Help For Debt Problems

Help For Debt Problems

Legal & Practical Help For Debt Problems in the UK

You've arrived at this page because you seek help for debt problems or have clicked through from another website and would like clarification about the service we offer.

We are part of the Debt Reform Group and our sister site, www.debtreform.org.uk is dedicated to opposing some specific aspects of our arcane debt system (and debt enforcement) which we believe are wrong and illegal.

However, changing the law takes time, and people who want help for their debt problems need this help immediately. So we've found some very useful and trusted resources and services and put together a four-part programme which does the following:

Check the legal validity of your debt(s);

Reclaim any missold payment protection insurance (PPI) which you may have made;

Claim back all your credit card charges over the last 6 years (plus interest);

Look at possibilities for debt management and re-establishing your credit worthiness.

If you wish to proceed directly to the application form then click here.

If you would like a more detailed explanation of all the above then please continue reading.

Checking The Legal Validity of Your Debts

Our experts will look at your original credit agreements to check if they contain certain "prescribed terms" as set out in the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (amended 2006). If they do not contain these terms then they may be unenforceable. This means that your lender may not enforce the collection of the debt, even through a court.

What this means in practice is that the remainder of any debt you will not be legally obliged to pay. This only applies to any credit agreements taken out before April 6th 2007, and can apply to credit cards, store cards, loans, car finance and most types of credit agreements, although it does not apply to hire purchase agreements.

The whole idea of unenforceable credit agreements has attracted some notoriety in the press recently, partly because of the lack of direction by some courts as to where this is going (similar to the decision by the Supreme Court to find for the banks in the case of bank charges but for the consumer in the case of credit card charges) and partly because some of the firms operating such a service were, frankly, doing a terrible job. Some claims companies were (and still are) charging upfront fees of anything up to £495 before even looking at a case, and then not doing much about it. These firms soon dragged the entire cliams industry into notoriety.

Thankfully the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) made a combined effort during 2009 and part of 2010 to make a cull of such companies, and many were suspended. Others were encouraged to curtail their extavagant claims and some had their licences revoked, all to the good of the consumer. But as well as protecting the consumer this also publicised the fact that there were indeed crooks out their who were out to dupe the public. Unfortunately this caused the confusion and misinformation that we're left with today.

The Solution

So we wanted to find, and to partner with, a professional claims company which was Ministry of Justice regulated, did not charge upfront fees or only charged a nominal sum, were as quick as they could possibly be in a notoriously slow system, and also allowed you to watch the progress of your case as it advanced.

To our great satisfaction we found them. And by applying from this website you will be sending your request directly to their team of advisors.

To begin your claim click here.

As to the specific process itself, experts will look at your credit agreements to check if they are unenforceable, and if so will begin the process of establishing this in law. This does not mean that we (or anyone else) can make the debt vanish. It simply means that recovery of the debt cannot be enforced, even by a court, and that you therefore do not need to continue paying it back. The debt does remains on your credit rating for 6 years, however, after which time it is removed by statute.

There are some (very few) exceptions to this where creditors have removed the item from a client's credit record because the original debt was in error and judgment entered incorrectly.

So if your debt is unenforceable it relieves you of paying a large chunk of your outgoings each month. It does not actually reclaim any money back for you. If you want to do that then there are two excellent ways of doing it which we can also help you with: by reclaiming your credit card charges over the last 6 years (plus interest), and by reclaiming any missold payment protection insurance. Let's now look at both these in detail.

Claim Back Missold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI)

For years people in the UK have been missold payment protection insurance (PPI) with loans and other credit agreements. It has been standard practice for sales people to sell insurance to cover loan repayments if things happen to you which prevent you from working or from otherwise paying back the loan. Unfortunately, it is often very difficult to make these policies pay out. If you are self-employed, or a civil servant, for example, such policies are useless. There are many reasons today why you could claim back PPI. This is now well established in law.

People have routinely been claiming back thousands of pounds successfully. If you have a policy with any company which has been found guilty of this in the past then you will almost automatically be granted yor claim. The advisor will be able to tell you more about this. The insurance company must pay you back this money, if this is the case. But you do need to apply first.

To begin your claim click here.

Special Offer: As a trial special offer we will look at multiple claims for a low upfront Admin fee of just £99 for unlimited claims for you and your household. This includes unenforceable debt, PPI and credit card charge refunds for the entire household.

Claim Back Credit Card Charges For The Last Six Years

As with PPI, your bank or credit card company must pay you back every penny of every fee or charge they have taken from you over the last 6 years, plus interest calculated at 8%, from the date you began your claim.

People sometimes get mixed up between credit card charges and the case for claiming back bank charges, which festered in the British legal system for ages until it was ruled by the Supreme Court (something of a shock decision and a deep disappointment to many) that banks do not have to pay back money which they had - in our view - unlawfully taken from their customers for many years.

However, this does not apply to credit card charges. Anyone with a credit card account is now able to demand, and get, a refund of all the charges applied to all of their accounts from 6 years before the date the claim is made. The banks must do this by law. But, equally, you must ask for it as well; they will not just send you a cheque in the post without you starting a claim.

To begin your claim click here.

Special Offer: As a trial special offer we will look at multiple claims for a low upfront Admin fee of just £99 for unlimited claims for you and your household. This includes all types of claims mentioned on this page for £99.

Debt Management and Re-Establishing A Credit Rating

Some people will seek debt management as a way of dealing with their debt problem in the long term and banishing it forever. For some this will mean setting up a formal Debt Management Programme. For a few this will mean starting an IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) which can take off up to 75% off your total unsecured debt. If you live in Scotland the equivalent is a Protected Trust Deed, which can actually take off up to 90% of unsecured debt. It has to be said, though, that there are strict limits on who is eligible for these, and most people do not qualify.

(Often people are tempted by so-called debt consolidation loans. These are only a good idea only if you know with complete certainty that you can meet the new repayments for the entire duration of the repayment term, and if you cut up all your credit cards and do not apply for more credit by other means. For most people, consolidation loans do not do anything but create more misery down the road, and for that reason we cannot recommend them.)

Most people will not seek any kind of debt management programme, and for many there will be no need. But do consider the difference to your monthly expenditure such a decision could make.

To apply click here.

Special Offer: As a trial special offer we will look at multiple claims for a low upfront Admin fee of just £99 for unlimited claims for you and your household. This includes all types of claims mentioned on this page for just £99.

Looking At The Full Picture

To make a claim use the application form below. You'll be phoned back by one of the advisors and after an informal chat they will then be in a position to assess the whole picture and to see how best you may be helped.

Some aspects may not apply to you: you may not have been missold any protection insurance, for example; or you may not want any formal debt management help. But you may want all those credit card charges back with interest. There is no one-size-fits-all answer here, no silver bullet. But there is a solution which is best for you.

So apply now and see what our experts can do for you to get the best return for your own circumstances. If things are really bad you may even be able to turn your life round at this point.

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We are registered and regulated under the Data Protection Act. Reg. No. Z1620707

We are licenced by the Office of Fair Trading. Consumer Credit Licence No. 633327

WE FULLY AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY ABIDE BY THE OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING'S BOOKLET DEBT MANAGEMENT GUIDANCE (OFT366). COPIES MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE OFFICE OF FAIR TRADING.

Help For Debt Problems is a trading name of Credit Clear UK Ltd. Registered in England and Wales. Company registration number 06606100. Credit Clear UK Ltd is regulated by the Ministry of Justice in respect of regulated claims management activities. Its registration is recorded on the website www.claimsregulation.gov.uk. Registration Authorisation number CRM 13650.