The Water Services Regulation Authority (Ofwat) has confirmed that water bills will increase by an estimated 4.6 per cent in April 2011, in what will be yet another rise in the cost of living for UK households. This is the latest blow for UK families, who are already finding their budgets stretched by VAT increases [...]
February, 2011
Bankruptcy order granted for former MP Jim Devine
The former Labour MP Jim Devine has been formally declared bankrupt this week after a hearing at Livingston Sheriff Court. The bankruptcy ruling was made after a former employee of Mr Devine’s, Marion Kinley, applied for a sequestration order against him. Ms Kinley, who worked for the former MP managing his constituency office in West [...]
Brits waste £279 in credit card debt interest a year
A new survey conducted on behalf of comparison website moneysupermarket.com has found that British people are wasting an average of just under £300 on credit card interest every year. Researchers found that on average, credit card debt is held for around ten months before it is paid off. In this time, card users can end [...]
Singer Toni Braxton files for bankruptcy for the second time
The American R&B singer Toni Braxton has reportedly filed for bankruptcy after being forced to cancel a series of shows in Las Vegas. According to Braxton’s lawyer, Debra Grassgreen, the 42-year-old singer has debt problems amounting to millions of dollars after a health problem forced her to back out of a series of performances in [...]
Former footballer Colin Hendry negotiates bankruptcy agreement
The retired footballer Colin Hendry has reportedly negotiated a bankruptcy agreement in which he will pay off less than 2 per cent off his debts, meaning that the former Scotland captain will pay back just £36,000 of his £2.2 million total debt. Hendry, 45, was formally declared bankrupt in June 2010 at Blackpool County Court. [...]
HSBC study shows Brits underestimate cost of life’s big events
A new study by HSBC has shown that British people underestimate the costs of big life events like getting married, going to university and having a baby by around £124,000, which could lead to future debt management problems. Researchers surveyed more than 1,000 adults in the UK, asking them what they thought the cost of six [...]
More than 1,600 people sought debt advice in NI last year
According to a report conducted by a leading Northern Ireland advice body, more than 1,600 people in the country sought debt help services in 2009/2010. The official figures from Advice NI recorded between November 2009 and October 2010 showed that 1,640 people sought professional debt advice for their increasingly urgent financial problems. The total debt [...]
Paul Gascoigne pledges to pay tax debt to avoid bankruptcy
Former footballer Paul Gascoigne has reportedly pledged to tackle his debt management problems in order to steer clear of bankruptcy. Gascoigne, 43, is said to owe more than £30,000 in tax debts, and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have petitioned the former England player for the money in London’s High Court. As Gascoigne has [...]
Coventry mum speaks out on facing bankruptcy at age 27
A mother-of-one from Coventry has spoken to the Mirror newspaper recently about her troubles with debt management and bankruptcy, all of which happened whilst she was still in her twenties. Tracy Castano, who is now 31, had a well-paid engineering job before she went bankrupt. However, she admits that she lived beyond her means, racking [...]
Olympic hero Derek Redmond declared bankrupt again
The former 400-metre runner and Olympic hero Derek Redmond has reportedly been declared bankrupt for the second time in ten years. Mr Redmond, 45, was first declared bankrupt back in February 2002, with the order being discharged after one year as is standard in bankruptcy cases. However, a new filing has been made against the [...]
