The Labour government is said to have been pleased with regards to the news of the fall in repossessions, as it is keen to drum up support from voters in the run up to the general election later this year.

A number of schemes and measures have been put into place by the government to try and make improvements within the turbulent mortgage and housing sector over the past twelve months, and the figures seem to indicate that some of these have paid off to some degree.

John Healey, the Housing Minister, claims that around 330,000 families have benefited from various schemes that have been put into place by the government over the past twelve months. He also said that many more families were likely to receive help through these initiatives over the course of this year.

In the meantime the Council of Mortgage Lenders has stated that its predictions set for 2010 with regards to arrears and repossessions may be a little gloomy given the low interest rate.

Michael Coogan from the Council of Mortgage Lenders said that the reduction in arrears and repossessions was down to a number of factors and people, stating: “The fact that mortgage arrears and possessions did not rise by as much as we feared in 2009 is testament to the effect of low interest rates and a great deal of concerted effort by lenders, government and the advice sector to help borrowers to address financial difficulties when they occur.”

13 percent drop in UK repossessions is a post from: Glitec Loans

A consultation has been launched by the Ministry of Justice with a view to increasing the minimum amounts owed before the sale of a home can be ordered by the courts to force repayment of the debt by the homeowner.

The system that is currently in place means that a charging order can be placed against the property of a homeowner in the event that they are defaulting on repayments on their credit or store cards, and ultimately this can force them to sell the home and repay the money that they owe. The courts can make a decision to force the sale of the property and make the consumer repay the debt even though the debt was not originally secured against the home.

The Ministry of Justice has stated that sales of properties are only forced in a small proportion of cases, and it was therefore rare for people that could not pay their store or credit cards to be forced to sell the home over it. However, it does happen in a small number of cases and the new measures would help to provide greater protection for those that could find themselves in this situation.

An MoJ official said: “important that the government consider whether there is a risk that the numbers will increase due to the current economic situation, and whether this could result in more people losing their homes because of relatively low levels of debt which they are unable to pay.”

Increased protection could be put into place for homeowners in debt is a post from: Glitec Loans

Many people will have spent up on their higher interest credit cards over the festive season, and will now be lumbered with debt on which they are paying significant sums of interest. However, taking the right steps could help them to save money on interest.

With the New Year now well underway many people will have made resolutions involving clearing their debts as quickly as possible, and officials from lovemoney.com have said that using a balance transfer card onto which they can transfer high interest credit card debt could go some way towards helping them to achieve their goals, as it means that they can enjoy a generous period of interest free credit without being charged any interest on the balance that they have transferred.

A spokesperson for the group said that many people may feel daunted at the prospect of having to shuffle around financial commitments, but he said that using a balance transfer card to shift more expensive debt onto could release the strain for those that are struggling financially, and the process was a pretty simple and straightforward one with an increase in the choice of balance transfer cards that were available.

He said: “If you have got a credit card at 17 or 20 per cent, try if possible to get your consumer debt onto the lowest interest rate as possible. Whether that is a nought per cent credit card or the best personal loans at about eight per cent, try to pay it down as fast as you can. The rates you will be paying will rise over the next couple of years so to get that debt as small as possible as quickly as possible is the best way to go.”

Size of debt could be decreased with a balance transfer credit card is a post from: Glitec Loans

Officials are worried that many consumers are heading for a lifetime of debt because they are only making paltry minimum repayments on their credit card debts, which the providers are happy to accept because it means that they keep the customers in debt and make more interest off them.

A recent report also showed that some consumers were paying three times more interest than others simply because of the credit card that they were using. The report said that using the wrong card could be a very costly mistake and could make a huge difference to the amount that the cardholder pays on their debt. In fact, the report claimed that it could take sixteen years longer to repay a debt simply by using the wrong credit card.

The minimum repayments that are requested by credit card providers are supposed to cover at least the interest that is being charged and a fraction of the debt itself. However, for many who are paying rock bottom minimum repayments on their credit cards the debt could drag on for years or even decades, as the repayment that they are making does not even touch the actual debt itself.

For example, making repayments on a Lloyds TSB card at just the minimum amount requested on a £1000 debt would mean that it took over two decades to clear the balance.

David Black from Defaqto stated: ‘The differences of how long it will take you to repay debts on different cards are staggering. It is no wonder that consumers don’t fully understand the risks of making only the minimum repayment. That is good for the card companies, because they can charge you interest on your debt for longer.’

Minimum repayment encouraging credit card debt is a post from: Glitec Loans

However, it has been a difficult financial year for most people given the credit crisis and the recession, and this has left many people without as much disposable cash as they need to make their purchases for Christmas.

It is therefore likely that many people will have turned to their credit cards to tide them over this festive season, despite warnings that have been issued by the Church of England with regards to using credit cards.

The Church of England made a broadcast several weeks ago called Wishing you and Affordable Christmas, and in it tried to discourage consumers from using their credit cards to spend frivolously at Christmas, as otherwise they would find themselves facing terrible debts once the festive season was over and reality hit home.

The Church of England had stated that by using cash rather than credit cards to pay for Christmas purchases consumers could help themselves to budget more effectively, and could avoid getting into debt over the Christmas period.

The Church also said that it was important to ensure that people had a good Christmas without having to cope with a terrible New Year because of the amount that they had spent on their cards, which they would then have to repay.

However, the British Retail Consortium said that the Church should not make out that those spending on credit cards are doomed, stating: “It is wrong to demonise those who want to borrow. Yes, shoppers should not borrow money they can’t afford to pay back, but credit is an important device to spread the cost of a range of needs and wants, at anytime, including at Christmas.”

