check prematurely;



use deception to make you accept collect calls or pay for telegrams;



take or threaten to take your property unless this can be done legally; or



contact you by postcard.





What control do you have over payment of debts?

If you owe more than one debt, any payment you make must be applied to the debt you indicate. A debt collector may not apply a payment to any debt you believe you do not owe.

What can you do if you believe a debt collector violated the law?

You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, you may recover money for the damages you suffered plus an additional amount up to $1,000. Court costs and attorney's fees also can be recovered. A group of people also may sue a debt collector and recover money for damages up to $500,000, or one percent of the collector's net worth, whichever is less.

Where can you report a debt collector for an alleged violation?

Report any problems you have with a debt collector to your state Attorney General's office and the Federal Trade Commission. Many states have their own debt collection laws, and your Attorney General's office can help you determine your rights.


By Omar M. Omar

Learn The Five Key Debt Reduction Steps You Must Take Immediately!

Step 1. The purpose of this first step is to bring you back to reality. You must know exactly how much money you owe and to whom you owe it.

* Collect all of you unpaid bills and any other evidence of your outstanding debts.

* List each outstanding bill on the same sheet of paper. In separate columns, include the invoice or account number, amount due, name of the creditor, and the date the bill can be paid in full without incurring additional finance charges.

* Total the amount due column.

* Total the number of creditors.

* Total the number of bills.

Are you surprised or shocked? Of course, most will be shocked by the scope of their debt. Regardless of your reaction, you now (perhaps for the first time) have an exact accounting of your current debts. Debt help Considers this to be your guide, because it shows exactly how much money you currently owe, and by what date you must pay.

Step 2. This step employs a powerful visualization technique that actually enables you to visualize an end to your current debts.

* Mentally consolidate your bills. Do not think of your debt as a series of separate bills. Consider all your bills as one large bill to be repaid. As you diligently repay each component bill, your large bill becomes smaller.

* Mentally consolidate your payments. Do not consider your individual payments towards separate bills, consider them one large payment towards your one large bill.

* Debt help shows why you must continue making the same size payments regardless of how many bills are repaid. As bills are paid in full, more money is available to pay other bills, but only if your payments remain the same.

* You must pay your bills in the order of their higest monthly payments. This allows you to apply the most amount of money to the next bill and reduces your debts in the shortest amount of time.

If your large bill becomes smaller each time you make a payment while the size of your payments remains the same, the net result of this strategy is that each successive payment has a greater impact upon the size of your debt.

Debt Example: Say you have two bills, one for $250 and one for $750. Together they total $1000. You can afford to pay $500 per month. If you pay $250 towards each bill, the small bill will disappear after the first payment and the larger bill is reduced to $500. You still have $500 available for the next payment. If you maintain the same size payment, you will completely eliminate the remaining bill with the next payment.

Step 3. Now it is time for a course correction - you must alter your spending habits. Regardless of the cause, be it problem debt or chronic debt, you must be willing to change your spending habits and if necessary, seriously alter your lifestyle.

* Establish your long-term financial goals. It took months or years to reach your current level of debt. Since you cannot wish yourself out of debt nor can you count on winning the lottery, you must adopt, reasonable financial goals. The more you pratice meeting even limited financial goals. The more confident and in control of your life you will feel. This in turn enables you to meet longer-term goals successfully.

* Establish credible short-term goals. Short-term means tomorrow! Durning the next 24 hours you are not to incur any new debt.

* just get through one day, then another. You get the idea. The impact of this - trail by fire - is to immediately boost your confidence by preventing your debt from expanding. This prepares you for the serious commitment to complete debt reduction ahead of you.

* Establish realistic intermediate term goals. These goals should find you becoming comfortable with the basics of debt reduction. Your goals are to implement the plan, grow more confident as you watch your debts grow smaller and begin to realize that you can become debt free.

* Establish, well defined, long term goals. As you master these debt reduction techniques , you will be firmly committed to effecting, permanent chance in your financial condition. Not only can you see yourself debt free sooner, but also you can realistically see yourself accumulating wealth. You are in control of your financial well being. You are no longer a debtor - with debt help you are on the road to complete debt freedom!

* Prioritize your spending. Eliminate impulse purchases. Buying on impulse addresses your wants not your needs. Seek alternative methods to pay for goods and services:

* Barter: You may be able to barter anything of value including your time, for something of value to you.

* Learn to live with less. you must learn to live with the extremely limited financial resources you have available, instead of the unlimited ones you pretended you had. Remember, a sacrifice is a trade-off. You give up something now; you are rewarded later. Denial, on the other hand, has no reward. it is punishment.

