Released on = May 16, 2006, 5:22 am

Press Release Author = Clear Start.org

Industry = Financial

Press Release Summary = The figures are shocking and deeply disturbing. The question
is, are bankruptcy statistics a sign of the worsening debt problems facing the UK or
instead are they more to do with a major change in attitude?

Press Release Body = The figures are shocking and deeply disturbing. The question
is, are bankruptcy statistics a sign of the worsening debt problems facing the UK or
instead are they more to do with a major change in attitude?

For older consumers, bankruptcy was and still is something to be avoided. Going
bankrupt carries a severe social stigma that is difficult to shake. On top of that
are numerous restrictions and disadvantages such as the loss of professional status.

However, according to Clear Start, the UK's National Consumer Debt Service,
attitudes are changing. According to the organisation, today's generation, which has
been brought up against a backdrop of student debt, is not so interested in trying
to avoid bankruptcy.

Although the penalties and disadvantages remain the same, the younger generation
seems to think that bankruptcy is a convenient way out of their debt problems. This
is suggested by recent figures which showed that about 80% of all bankruptcies came
from individuals who chose to go bankrupt rather than being forced to do so by their
creditors.

Clear Start says this is a great shame since the introduction of the IVA has created
an alternative to bankruptcy that does not have any of the disadvantages associated
with it. The organisation feels that if more people knew about the effectiveness of
an IVA and understood the disadvantages of bankruptcy, more people would try and
avoid going bankrupt.


Web Site = http://www.clearstart.org/avoid-bankruptcy.php

Contact Details = 5th Floor, Horatio House
77 Fulham Palace Road
Hammersmith
London
W6 8JA
Tel: 0800 138 5445
Fax: +44 (20) 8237 9756