CAB takes debt advice service on the road

‘DEALING with Debt’ Money Advisor Mrs Rose Edge, who is based at Lisburn Citizens Advice Bureau, recently took part in a roadshow at St. John’s Parish Centre in Moira.

‘Dealing with Debt’ is a Money and Debt Advice Service provided by Citizens Advice which provides a face to face debt service which is free at point of access, confidential and independent of financial product providers.

The service is funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment. In the 2010-2011 financial year the service helped 2.500 people and handled over £37 million worth of debt in nine council areas.

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A spokesperson for the Bureau explained: “In 2010 there was a marked increase in Mortgage Debt handled by the service, representing 24.26%. This figure is indicative of a rising trend in Mortgage Debt as a cause and consequence of the financial crisis in 2008 and also reflects the latest figures from the Northern Ireland Court Service showing a substantial increase in local families facing repossession.

“The Bank of England is expected by many economists to increase the base rate at some point during the year to help tackle inflation and this could have an immediate impact on many more homeowners’ ability to pay their mortgages. Even a small increase of 2% on an interest only mortgage would generate an extra annual cost of £3,000 per annum.

“Any increase is also more likely to precipitate more mortgage repossession cases, and for those cases where the house is in negative equity, could lead to bankruptcy. The reduction in mortgage interest relief from October 2010 is also having an impact, particularly on those who have already been hit hardest by the recession and are finding it impossible to find the additional interest payments. We expect to be dealing with a lot more clients presenting with repossession in the coming months.”

Mr John Maxwell, CAB Manager said that the ‘Dealing with Debt’ Service has been delivering Debt Advice funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment since 2006. We are fortunate to have an Advisor based in our office in the Bridge Community Centre,” he added.

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