Personal debt levels are at the highest they have ever been and are getting worse. This is partly fuelled by the credit bonuses paid to branch staff for every loan and credit card granted, and bonuses paid on (mis) selling of insurance on such products. To make the situation worse, it appears the credit industry have now been successful in persuading the Government to make it easier for creditors to recover debts. In our opinion, and the opinion of all our clients, First Step Finance are one of the very few debt help companies who do the best for the client and not themselves. Almost every other debt management company will establish what you can pay them per month and put you on a debt management plan or IVA as soon as they can and then see how long you pay. The first thing we do is establish what you truly owe your creditors. In 100% of the time this is never correct and the client will owe considerably less than they think. Our Debt Reduction Programme is designed to even out the balance between debtor and creditor. Our advisers will work with the creditors to negotiate reduced instalments once a legally enforceable agreement has been produced. If such an agreement cannot be produced, then we will discuss the options available to the debtor and offer the necessary advice and support required to help clear the debt. British consumers are now more than £1,004,290,000,000 in debt. That's over £17,000 of debt for every man, woman and child in the UK. At some time or another during our lives most of us will overspend and get into debt. Sometimes we can get our finances back on an even keel by cutting down on a few luxuries. It's a fact that there is now much greater and easier access to credit than there ever has been before. What people often forget is that, once they use that credit, they have taken on a debt. British consumers now owe more than £1,004,290,000,000 on credit cards, mortgages and loans. Some 1,300 different credit cards are available compared with only one in 1971. The average credit card limit is £3,000 though some people have cards with limits of more than £10,000. Paying off the full amount you owe on your credit card statement every month means you are staying out of debt. However, once you slip behind and start to leave something owing month after month, you are beginning to get into debt and taking the first steps that could lead to financial disaster. Almost 12 million people in Britain have a mortgage. That is a loan to buy your own home or, in other words, a debt you owe. Of course few of us can do anything other than take on a mortgage if we want to own our own home and there is always the possibility of selling the property and repaying the money. So having debts is not the problem. The problem is letting debts build up to a point where you can no longer keep up the repayments or taking on more debt than you can realistically afford in the first place. At First Step Finance we provide a free consultation and advice service covering all aspects of Debt Consolidation & Management, as well as advice and solutions to debt and associated problems.