IVA’s were introduced by the government over 25 years ago and are there to help people who are in debt and can’t afford to pay the full amount back to creditors, but can make a reasonable offer.

The first step to take if you are looking for help with your debts is to contact one of our team; we can then discuss your individual situation and advise you accordingly. If we believe an IVA is best for you, we will begin by putting you in touch with our insolvency practitioners who can start to draw up your case.

Once your case has been finalised, a meeting with your creditors will be arranged; we will put forward your case and there will be a vote as to whether the creditors will accept the terms of the IVA. If accepted, all you will need to worry about is keeping up to date with your monthly payments, which we will have agreed on.

You need to make sure you fully understand all of the ins and outs of an IVA; something that the team here at Assured Money Solutions can help you with. We pride ourselves on ensuring you get the right solution for your requirements. To find out more, feel free to browse the website or call one of the team on 0800 612 2472.

Debt will not only leave you unable to meet the costs of living, but the stress of a constant financial struggle can also take its toll on your health and your relationships. A debt management plan organised by our expert team will reduce your debt repayments into one affordable monthly payment. This is the best way to make your debt more manageable, and can give you the chance to create a new monthly budget which is much more realistic for your income.

Assured Money Solutions will work as a mediator between you and your creditors to establish a repayment plan which is much more affordable for your household. We aim where possible to achieve reduced or frozen interest rates and charges, which can help you to enjoy more manageable repayments.

It is important to emphasise that debt management is a long-term solution to debt, and does not provide an instant fix to financial problems. In the short-term, your credit rating may be affected by entering into a debt management agreement, and your level of debt will not be immediately reduced.

As well as debt management, Assured Money Solutions can offer a range of other debt solutions, including IVAs, as well as mortgage and financial services. To discuss our debt management plans with a member of our experienced team, get in touch with us today.

There really has been a large upturn in those taking on payday loans (National Debtline receive 1200 payday problems a month compared with 200 a year earlier),since 2007 mainstream lenders have been pulling the plugs on the general publics ability to gain access to credit pushing many of the most vulnerable members of society into the hands of payday loans.

On top of this there has been constant unfair critisicsm of the debt management industry by certain parts of the media (yes there are definitely rogue traders but the OFT police these companies pretty well) which has further pushed some of the public down the route of payday.

Here are just 4 rates that are currently on display: Paydayloans.org.uk 1737% APR, 1monthloan.co.uk 2957% APR, lendingstream 3043% APR. wonga.com 4214% APR. Now these providers would tell you “Yes but if you borrow £100 off your friend down the pub and pay them back £20 for doing so a month later you would think nothing about that and that would also amount to an eye watering APR or we only borrow small amounts of money over short amounts of time or Yes but work out the APR of an unauthorised bank overdraft that goes over the limit for a terrifying APR” .

Well we can sort of see the point BUT; and this is a BIG BUT, your friend down the pub does not normally charge interest and banks soon pull the plug on unauthorised over-drafts. Debt Management Company Payplan surveyed their clients and had a similar experience to ourselves at AMS,they found 33% of people with debt issues take out a payday loan and worringly 56.2% of these loans were above £500 and only 1 in 5 were less than £100, that’s a big loan compared to average pay. On top of this 47% of these clients with debt issues had taken out more than 6 loans in just a 12 month period and a huge 86% of the money borrowed was being spent on “essential expenditure” i.e. food, petrol, insurance, etc.

This whole area needs to be looked at and quickly in our opinion, if your considering a payday loan STOP and make sure you have considered all the options, is it more credit you need or is the problem that you can’t afford your exsisting unsecured credit.

Next week we will look at Pawnbrokers  in our  Money Matters column and how its worth shopping around if you are about to cash in on the families gold !

The basic principle of bankruptcy is to offer you legal protection which means your creditors will not be able to harass or contact you in any way. We will be a helping hand throughout this process, offering you full support and guidance in this difficult time.

Although we offer bankruptcy as a debt solution, we do advise that it be used as a last resort and our debt management team will assist you in finding the right solution for your situation.

