Only way to pay bills is to starve

They used the Citizens' Advice Bureau's latest annual meeting to warn the situation is going to get even worse. Rachael Walker, a money advice co-ordinator at the bureau, said: "Many of our clients are now coming to us with gas or electricity bills that they are not able to pay back along with their ongoing usage. "And... we have seen some cases where clients are cutting back on their food just so they can have their gas or electricity." She put the numbers involved in going without food as 'a growing minority'. She described their mood as depressed and distressed. "We are expecting the current situation to worsen," warned Miss Walker. This is one sign of how the dramatically-changed financial situation of the past 12 months is taking its toll on the CAB's clients. Cases of debt seen by its volunteers and advisors have soared by 25 per cent in the year to the end of March.



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Debt crisis spreads to credit cards

The thrift's $175 million second-quarter loss from its card unit stemmed from higher delinquencies and an inability to sell some card debt to investors because of illiquid markets. It was Washington Mutual's first card loss since it entered the business in 2005 when it bought Providian Financial Corp. .



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New help for families with cashflow problems

They will be able to get specialist advice on issues such as problems with debt, mortgages and utility bills.

Launching Money Guidance treasury secretary Yvette Cooper said: "We need to make it much easier for people to get access to information, help and advice."

The website and telephone helpline will be overseen by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

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Obama proposes bankruptcy changes

He also promised to enact a 120-day moratorium "on adverse credit actions from collectors, such as foreclosure" to free families from concerns about debt collectors while trying to recover. His campaign said he would also amend the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, which bars discrimination in lending, to include protection for disaster victims, so that lenders do not unfairly restrict credit to such families.

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Fishing for answers: Key report due on status of groundfish

The result is consolidation of the industry, with boat owners who have money or financial support buying permits from those who don't, she said.

Michael Matulaitis, who owns and captains the Fairhaven dragger Rosemarie, said additional fishing restrictions could push groundfishermen — many of whom are gambling that they will make a lot of money when stocks rebuild in the future — deeper into debt.

"People are hanging on by a thread right now and any more cuts are really going to take us deep," Mr. Matulaitis said.

Making a business plan, especially for the 2009 fishing year, is especially difficult for boat owners given the uncertainty surrounding future fishing regulations, he said.

Under the groundfish rebuilding plan, regional fisheries managers must introduce new fishing restrictions by May 1, 2009.



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Collecting Money in a Bad Economy

(N.H.) author of several books on debt collection who ran a collection agency for eight years. Her first piece of advice for preventing late payments? Require customers to apply for credit. Credit applications (BusinessWeek.com, 1/8/04), which can be bought at office supply stores, record contact information for the customer, personal references and business references, like banks or employers.

Calling references can help you evaluate a customer's risk, but even if you don't check them, just using the form can deter customers who might default. "When you have someone fill out that credit application, it lets them know that you're serious about your business and you're not just handing out credit," Dunn says. If you wind up in court over an unpaid debt, the signed credit application will bolster your case.



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