SDB Finance Information

Finance information for you

Posts Tagged payments

Bankruptcy or IVA ? The Procedure

Nov 4

Posted by admin in Bankruptcy

Individual Voluntary Arrangements and Bankruptcy are both viable solutions to anyone struggling to repay debts, but what are the procedures involved once someone has decided to take one of these options?

The following gives an idea of what to expect when choosing an IVA or petitioning for Bankruptcy.
iva,individual voluntary arrangement,bankruptcy,insolvency practioner
Individual Voluntary Arrangement

The first thing to do when considering an Individual Voluntary Arrangement is to have a meeting with an Insolvency Practitioner. This meeting can either be face to face or over the telephone.

The meeting is to determine whether or not an IVA is a suitable option for resolving financial difficulties and to advice of what other options may be available.

If an IVA is the best solution, then the next step is for the Insolvency practitioner to gather information about the debtor?s financial details. This includes priority household payments, information about any assets the client may have and all creditor information such as creditor names and account numbers.

The Insolvency practitioner is under obligation to verify all information given by the client, therefore the IP will gather proof to support that the details are correct.

Once the information is verified, the IP will then begin to draft the proposals. The proposals are to be fair to the creditor and debtor alike. The idea is to show the maximum amount the debtor can afford to pay and to show the creditor this information in order to get the creditor to accept the amount that is being offered.

Once the proposals are drafted up, the debtor will look through the proposals, and if happy, sign them. An IVA is a legally binding agreement; therefore it is important that all information is correct before signing the proposals.

Once the proposals are signed by the debtor, they are then sent off to the creditors for their consideration. Creditors are generally given 2 to 3 weeks to vote on the proposals. Creditors can either decide to accept, reject or accept with modifications.

Once the 2 to 3 weeks is up, the Insolvency Practitioner will arrange a meeting between the creditors and debtor for the final vote on the proposals. The Insolvency Practitioner will act as Chairman to the meeting.

Creditors generally fax over their decision to the IP on the date of the meeting. So generally is not an actual face to face meeting, more a deadline to get all the votes in on one day.

In order for an IVA to be passed, 75% of the value of the debt must be accepted. In other words, as long as the creditors who represent 75% or more of the debt accept the proposals, then the IVA is accepted even if some creditors rejected the proposals.

If the IVA is accepted, then the Insolvency Practitioner will send out a chairman?s report to the creditors as well as the court detailing that the IVA was accepted.

Petitioning for Bankruptcy

Petitioning for bankruptcy could be as a daunting process, however, the procedure is probably not as bad as anticipated.

In order to petition for Bankruptcy, you will need to fill in a couple of forms. These forms can be obtained online from the Court website. The forms you will need are 6.27 and 6.28.

It is not always necessary to make an appointment to petition but it is always safer to call the court to see if it is permitted to arrive and petition or if an appointment is necessary.

Bankruptcy is normally held in the High Court in London. People will generally arrive first thing in the morning. Once at the court, the petitioner will go over to the first available desk clerk and inform them that they are there to make a petition. The clerk will look at the forms and then proceed to type up the bankruptcy order. The petitioner is then directed to where they need to go to pay the petition fee and return to clerk once they have done.

At this point, the clerk would generally give a time to return to collect a copy of the bankruptcy order.

Once the petitioner has their bankruptcy order, they will then be given directions to go to the Official Receivers office. When they arrive at the office, they will need to wait until their name is called. Once the name is called, a copy of the bankruptcy order will be taken and they will be given information regarding bankruptcy.

The petitioner will then be given a time and date of an appointment with the Official Receiver, sometimes this can be done on the day, but more often than not a telephone appointment will be given anywhere up to 2 weeks after the day of the petition.

Sometimes the petitioner will be required to return to the Official Receivers office for an appointment. Either way is possible so there is no need for concern if the petitioner is required to go back to the office rather than receiving a telephone call, it will basically be which way is more convenient.

Bankruptcy generally lasts 1 year; however, discharge from bankruptcy can be earlier or later depending on if there are any restrictions placed on the bankruptcy.