Step 4. Remove access to any credit you may still have. During this entire debt reduction program you must learn to steer clear of bad habits. You should no more try to conquer debt while you have access to credit, than you would pilot a rowboat thru a hurracine.

* Lockup, return, revoke, cancel, desroy or otherwise make unavailable to you all the remaining sources of credit: credit cards, revolving lines of credit and credit extensions.

* If you feel you need to keep a credit card for identification purposes such as when you pay by check, then choose the card with the least available credit remaining on it.

* Become your own banker. Do not carry your checkbook on your person. Write yourself one check every week. This is your allowance. Cash the check and live on it.

* Every time you receive an offer of credit in the mail, immediately tear it up and throw it away. Do this even if you have to make a special trip to the incinerator or the dumpster in the middle of a blizzard!

Consumer credit is the most insidious type and the most Difficult to give up. As you know, you will be continually bombarded with new offers of easy, often pre-approved credit. You must ignore them at all cost. By this almost surgical removal of your access to credit you will come to realize the power of the word NO! And you will become more comfortable saying it.

Step 5. Use Cash Only!

* Pay cash for everything. If you do not have enough cash to pay for an item, you cannot afford it. Anticipate your expenses now, so that you will have enough cash on hand.

* Now if you do not have enough cash on hand, then cash a check at your bank or make a withdraw from your savings account. Either way, you will need to immediately deduct the amount from the remaining balance.

* If your account is overdrawn at the bank, please stop writing checks immediately. If you do not know how to balance your checkbook, do not write any checks until you learn how to do it. You must be absolutely sure there is enough money in the account to cover every check issued. Under no condition may you bounce a check. Aside from any criminal liability and negative credit reporting you may be subjected to, you will have to pay an overdraft charge. This may be as much as $50 and will be deducted automatcally from the balance in your account. You also amy be liable for a merchants return check fee. Which can be as high as $25 to $50 per check.

* Do not apply for overdraft protection at your bank. Because this is a line of credit with a high intrest rate, you will be tempted to abuse it.

Living on cash teaches you to prioritize your spending. Since you can no longer buy anything you want whenever you want it, you must focus on what you really need. Ask Yourself: Since I am paying cash, is this something I absolutely must have? Am I really willing to forego something else in order to pay for this item now? Learn not to feel denied. Instead, think of the sacrifices you are making to achieve your long-term debt reduction goals. In order to eliminate your debts, you must satisfy your needs not your wants. There will be time to buy what you want after you are in control of your finances.

by Vincent Dail.

Craving For Financial Freedom

Have you ever felt trapped in a Rat Race and wished to retire quickly but rich?

Have you ever felt that you are spending way too much time working with your boss at your office instead of with those you love? Your spouse, children, friends?

Have you ever felt frustrated because you are so deep in debt that you think you won't be able to retire because as soon as you do, the money will stop coming and thus you won't be able to pay off your mortgages and credit card?

Have you ever felt that you have no control over your life anymore in terms of time? Think about it: can you take a vacation just anytime whenever you want/ need it and as long as you want/ need it?

Have you ever wished that you can work whenever you want and wherever you want?

You are not the only one!

Too many people are trapped in a Rat Race because they have to. There are too many bills to pay, and too many dreams to fulfill. To them it seems that there is just no way to quit their job and enjoy life, travel and see the world with their loved ones.

Most people work because their bills tell them to, not because they really love to do it. Most people enslave themselves to their debt or job, because (they think) they have no choice.

This is when the craving for achieving financial freedom come in.

Freedom to choose when to work, without worries about income cuts. Freedom to spend more time with your loved ones, without worries about your employment or your boss. Freedom to take an expensive vacation, without worries about retrenchments thereafter. Freedom to do what you like, instead of what you've got to do, without worries about whether or not what you like generates enough income for you.

If you seriously crave for financial freedom, finding a better job with a higher paycheck is not going to work. Higher paychecks would usually mean more expensive lifestyle, more needs, more mortgages you THINK you can afford, more responsibilities thus more working hours and more time to spend at the office instead with your loved ones. And there is always the same problem: as soon as you stop, the money stops.

If you understand this, you will come to see that financial freedom is not measured by how much money you make by working, but by how long your money can support your normal lifestyle when you stop working.

And financial freedom is definitely not about accumulating abundant riches. It is about a golden chance to live abundantly!

