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EU finance ministers are pressing their indebted and riot-prone Balkan member to embrace a massive austerity plan and plug its debilitating deficit.
But with markets sceptical and the appetite for more bailouts at a low, there are deepening concerns that a Greek meltdown could deal a severe blow to the very European idea of a common currency, and set off a domino effect through Italy, Spain and Portugal.
Yesterday, some European Union leaders said they were confident that Greece would pull itself out its debt crisis under a plan submitted by Prime Minister George Papandreou, who promises to cut expenditure and tighten the country’s notoriously leaky tax system.
Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado – whose country holds the rotating EU presidency – said she was not worried that Greece will default.
She refused to discuss the possibility of a bailout in case Greece fails to make debt repayments – fears that have sharply raised its borrowing costs.
“I think Greece is going to do all that is necessary to avoid that,” she said before chairing an EU finance ministers meeting.
A bailout would be a first for the decade-old eurozone, which now looks vulnerable and faces painful, unpopular measures such as budget cutbacks and higher taxes.
Other European governments were less sure – and reluctant to pay for Greece’s failure to manage its debt.
Finland’s finance minister Jyrki Katainen bluntly said the Greeks couldn’t expect “any outside help”. Dutch Finance Minister Wouter Bos said the Greek plan to cut debt needs to be more substantial because it is based on vague one-offs such as a promised fight against corruption.
Markets are also sceptical that Greece can make the cuts that are needed. BNP Paribas currency strategist Ian Stannard said investors believe they “lack detail and in some respects appear unachievable”.
Stannard cited the risk of investors losing their appetite for Greek bonds, 70 per cent of which are held by foreigners.
Bigger, better off countries such as Germany would be faced with leading a bailout, but it’s not certain that their leaders – or voters – would agree. Meanwhile, other countries with heavy debt loads – Spain, Italy, Portugal, Ireland – would have to pay more to borrow if investors flee government bonds because of Greece. Read More
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Keeping with budget this Christmas is essential to ensure that there are no additional overdraft charges in the new year, Moneynet.co.uk has advised consumers.
For those who find that they are getting paid a couple of weeks early, they should be careful that they do not overspend, as this could lead to a strain on cash in the beginning of 2010.
Any consumers who are concerned they may stray into their overdraft this holiday period should arrange an extension with their bank now, as this will avoid them receiving any extra costs.
Andrew Hagger of Moneynet.co.uk said: “Failure to check the state of your current account and adopting a worry about it later attitude could see you run out of cash and faced with some hefty bank charges come the new year.”
The decision last month by the Supreme Court not to force banks to repay overdraft charges meant that an estimated £2.6 billion in fees was not returned to consumers
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For those consumers who can no longer to afford minimum credit card payments, Ethan Ewing, president of Bills.com offers tips to help consumers understand their odebt relief ptions for help, including: “Now that credit card reform legislation has passed, it’s a great time for consumers to take control of their debt,” said Ewing . “To do so, consumers need to understand the available debt relief options.”
Debt settlement. A debt settlement company works on consumers’ behalf to lower principal balances due, often obtaining savings of 50 percent of the total debt. The firm does not make monthly payments to creditors, but rather negotiates with the consumer’s creditors while the consumer accumulates funds for the settlement. Debt settlement firms charge consumers a fee for their services, typically a percentage of the debt enrolled or a percentage of the debt reduced.
Consumers who persist with a debt settlement plan can resolve their debts in two to three years at significantly lower cost than that of a debt management plan. Debt settlement typically provides better repayment terms than a Chapter 13 bankruptcy filing and does not leave a permanent bankruptcy judgment on one’s record.
Debt settlement may have a negative impact on credit ratings and profiles and is best suited for consumers in serious financial hardship who cannot afford to make minimum payments on bills and who cannot afford the higher monthly obligation typical debt management programs require.
Debt management. Debt management companies, also known as credit counseling agencies, maintain pre-arranged agreements with credit card companies to lower interest rates on a consumer’s existing debt to a creditor-issued “concession rate.” Debt management companies collect a monthly fee from consumers, as well as revenue from the credit card companies called “Fair Share” payments.
In debt management plans, monthly payments decrease, but principal amounts owed do not. Consumers who are able to continue with the payment plans typically can pay off debt in approximately five years. Debt management plans also require higher monthly payments than debt settlement programs, and are best suited for individuals who are facing a less-severe financial hardship than a typical debt settlement customer.
