Welcome

If you can’t meet your mortgage repayments, or you’re worried you might fall behind, contact your lender as soon as possible. You can also get free independent advice from other organisations and you may be able to get help with your mortgage from new schemes which started earlier this year as part of a series of government backed initiatives designed to help you.

 

Contact your Lender and agree a plan

 

Mortgage lenders are keen to help their customers sort out any payment difficulties. They may be able to come to a payment arrangement with you.

 

If you’re struggling to make the payments

Depending on your payment history and whether your difficulties are likely to be long or short term, your lender might agree to:

·        Reduce your payments for a set period

·        Charge you interest only for a while, if you’ve got a repayment mortgage (usually you pay capital and interest)

·        Give you a ‘payment holiday’

·        Extend your mortgage term to reduce your payments

 

If you’re already in arrears

If you’ve already fallen behind, your lender will suggest a way to pay off the arrears gradually, alongside your usual payments. If you can’t meet the extra payments, you may be able to delay them for a while or add them to your loan. Again, it depends on your track record.

 

Always pay what you can

Pay as much as you can manage every month. Keeping up regular payments (even if they vary) shows that you’re committed. Your lender’s more likely to treat you sympathetically and you’ll minimise the arrears charges too.

You can find more mortgage payment advice from the National Homelessness Advice Service.

 

 

Mortgage Rescue scheme

 

 

 

The Mortgage Rescue scheme may help if you are having serious difficulties making your mortgage repayments and are in danger of becoming homeless if repossessed. Find out if you are eligible for help to stay in your home and how the scheme works.

 

 

What is the Mortgage Rescue Scheme

The Mortgage Rescue scheme is a government scheme, which is run by your local housing authority - the organisation that manages housing for your council. If you are eligible, you could get financial help to stay in your home. You make your application for help from the scheme to your local council.

 

Find Your local Council

 

The Mortgage Rescue scheme is only available in England. Separate schemes are either in place, or being developed, in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Search your local council’s website for more information about these schemes.

 

 

 

 

 

Who Can Get Help From The scheme?

 

To be eligible for the scheme your household must include someone in ‘priority need’. This could be:

·        a pregnant woman

·        someone with dependent children

·        someone who is vulnerable because of old age or a physical or mental impairment

 

You’ll also need to meet the following criteria:

·        your household must earn less than £60,000 a year

·        the value of your home shouldn’t be higher than certain levels set for each region – ask your council about the level for your area

·        everyone named on the mortgage must agree to be considered for the Mortgage Rescue scheme – although you don’t have to sign a written agreement

·        you must have received debt counselling and advice from a free independent debt adviser at an organisation like the Citizens Advice Bureau or Shelter

·        you should have made arrangements to repay any debts

·        you should have discussed all other options to meet your repayments with your bank or mortgage lender

·        you must have a clear need to stay in your home, which means it’s not practical or reasonable to move somewhere smaller or cheaper

·        your home must be suitable for your needs - for example, there’s not too many people sharing the same space making it unsafe and unhealthy

·        you must not own a second home, including a home abroad

·         

Owners of freehold and leasehold properties who meet these criteria are also eligible for the Mortgage Rescue scheme.

 

 

Help for people in negative equity

You may be eligible for help from the Mortgage Rescue scheme if you are in ‘negative equity’. This is when the amount owed on your mortgage is more than the value of your home. If you are in negative equity, you can apply for the scheme if:

·        you meet all the other eligibility criteria

·        the value of your mortgage (and any loans taken out against your home) is less than 120 per cent of the value of your home

 

How the Mortgage Scheme Works

You can be referred to the scheme by:

·        advice agencies, like the Citizens Advice Bureau or Shelter

·        your mortgage lender

·        the courts

You can also contact your local council directly to get advice about the Mortgage Rescue scheme. Find Your local Council

 

When you apply for help from the scheme:

1.     the council will arrange for you to meet with their money advisers

2.     you’ll get advice and a plan to help you manage your debt or some other way that you can meet your housing costs

3.     the council may arrange an assessment of your home

4.     you may get financial help, either with a ‘shared equity loan’ or through a ‘Government mortgage to rent’, depending on your circumstances

 

 

 

 

 

Shared equity loan

The council may involve a Registered Social Landlord (RSL) - an independent housing organisation registered with the Tenant Services Authority. The RSL can provide a shared equity loan, which means they will pay off a proportion of your mortgage. In return they receive a share in your property’s ‘equity’ – the market value of your home minus the outstanding mortgage balance. The RSL will agree on the proportion, which will be based on an assessment of your household’s finances. This will reduce your mortgage to a more affordable level so you can continue to make repayments.

