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I know that this is hard to believe but you can do your own credit repair or reduction. There are people who do their own taxes and repair their own car, but most of the time people choose to hire a professional to help them with any of these situations.

There is nothing wrong with leaving a responsibility like this to experienced people who know what they are doing. If you are into hiring other people who specialize in freeing people from credit debt, then you will want to find a company that can negotiate reductions on our debt principle and interest. You will want to see if they are knowledgeable and experienced in the industry.

The greatest thing about getting help from a debt reduction company is the amount of phone calls that are stopped. Many of us know that there are federal and state laws that protect you from creditor harassment, the main goal that you will want to accomplish is getting your creditors to call the professional helping you get out of debt.

The company should be able to work towards minimizing the amount of calls that go to you. In addition, the company should know how to handle the violators of the credit counselor will work with you to make sure violators Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) out of your hair.

What you will want to do is keep researching and finding out exactly how a company can service your needs when it comes to debt repair.

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At first credit cards began as a high end solution for those with the means and the financial know-how to use them sensibly. Regrettably, over time they shifted from being a tool for the financially savvy and became necessary for the average American family. Even worse, the typical household didnt only have one bank card, but rather had several lines of credit with many separate lenders. These accounts were used to acquire everything from fuel at the local filling station to large ticket technology gadgets. Although the immediate satisfaction of instantaneous purchases was wonderful, the month-to-month burden of ongoing credit card debt has become a totally separate story altogether.

With such out of hand growth in the spending habits of the average shopper, the consumer lending industry has grown to enormous proportions. Along with this growth has come the rapidly growing problem of significant amounts of debt. In fact, current reports based on the 2010 Federal Reserve report The Survey of Consumer Payment Choice indicate that of households carrying credit card debt, the average balance owed by these households is approximately ,750.00. To gain a better idea of how this debt piles up, it is essential to have an understanding of the process that occurs each time a credit card is used.

Your charge card is issued by a lender, who under the terms of your agreement agrees to give credit to you up to a stated dollar amount. Each time you make a purchase using your charge card, you are borrowing against that approved limit and creating a debt balance with the issuer. Your credit card debt is the total amount that has been lent to you and is payable to the creditor. The majority of consumer credit agreements call for the settlement of the debt on a monthly basis. If the debt is not settled on a monthly basis, a minimum payment is required that includes both a reduction of principal and an interest charge for the outstanding balance. When the minimum payment is not sufficient to cover the accrued interest charged against the account, the actual balance of the account ends up growing. This means that the consumer may in fact have a higher outstanding balance even after they have made their minimum payment.

The problem is, every time this scenario repeats itself, the balance continues to grow. Unfortunately the new balance is not only the interest accumulating on the original amount of credit extended, but it is now accruing on interest that has been charged previously. It is this vicious cycle that snowballs the credit card debt up to the point that it can no longer be managed by the consumer. It is at this point that the consumer has no choice but to turn to outside sources of credit card debt settlement.

You’re sitting there one day, off from work due to the stress of your unsecured debts weighing heavily upon your shoulders. Suddenly, in the background noise from the TV you hear a fantastic deal – consolidate your existing debts into ‘one easy affordable loan’. You think wow, just what I need to get my debts under control and you get the sales blurb.

Sounds great doesn’t it?

Debt consolidation in the UK is not a new phenomena these days. It’s been around a while. Lots of people have taken out debt busting consolidation loans. So why is the amount of debt in the UK still rising so fast? And why are bankruptcies, IVA’s and debt counselling services stretched to their limits and running at all time high figures right now? Well people get sold on the advantages but I’d recommend thinking about the disadvantages too!

Advantages of debt consolidation UK

Well the interest rate normally comes down on the unsecured debt amount borrowed making the monthly payments easier to afford.

Your debts come under control quickly so the annoying telephone calls and letters from irate creditors stops.

Disadvantages of debt consolidation UK (this is the bit they don’t want you to think too hard about)

To get a debt consolidation loan usually requires some form of property. By consolidating the unsecured debts to your home some of the equity has now been lost. So what was once an unsecured debt now forms part of a charge over your property. Every legal advert in the UK selling this type of service will point out in the small print that your home is at risk if you fail to keep up payments on (this now larger) secured loan. So you’ve put more risk onto your property. I regularly meet people who have bought their house maybe 20 years ago for figures like £80,000 on a house worth £110,000 to find that a decade on they have a house worth (say) £180,000 with a new debt consolidated mortgage of £150,000. So they still only have a similar amount of equity in the property but also have a mortgage now nearly double in size!

Another disadvantage is that the term of the borrowing is usually increased. Well sometimes the debt consolidation companies in the UK will sell that as a benefit with a line like ‘you can take longer to pay your debt and allow yourself time to get on top of your borrowing over the coming years’. I find that an odd statement. You have doubled your mortgage in a decade and you have found yourself in debt but suddenly your spending habits will change and you’ll be debt free at some point in the future. What are your thoughts as you read that? Another interesting point arises here. Because the term is often longer, you will possibly end up paying much more of your hard earned money for that unsecured borrowing by the time you pay off your new secured lending.

Did the debt consolidation company ask what your lifetime ambitions are? You see, you may have got out of the immediate debt issues but you may just also have signed away the possibility of that early retirement / new car / that holiday to see your family down under too. You see, if the amount you are paying back is higher than you had budgeted for then you may need to work longer to achieve your dreams. Was this discussed with you?

Did you consider at least 6 solutions for getting our of debt trouble before you decided on your debt consolidation loan? Can the company you speak to even name 6 solutions for getting out of debt trouble? If not then you have ignored several other options that may have been more suitable for the financial position you found yourself in. It’s rare indeed to find loan and mortgage brokers that are fully trained in solutions to tackle insolvency and debt issues. They have their offering and will talk about the monthly repayment figures to demonstrate how you could be better off, but is it the best way forward? Well naturally, that depends on your situation.

A final word on debt consolidation in the UK

Now, I do believe that debt consolidation has its place but I also think that there could be more done to understand that there are other options for getting out of debt. Getting the right debt help and advice is essential. Look at the advantages and the disadvantages for each solution you consider for debt resolution and then make a more informed decision.

There are more options for getting out of debt trouble then most people realise, that includes debt consolidation but is not limited to just that course of action.

If you would like to know what the 6 solutions to debt in the UK are then you can get debt help and advice from Ed Pearson at Debt Dr.

Ed Pearson is a Debt Dr. Debt Dr specialise in debt help and advice for individuals and small businesses. Ed can be contacted on 0845 123 4000 or in confidence on 07970 659266.

http://www.debtDr.co.uk ‘prescribing life without debt’

This article does not constitute regulated advice. Please remember that any action regarding financial advice should always be taken only after considering the specifics of your own situation.

To find out more about Ed try, http://www.ecademy.com/account.php?id=41788

Ed Pearson is a Debt Dr offering debt help and advice to individuals and small businesses across the UK.

Whilst you may love the stuff he writes, you should only ever take action once you have considered your own set of financial circumstances with a professional. This article does not constitute financial advice.

Please e-mail if you’d like to chat further on any area of your debt finance or take the debt quiz now here: [http://www.advice4debt.co.uk/debtquiz.htm]