Wednesday 13th of October 2010
Asking individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) questions could be a wise choice for Brits who have serious money troubles as a result of excessively spending on reward credit cards.
Recent figures from the British Bankers' Association show there were 173 million purchases on plastic in August, compared to 169 million the month before and 158 million in the same period of time in 2009.
However, Raffick Marday from compareprepaid.co.uk, said reward credit cards, which offer people things like loyalty points, could lead consumers into debt.
He says: "Unless you can pay for your reward credit card in full [each month] it is not worth getting one."
If you can't do this, what you pay in interest will be more than what you gain as a result of the scheme, Mr Marday adds.
Questions on IVAs could, though, offer assistance to those who have already ended up in the red because of excessive credit card use.
The measure offers you the chance to wipe out money owed on unsecured financial products worth more than £15,000 over a period of around five years.
And you could find the process teaches you the discipline to avoid potentially expensive plastic transactions in the future.
By Rachel Powell
- 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 help repay post-Christmas debt