So there we have it. Although this is a very brief outline of what is likely to happen when choosing either option, it does give a general idea of what to expect.

Tags: , , , , ,

No Comments

Applying For A Credit Card Online That Offers Benefits To Its Users

Aug 21

Posted by admin in Credit

Credit is a well established institution in our society today. You will need credit to be able to make major purchases such as a home or vehicle. Applying for a credit card online can be the first step in that process to help you establish or reestablish your credit. It is important to use this new found credit wisely in the beginning because if you do not there can be consequences later such as having a bad credit rating and low score.

The best part of applying online for credit is that you can get an instant approval within minutes and have your card shipped to your within a matter of days. This process includes filling out an application online with all your pertinent information such as your driver license and social security number along with your employment information. These things are needed to determine if you are creditworthy and to check your credit background.

Looking for a new card can take some time because you will need to compare interest rates among them as well as the terms and conditions and fee schedules. All this information is available and can be read online. Be sure to read all the information before you apply because you do not want any surprises later down the road such as an increase in interest or other fees your were unaware of. This can be costly so do read the information given.

Also, you want a secure website that protects your personal information. If the site is not secure leave it immediately. You should be able to check the security certificate of a website to see if it is current and lists available information to the public.

With a good credit rating you should be able to get the kind of cards with benefits you want. If your credit has a few bad marks you may want to consider credit repair to clean up your report and increase your score before you apply for prime rate cards.

Using credit responsibly by making all your payments on time and not defaulting on the cards does wonders for your credit score. With good credit you can get loans at prime rates that will eventually save you money and afford you the opportunity to buy the things you value in life.

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments

Recurring Payments Through Subscription Billing Models

Aug 2

Posted by admin in Finance, Loans

Software as a Service or SaaS billing, also called on-demand, hosted or subscription billing, is transforming the way businesses and customers buy and use software and a wide range of application programs.

Up until recently, businesses and consumers purchased software or other computer applications with a one time payment and loaded the application on a local computer or server. With SaaS billing, a business or consumer signs up to use the software or computer application online as compared to installing it on a computer.

There are multiple ways in which SaaS companies can construct their subscription billing models. Today, there are many companies that use recurring billing where the consumer agrees to have payments debited from a credit or debit card or bank account for a specific period of time.

The recurring payments are collected whether or not the customer uses the service. This ensures the recurring payments for the vendor. But, there is no advantage to the consumer if the service is not used. Recurring payments are a strong and proven revenue model, but only if it is managed by professionals. If recurring billing is not managed properly, revenue leakage will erode profit margins.

Recurring billing can also be combined with volume pricing. The higher the number of users or the more a service is used, the lower the price. There is another option that allows provision of multiple choice of recurring billing packages whereby services can be “upgraded” depending upon previously set criteria.

Usage / transaction based subscription billing is another payment option. In this model, the customer is charged based on how many number of times the service is used or the duration for which the service is accessed. This type of billing is popular for vendors of online entertainment as compared to SaaS recurring payments that are used regularly in business. But, ultimately, SaaS vendors will need to meet consumer demand as entertainment subscription billing models move into the business world.

Usage based subscription billing is beneficial for customers as there is very little commitment to the vendor. But, it is far less attractive for vendors. For example, in SaaS based billing usage will have peak and off-peak hours. The vendor will need to figure out a way to encourage usage during off-peak hours to help pay for the increased bandwidth required to run a service during prime time.

SaaS providers may also offer recurring billing models where several services are bundled together for the benefit of customers. That is, subscription billing to a group of services costs less overall as compared to paying for the services individually. This gives the vendor creative ways to up-sell / cross-sell products, target specific markets, and capture more business from each customer.

Some SaaS vendors still get away with charging a one-time set up fee for services. However, this depends on the qualities of product or the service offered and market competition. As SaaS and cloud billing become the norm, upfront fees will be harder to justify to customers who will have a wide choice of vendors who charge nothing upfront.