 

Government mortgage to rent

Alternatively, the RSL may suggest a Government mortgage to rent, which means the RSL will pay off your mortgage completely by buying the property. You’ll stay in your home and pay rent to the RSL as their tenant. The rent will be at a level lower than the ‘market rate’ - this will be cheaper than if you were renting from a private landlord.

You’ll continue to receive advice after you have entered the scheme to help you manage your finances.

 

Useful Links

 

Where to get Debt Help

Mortgage arrears or payment difficulties : Directgov - Money, tax and benefits

Jobseeker’s Allowance : Directgov - Money, tax and benefits

Council Tax Benefit : Directgov - Money, tax and benefits

Tax credits : Directgov - Money, tax and benefits

 

Information taken from www.direct.gov.uk

 

Debt Relief Order (DRO)

 

Since April 2009 Debt Relief Orders have been available to people on low incomes who find they are struggling with unsecured Debt’s of £15,000.00 or less and have assets with a value of no more than £300.00.

 

Here we will outline the most frequent questions and provide names of companies who may be able to help you with a Debt Relief Order (DRO).

 

What are the requirements for a debt relief order?

The requirements for DROs are as follows:

•  
  • You are unable to pay your debts;
  • Your total unsecured liabilities must not exceed £15,000;
  • Your total gross assets must not exceed £300;
  • Your disposable income, following deduction of normal household expenses, must not exceed £50 per month.
  • You must be domiciled in England or Wales, or in the last 3 years have been resident or carrying on business in England or Wales.
  • You must not have previously been subject to a DRO within the last 6 years. 
  • You must not be involved in another formal insolvency procedure at the time of application for a DRO, such as:

a) An undischarged bankrupt;

b) A current Individual Voluntary Arrangement;

c) A current Bankruptcy Restrictions Order or Undertaking;

d) A current Debt Relief Restrictions Order or Undertaking;

e) An interim order

f) A current pending debtor’s bankruptcy petition in relation to the debtor but the debtor has not been referred to the DRO procedure by the court as a more suitable method of debt relief;

g) A current pending creditor’s bankruptcy petition against the debtor but the debtor has not obtained the creditor’s permission for entry into the DRO process.

 

How will a DRO be made?

DROs are applied for online, with an approved intermediary helping to complete an application.

Upon receipt of the application and payment of the fee, an official receiver is able to make the order, administratively, without the involvement of the court if it appears that the applicant meets the requirements.

The official receiver is able to refuse to make an order or can choose to delay the decision pending further information from the applicant.

 

What are the effects of a DRO?

During the period that an order is in force, you will:

• Be protected from enforcement action by the creditors included in the application (bar certain creditors whose debts cannot be scheduled in the DRO and those creditors whose debts are included in the DRO but who have successfully obtained leave from the court to pursue their debts).

·         Be free from those debts at the end of the period (normally 12 months from the order).

·         Be obliged to provide information to and co-operate with the official receiver.

·         Be expected to make arrangements to repay their creditors should their financial circumstances improve.

 

As with other forms of personal insolvency, a DRO debtor’s credit rating will be affected and there will be civil and criminal penalties for those who abuse the system.

The official receiver is able to investigate, either on his own account or as the result of an objection from creditors, and is able to revoke the order if the debtor is found to have failed to provide a full and accurate account of their financial affairs (for example, an understatement in their assets or income). Failure to provide such an account may result in civil and criminal sanctions.

 

What restrictions will be placed upon a person who has a DRO?

 For the duration of the order, the debtor will be subject to similar restrictions as in bankruptcy, and their details will be on the publically available Individual Insolvency Register (available at www.insolvency.gov.uk)

These restrictions include the following:

• You must not obtain credit of £500 or more, either alone or jointly with another person, without disclosing that they are subject to a DRO to the lender.
• You may not carry on a business (directly or indirectly) in a name that is different from the name under which they were granted a DRO, without telling all those with whom the debtor does business the name under which they were granted a DRO.
• You may not be involved (directly or indirectly) with the promotion, management or formation of a limited company, and may not act as a company director, without the court’s permission.
• You will only be able to obtain a DRO once every six years. 

