moneyline

• Get everyone in the household putting all their small change into a jar, if you empty whats in your pockets into the jar each night, you'll be surprised how quickly it fills!

  

• Look at downgrading your monthly mobile phone tariff to a cheaper option if you're not using all your free minutes and texts. If you pay as you go, you might save money by buying bundles.

• Stay active and walk or cycle to work, if you live either side of Portsmouth harbour for example, commuting by car and train can cost a lot. Take your bike, brave the weather and keep fit in the bargain!

• Sell your clutter on e-bay, the online auction house has opened individual sellers to a world full of buyers. Are any of your unwanted Birthday or Christmas presents saleable?

• Use your local library; renting dvd's can be expensive so why not join your local library where you can often loan books, cd's and dvd's at little or no extra cost than your membership!

• When you go shopping, make a list; it has been suggested that we throw away almost a third of what we buy, so only purchase BOGOFs that you will eat and you can freeze, or they may end up in the bin!

• It's easy to forget how much you are required to pay out per month; follow this link and you can print and use our budget planner so that you can work out your disposable income and will hopefully have a better chance of staying in control of your finances.

• Check on the internet for deals; for restaurant vouchers and shop discounts, visit websites such as: www.moneysavingexpert.co.uk or www.discountvouchers.co.uk for further websites and contact numbers, see our 'need advice' page....

Debt Advice - Legal Action, what does it mean?

When you get behind with credit cards, loans etc it can be a worrying time. If debts are not dealt with, you may receive letters which state legal actions and terms that you do not understand. We have reviewed the processes that an organisation will normally follow and we have tried to provide you with a simple breakdown of what some of the actions mean:

Default Notice: This is an important legal document that gives you a minimum of seven days to pay the arrears on an outstanding account.

Formal Demand: This document follows on from a Default Notice, this letter allows you 14 days to pay the total balance on the account.

Claim for County Court Judgment (CCJ) Admissions form: This document is sent directly from the court and gives you a final chance to make payments towards the outstanding debt before a judgment is registered against you. You should complete the form (with either a payment offer you can maintain - or payment of the full amount) and return it to the creditor immediately. If you do not return this form by the deadline, the creditor will request a judgment. This means that in future, when you apply for credit and a credit check is carried out, the organisation assessing you will be able to see that you have omitted to repay monies previously.

County Court Judgment (CCJ): Once a judgment has been registered, the details are added to your credit history for six years. If / when a CCJ has been fully repaid, you can contact the relevant county court and on submission of evidence the monies have been repaid and payment a fee (the county court can confirm how much), your credit history will be updated and the CCJ will then shows as 'satisfied'. 

If you require further information on enforcement actions i.e. attachment to earnings or warrant of execution, please click here