Features
PAYPLAN - what you get
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Like your waistline, debt can come creeping until you turn around one day and fail to recognize the shape you're in. UNISON Welfare can help.
Drop the Debt
Low interest rates, easy access to credit and frenzied Christmas spending mean the average debt for every man, woman and child in the UK is £11,830. Small surprise that millions of people are finding themselves unable to cope with their debt burden.
UNISON Welfare's new members' debt advice referral service, in partnership with Payplan, aims to tackle this. And many UNISON members have already taken advantage of it.
Take the case of Barrie Russell, a customer services advisor from Bedford. Suffering from acute depression and off work on sick leave, he found difficulty coping and soon racked up huge debts.
He approached local UNISON representative Peter Croft, who suggested a meeting.
"Peter was my lynchpin," explains Barrie. "He sat me down with all my paperwork and structured my payments. Once we'd done that, it didn't seem like so much of a problem."With the advice of UNISON Welfare and Payplan, Barrie contacted creditors by himself and reduced a number of his monthly payments.
He found the staff "very human," adding: "I was no longer looking into a big dark hole on my own. I could see light at the end of the tunnel."
Unlike the debt consolidation services advertised on TV and in the tabloids, Payplan is completely free, impartial and confidential. Many disreputable companies charge high monthly fees - which lead to even greater debt.
Carl Harrison, a council bar worker from Newcastle upon Tyne, found himself in just that situation. His weekly pay barely covered his interest payments. He would starve himself to avoid overspending and couldn't afford clothes or underwear.
Switching to the full UNISON Welfare and Payplan programme has been a "tremendous move" he says.
"They have a very human approach and are not in the least bit judgemental. I feel confident about paying off my debt and can at last lead a normal life. I've actually got food in my belly."
Julie Grant, the head of UNISON Welfare, hopes the new service will raise awareness of the growing problem of debt in the UK and help prevent members from acquiring unmanageable debts.
"If members are in trouble, we hope it will provide them with a way out and a life free from the stress and worry of debt."
* Some names have been changed.
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