Once bankruptcy has been declared, it is important that there will be restrictions on what further lending you are able to take out, for instance you won’t be eligible to obtain a bank account that has a credit facility attached to it.

A bankruptcy order lasts for 12 months and details of which will be published in the local newspapers and on the Insolvency Register. There are however other alternatives to bankruptcy, something that our committed team will be able to discuss with you.

If you think bankruptcy could be the ideal solution for your money worries, contact us here at Assured Money Solutions as we have a dedicated team who will offer you full support throughout your journey. To find out more about our services, feel free to browse our website or call us on 0800 612 2472.

Hope you enjoyed todays show where we featured on the latest credit card deals and how shopping around could save you lots of money, especially if you are in need of credit card debt advice. Its much better to use credit wisely and one of the best ways to do that is to shop around for the very best deals you can find. Why pay an APR when you don’t have to, we have just come back from a trip to Northern Ireland where debt advice is absolutely essential. 1 in 4 people are failing to pay back their payday loans, this means that great debt management is key to helping lots of people get out of financial trouble.

As some of our listeners may know we are also the Nottingham Posts personal financial columnists as well as or course Mansfield radios debt doctor team. Here is today’s AMS Money Matters column which we write and appears every Wednesday on page 12 which covers specifically what I spoke about with regard to getting the best possible credit card deal, particularly if your in need of credit card debt advice. Until next time, Nic Eatch on behalf of the AMS Debt Dr team from Mansfield 103.2 FM.

FOR many people a very unwelcome visitor is just about to enter their home…..yes it’s the credit card bill from Christmas.
We find, as do many debt advice centres nationwide, a real spike of people looking for help for debt advice at this time of the year. We thought it would be useful to look at the latest deals on credit cards as choosing the right one is important.

Reports show up to 7,000,000 people using unsecured credit such as cards to pay for household expense.

What are your priorities when choosing a credit card? Here are just a few key questions.

Do you need a long 0% balance transfer option period?

Do you have a very high balance and, therefore, the size of the transfer fee is important to you?

Are you going to be using your card for important purchases and therefore the rate on purchases is key?

Do you have bad credit or are you looking to build your credit rating?

 Our favourite for balance transfer options is the Barclaycard Platinum with 21 months of 0% balance transfers and a 2.6% fee (there are longer options but the transfer fees increase up to 3.2%). The only downside is you need to have income in excess of £20,000 pa.

If the balance transfer fee is the most important thing, RBS and NATWEST offer to non account customers a 1% fee and 0% for 13 months, ideal for high balances.
If your looking to use your credit card for important purchases and want a long 0% period then by far and away the most competitive is the Nationwide card with 17 months 0% on balance transfers and 18 months 0% on purchases and with a very competitive
12.9% APR and 2.95% fee on transfers. However, you need to hold a Nationwide account so you might like to look at the M&S card with 15 months 0% on purchases and typically an APR of 15.9% thereafter.
Finally if your credit profile is bad the best card we can find is the Aquis at 29.8% APR. For getting on the credit ladder and building your rating the team at AMS liked the Barclaycard Initial, with credit limits between £250 and £1,000 and an APR of 29.9%
typically.

See all the deals at www.moneysupermarket.com/credit-cards/ which we find at ams is one of the easiest sites to navigate around for credit card information.
Remember, only spend what you can afford and spend the time researching for a credit card that is fit for purpose….do you really need one?

If you have heard about the benefits of an IVA and think this could be the solution for you, there has never been a better time to get in touch with us. There are multiple advantages of setting up and maintaining an IVA and we are able to guide you through this entire process, however we are also on hand to explain the disadvantages that an IVA could potentially carry for you.

Within our trusted debt management services, we have a team of highly trained and experienced Insolvency Practitioners. Once you have spoken to us over the phone and explained your individual set of circumstances, we will appoint a qualified practitioner to work closely with you in order to set up an IVA.

There are many ways in which our practitioners will help to get the IVA up and running; one of which is drafting a letter to your creditors outlining your proposal and inviting them to a meeting in order to discuss and negotiate the revised payment plan as outlined in the letter.

