Thursday 4th of February 2010
Individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) questions may be increasingly asked by self-employed Britons as many continue to feel the impact of the recession.
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) reveals that from December 2009 to January 2010, calls to its helpline from self-employed people rose by 78 per cent.
Last month 739 self-employed individuals asked for help, compared to 415 the previous month.
Should the economic downturn have placed pressure on their careers then many may have climbing debts of more than £15,000 which an IVA could tackle.
IVAs can be undertaken by self-employed Britons as long as they can prove that their business will continue to make a profit, providing them with an income to meet their IVA repayments.
Laura Carver, CCCS helpline manager, says: "We have received thousands of calls from self-employed and sole traders over the past year and heard a lot of stories of people struggling to manage their personal debts while running a business."
Personal debts including unsecured loans, credit and store cards may be able to be serviced with an IVA, which freezes the interest rates on such balances, giving self-employed people a helping hand.
By Chris King
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