Canterbury is an area covered by the national debt Debt Advice Service

IVA / bankruptcy debt advice Canterbury

Please note that Money Advice Direct Debt Advice Service is a national organisation covering the entire UK. Please note that the service operates from offices in London and a national telephone advice centre in the north of England. The service does not operate a physical office or a seperate team in each of the city and regions listed on this page.

Canterbury is a city in eastern Kent in the South East region of England. It lies on the River Stour, and along with the towns of Whitstable and Herne Bay is in the local government district of the City of Canterbury.

If you live or near Canterbury and need debt advice you can contact Money Advice Direct on 0800 074 6918 for confidential, non-judgemental, advice. The national debt advice team cover the whole UK including Canterbury. The service provides non-judgemental and confidential advice to local residents about housing and benefit related problems.

It is estimated that as many as 10,000 people from Canterbury will call Money Advice Direct over the next 18 months. This is based on research showing a million people in the UK are at risk of getting into problem debt because of the state of the economy - and many of them won’t realise how serious, and stressful, the situation can become if it isn’t kept under control.

To contact an advisor call 0800 074 6918. Alternatively complete an online enquiry form and an advisor will call you back at the time that you specify.

The best starting point is to sit down with a piece of paper and a calculator, and add up all of the amounts owed, including credit card bills, mortgage or rent arrears, short term loans, etc; but don't panic as a member of the debt advice team can help with the budget process if you need them to.

The next stage of escaping 'bad debt' is to take back financial control - which means cutting spending, and putting a repayment plan in place. One of the best starting points is to create a set of priorities in terms of how debt on cards and loans will be repaid; in most cases it is best to pay off credit cards first, starting with those of the highest APR. When behind with some payments, it may be necessary to renegotiate payment terms with some of the companies money is owed to.

Methods of dealing with debt most commonly used in Canterbury

The majority of people in Canterbury who face debt problems have not got there because they have an extravagant lifestyle. They are there because of a change in circumstances: redundancy, a breakdown in a relationship, illness or simply because they've been living for some time on a very low income. The following debt solutions are the ones most commonly prescribed to resident of Canterbury.

IVA – Individual Voluntary Arrangement – If you have enough money left over after paying your priority creditors and essential expenses, you may be able to arrange an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA).

An IVA is a legal agreement with creditors (usually non-priority creditors) to repay your debts. This could either be in part or in full. The arrangement is negotiated, written up and checked regularly by an independent solicitor or accountant called an Insolvency Practitioner. Not all the creditors have to agree to an IVA as long as the creditors to whom you owe 75% of your debt agree. Individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) are proving an even better alternative to bankruptcy. They allow consumers to freeze their debts, usually keep their houses and pay off a proportion of what they owed over five years.

To apply for an IVA please click HERE

DMP – Debt Management Plan - If you have enough money left over after paying your priority creditors and essential expenses, you may be able to arrange a debt management plan. A debt management plan is an arrangement with your creditors to pay back the debt by regular installments. Instead of you speaking to your creditors yourself to arrange the plan, a debt management organisation does it for you. To apply for an Debt Management Plan please click HERE or call 0800 074 6918.

Bankruptcy – If you have no money left over in your budget, or you have so little that it will take many years for you to re-pay your debts, you may want to look at bankruptcy as an option.

Going bankrupt can take the pressure of creditors away from you. You are allowed to keep certain things, like household goods and a reasonable amount to live on. When the bankruptcy order is over, you can make a fresh start and the money you owe is usually written off. In many cases, this can be after only one year. Creditors have to stop most types of court action to get their money back following a bankruptcy order (but in some cases the bailiffs may still be able to take your belongings away).