When you get in touch with Assured Money Solutions to discuss an IVA, you can rest assured that the service we provide is always completely professional, pro-active and sensitive. For further information with regards to setting up and maintaining an IVA, simply search our website today where you will find a host of reading material.

Following on from David Cameron’s New Year’s message to the UK, the AMS Debt Dr reiterated his message of ‘Let’s go for it’ in 2012, but not before you set out your financial goals! It is without doubt that the eyes of the World will be on the UK this year with the coming of the 2012 Olympic games and the Diamond Jubilee celebrations – could this be the opportunity you need to ride on the back of this positivity and put your dreams into action? Firstly though, you need to write down your financial goals and aspirations and then plan when you want to achieve them by. ‘Don’t boil the Ocean’, says he. In other words, don’t make a list as long as your arm as this is usually unachievable and unrealistic.  Simply list the bigger goals (maybe 2/3 at the most) and have them as your main focus. What you’ll find during the year is that the smaller goals will take care of themselves, as if by magic! But don’t be fooled, it’s not by magic, it’s by you and that’s something you should be very proud of.

The key to all of the above is acceptance that something needs to change in your life – be that to improve your fitness, well-being or your finances, acceptance of change is key. As was said earlier, it doesn’t have to be a list as long as your arm but something that’s realistic and achievable. Whatever your goals or aspirations, help and support is usually available, be that in the form of friends, family or professional organisations such as CAB or AMS. I suppose what we’re saying at AMS is not to bury your head in the sand. Get help and support if you feel it’s needed and be sure to be proud of the goals you achieve.

Good luck in 2012 from Lee Dunville on behalf of the team at AMS home of the Debt Doctor.

We have recently received the results of a customer questionnaire which we conducted, and we are delighted to announce that we are continuing to meet, and in some cases exceed, the expectations of our customers.

When asked how good we were at delivering certain advice and guidance:

•    91.3% said we were quite or very good at providing clear advice about what to expect next.

•    85.7% said we were quite or very good at providing advice and support to help them stay on track with their debt management plan.

•    82.2% said we were quite or very good at keeping them regularly updated with regards to any changes to their situation.

•    94.7% said we were easily contactable when they required assistance.

What’s more, when you seek the assistance of our advisors here at Assured Money Solutions, you can be confident that we will make every effort to understand your situation in order to determine which solution would be most beneficial for you; whether that be debt management, IVAs or filing for bankruptcy and 91% of the customers asked said that we were quite or very good at explaining the range of solutions available to them.

Whilst we have received numerous glowing testimonials, one in particular describes the ethos of our company perfectly: ‘They’ve been really good to us, listened and not judged us, really helpful and accommodating. They listened to what we wanted and it’s gone more smoothly than I ever thought it would.’

So, if you are looking for a team of ‘very friendly, reassuring and very approachable’ specialists to assist you with your debt management requirements, don’t hesitate to contact us here at Assured Money Solutions today.

The team at ams ppiguy had asked for all previous loans and previous settlements to be taken into consideration e.g. unfair settlements. Daz had seen one of the ams posters in the washrooms at the East Midlands Designer Outlet, these can also be seen in Glasgow at the Enoch Centre, in London at the Islington Shopping centre and also on Oxford Street, as well as at the Brentwood shopping centre in Essex and the Fleetwood shopping centre in the North West.

Daz is going to put the money away for a rainy day which is most sensible and have a nice little holiday to boot. Dont forget to get one of our expert claims handlers on the case simply text PPI to 60777.

Anyway click on the link “MY STORY”and you can listen to Daz Lowes story, until next time Nic Eatch on behalf of the team at AMS home of the ppiguy.

http://www.zero-credit.co.uk/uploads/7/0/7/0/7070694/ams_customer_satisfaction_summary_1.pdf

http://subscribers.zero-credit.co.uk/uploads/7/0/7/0/7070694/ams_customer_satisfaction_summary_1.pdf

These links will take you straight through to our ams debt advice survey results. If you need help with money simply text MONEY to 66777 thank you.