Debt

Our Debt advisors are Samantha Baker, Christian Sweeney and Nick Lee.

Debt advice continues to be our fastest growing area of work and we have advised our clients on various options in order to deal with insolvency.

 

An Administration Order (AO) is a single county court order that covers debts which are all treated together. It allows our clients to make a single payment every month into the court. The court staff will then divide the money amongst all creditors included in the Order on a pro-rata basis. An AO stops creditors from taking further action, which clearly is a source of relief for clients.

 

Figures from the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines make interesting reading. Nationally the number of AOs in 2006 rocketed by 92% to 5710. In the last year at the Wiltshire law Centre a significant number of clients had debts below £5000 and an AO was a real solution for our clients. We have assisted a number of them to successfully apply for an AO and to successfully include Council Tax arrears in the Order.

 

Over the last year we have referred a number of clients for an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) where they prefer this option and there is spare disposable income monthly to offer to creditors. Often in reality an IVA proposal may be refused by the creditors ultimately resulting in a long term Debt Management Plan (DMP) or bankruptcy. We refer clients to reputable IVA practitioners to consider this option to deal with their insolvency.

 

Ultimately bankruptcy can be the only option to deal with overwhelming debts and at the Wiltshire Law Centre we provide a thorough investigation for our clients as to whether bankruptcy is their best option prior to assisting clients through the bankruptcy application and procedure.

 

During 2007 the clients we assisted through the bankruptcy procedure range from those following repossession, unemployment, ill health and a significant drop in income through a change of circumstances. 

 

Our clients have described the enormous sense of relief they have felt following petitioning their own bankruptcy and have felt that through dealing with their overwhelming debts through bankruptcy they are able to start to move forward in life.

 

The Debt Relief Order (DRO) came into effect in April 2009 and will significantly help some people with debts over £5000 but below £15000. Sam is an approved DRO Intermediary.

Click here to find out more information about Debt Relief Orders and alternatives to Bankruptcy.

Click here for information on how to deal with Baliffs when you have Council Tax Arrears.