There are disadvantages to going bankrupt, such as:-

• It will cost you money (up to £500) to go bankrupt
• If you own your own home, it will usually have to be sold if there is equity in it
• Some of your possessions might have to be sold, for example, you will usually lose your car and any luxury items you own
• If you own a business, it is more than likely that your business will be closed down and your employees sacked
• You can't keep your bankruptcy private. A list of bankrupt people is published on the internet and your case could also be published in your local newspaper
• Even when you are no longer bankrupt, you could have another order, called a bankruptcy restrictions order made against you. These orders can be made if, for example, you took on debts knowing that you had no hope of paying them back. A bankruptcy restrictions order can last for 15 years and will make your financial affairs very restricted
• Even when you are no longer bankrupt, there are some debts such as court fines and student loans that will never be written off.

Advice Centres in Canterbury and Herne Bay in Kent

• Advice Bureau
  3 Westgate Hall Road
  Canterbury
  CT1
• Advice Bureau
  Herne Bay
  High Street
  Herne Bay
  CT6
• Advice Bureau
  Whitstable outreach
  Oxford St
  Whitstable
  CT5

If you live in the Canterbury area and are facing severe financial difficulties Money Advice Direct may be able to help you. To contact an advisor call 0800 074 6918. Alternatively complete an online enquiry form and an advisor will call you back at the time that you specify.

Please note that the Bankruptcy-Insolvency.co.uk Debt Service is a national organisation covering the entire UK. Please note that the service operates from offices in London and a national telephone advice centre in the north of England. The service does not operate a physical office or a seperate team in each of the city and regions listed on this page.

This is a list of offical cities within the United Kingdom covered by Money Advice Direct.  

• Aberdeen
• Armagh
• Bangor
• Bath
• Belfast
• Birmingham
• Bradford
• Brighton and Hove
• Bristol
• Cambridge
• Canterbury
• Cardiff
• Carlisle
• Chester
• Chichester
• City of London
• Coventry
• Derby
• Dundee
• Durham
• Edinburgh
• Ely
• Exeter
• Glasgow
• Gloucester
• Hereford
• Inverness
• Kingston upon Hull
• Lancaster
• Leeds
• Leicester
• Lichfield
• Lincoln
• Lisburn
• Liverpool
• London
• Londonderry
• Manchester
• Newcastle upon Tyne
• Newport
• Newry
• Norwich
• Nottingham
• Oxford
• Peterborough
• Plymouth
• Portsmouth
• Preston
• Ripon
• Salford
• Salisbury
• Sheffield
• Southampton
• St Albans
• St Davids
• Stirling
• Stoke-on-Trent
• Sunderland
• Swansea
• Truro
• Wakefield
• Wells
• Westminster
• Winchester
• Wolverhampton
• Worcester
• York
  

List of counties covered by Money Advice Direct

• Avon
• Bedfordshire
• Berkshire
• Borders
• Buckinghamshire
• Cambridgeshire
• Central
• Cheshire
• Cleveland
• Clwyd
• Cornwall
• County Antrim
• County Armagh
• County Down
• County Fermangh
• County Londonderry
• County Tyrone
• Cumbria
• Derbyshire
• Devon
• Dorset
• Dumfries and Galloway
• Durham
• Dyfed
• East Sussex
• Essex
• Fife
• Gloucestershire
• Grampian
• Greater Manchester
• Gwent
• Gwynedd County
• Hampshire
• Herefordshire
• Hertfordshire
• Highlands and Islands
• Humberside
• Isle of Wight
• Kent
• Lancashire
• Leicestershire
• Lincolnshire
• Lothian
• Merseyside
• Mid Glamorgan
• Norfolk
• North Yorkshire
• Northamptonshire
• Northumberland
• Nottinghamshire
• Oxfordshire
• Powys
• Rutland
• Shropshire
• Somerset
• South Glamorgan
• South Yorkshire
• Staffordshire
• Strathclyde
• Suffolk
• Surrey
• Tayside
• Tyne and Wear
• Warwickshire
• West Glamorgan
• West Midlands
• West Sussex
• West Yorkshire
• Wiltshire
• Worcestershire