Imagine! With financial freedom, you will have more quality time to spend with your family and friends. You will have more control over your life to do whatever you want, whatever you love, whatever you're passionate about. You will be able to give more, help others, make your part of the world a better place to live! You will be able to spend as much or as little time with your business as you choose. You will be able to come and go at will.

What a great chance to live abundantly!

Is craving for financial freedom realistic? Yes it is. It is not impossible to achieve it. Ordinary people have achieved financial freedom. They may not have their own luxurious yacht, but they have the time and the money to take their family on an expensive cruise to the most expensive spot on earth.

There are basically only two fundamental things ordinary people have known for decades to achieving financial freedom:

1. Manage your time and money! Time and money are the only two factors that keep people from achieving financial freedom.

To duplicate the success of people who have reached financial freedom, you do not need to have self-confidence, super intelligence, high education, great luck, hard-work or great career path. Although those are all good characteristics, they are not fundamental to achieve financial freedom.

All you need is a good time and money management, which would also result in high productivity!

Invest your time in creating extra money that you can later invest. You can do that by taking up a part-time job or working overtime.

As soon as you have more extra income, be a responsible manager of your own money! Live less than your income so you can start investing. It is from investing in a business that will one day generate income for you and sets you financially free from having to work for a living.

As much as possible avoid borrowing money for anything at all. I believe everybody has been taught about the negatives of being in a debt, but very few have been taught to consider the benefits of being debt-free.

By being debt-free, you will have more money to invest. Ask yourself this question: how difficult would it be to create an extra $1,000 a month by cutting expenses and by investing the money you normally use to pay your debt?

2. Start investing in your own business to create passive income! Passive income is income which requires little or no work at all. The example would be writing a book and get paid forever on it, traditionally investing huge capital or starting your own business.

As a passionate home-business owner myself, I believe that having your own home-business is by far the most powerful way to create passive income. It takes only small start-up capital and you will have extra tax benefits.

It is easier to generate passive income by having your own business than by traditionally investing. If your goal was generating $40,000 annually you would need $1,000,000 to invest at 4% interest. Very few people have this much start-up capital.

But there are many ordinary people who have become home-business entrepreneurs and generated $40,000 annually by investing very small capital.

Finally, quoting Robert Bolton, "A belief is not merely an idea that the mind possesses; it is an idea that possesses the mind", the idea that even ordinary people like you can achieve financial freedom should possess your mind and you will not be denied.

By Dinar P. Wiria-Atmadja

Reducing Debt Before Its Too Late - How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Creeping Debt

Reducing debt usually isn't a high priority for people until they have already gotten into trouble with overspending. Using a few basic guidelines, and debt calculations, can help you see when your debt load is getting into the danger zone.

Budgeting Guidelines

Creditors use budgeting guidelines when reviewing and approving credit. If your debt exceeds the financial communities recommended guidelines, then you have a higher risk of credit applications being denied.

Getting, and keeping, your debt in line with recommended budgeting guidelines, is an important step in debt reduction.

Use the following recommended budgeting guidelines (the same ones used by Financial Institutions) to review the items in your budget:





Housing 35% - Mortgage or rent, taxes, repairs, improvements, insurance, and utilities;



Transportation 20% - Monthly payments, gas, oil, repairs, insurance, parking & public transportation;



Debt 15%* - Credit cards, personal loans, student loans & other debt payments;



All other expenses 20% - Food, insurance, prescriptions, doctor & dentist bills, clothing & personal;



Investments & Savings 10% - Stocks, bonds, cash reserves, retirement, rental real estate, art, etc.

Debt Income Ratios

The second step is calculating your debt income ratio. Once you know what your ratio is, you will understand just how important debt load is to your overall financial picture. Your debt income ratio is the percent of your monthly take-home pay that goes to paying debts.

You calculate it by taking the amount needed to repay debts each month, including rent or mortgage, and divide by your take-home pay (your net pay after taxes). Remember, this is "Debt" ratio, so only include actual debt repayment in the calculation.

Credit To Debt Ratio

Just because you pay off a credit card is no reason to close your account. One little known fact about the Credit to Debt Ratio is the reverse effect it has on your credit score. If you pay off a credit card, and close the account, you are actually negatively impacting your credit score.

The reason for this negative effect is in the calculation of the Credit to Debt Ratio itself. This ratio is the relationship of your debt total vs. your credit limit.

