November Debt news
Can you hear that whooshing noise? That’s the sound of 2012 whizzing by, as November has now come to a close.
Don’t worry though, we’ve got a roundup of all the latest debt news which’ll keep you up to date and give you some interesting facts to share with your friends (well, we think they’re interesting, but then we’re debt nerds).
Pay day interest rates to be limited?
This story just squeaked in at the end of the month, but it’s a biggie! The government plans to introduce a cap on the amount of interest payday lenders can charge. The details are a little bit sketchy ahead of amendment to the bill on Wednesday but it could mean huge changes to payday loans.
If you are struggling with a payday loan we’ve got five really useful posts on how to cope.
Spam texter fined
People say that Britain is a divided nation but one thing that we’re all united in is our hate of spam texts. So we can all breathe a sigh of relief that some of the worst spam texters have got their comeuppance when they were fined £440,000.
If your phone keeps buzzing with offers for PPI reclaim and short term loans we’ve got a really hand guide on how to deal with spam texts.
Hiding debt from partners
I’ve got a secret Twix hidden in my house that I’ve not told my wife about. It seems I’m not alone in hiding things from my partner though: one in five of us have debts we’ve kept secret from our partners.
That works out to 6.2 million people having to deal with their debts without the support of the person closest to them.
2.6 million “overwhelmed” by household bills
In slightly more sobering news, 2.6million households are struggling to get by. Keeping up with household bills and just covering the basics as our costs go up but incomes stagnate. We recently commissioned research from the University of Bristol which showed that working families are finding it harder than ever to cope.
More likely to finish a free DMP than a paid one
We’ve long suspected it but in November we saw proof that free debt management plans are more likely to succeed than paid ones. The same study also showed that those paying for debt management often didn’t know there were free alternatives available.
We’re the UK’s leading debt charity and provide free debt management plans so you should contact us if you need debt help.
Martin Lewis moves into soaps
That’s nearly the end of this month’s debt news. Before we go though, have you ever wondered what soaps would be like if MoneySavingExpert.com’s Martin Lewis wrote them? Well this spoof article from Viz will give you the answers.