Bankruptcy. Bankruptcy Attorneys concur that BK’s can leave a severe negative impact on a filer’s credit rating for many years. Credit repair is not as easy as some debt counselors may lead you to believe. Under bankruptcy reform enacted in 2005, it is harder and more expensive to obtain than it used to be. Under the new law, fewer people can eliminate most consumer debt by filing Chapter 7 bankruptcy, taking more people to Chapter 13 filings. Chapter 13 requires consumers to pay back debt on a repayment plan (which can take up to five years), while still suffering the negative repercussions of a bankruptcy on their credit reports and public records. Generally considered a last resort, consumers considering a bankruptcy filing should speak to a bankruptcy attorney licensed in their state.
Read the complete press release online at http://www.emediawire.com/releases/debt/credit/prweb2493574.htm
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MADISON, Wis.— Concerned about proposed federal rules that would effectively eliminate its industry, The Association of Settlement Companies (TASC) recently provided the Federal Trade Commission data that supports the value of debt settlement to consumers in response to the agency’s proposed changes to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).
The FTC is seeking to create amendments—including a ban of advance fees—that would effectively eliminate a viable option for consumers who are struggling with unsecured debt. TASC outlined in a brief historical performance data that clearly illustrates the economic value its member companies deliver to consumers enrolled in debt settlement programs.
For example, based on a recent data analysis of its members, TASC estimates its members settled more than 94,000 accounts representing more than $553 million in debt in the first 6 months of 2009. This is an annual rate of more $1.1 billion in debt settled by TASC members for just 2009.
“We firmly believe that debt settlement should remain an option for those tens of thousands of consumers each year who choose debt settlement as their preferred—and often only available—program to handle their financial situation,” Chris Kesterson, President of TASC, said. “In our response to the FTC, we clearly demonstrate the value consumers receive from our companies who work diligently on their behalf each day to negotiate settlements with creditors.”
TASC is the leading trade group of the debt settlement industry. The cornerstone of TASC’s mission as an organization has always been to promote fair legislation at the state and federal level designed to protect the consumer and to promote best practices of operations by its members.
Without advance fees, debt settlement companies would have to work for free for the duration of the settlement process, which typically takes three years. No company in any industry could accept this, Kesterson pointed out.
“We look forward to working with the FTC in exploring appropriate and comprehensive ways to regulate the entire debt settlement industry, rather than only one segment,” Kesterson said
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Members of the Commercial Collection Agency Association of the Commercial Law League of America reported that for the twelve months ending in September 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, account placement rose by about twenty-eight (28) percent, reaching $17,286,448,679 in the dollars placed for collection.
Emil Hartleb, Executive Director of CCAA stated, “This is a record account placement but there are signs on the horizon that indicate that the delinquency situation with trade receivables might be stabilizing. The gain in account placement for the third quarter of 2009, compared to the third quarter in 2008, was about 12%. This is still a strong showing but significantly less than the gains registered in the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first and second quarters of 2009 compared to the same quarters in the previous year.” Those quarterly gains were: Fourth Quarter 2008 – 25.4%, First Quarter 2009 – 38.4% and Second Quarter 2009 – 39.5%.
Hartleb further stated, “The third quarter of 2009 when compared to second quarter of 2009 showed a decline in placement of about eleven (11) percent. This reflects to a certain degree the seasonality of the data but it also reflects, we believe, stabilization in the past-due accounts that many companies were carrying in their accounts receivable portfolios. Much of these delinquencies have been placed for collection or payment plans have been negotiated with them. This coupled with a lackluster sales environment for many companies makes a continuation of future very strong account placement questionable.”
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A primary school’s chocolate fundraiser turned into a debt-collection exercise after parents failed to cough up around $3000.
Birkenhead Primary School’s Parent Teachers Association raised funds by giving pupils boxes of chocolate bars to sell at $2 a bar.
But at the end of the fundraising stint, the Auckland school was $3000 out of pocket, and had to start chasing up parents.
Former PTA chair Vicki Vachias said the association still finished around $600-$700 short. “Most of it came in, a little bit didn’t.”
Vachias said the PTA put the loss down to the recession.
“We just wrote it off as a sign of the times. We just wrote that off as being what happens with some families.”
The event raised about $5500 for the school despite the shortfall.
Principal Nigel Bioletti said the PTA has been active in raising money for the school for a number of years.
“I would think that they would do it again but perhaps there’s a lesson to be learned here. At any school you’re going to have parents that don’t return things. READ MORE
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New Zealand report
Government debt will climb to intolerable levels by the middle of the century on present policy settings and this is a problem that we cannot simply grow – or tax – our way out of, according to Treasury projections of the long-run fiscal outlook.
That leaves a focus on spending.
