Thursday 26th of November 2009
A soldier who served in Afghanistan says that bankruptcy is his only option to repay a £6,500 debt, although a debt management plan can prove more beneficial than such a last resort.
Neil McCallion, 25, has been ordered by a judge to pay all of the money back for a mobile phone bill he received two weeks before being posted to Afghanistan in 2006, the Daily Record reports.
He claims he did not discover the debt until two years after he returned to the UK. Now he has to pay £3,000 by the end of the year and £100 a month for the next three years.
Britons who have a similar level of debt may qualify for a debt management plan, which is a less severe route than bankruptcy and can avoid consequences such as a family home being put at risk.
A debt management plan can enable borrowers to make a more manageable monthly payment, rather than being dictated to by a court how much should be repaid and when.
Mr McCallion tells the newspaper: "After rent, council tax and the rest of my outgoings, I am not left with any spare money at the end of the month. My only option is to go bankrupt - it is a total nightmare."
By Kim Parsons
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