You calculate it by dividing the total credit limit of all credit cards and loan accounts by the total of the actual debt (spent total). Now, if you pay off a credit card, you are reducing the actual debt, which is great, but, if you close the account, you are also dramatically reducing the credit limit you have, and usually by a higher percentage than the debt reduction.

Pay Yourself First

Essential to long-term financial success, and protecting your future, is paying yourself first. While this may seem easy to do, it happens to be the last thing most people do, instead of first. Debts and other financial obligations, money for entertainment, and other spending always seem to take a higher priority. All I can say is, STOP! Think about it, if you aren't worth being paid first, then who is? Always put something away in your savings, and leave it alone. It doesn't matter if it's only $5 a week, just do it!

Snowball The Credit Cards

Last, but not least, is making extra payments, not just the minimum payments, on your credit cards. You have probably already seen this many times, but it just can't be stressed enough. Paying just $10 extra a month on a credit card, above the minimum required payment, can cut your repayment term in half, if not more! So, squeeze out that extra payment, however small, every month, and take advantage of the compounding effect of snowballing your debt away.

The Power of Financial Knowledge

Remember, you don't have to be a financial whiz to understand what's going on with your credit and debt. Just a few simple calculations, and an eye on the future, will go a long way to help you succeed financially and keep your debt under control. Be safe, be smart, do the math!

Related articles:

Compare the pros and cons of debt consolidation loans, service companies, and credit counseling.

The Debt Free Lifestyle

Many people have been taught that you cannot get ahead without debt. We are also inundated with advertising telling us we can have anything we want. All we need to do is put it on our credit card.

We have become an impatient society, we want it right now. We have lost the ethic of working for what we want.

It is not how much money you make; it is what you do with it. By living without debt you can actually have a higher income since you are not paying out interest, you are actually getting paid interest on invested money.

All debt is not created equal. We will classify them as good debt and bad debt.

To simplify the classification we will say that good debt is a loan for something that you could sell at any time and repay the debt. This narrows down good debt to a home loan and possibly a home equity loan.

A bad debt, of course, is a loan on anything that will lose value.

Let's take a look at some debts that we would consider bad debt.

Home equity loans are in the gray area. They could be considered good debt if they are used to repair or improve your home, but you would be a lot better off to just save up the money for the project. Home equity loans become bad debt when used for purposes other than home improvement or maintenance. In other words a bad home equity loan is for anything that does not add to the value of your house. Do not jeopardize your home by taking out a home equity loan on unnecessary items.

One possible good use for a home equity loan is when the interest rates are low. You can use a home equity loan to refinance your mortgage. Home equity loans generally have lower costs than conventional home loans.

We consider school loans bad debt. If you finish school, get a good high paying job and then attack the loan like mad, a school loan may work out. The problem is that there are too many things that can go wrong. At best, even if you do graduate and get a good job there are always a lot of other expenses at this time in ones life. You are really behind financially when you start your working life in debt.

Auto loans are bad loans that have become common practice to us. We pay interest on a vehicle that will only be worth one half of its original purchase price in five years. Lately it has also been common for us to borrow more than a vehicle is worth. We can trade a car in that we still owe on, and roll that owed amount over into another vehicle. This gives us a loan amount that is higher than the value of the car that we drive away. We have lost our capacity to say NO.

Co-signing is a bad debt that usually and unfortunately involves family. If someone cannot qualify for a loan at a regular lending institution, they should not get a loan. The fact that they can't qualify for a loan elsewhere should tell you that they are a huge risk. Use this opportunity to teach them how they can get what they want by working harder for it and delaying the purchase.

If you want to get off of the debt treadmill, you must run as far away from debt as you can. You cannot use debt to get out of debt. Even if you do, you have not changed your habits; you must change your lifestyle.

By John Cook

Debt is The Master of Souls

Wholeness requires separation. In order for you to experience yourself as being whole, you spend most of your live experiencing being separated, trying to get back to wholeness.

One of your most creative ways of moving away from happiness has been through consumer debt. Your fixation with spending, gives you little time to contemplate being whole, until it hits you in the face with a debt load that you can no longer manage.

The Black Plague of the industrialized world is debt for consumer goods and services. No matter how you may reason it, going into debt to buy a big screen TV or stereo system, a new boat, or lawn furniture, just is not necessary. You have been taught that all of these things are necessary to be happy and successful. You have moved away from happiness in order to feel it again by learning how to be miserable. Now that you are up to your ears in bills, you think that you would be happy again, if only you did not owe all this money.