With SaaS billing, the application is owned by the vendor, not the end-user. In many ways, this creates a better customer experience than outright purchase. The SaaS vendor can help in standardization on a single platform which makes upgrades and patches easier and decreases makes it easy to introduce new features. The end-user knows that the vendor must maintain consumer satisfaction or risk losing customers’ recurring payments or usage-based subscription billing revenues.

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments

Tips On Paying Off Your Student Loan Consolidation

Jul 21

Posted by admin in Loans

Student loans can be a long-term burden that can hang over your entire young adult life. Many students wonder about how they can pay back their student loans. If you have more than one student loan or are interested in loan consolidation, the following information may benefit you.

A consolidated student loan follows pretty much the same guidelines as a regular student loan. Your guidelines and payment schedule are provided by the lending institution. Your first payment is usually due 30 to 60 days after you’re approved for consolidation of your student loans. You should continue to make your payments on your individual student loans until you receive acceptance or approval of your consolidation application.

Most institutions will provide you with a choice about how you want to pay back the consolidated student loan: standard payment plan, graduated payment plan, variable payment plan or extended payment plan. A standard payment plan involves a set monthly payment that does not change over the life of the loan. A graduated payment plan involves starting with low monthly payments and gradually increasing the payments until the loan is paid off. A variable payment plan will allow you to adjust the amount of your payments based on changes in your incomes and expenses. And finally, an extended payment plan gives you a longer period of time to pay off your loan, thus reducing the monthly payment.

Beware of consolidation lenders who charge a fee to consolidate your student loans and lenders who charge a fee for early repayment of the loan. There are plenty of lenders out there who are willing to consolidate your student loans without charging any fees. Don’t sign any paperwork until you’ve verified that the lender has none of these fees hidden in the paperwork.

Finally, be aware that some lenders require a credit check before approving your consolidation application. This is standard procedure and nothing to worry about if you have a slightly below average or better credit rating. If your credit rating is on the low side, you should know that consolidating your student loan may improve your credit rating.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

No Comments

A Few Tips On Achieving Bad Debt Consolidation

May 30

Posted by admin in Debt Consolidation

If you are someone who has a lot of different debts and are having to make numerous different payments to each one every single month, then you might consider the idea of bad debt consolidation. This will allow you to take advantage of several benefits. For example, the rates of interest that you will pay for a consolidation loan will most likely be a lot lower than the overall rates you will be paying on different debts. In addition, it will simply be a lot easier to manage all of your debt if it is simply packaged into one loan which will only require one payment every month.

If this sounds like something that will interest you, then you will have to take a number of steps. The first thing you need to do is to think about how much debt you actually owe. As such, you should work out how much you owe on different credit cards, personal loans, car loans, and any other debts that you have.

It shall also be very important for you to work out the level of interest that you have to pay each one of these debts separately. This will allow you to prioritise the debts that have much higher rates of interest against those that are not so expensive. When it comes to a debt consolidation loan, you might not be able to get one big enough to cover all of your debts and therefore will need to focus first on getting rid of your debts that have high interest levels.

Another aspect to consider will be how much you are actually paying out towards each of these debts every single month. You should therefore calculate the total cost each month that you are paying and this will help you to work out which of the best deals when it comes to different consolidation loans that you find.

When you have completed all these planning stages, you can then take practical steps to find some loans that will suit you. The best place to look for these may well be on the Internet, and you should conduct a search for loan consolidation companies who can help you.

In addition, you should also use the aid of a financial adviser as well. They will be able to advise you on the best rates that you will be able to find for a debt consolidation loan and how long it is advisable to take to pay it back.

Finally, once you have chosen a loan that you want to take you can simply transfer all of the balances of your other debts into this single package. Once this is done you will begin to see all of the benefits of a single monthly payment and lower rates of interest and will be confident that you can stay a little bit more debt free in the future.

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments

Beware Of Budget Car Insurance

May 24

Posted by admin in Insurance

Everyone wants cheaper car insurance. There are many budget car insurance companies that will lure you in with the promise of low monthly payments and extremely low deductibles. You have to be aware of the type of coverage they offering you for this low rate as it usually means insufficient coverage and more out of pocket expense for you in the event of a claim.

