Atlantic Financial Management urges consumers to tackle debts now

Kevin Still, Director, Atlantic Financial Management says:

“There are many people in the UK who have always been scrupulous about paying their bills on time, but through no fault of their own, now face a very challenging 2011 whether through redundancy, reduced hours or benefit cuts against increased day to day living costs.  

“The temptation to pay the minimum on credit card bills will be hard to resist when finances are tight but we would urge people to avoid this if at all possible. Credit cards incur high interest charges which can all too quickly mount up and by Spring, households could find that the amount they owe has increased out of all proportion to the original debt.  This misery will be compounded if interest rates rise as predicted, hitting mortgage repayments, loans and credit cards.

“Now is the time to take action on debts rather than avoid them and end up paying the price for months or even years down the line.  If finances really are stretched to the limit, prioritise your secured debts such as your mortgage along with council tax, utilities and critical insurance.   Then contact your credit card provider to discuss your financial situation – the worst thing you can do is ignore the bills – they won’t go away.”

A Debt Management Plan (DMP) from a debt solutions provider such as Atlantic can prove invaluable when unsecured debts become unmanageable.  A new schedule of payments can often be negotiated with all the creditors and will ensure rent, mortgage, energy and council tax bills get paid before other unsecured debts.  

Atlantic Financial Management offers a range of debt solutions including Debt Management Plans, IVAs, Protected Trust Deeds and Bankruptcy advice and its expert legal support team prioritises dealing with any court actions an individual or household may be facing. It also offers a number of money saving tools including energy switching and a prepaid current account.

One of Atlantic’s trained and understanding Debt Advisors will confidentially discuss an individual’s financial circumstances over the phone and provide initial debt advice without obligation. Once they know more about the current financial situation, the best debt solution for their circumstances will be recommended.

If a Debt Management Plan is chosen, Atlantic will then complete a statement-of-affairs, from which it can work out which payments are prioritised and which can be negotiated.  Priority debts, such as mortgage, secured loans, rent, council tax and utility bills must be paid first and Atlantic makes allowances for these in the client’s  monthly budget and statement of affairs.

Atlantic’s business model is based upon very early contact with your creditors to advise them of their appointment and to commence the debt repayment negotiation process at the earliest point possible. Atlantic is licensed to use the Common Financial Statement, which is widely accepted by creditors and their collecting agents.