Real debt advice for fake coins

28/07/2010

Real debt advice for fake coins

Counterfeit coins could lead to a need for debt advice or even a debt solution such as an IVA or a Debt Management Plan as worthless currency increasingly enters circulation.

It comes as new figures revealed by The Daily Telegraph have indicated that as many as one in every 36 one pound coins are counterfeit, more than triple the amount of fakes in circulation ten years ago.

Conservative MP Andrew Rossindell said the number of counterfeits was now "a genuine matter for concern".

"This has a huge effect on confidence in our currency. Clearly the one pound coin is something the Royal Mint needs to reconsider. Even one in a hundred fake coins is too many. The effect on consumers has to be a major consideration."

"If you take it to the shop that gives it to you they may replace it on trust, but they don't have to. A lot of people have lost out because of this. I hope that the Government will look at it more deeply."

Most affected are likely to be small shop keepers themselves, who will not get money refunded by banks if the coins in their tills turn out to be fakes.

Experts have predicted that the number of fakes is now so high that it could even get to the point that the coins need to be reissued, with Robert Matthews, the most senior coin tester in the country, telling The Daily Telegraph that "If the number of fakes keeps increasing at this rate, there will have to come a point when the Treasury makes the decision whether to remint or not."

A Treasury spokesman said: "Any level of counterfeiting is a matter of concern and the Government takes it extremely seriously. Maintaining confidence in our currency is of paramount importance and we continue to keep our actions in response to counterfeiting under constant review."

Whether or not your debt has not been caused by counterfeiting, ClearStart can help.

If you have unsecured loans of over £3000 then a Debt Management Plan may be able to lower your monthly repayments and get you on the path to a debt free future.

If you owe over £15,000 then an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) may be the most appropriate solution.

With an IVA you can come to an agreement with all your creditors and may be able to completely eliminate all of your debt in just five years time. ADNFCR-3106-ID-19910780-ADNFCR