Consumers Told to Seek Professional Advice

As the latest statistics from the Insolvency Service reveal yet another quarterly rise in insolvencies in England and Wales - the ninth in a row - financial solutions company Think Money reminds struggling borrowers that insolvency isn’t necessarily the only answer to unmanageable debt.

The statistics show that there were a record 35,682 individual insolvencies in England and Wales in the first quarter of 2010, a slight increase on the 35,574 recorded in the final quarter of 2009.

Specifically, there were 18,256 bankruptcies, 11,782 IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements) and 5,644 DROs (Debt Relief Orders).

"We may be out of recession," a Think Money spokesperson commented, "but the UK's economic growth is still unimpressive, and there’s no reason that the growth we are seeing should directly benefit everyone who’s struggling with their finances."

"A lot of people saw their incomes fall significantly during the recession, making it much harder for them to stay on top of their debts and their other financial commitments. Unless they find a way to improve their situation in the near future, they’ll be ill-prepared to deal with the financial challenges ahead, from rising interest rates to the tax rises and cuts in public spending which economists are predicting."

In fact, R3, the insolvency trade body, has already warned of the insolvency lag following a recession - pointing out insolvency statistics from the last two recessions which indicate that ''the worst may, in fact, be yet to come''.

The lag, R3 explains, is ''most simply explained by the fact that it takes time before any return to growth is translated into tangible relief for business owners and individuals''.

"Looking ahead," the Think Money spokesperson continued, "we can expect the ongoing economic uncertainty to impact a lot of people’s finances, but many will still find that an alternative solution, such as a debt management plan, is more appropriate than entering bankruptcy, an IVA or a DRO.

"If someone’s struggling with their debts, the important thing is to seek professional debt advice before it’s too late - before they reach the point where insolvency is the only realistic solution to their debt problems."

Posted at 01:52PM May 10, 2010 by Marc Stenton in Personal Finance  |  Comments[0]