Debt Debate experts

After a varied employment history from supper club DJ and radio presenter in the Middle East through several retail posts to credit controller of a now-defunct heavy manufacturing firm, Bill joined the Insolvency Service in 1993 as an insolvency examiner.  After 9 years at OR Gloucester he joined ACCA in 2002 as a compliance officer, visiting IPs and generally putting himself about when the opportunity arose.  In July 2005 he left ACCA to set up Compliance On Call, poaching his former boss, Gareth Limb in April 2006, and together they incorporated Compliance On Call Limited.  Compliance On Call was set up with one aim in mind: to become the UK's leading insolvency compliance service provider within 5 years.  By employing only insolvency compliance specialists and concentrating on supplying a supportive and transparent service, the company, which was incorporated in April 2006 now has over 150 IP clients and expects to have assisted 25% of the country's appointment-taking IPs by the end of 2008.  In addition to conducting case and systems reviews, Compliance On Call is happy to take an active role in topical debates and consultations that have an impact on the insolvency profession.

Heather Greig-Smith is editor of Credit Today, the magazine for the commercial and consumer credit industry. She joined the magazine as deputy editor in 2006 from commercial property magazine Property Week.

Stuart Hopewell FICM is Chairman of the Institute of Credit Management (ICM), the largest professional credit management organisation in Europe. Stuart has been involved in credit for over 30 years and has served on a wide range of committees and working parties, including representing the ICM on the Insolvency Service's National Users' Council. An ICM Council Member since 1999, Stuart is regularly consulted on insolvency matters and he vigorously encourages his fellow credit professionals to engage in insolvency procedures that affect their day to day business.

Gill Hankey is a Director of the Bankruptcy Advisory Service Limited and has just been recently awarded an M.B.E on the New Years Honours List 2008. Gill is also a member of R3 and the Insolvency Service National Consumer User Group and she speaks regularly to members of these groups on debt and bankruptcy issues and the type of work carried out by the Bankruptcy Advisory Service.

Kevin Still is a credit and debt industry veteran of 23 years who is currently a Director of leading debt management company EuroDebt Financial Services and Senior Vice President of Credit Professionals Limited, a special credit management consultancy. He is a former Director of Equifax and UAPT-Infolink, with extensive experience of setting up industry-wide information sharing schemes to prevent fraud, identify over-indebtedness and promote responsible lending.

Rachel Lacey is the editor of Moneywise, Britain's best-selling personal finance magazine, and has written numerous articles giving advice on debt management and money saving measures.

Anne Kiem is Head of External Affairs for the ifs School of Finance, a registered charity involved in the provision of education and lifelong career support for the financial services

Mark Allen is a partner at Grant Thornton, where he is Head of their IVA Department. He is responsible for the National IVA service line, and is a chartered accountant.

Andy Reeve is Head of Business Studies at Kings School, Macclesfield, and a columnist for , a business magazine targeted at 15-18 year olds. He is also involved with Tutor2u, an online website specialising in economic and business education.

Peter has presented a wide range of BBC radio and television programmes including the award-winning Money Programme, The Today Programme, and current affairs programme Newsnight on BBC2.

Melanie Giles is an Insolvency Practitioner who has worked at the forefront of the insolvency industry for over 20 years. Melanie is an authoritative voice on the regulation and provision of Individual Voluntary Arrangements.

Lord Nazir Ahmed is a Labour MP. Born and educated in Rotherham, Lord Ahmed read public administration at Sheffield University before working as a business development manager while keeping actively involved in his local community. He was made a peer in 1998. Lord Ahmed is also Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group Against Financial Exploitation.

Neil Hamilton took Mohamed Al-Fayed to court for libel in November 1999, but lost on 21 December after the 11 jurors found against him. He also lost the subsequent appeal in December 2000. In May 2001, unable to pay his legal fees and costs amounting to some £3m, he was declared bankrupt. He was discharged from bankruptcy in 2004.

Mark Hoban was appointed Shadow Financial Secretary to the Treasury in 2005. He is also a chartered accountant with with a degree in economics from the London School of Economics. He worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers and its predecessor firms between 1985 and 2001.

Stephen Hone is best know for winning his case against Abbey National over their bank charges. The case was settled in his favour for 600% more than his claim, at £5000. Steve subsequently set up penaltycharges.co.uk to help others do the same. Steve has made numerous TV appearances, including GMTV and Tonight with Trevor McDonald, and   regular comments in the UK's national press.

Elaine Williams is an active campaigner and the Director of SAFE, Struggle Against Financial Exploitation. Her group draws attention to how both the banks and other governing institutions seemingly condone systemic fraud and deception upon unsuspecting individuals throughout the UK.

Richard is a Stress Consultant and the founder of the Pinnacle Therapy wellbeing group. He is also a professionally qualified counsellor, hypno-psychotherapist and mediator.

James Falla is a debt expert with over 10 years experience helping people with their debt problems. James is now an MD of a debt consultancy and is the author of the best selling debt advice book "IVA, Bankruptcy and other debt solutions: The Definitive Guide". James has made numerous TV and radio appearances, including BBC1 News, BBC News 24, and Wake Up To Money.

Dr Vincent Cable is the Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer and speaks for his party on issues of Finance, European Economic and Monetary Union and the City. He was Shadow Secretary of State for Trade and Industry from 1999 - 2003. Dr Cable attended Cambridge University (Natural Science and Economics) and gained his PhD at the University of Glasgow.

Professor Eric Pentecost is a Professor of Economics and Programme Director for MSc in Economics and Finance at Loughborough University. He is a published author and has an interest in debt and the wider macroeconomic environment.

Rob Owen served in the Royal Navy before becoming an environmental specialist, advising throughout the world. Rob Owen is now Joint Director of SAFE, Struggle Against Financial Exploitation, acting as Secretariat to the All Party Parliamentary Group Against Financial Exploitation.

The Rt Rev Dr Peter Selby is the current Church of England Bishop of Worcester. Bishop Selby obtained a BA and MA in philosophy and psychology at St John's College, Oxford, and a PhD at King's College, London. His ordination training took place the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the 1960s. He is currently undertaking research into the Christian understanding of money and its power.

Dr Helga Dittmar is a reader in Psychology at the University of Sussex and author of "A new look at "compulsive buying": Self-discrepancies and materialistic values as predictors of compulsive buying tendency". In the clip, Dr Dittmar talks about her research into spending and debt, particularly among Britain's youth.