Did shoppers heed Church of England warning? is a post from: Glitec Loans

Over the past couple of years, where finances have been tight for many, homeowners have been under the impression that the vital thing that they had to do was ensure that they were paying their mortgage and secured debts before worrying about unsecured debt, as otherwise they could lose their homes. However, a recent report has shown that some may end up losing their homes anyway for failing to keep on top of repayments on credit cards.

Up until now lenders have not been able to repossess a home for failure to pay on an unsecured debt, as the Ministry of Justice said earlier this year that it would be postponing introducing a new law that would allow lenders to do this. However, it has now stated that the issue is to be open to consultation within the industry starting from next month. The consultation period is set to last for six weeks.

There are worries that giving the green light to lenders to take repossession action for unpaid unsecured debts could lead to unscrupulous lenders taking action for quite small debts on which the borrower has defaulted, and could counteract the effects of any measures that the government has taken in order to try and reduce the number of repossessions.

Repossessions relating to credit card debt could increase is a post from: Glitec Loans

Figures were released from the Bank of England, and showed that consumers are trying to rid themselves of various loans and credit cards debts in a bid to try and reduce their outgoings are their overall debt levels.

The number of mortgages that were granted went up to the highest level since March of last year according to the figures.

However, overall lending levels were down, which officials have said indicated that people are less likely to take on debts in the current climate, and those that already have debts are looking to get their debts repaid as quickly as possible. During the month consumers repaid £579 million worth of debt. This reflected the biggest overall repayment on unsecured debts since records began back in 1993.

Repayments on overdrafts and loans fell for the ninth month in a row in October. It is thought that there are a number of factors behind the drop in credit card debt as well, two of the main factors being restrictions on lending levels from credit card providers and increased wariness from borrowers with regards to taking on further debt. Remortgaging levels for the month were also down according to figures.

Howard Archer, an economist from Global Insight, said: ‘The record, and fourth, successive net repayment in consumer credit in October is clearly the consequence of many consumers’ desire to reduce their debt, low demand for credit and a lack of availability of unsecured credit from banks.’

Many people are also loathe to put their money into savings at present due to low interest rates, and instead are putting the money towards paying off debt.

Borrowers trying to pay off more debt is a post from: Glitec Loans

Many people have been turning to their credit cards to get them through various tight spots financially, and without even realising it may have accrued a large amount of credit card debt that they suddenly realise that they will struggle to repay.

An official from a national debt advice agency has said in a recent report that some of the people that find themselves in this position, with a high amount of credit card debt and other unsecured debts that they cannot afford to repay, may find that their best option is to opt for one of these IVAs, which is a legally binding agreement that could help them to get through their debt problems more effectively.

An IVA is often referred to as a softer form of bankruptcy, and in order to qualify borrowers will need to have a certain level of unsecured debt.

For those that do qualify an assessment of outgoings and income is made, and then a plan is set up whereby the borrower makes a set monthly repayment to an agent, which is then distributed amongst the different creditors on a pro rata basis.

Generally, after five years any amount that is still outstanding is written off and the IVA is considered complete.

An official from the debt charity Credit Action stated: “A lot of people are reliant upon being able to borrow on their credit cards to smooth out peaks and troughs in their income and in many unfortunate situations they rely on cards simply to buy essential living costs.”

More people could end up taking out IVA due to credit card debt is a post from: Glitec Loans

Although the debt was not the pensioner’s the bank, the Halifax, took the money from her account using a banking law loophole. However, the money has now been returned after an official intervened to help the pensioner get her money back.

Eighty eight year old Caroline Connor was horrified to find that her £100 pension money had been taken from her account. Her daughter was named as a joint account holder on the bank account, which Mrs Connor used solely to receive her pension payments.

However, her daughter had missed a repayment on her £10,000 credit card debt, so the bank swooped in and took the money from the account, which happened to be Mrs Connor’s pension payment for the month.

The bank used the right of set off to take the money from the account, which is a law that allows the bank to take money from savings account to make up for missed debt repayments.

The incident occurred because Mrs Connor’s daughter, who was the one that missed the debt repayment, was a named join account holder on the account from which the money was taken.

Mrs Connor’s daughter, Louise, stated: ‘My mother needs that money to survive. She lives extremely frugally off her small UK pension and a small Canadian one and cannot afford to lose £100. I tried to tell them I was willing and trying to pay off the debt, which was originally built up because my business wasn’t doing so well, but I’m seeing green shoots and the future looks good. I don’t think they need to be so severe about this.’

Bank took pensioner’s money to recoup daughter’s debt is a post from: Glitec Loans

The figures were released several weeks ago by the Insolvency Service, and reflect just how dire the financial situation has become for many people as the recession continued to deepen.

The Insolvency Service report showed that during the first three months of this year there were over nineteen thousand bankruptcies and nearly eleven thousand Individual Voluntary Arrangements across England and Wales.

There was some light at the end of the tunnel, with the number of companies that were going bust in England and Wales falling over the first three months of the year, although the figure was still over 50 percent higher than the same period last year.

One insolvency expert said that the level of personal insolvencies across England and Wales could soar to 125,000 this year. He said: “This reflects both the stresses of high levels of personal debt and rising unemployment and a record number of entrepreneurs going bankrupt on the back of their business’s failure.“

Another said that the recently introduced Debt Relief Orders would play a big part in the increase in insolvency numbers this year, as these will make it cheaper and easier for many people to declare themselves insolvent.

He said: “What we are seeing is actually record levels of personal insolvency. Debt Relief Orders introduced just a month ago are going to add to what makes these figures and take them to even higher levels.“

New record for bankruptcy levels is a post from: Glitec Loans