Furthermore the official receiver will be able to apply for a Debt Relief Restrictions Order, similar to the bankruptcy restriction order, which will extend the period of restriction for up to fifteen years for debtors who are dishonest or culpable.

 

How can I get a DRO?

By seeking financial advice from a debt advisor and if a DRO appears to be appropriate, an approved intermediary will be able to help you complete the online application. The intermediary may be the same person from whom advice was originally sought, or may be a further advisor that you are referred to once it is considered that a DRO is appropriate.

You cannot apply for a DRO without the assistance of an intermediary.

To apply for a DRO involves payment of a fee which will be less than £100 usually £90.00.

Companies Known to Surviving The Credit Crunch which we are happy to recommends are:

Baines and Ernst

Debt Free Direct

 Gregory Pennington

 

Surviving The Credit Crunch has been awarded a four star rating from the country’s leading internet user magazine Webuser.

 

“We are absolutely delighted at Webuser’s feedback and comments” said founder of http://www.SurvivingTheCreditCrunch.org.uk Richard Fenton. Fenton went on to say that the people behind the site have all been working very hard to deliver a helpful and insightful service to those who need it most during these difficult times, “we now need take further feedback and instruction from the sites many users so we can further enhance our service”

 

The site, which was launched late in 2008 and has undergone a recent overhaul to make it more user-friendly. Funding for the site has been provided personally by Richard Fenton himself who feels very passionate about delivering free advice to those who need it most. The site currently receives 15,000 visitors every month, many of whom are making use of the handy finance calculator which came in for special praise from Webuser. We are now looking to other media formats to help us bring the site to the attention of as many people as possible. Our aim is to help as many people as we can through 2009, but we have very little funds to publicise the site.

 

As well as launching the site Richard Fenton also works on local TV station Channel M offering advice to viewers on a range of financial issues as well as contributing to the Manchester Evening News credit crunch supplement ‘Punch the Crunch’. Richard is working hard to initiate relationships with as many media sources as possible in a bid to gain exposure for the site and offers his time free of charge in the vast majority of cases.

www.SurvivingTheCreditCrunch.org.uk has launched a new stress busting page to help point people in the direction for help and support.

 

We have all heard how confidence has been lost in the financial markets as a result of the recent events in the global banking sector, but how is that affecting the confidence of the individuals who are having to live with the consequences?

 

For the last ten years I have dealt with many thousands of people dealing with a personal debt crisis, and whether this is a result of action they have taken or through no fault of their own, one thing is clear there is a significant number of people who find that their confidence levels drop dramatically, much in the same way that people confidence levels increase when they win or inherit a life changing sum of money.

 

Common themes and feelings include:

 

·         A sense of Failure

·         Loss of Control

·         Feelings of insecurity and foreboding

·         Defensive towards loved ones

·         Anxiety and Stress levels increased

·         Loss of Sleep

·         Weight Gain (Comfort eating) Men and Woman

·         Increased alcohol consumption

 

Men and woman both cope very differently with issues surrounding debt; Men will have a tendency towards hiding away from their problems and are far more likely to hide issues from their partners and family, they will become very defensive and look for others to blame. Women are far more likely to face the problem head and will seek advice quicker than their male counterparts, woman are better equipped to release their emotions allowing them to take faster more positive steps towards resolution.

 

My tip’s for re gaining your confidence,

 

Understanding your problems will allow you to take control of your problems, which in turn will give you back your confidence.

 

Sit down and take a stock of your full financial position and work out just how much debt you have, don’t be afraid of the results it is what it is, you will be amazed just how therapeutic it is to actually take stock of your situation, then simply work out how much money you have to spend on your debts each month, again don’t worry about how little you have, if you can spend hundreds of pounds clearing debts each month that’s great, but if you only have a few pounds that’s great too, the important thing is YOU are now in control of your money and not the other way round. You can then start to TELL your creditors what you can afford to pay each month. You can if you wish use our financial planner at www.SurvivingTheCreditCrunch.org.uk.  If you can share your concerns with your partner of friend, and remember you don’t have to battle through alone, get involved with Surviving the Credit Crunch’s forum and share your experiences with other people and work together to ease the stress.