As adults, you spend one third of your lives paying of loans and mortgages, another third of your life paying taxes. The last third is supporting someone else. The fourth third you get to keep for yourself. Debt is the majour contributing factor in marriage and business break-ups. Where is there room for happiness in this chaos?

Consumerism feeds the fat pockets of debt. It is like bulimia, you eat and eat and eat, then puke it all back up, only to start over again. Consumerism is the industrialized world's version of happiness. Because humanity has moved so far away from happiness, he no longer understands what it is, and believes that "things," make him happy. He cannot live without things. Because he is unhappy and notices that other people appear to be happy with their things, he believes that if only he had one of those, he would be happy also.

The insanity is that you have been collectively doing this thing repeatedly for so long, you do not believe you can be happy without spending and going into debt. Humanity has not learned from this mistake. You cannot buy happiness. You must be happy first, and then your spending will reflect that happiness and will not be dependant on the spending.

Debt is the cancer that kills your happiness. Move away from spending and debt and get in touch with your true feelings and basic needs. When you begin to move to this place of wholeness, you will never do anything that could jeopardize that happiness. Money does not buy happiness in place of a failed belief system. At best it is only a temporarily relief like debt consolidation until you start the cycle over again.

Life lived simply, allows lots of room for happiness, it is the playground of happy people. Happiness comes naturally to all beings at birth; you then learn how to be unhappy before you can move back to the experience of happiness.

By Roy E. Klienwachter

Bankruptcy - The Easy Option?

Incredibly, since the changes in the bankruptcy law in April 2004, debtors are more likely to petition for their own bankruptcy rather than their creditors! You would think that most people who have been threatened with the prospect of being made Bankrupt would be riddled with fear of the possibility. It is more widely referred to as the "Big B" rather than the dreaded word itself. However, is this a thing of the past? Since the changes in The Enterprise Act 2002 took place in April 2004 it would appear a lot more people are inclined to petition for their own bankruptcy as a solution to their debt problems.

It appears that more people are choosing to go for Bankruptcy as they think that within one year of a Bankruptcy order being made, they could be debt free. Unfortunately, things might not be as simple as that and it would be wise to find out what options are available before taking the plunge.

In some circumstances, Bankruptcy is the best option, but that is only some circumstances, not all. Even in Bankruptcy, you are still required to make payments from your income for up to three years, if you have a reasonable surplus. The Official Receiver (OR) also has the period of three years (not one year) to stake his claim on your residential home and if there is any equity in your property within that time period, the Official Receiver is likely to claim it.

Considering Bankruptcy?

For some people, Bankruptcy really is the only way out. There are numerous reasons why people find themselves in this situation. If you know you are unable to repay your creditors; you have no assets and there is no prospect of you making reasonable offers of repayment to your creditors, then petitioning for Bankruptcy could be right for you.

What Happens when a Petition is made?

Petition for Bankruptcy is made in one of two ways. Either you will make a petition yourself at a cost of £450, or your creditor will make a petition against you. If a creditor decides to make a petition for Bankruptcy, they would be responsible for showing that you either could not or would not repay the debt owed to them. Unless the petition was significantly disputed, it is likely that a Bankruptcy Order will be made.

Before the legislation changes in April 2004, if a Court believed that you could afford to make reasonable offers of repayments to your creditors, an Insolvency Practitioner would be appointed to look into your affairs and make a report to see if you were willing to make proposals to repay your debt. Your creditors would then be requested to consider your proposals. This has now changed?

If you make a petition for Bankruptcy, the Court will assume you have taken advice and you know you cannot repay your creditors. Therefore, a Bankruptcy order will be made. However, once the order has been made, an Official Receiver will then look into your state of affairs, and if the Official Receiver believes you do have the facility to make reasonable offers of repayment, they may refer you for a Fast Track IVA.

The cost

In order for you to petition for your own bankruptcy, it will not only cost you £450, but, the process will take up a lot of your time and possibly cause you a great deal of stress. Even after the bankruptcy order has been made the Official Receiver (OR) could decide that a Fast Track IVA would be more suitable. If that happens you have basically lost £450 and caused yourself a lot of unnecessary stress.

So what should you do?

Before petitioning for your own bankruptcy, you should get an assessment of your financial situation. It is definitely advisable to get an assessment done before making a petition rather than an Official Receiver making the assessment after a Bankruptcy Order had been made. Companies such as FCL Debt Clinic can offer you this assessment with no charge! You will be informed of all options that are available and if a more suitable route can be taken in order to avoid the implications of Bankruptcy, this will be advised as another way to resolve your situation.

By Nicola Bullimore