Debt Advice From the Money Saving Expert

Martin Lewis and Debt Counseling Agency CCCS Work Together

Jul 15, 2009 Neil Gunn

Martin Lewis is without doubt one of the UKs best known financial journalists. With a refreshing no nonsense style, his advice on debt matters is much sought after.

Martin Lewis, recently revealed as the most searched name in the UK, is often heard on radio and seen on television offering advice on a range of money saving matters. His Money Saving Expert website has over 7 million users every month and around 3.5 million receive his regular email which contains a range of ways to save money and deal with debt.

Debt Crisis

An often heard mantra from him is: “Debt isn’t bad, bad debt is bad,” and is a recurring feature in the section of his website that deals with “debt crisis."

Personal Debt

Lewis defines a personal debt crisis as when a person can’t afford to make even the minimum repayments on all debts or meet all necessary outgoings. He makes the point however that it’s important to establish whether or not there actually is a real problem with personal debt or whether it's a matter of restructuring to bring down the cost of the outstanding debt.

Martin Lewis offers a range of sensible advice for those with debt worries, including:

Budget planning
Council Tax rebanding
Bank charges
PPI reclaiming
Help with mortgage arrears

Debt denial can be a way of life for many people but at what level does debt become a problem. As a benchmark he suggests that if a person’s non-mortgage debts are bigger than a year’s after tax salary then the debt problem is quite severe.

Debt Counseling Agency

If debts are severe, his advice is to contact one of the free and independent debt counseling agencies (some of these are listed at the end of this article).

Among the benefits of doing so, is for example the ability to stop debt collector’s harassment for thirty days. This is now possible thanks to an agreement between the government and the Credit Services Association (the body that represents debt collecting agents).

The online forum on Martin Lewis’s website is a busy one. Although it's organised in the normal way – one person posts a question and others answer, there is now an added dimension.

Consumer Credit Counseling Service

The forum now has a link with the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) where questions can be answered by a trained debt counselor. This can be done on the open forum or can be answered privately.

There is also a link to the CCCS’s “Debt Remedy” web page. Debt Remedy is a completely confidential on-line service which, based on individual circumstances, will help people decide what course of action to take.

For those who may have a particular question, a trained debt counsellor is available for consultation.

The organisations listed below can help those seeking help on personal debt matters.

Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS)
Credit Action
UK Insolvency Helpline
Citizens Advice Bureau

The information in this short article is not exhaustive and does not constitute financial advice.

Sources:

Hitwise (part of the credit reference agency Experian), UK Online Search Update, February 2009

Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert, Debt problems

Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), Debt Remedy

The copyright of the article Debt Advice From the Money Saving Expert in Personal Budgeting/Finance is owned by Neil Gunn. Permission to republish Debt Advice From the Money Saving Expert in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.