 

Quick Stress Busting Tips

 

1.      If you find yourself becoming angry or upset you may find it helpful to take time out, even if only for five minutes. Try to relax your muscles and calm yourself down by slow, deep breathing.

1. Try to identify the underlying causes of your stress. You may need to review your whole lifestyle. Are you taking on too much? Are there things you are doing which could be shared with someone else?
2. A healthy diet will help prevent you becoming overweight and will reduce the risks of other diet-related diseases.
3. Keep smoking and drinking to a minimum and try doing some form of physical exercise, even if it’s only a daily walk to the park.
4. Take time to relax. Saying `I just can’t take the time off’ is no use if you are forced to take time off later through ill health.
5. Sleeping problems are common when you have stress, but try to ensure you get enough rest. Try not to take sleeping pills for longer than a night or two.
6. One of the best antidotes for stress is enjoying yourself so try to bring some fun into your life by giving yourself treats and rewards for positive actions, attitudes and thoughts.
7. Try to keep things in proportion and don’t be too hard on yourself. After all, we all have bad days.
8. Talk about your problems with friends and family, they will often be able to offer great advice and support.

Are you fed up of hearing about all the doom and gloom of the Credit Crunch? If so, you have come to the right place.  Starting today I am going to show you how you can fight back and take control of your finances in a way that our major financial institutions couldn’t do themselves. By following my tips and tricks of the trade you will be able to save as much as £5000.00 a year on your annual household budget. This is money that you and your family have worked hard for;  money which could be helping you either reduce your debt burden,   paying for a great family holiday or maybe even buying that new family car.

Make a shopping list Food shopping forms a significant part of our monthly outgoings and the supermarket is where the bulk of the money is spent. Supermarkets are very sophisticated when it comes to parting us from our hard earned cash, filled with what I like to call retail traps, brightly coloured signs pushing so called bargains, items placed by the tills waiting to grab your attention whilst queuing to pay. Before you leave the house make a list of all the items you need and stick to it, if it’s not on the list you don’t need it. On average we spend £95.00 a week on our shopping, making a list can save you as much as £650.00 a year!

 

Reduce your debts with your savings, Let’s say you have a credit card or store card with a balance of £1000.00 and a rate of 19%, that debt is costing you £190.00 a year. Now if you have £1000.00 is a savings account, at today’s rate you are likely to be earning 1.5%, that’s a piddling £15.00 a year! Use your savings to pay the card and save £175.00 a year. Don’t worry if your savings are a rainy day fund as you can always revert to the paid off plastic in a real emergency.

Turn that down and off. Did you know that by turning your thermostat down by one degree you can save 10% of your energy bill; that could be as much as £200.00 a year. Take things like your DVD player, PC and TV off stand by and you will save another £150.00 a year, it’s good for the planet and great for your pocket saving you at least £350.00 a year.

Drop down a brand and lift up the savings. You will be amazed how little difference there is in quality and taste, between big brand names and the much cheaper alternatives available in your local supermarket. Drop down a brand and you can save as much as £800.00 a year without losing any of the quality. (Put after shopping list?)

Switch your energy & phone supplier. Use one of the many price comparison sites out there to find the best deal for you, if you have never switched suppliers before you can save as much as £300.00 a year across your phone and energy supplier.

Ask yourself: do I really need this? Impulse buying is one of the biggest and yet unseen drains on your finances. Make yourself aware of the retail traps out there designed to separate you from your hard earned cash. Every year the average person will spend at least £500.00 on items they don’t need or even want.

Do you need all those TV channels? Britain is switching to digital-only television and time is running out for you to choose your new digital TV provider. The choice is already bewildering. Packages range from the full Monty including every sports and movie channel costing around £50 a month, down to Freeview, which is free. Choose wisely and save £250.00.

 

Quit smoking, Never mind the health implications, the guilt and the smell, your 20-a-day habit is costing you nearly £2,000 a year. Pack it in save £1800.00 a year and your life.

