Priority Debts and Debt Management Plans

In order to explain how debt management services can help to clear outstanding liabilities in the most effective and stress-free way, it is useful to understand the various types of financial obligations that the average consumer has. This can enable you to identify the best debt solution to suit your current situation. We will start by looking at the different types of debt, which are classified as priority and non-priority.

Priority debts are those that are considered the most important. These include child maintenance, council tax, gas and electricity bills and arrears, hire purchase or conditional sale repayments, mortgage payments and arrears, rent and rent arrears, social fund loans, second mortgages or secured loan repayments, benefit over payments, tax credit over payments, tax arrears and magistrates’ court fines.

These have to be given priority because inability to meet these financial obligations could entail serious consequences such as repossession of your home, eviction from your rented home, disconnection of utility supplies or, in extreme cases, the possibility of imprisonment. In order to prevent these repercussions, you need to make payment arrangements with the relevant bodies before dealing with your remaining monetary commitments.

Non-priority refers to those outgoings that don’t entail such severe consequences of non-payment. These include bank loans and overdrafts, catalogue payments and arrears, charge cards, credit cards and various types of unsecured loans. It is important to also gain control of these as it is still possible for creditors to take legal action against you. This could adversely affect your ability to obtain credit in the future.

There are various ways to deal with non-priority outgoings. These include Debt Management Plans, and debt consolidation loans where all the amounts you owe are amalgamated and repayments are replaced by one more manageable monthly payment. Debt management companies will be able to give you all the help you need which takes the stress of handling your monetary affairs away from you.

Finding the Best Debt Solution for You

The first step is to identify your needs and a professional company can help with this. The staff will look at your current financial situation including your income, basic necessities and expenditures and the total amount that you owe. It will be helpful to write down all your outgoings to gain an overall picture of your financial situation. 

When making a list of your income and expenditure, try to ensure that you don’t miss anything. As well as payments that are taken from your bank account monthly you may have quarterly or annual bills and other amounts that you pay in cash such as bus fares and school dinner money. You should also make sure that you include creditors’ names on your list of outstanding balances together with details of how much you owe to each one.

As you choose from among the companies that offer debt management advice, make a careful study of how each of them goes about the process of managing bills and deferred payments. Take a note of their detailed plans and their specific pay off dates. The best companies will be able to work out for you a definite closing date for each of your accounts.

Whilst you are comparing the services offered by various companies, you may also want to compare the rates they charge. It is worthwhile noting, however, that the lowest rate does not necessarily guarantee the best standard of service. It is therefore wise to compare the range of services that each company offers to ensure that they cater for your distinct needs.

Back on Track Loans offers various methods to help you reduce your monthly outgoings. The company also provides debt consolidation loans for people with a poor credit history. Therefore, if you are not suitable for a DMP, you may find that a consolidation loan will help you. Because Back on Track has more than 250 lending options available the staff should be able to find a low cost product to suit you.