British Gas has confirmed that it is raising gas prices by a record 35% and electricity prices by 9%.
In what will be the final straw for beaten and dejected energy consumers the utility megalith again hiked the price of its products to the public. Far from staggering the increase they even confirmed that the rises [...]

HBOS has announced to the stockmarket that its profits before tax have fallen 72% in the first six months of the year.
Blame has been out on the credit crunch and the worsening economic climate. HBOS stated that the rise in energy costs coupled with a housing slowdown will mean that things will deteriorate even [...]

The Nationwide Building Society  has revealed its latest monthly hosuing market findings which has shown the greatest annual fall since the survey began in 1991.
 
In the last year prices fell on average 8.1% and the drop for July alone was a depressing 1.7%
Interestingly despite all the gloom that has been coming out of the housing [...]

Liverpool Victoria Banking Services have been fined £840,000 for serious failings in the sale of single premium payment protection insurance (PPI).
The fine comes as a result if an investigation into loans made to customers between January 2005 and August 2007. The investigation revealed that where telephone loan enquiries were made then Payment Protection Insurance [...]

We get quite a number of calls at the Help With Debt Advice Line from people who have been turned down for loans due to a poor credit rating or who wish to know how their credit score is calculated.
A credit score takes into account several factors which I have set out further in this [...]

A new and worrying trend is being seen across the country. A quick scan of the classified ads in the red top papers will see landlords offering “sale and rent back” schemes where they offer to buy homes for cash immediately.
 
These schemes are unregulated meaning that there is no legislation governing them leaving the operators [...]

We are getting an increasing number of calls to our helpline from people who are being chased usually by debt purchase companies for debts older than 6 years. The following advice will be invaluable.
What is the Limitation Act?
The Limitation Act 1980 is a statutory set of rule which sets out the length of time that [...]

Advisor: Hello Help With Debt, how can I help?
Caller: I’m going to Bromley County Court tomorrow, how do I get there.
Advisor: I’m sorry this is a debt helpline, not google maps, have you tried calling the court or searching for driving directions?
 
Not a typical question you expect but it is funny the type of [...]

New research from the Insolvency Practitioners body R3 has unsurprisingly concluded that the number of consumers expecting to either petition for their own bankruptcy or enter into an IVA, due to the inability to manage their debts to rise significantly in the coming year. This conclusion mirrors what we are finding here at Help With [...]

 
Despite the credit crunch Sainsbury’s are expecting that spending on credit cards will continue to be strong this summer. This may be because people do not have cash at bank and still intend to enjoy the summer as best they can. Retail sales were strong in May but suffered a fall in June. It is [...]