The projections have the Government’s net debt, which stands at around 16 per cent of gross domestic product, climbing to 223 per cent by the middle of the century, compared with just over 100 per cent in the previous projections made in 2006.
If that happened the interest bill would be more than $100 billion a year and would dwarf any other item of Government spending.
About half the deterioration since 2006 is the legacy of the financial crisis of the past two years – an end to fiscal surpluses and a shrunken tax base. The rest reflects higher costs of existing programmes and changes to Government policy
Treasury Secretary John Whitehead stressed that the projections are not forecasts of what will happen, but rather where policy, demographics and past trends in factors like productivity growth and migration would take us over the next 40 years if nothing changed.
The projections assume productivity (or per capita GDP) growth of 1.5 per cent a year, in line with the long-run historical trend, and a net migration gain of 10,000 a year. But even if productivity growth lifted to 2 per cent, the migration gain was 15,000 a year and the labour force rose significantly from its already internationally high level, the Government’s net debt would still reach an unsustainable 146 per cent of GDP by the middle of the century.
“Growth alone does not solve the fiscal problem,” Whitehead said. Higher productivity means higher wages, and New Zealand Superannuation is indexed to wage growth, too.
The impact on the fiscal position of another $1 of GDP from higher productivity would be to increase the tax take by 33c but, when that is offset by higher superannuation and public sector wage costs, the net gain to the Government is about 13c.
Higher taxes would reduce fiscal deficits but at the expense of weaker economic growth. READ MORE
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New Zealand Herald reports:
Influential property developer Jamie Peters is bankrupt.
The ex-NBR Rich List Aucklander, who is related to Winston Peters and says he has bought and sold real estate worth more than $1 billion, was declared bankrupt in the Auckland High Court after an application was filed by Marac Finance.
Marac was seeking $3 million in outstanding debt.
But yesterday, Peters said a $100 million debt brought him down.
Peters appeared on the Rich List in 2005 with $40 million and in 2006 with $45 million. His Starline Group was involved in large developments around Auckland’s CBD, in Wellington and on northern waterfront land.
“I am exposed to personal liability for debts in excess of $100 million as a direct function of the current global credit crisis which I simply do not have the ability to repay,” Peters said yesterday.
“This issue has similarly affected other individuals involved in development, as well as large organisations such as my primary funder Bank of Scotland International [BOSI].” Read more
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NZ Herald reports
Queenstown developer Rod Nielsen’s business practices should be restricted and he must bear responsibility for commercial irresponsibility, says the High Court.
After declaring him bankrupt over a $14.5 million debt owed to failed finance company Bridgecorp, Justice Paul Heath, in the High Court at Auckland, criticised Nielsen’s “speculative” business attitude, The Dominion Post reported.
Nielsen, who now lives in Las Vegas, originally borrowed $7.5m from Bridgecorp in 2005 to fund the Lake Esplanade development in Queenstown, which was never completed.
Nielsen operated a speculative business in good financial times but did not make adequate provision to deal with any adverse financial conditions, Justice Heath said.
“Property developers cannot do business on the basis that the market will always be buoyant. Mr Nielsen must take responsibility for being, at best, imprudent or, at worst, commercially irresponsible.”
Bridgecorp secured a judgment against the developer in mid-2008 for $13.7m owing but Justice Heath felt Nielsen had “made no real efforts to settle”. Read more
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Every debt is different, circumstances behind it as are the debtors themselves. Before approaching an agency or NZ blacklist, have a look at the following advice and see if you can achieve collection without having to use a collection service.
PREPARE: Review the paperwork on the debtor before making the call. Know the history of the account, credit record, the promises kept/broken. Have all records in front of you, ready for reference.
ATTITUDE: Adopt a straight, professional business-like attitude. You have a contract, you delivered the goods, money is owed, and you have a right to expect payment. Never let it become personal. Don´t yell or raise your voice; and NEVER swear. Don´t threaten; legal action is your recourse.
CONTACT: Make sure you´re talking to the right person. Don´t let the individual brush you off with “You´ll have to talk to the bookkeeper.” Identify the person who will pay the bill. If you can´t get through after several calls, tell the secretary that you know your calls are being screened. Indicate the purpose of your call and if necessary give deadlines.
CONTROL: Control the conversation. Keep it focused on the debt and on the repayment schedule. Don´t let the customer sidetrack you with personal history, excuses, etc. Remember, the object of your call is to collect money, or get a commitment, not to become buddies with the customer or win arguments.