The majority of budget car insurance companies are offering only liability insurance that meets the legal requirements of your state. This leaves a huge gap in coverage that could cost you thousands.

The state minimum is liability insurance and what that means is anytime you are involved in an accident that is determined to be your fault any repairs that are needed to your vehicle or injuries you sustain will be your financial responsibility. If you hurt others in the accident your insurance may not be enough to cover their medical costs and you are at risk of losing everything you own in order to pay for them.

If your vehicle is damaged due to hail or high winds or even vandalism the insurance coverage will not cover the costs. This damage may not be your fault but the insurance does not cover it. This holds true as well if you are at fault for an accident that does not involve another vehicle. If you hit a guardrail or take down a tree you will not only be required to pay for your vehicles repairs but for any damages you caused during the accident.

There are too many drivers on the road who have budget insurance and this means if you are insured with the same type of insurance coverage and are hit by them that any repairs or medical costs their insurance will not pay for you will be liable for on your own. You will have no protection for underinsured motorists or uninsured motorists with these lower priced policies. Any type of accident, your fault or someone elses could end up costing you thousands of dollars and put all your assets at risk.

If you vehicle is stolen you will receive no coverage for your loss. In most cases you will never recover the vehicle and replacing it will be your responsibility. If you are able to recover the vehicle you will be responsible for the repairs from any damage it may have suffered.

That low deductible you were given is nothing more than a scam. No type of claim will require a deductible to be paid since you are responsible for all the damage that occurs to your vehicle. That low deductible amount is just used as a tactic to make you believe you are receiving an awesome policy when in fact you actually receiving nothing for your hard earned cash.

It is not legal to drive without insurance so the budget car insurance companies designed policies only to keep you legal. They offer no real protection to your property or any of your assets.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

No Comments

Do You Need Debt Consolidation?

Apr 6

Posted by admin in Debt Consolidation

If you are having trouble dealing with your finances, you may want to think about taking advantage of a debt consolidation program. By using a debt consolidation program, you can improve your ability to handle your finances. You should probably only consider using this type of program if you are finding it to be practically impossible to keep up with the demands of your current loans.

If you do not know whether or not you would benefit by taking advantage of a program of this kind, you should keep in mind the fact that you will likely have to face bankruptcy if you cannot handle the demands your current lenders are placing upon you. If you cannot handle the demands that lenders are placing on you, you should definitely consider taking advantage of program that can reduce the value of the payments you must make every single month to your lenders.

Some people may be wondering whether or not this type of process is right for them. If you are not sure whether or not you should take advantage of this type of process, you should think about whether or not you can actually afford your current living expenses. If you are finding it difficult to pay for your most basic living expenses while still keeping up with your debt payments, this type of process may be perfect for you.

If you believe you can still manage the demands that are being placed upon you by your lenders, you should definitely consider the fact that you may not need to take advantage of a consolidation company. This solution is generally only necessary when you are finding it to be practically impossible to keep up with the current demands your bills are placing upon you.

If you have made the decision to work with a debt consolidation organization in order to make your debts more manageable, you should definitely find an organization that is well known in this industry. There are many organizations that are approved by third parties available today. These organizations are usually the best organizations you can work with when it comes to managing your debt.

Once you actually do you consolidate your debt, you should keep in mind that you will not be able to charge anymore expenses on your credit cards until you are out of the consolidation program. When you are consolidating your debt, organizations generally make you sign an agreement stating that you will not spend any more money on credit cards during the debt repayment process.

The greatest benefit to be had through using these programs is the fact that you will not have to pay as much money out every single month to pay off your loans. A debt consolidation company can work with the lenders you borrowed money from in order to decrease your interest rates, and even in some cases lower your monthly payments. This type of benefits can be benefit anyone who wishes to be able to manage their finances and still be able to afford basic living requirement as well.

Tags: , , , , , ,

No Comments