News Articles

Advice NI has said Northern Ireland must follow new Debt Relief Orders (DROs) rules applied this week in England and Wales – transformative measures for those facing the burden of debt. In his spring budget, the Chancellor announced the removal of the £90 administration fee associated with Debt Relief Orders (DROs) and increased the maximum debt threshold from £30,000 to £50,000 – whilst also increasing the allowable value of retained motor vehicles from £2,000 to £4,000 - across England and Wales.

Implementing quality processes to ensure your organisation can met the Northern Ireland Advice Quality Standard (NIAQS) can be overwhelming as well as time consuming.

It has been another extremely busy year for Advice NI’s Quality team. In the current Covid climate, the Quality team has had to quickly adapt and develop an effective approach to a number of aspects of quality.
 

Triage is often the first point of contact into an organisation. It aims to improve access to services by effectively managing demand whilst also meeting clients’ needs and expectations.  

The Peer Review process is when an adviser’s work is quality assessed by either one or a group of advisers, of similar competence and skills.  

In November 2017, the Northern Ireland Bankruptcy Legislation change and one of these changes meant that a creditor cannot apply to petition a client for personal bankruptcy if the debt is under £5k.

The Open Banking initiative commences on 13th January 2018 and was created by the Competition and Marketing Authority, who identified many customers are paying more than they should for their banking activities.
 

My monthly goals are set for the New Year before Big Ben chimes on New Year’s Eve.  Typically, I set small achievable goals for different areas in my life, so I see small results and I don’t fail by first week in February.  I still like you, assist clients set goals with budgets every day

Michael Lyttle explains how the impact of recession, welfare reform, spending cuts and unemployment is severely effecting the already disadvantaged members of society that we serve. Michael explains some superb Apex initiatives. 

Financial Capability refers to our ability to manage money well day to day, prepare for and manage life events, and deal with financial difficulties. It also focuses on our financial skills and knowledge as well as our attitudes and motivation.

Sometimes useful and sometimes harmful for individuals with short term cash flow issues...... overdrafts explained in a little detail.

More vulnerable, poorer borrowers who maybe have zero-hour contacts or self-employed, part time work will be less able to repay the lump sum of their mortgage are likely to be seeking advice, which is why the FCA is ramping up efforts to encourage banks and borrower seek new arrangements.