Shop online The internet is taking over and online shopping is getting better all the time and there are plenty of comparison websites to help find the best prices for bigger items such as TV’s etc. Give it a try, unless of course you like fighting your way through the crowds and traffic. Potential Saving £200.00

So far we have only touched on a small number of areas which will allow you to save thousands of pounds every year, with the money you can save by taking advantage of our tips you can avoid the negativity of the crunch without compromising your way of life. I want to hear about your experiences so let me know if you have any success stories involving money saving tips and I will share them with the whole of Manchester. Next month I will be bringing you some more great ways to save and even make money, good luck and if you want to share some ideas or have a question or problem surrounding the credit crunch contact me at www.SurvivingTheCreditCrunch.org.uk and I will be sure to get back to you.

Hello again

 

Well we have had a busy week on the web site www.survivingthecreditcrunch.org.uk we have added some new pages for you which include:

 

Credit Crunch Wedding

Credit Crunch Holiday

Furniture recycling Ideas from David Harper

Credit Crunch Market Place

 

As you will no doubt be aware we are always looking to add content which you the user will find helpful and informative, so if you have any suggestions please let us know.

 

Also we would like your help with another project we are doing for TV, we would like to know about any Credit Crunch scams you have heard of or been the victim of, or if you have encountered any unusual effects of the Crunch such as something positive for example? If you have a story which you think would be of interest please do get in touch, we may even be able to use you on the show and make you a star.

 

Bye for now

 

Rich

It’s almost inconceivable to think that this time last year anyone would have suggested that today we would see interest rates sitting at 1.5%, but on January the 8^th 2009 the Bank of England decided that more cuts were needed to stimulate the now stagnant economy.

 

To be in the position of Mr Mervyn King is surely not an enviable one, faced with only two choices, one to make a run and place it all on red and go to 0% or hold some back in case one more trip to the table is needed. In any event we saw the cut of 0.5% being announced yesterday and although there were no surprised or startled faces it is fair to say that many people are now beginning to ask what we do next if this fails to work. Well I for one don’t think we will have to wait too long before we have our answer as it is now clear that cutting interest rates in this way is doing very little to free up the blocked credit lines within our banking and finance sector. Reports from the within the Treasury would suggest that more radical plans are now being formulated in an effort to stave off a further decline in the economy, one suggestion is they are working on plans for much more serious measures, known as “quantitative easing”. Alistair Darling yesterday denied reports that he was planning to “print money”, and that is the wrong definition of the kinds of measures under consideration; but there is no doubt that using taxpayers’ money to buy government debts , one of the steps under consideration , would be a radical, and a very risky step, requiring Darling’s approval. The Treasury is already drawing up a protocol for how quantitative easing might work, and King and his colleagues may be keen to postpone the day when they effectively hand over the reins to Westminster. They are also waiting on a package of government support measures for the credit markets, which are aimed at helping to unblock lending.

 

The reality of yesterdays move as far as the man in the street is concerned hits home in two ways, you may be forgiven for think that if you have a mortgage you will see a reduction in your monthly expenditure, but for the vast majority of us that won’t be the case as we are either on a fixed rate or a tracker which in most cases will have already of hit the maximum reduction available under your agreement. And for those of you who have been prudent over the years and have managed to accumulate savings, you will be the biggest victims with many savers who rely on interest payments to live on, seeing their income drop by as much as two thirds. It has even been suggested that a further cut could see banks charging us to look after or deposits. We will be keeping a close eye on events as they unfold but expect to see more and more unusual methods employed in this epic fight against recession as we are now very much in unchartered territory.

 

Take Care

 

Rich

Hello all and Happy New Year!

 

I wanted to let you all know about a new tool on the website which will calculate your finances for you and help you manage your creditors and show you how much money you have each month to spend, or not! It the Financial Calculator and you can use it by following this link:

 

 http://survivingthecreditcrunch.org.uk/finance.html

 

The calculator is designed to help you understand how much you have to relative to your income and expenditure. Simply follow the instructions on the calculator and then print of the results, it will be a very useful application for anyone, especially if you are negotiating with your creditors, but it will be just as useful if you are not in any difficulties too as it will help you monitor your situation.

 

We will be looking to develop the calculator further over the coming weeks and months, in the very near future we will have an application which will automatically print of offer letters to your creditors as well as letting you know what to do if you are in a negative position with your creditors. This tool is for you so if you have any suggestions, additions etc you would like to see added just let us know and we will see what we can do.

 

Have fun and let me know if you have any feedback.

 

Rich

Richard On BBC Radio With Heather Stott