The key for all debt help is to identify that you have a problem early and to do something about it sooner rather than later. If you let your debt escalate through added interest and late penalty fees, then the problem just gets bigger and the options available to you become fewer.

We hope you have found reading this section useful there really is no reason that any kind of court action should be brought against you if you just keep your creditors informed of what is happening and make proposals to them. You should never ignore any letters demanding payment.

Before we complete this chapter, I want to just give you a few words about priority debts. Priority debts are debts like council tax, rent, electric etc. These are bills that if you do not pay there could be serious consequences. If you do not pay your council tax you could go to prison and if you do not pay your electric, you could have your electricity supply cut off and if you do not pay your rent (if you are a tenant), you could be evicted. All of these types of debts are your priority debts and if you have arrears on these types of debts then these should be declared to your other creditors e.g. banks so that they can see that you have to pay these debts first as a priority. Normal bank loans etc. cannot have the same priority as a debt that may see you homeless or imprisoned.

So in final conclusion, whether you are a homeowner or tenant, by following some of the sections in this chapter you should be able to avoid being evicted or losing your home and you should be able to avoid any king of court action being taken against you by your creditors.

 

For further information, we recommend you visit the National Debtline Website.