Tuesday 22nd of December 2009
If you have been prioritising your energy bills over your non-essential unsecured debt such as personal loan repayments, then you could find yourself needing an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) in the future.
When you are faced with a number of bills, you will probably pay your mortgage and energy expenses first to protect your family home as much as possible.
But this could lead you to neglect your unsecured debt commitments. And with Which? predicting that energy bills are set to soar to more than £2,600 over the next decade for a three-bedroom semi, an IVA could become an increasingly popular option for Britons in significant debt.
While an IVA cannot answer your energy bill rises, it can freeze the interest on your unsecured debt commitments, like personal loans. If less interest is being paid, you could have some spare cash to put towards your energy bills.
Almost three-quarters of you admit you are worried about how you would be able to afford an increase in energy prices.
"Energy is going to get a lot more expensive over the next decade so the only way to avoid bigger bills is to use less of it," says Which? editor Martyn Hocking.
By Neil Burton
- House price rise 'may not indicate recovery'
- Equity release 'needs to be increased'
- Need for IVA help could increase as expert predicts reduction in lending
- Government announces 'breathing space' for those needing IVA help
- Lack of subprime lending creating need for IVA help, expert suggests
- IVAs could stabilise finances of people trapped by in-store credit