FLEXIBLE: Be ready to adjust to the situation. Think about the kind of customer you´re dealing with and adapt to meet the circumstances. Be prepared to accept a reasonable payment schedule, and a willingness to deal with a customer´s circumstances.
NOTES: Keep detailed, accurate notes of every contact with the customer. Probe for further information on the customer. Notes of these contacts will help you in subsequent phone calls, and may be invaluable in litigation. Good notes will also help in further credit decisions, or in cases where skip tracing may be needed.
PRODUCTIVE: Keep contact brief and to the point. This is a business call, not a social one. View your efforts on a ratio of time expended to results achieved. Long conversations probably mean the customer is stalling you, or trapping you in the buddy syndrome.
PRECISE: Never leave a contact open ended, such as “We´ll talk next week,” or “I´ll send what I can.” Every contact should result in a commitment to payment, of a specific amount, by a specific date, even the check number the customer is using to pay the pledge.
TIME: The longer an account is held, the less likely it is that it will be recovered. If payment or a payout is not arranged within 60 days, place the claim with NZ Blacklist or start legal proceedings.
PLACEMENT: Contact NZ Blacklist and start your road to successful debt collection
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Orlando, FL — The Federal Reserve reported recently that consumers cut debt by a record $21.6 billion in July 2009, an indicator, in part, that Americans are becoming more aware of their personal finances and concerned about their long-term financial stability. The news prompted Etta Money, president of InCharge® Debt Solutions (IDS) to comment, “We hope the great news from the Fed will translate into a trend in which consumers commit more of their resources to paying off their debts and become more focused on money management.”
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Money News .co.uk reports complications with personal debts on the rise
Personal debt problems have become more complicated in the past few years because of changes in income and people having mortgage arrears, says a debt expert.
Frances Walker, spokesperson for the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS), said that it is encouraging see that people are starting to pay off their debts, but in some cases it can be very hard to find a solution.
She pointed out that around 30 per cent of the people that come to the CCCS for advice on how to deal with their debt will end up having to find a way to make more money, plain and simple, but this is tricky with the level of unemployment at the moment.
“Also people’s debt problems are more complicated now than they were a few years ago because they often have mortgage arrears and have experienced a drop in income,” she added.
Ms Walker made her comments following the release of figures by the Citizens Advice Bureau, which show that there has been a 99 per cent increase in the number of enquiries about jobseekers allowance since this time last year.
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Consumers are beginning to borrow again which means they are ending up down the debt path again, according to Unbiased.co.uk.
David Elms, chief executive of the comparison website, made his comments following news that people borrowed nearly double in the second quarter of 2009 than they did in the first quarter.
He pointed out that 2008 saw many people repaying much of their debt because of the financial turmoil that went on, but that this trend has not continued.
“The first half of 2009, in contrast, has seen consumers head back down the debt path as they shift back into borrowing,” said Mr Elms.
In the same report it also showed that savings levels have increased from £14 billion to £21 billion in the same period.
Industry commentator Chris Tapp recently claimed that the price of debt has gone up, because people are finding it harder to get work in order to clear credit cards and loans.
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Reports from the U.S show debt collection has rise in business. Press Democrat report;
Debt collection is a growth industry these days, but that doesn't mean it's a terribly profitable one.
As more people fall behind on their credit card bills and car payments, collection agencies are busier than ever, churning out warning letters, calling people's homes or businesses and even dragging them into court.
But collecting on those mounting debts is tougher than ever. High unemployment and plunging home equity have left debtors with fewer resources -- and some say less inclination -- to repay debts and repair their credit ratings.
"I work four times as hard to collect the same amount of money as I did two years ago," said Robert Tavelli, head of the Santa Rosa-based collection firm NCCS Inc. "We're seeing probably a 300 percent increase in listings with no greater increase in recoveries."
No one's going to shed a tear to hear debt collectors are having a tougher time shaking down people who are behind on their bills. Some might even cheer.
But the inability to collect outstanding bills is a serious problem for businesses, and one that could threaten a sustained economic recovery. The more bad checks or delinquent accounts a business can't recover, the greater the pressure to cut employees, who in turn might fall behind on their own bills, creating a vicious cycle.
"Many of my clients are suffering," Tavelli said. "They've had to lay off people because they can't collect their receivables."
When it becomes a choice between sending customers or patients to collections and keeping employees, businesses are increasingly choosing collections, said Chris Schumacher, president of Optio Solutions, a collection firm based in Rohnert Park.
When business was good, companies focused on growth. Now that it's gotten tougher, many are watching in horror as the bad debts on their books mount, leaving them little choice but to take a tougher approach to collect past-due bills. Read full article by clicking here