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London
House Services (East Anglia) Ltd Contact: David Degiorgio (covering the IP and CO post code areas) Tel: 01473 250066
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‘Debt the Hall with Boughs of Holly...’Dear Subscriber Christmas, what a joyous iconography: cherubim and seraphim, angels and archangels, the Christ child, glory to God, Santa and Rudolph, a Winter Wonderland...
Because, to use a phrase which I believe is not from Dickens but from the Muppets’ glorious re-creation of A Christmas Carol, Christmas is in fact harvest time for the money-lender. The season to be merry is equally the season of default, foreclosure, final demands and plain, simple debt. To flesh out that stark, cheerless assertion, let’s cling tight as the Ghost of Christmas Past whisks us back to This Time Last Year. Let’s begin with a reminder that twelve months ago families were actually bracing themselves for a 2011 darkened by hardship and debt, a falling behind with bills and credit cards, and of course a major start-of-the-year hike in VAT. We need to remember that, because in 2010 numerous people nonetheless embarked on a massive Christmas overspend. Was it a case of ‘living for today because tomorrow we may be dead’? If it was, the consequence was at the very least debt, if not death.
Come New Year 2011, then, any savings made by buying ahead of the January increase in VAT risked being swallowed up by ongoing credit card interest. Was there any comfort? Well, on the one hand, the threatened increase in interest rates did not materialise. On the other, it was definitely a good Christmas: the hearts of retailers and general public alike were warmed by an average expenditure of some £400. But the cold light of day, as we now know, was a very cold light indeed. I wish you the merriest possible Christmas under the circumstances. If, however, you come to be haunted by one of Scrooge’s less jolly ghosts, don’t hesitate to call me.. For information on any matter relating to the above, call my mobile 07740 443083 at any time. Other services include Debt Recovery, Information Gathering, Tracing, Fraud Investigation and Process Serving. |
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...and of course one of the most memorable faces of Christmas, our old pal Ebenezer Scrooge, whose unflagging promotion of grinding poverty has fascinated us for a century and a half.
The figures for Christmas 2010 are grim. It’s calculated that over six million people borrowed to fund their festivities, an increase of 50% over 2009. This splurge led to pain that lasted months, with at least one third of the year’s insolvencies Christmas-linked. This is hardly surprising given that even before the end-of-year spree some four million households were already struggling with rent or mortgages. 