Lenders Take Responsibility

It has been in the news recently that the reason for the UK’s increasing high debt level is because banks and credit card companies are lending irresponsibly. The lenders have been criticised for lending to those who can’t afford the level of debt and can’t make the repayments. These criticisms have lead to the lenders reviewing their lending policies and they now recognise the importance of lending more responsibly if they wish to have a good reputation.

An increasing number of lenders are tightening their lending criteria and turing away more customers if they beleive they can’t afford the debt. Barclaycard in Feburary claimed to turn down increasing numbers of applicants because of poor credit rating or financial circumstances.

Lenders are now being forced to write off some debtor’s debt because of their careless lending. Also many of the high street banks admitted they were writing off higher levels of debt.

For example Colin Griffths argued that he had been leant £100,000 by irresponsible lenders, as he was never in the position to make the repayments. His lenders after public exposure agreed to write off the debt. Many of the lenders apologised and said the appropriate steps weren’t taken during the application process and promised to rectify this, others blamed the client for giving false information.

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Lenders are soon to get more pressure to lend responsibly as on the 17th March 2006 it was anounced that there is going to be a clamp down on irresponsible lending. There is going to be an amendment to the Consumer Credit Bill, which will add ‘irresponsible lending’ to the list of practces the OFT may consider to be deceitful and unfair, leading debtors being protected.

There are other options available to you and borrowing more money is rarely the best solution when experiencing financial difficulties. Solutions to help you if you are struggling to make the repayments on your unsecured debts include:

Free Debt Management Plans

IVA’s

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Steer Clear of Loan Sharks

People who struggle to borrow money from high street banks or loan companies may be tempted to revert to borrowing from illegal money lenders such as loan sharks.

Loan sharks operate illegally and generally target vulnerable people such as those on benefits or young single women. People in desperate situations who have no other means of borrowing may use loan sharks as a last resort; however, do these people really know what they are letting themselves in for?

Recently, loan shark Kim Cornfield admitted illegal activity in his unlicensed operation by blackmailing and intimidating people who had borrowed from him. Cornfield claims he had around 75 clients, many of whom had taken our more than one loan.

Cornfield particularly targeted young women on benefits and would threaten them with violence and sexual intimidation to ensure he got his money. He was jailed for 2 years.

Cornfields wife, Lynne Cornfield was also involved in the illegal operation and was given a 12 month community rehabilitation order.

Victims of loan sharks are frequently subject to intimidation or violence. If you are currently struggling financially and considering using a loan shark,Â you areÂ seriously urged to reconsider. There are other solutions available to resolve financial difficulties without the need to borrow more money, and especially without the need to borrow from illegal operations such as those like Kim Cornfield’s.

The DTI are looking into stamping out loan sharks, but because they run illegal operations, information can be difficult to come by.

If you have already borrowed from a loan shark company and experiencing any kind of blackmailing or intimidation, do not allow this illegal activity to continue. Contact your local Trading Standards Department as soon as possible.

Useful links:

Debt Advice

Source: Credit today

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Financial Fitness – The New ‘F’ plan?

It’s March, and officially Spring, so with memories of Christmas and the ensuing January sales eclipsed by the first daffodils, have you recently had to deal with the shock arrival of bills and statements?

How was it for you? Surprised? Concerned?

But will we treat escape from newly-acquired debt with any greater resolve than the fitness, weight loss and bad- habit – kicking commitments we may have made in the New Year euphoria, and maybe broken already?

OK, so it’s easy to beat yourself up for your personal extravagance, but like gym membership, self-help groups and sharing your problems with partners, family and friends, taking that first step and admitting your problem, is the most difficult. Coming out of denial and facing the reality of the task ahead often means you are well on your way to your chosen goal.

With money worries increasingly cited as one of the most frequent cause of stress, depression and relationship breakdown, controlling your finances can suddenly become an important part of your life-style, complementing the five-a-day, low salt, high fibre, low fat, regular exercising regime that we’re all regularly recommended to adopt.

You could almost say that that without financial fitness, in the form of debt freedom, you may fail to maximise the total health benefits from the positive steps you take with diet and exercise. Now there’s a thought worth considering

With debt, the basic ground rules don’t change. Firstly, if possible, avoid it. If you choose not to, then limit your borrowing to what you can afford to repay. And finally, if concerned, worried or overwhelmed by debt to the degree that you no longer feel in control, then get help – fast. Denying you have a problem or just ignoring debt-related mail frequently makes recovery more difficult. So sooner rather than latter should be the guiding principle.

Getting debt help is relatively easy. Getting the right help and avoiding paying over the odds for your predicament could be slightly more demanding – on your time, patience and bank balance.

So in selecting your debt solutions provider, you should look for impartiality, experience, transparency, independence and a free debt advice service: features for which Payplan ticks all the boxes.

With over 15 years experience of providing debt advice and solutions, Payplan currently help over 60,000 people every year. We provide fast, impartial debt advice, regardless of the amount you owe, providing clients with a service that is free, confidential and just free a phone call away.

Many of our enquirers resolve their difficulties during their first phone call to us, whilst others may need Payplans advice and support for the duration of a fixed or flexible debt management plan that Payplan will administer on their behalf, smoothing the pathway to financial freedom.

Payplan debt management clients are supported by their own case officer and have 24 hour web access to Justabank – our online payment monitoring system, reflecting up-to-the-minute debt reduction and progress towards their goal – financial freedom.

So, if you feel financial fitness could make a real contribution to improving your lifestyle and restore your feeling of well-being or if debt is becoming a burden, then maybe Payplan can help lighten the load. Make the freephone call and begin to build a better you – it may be all it takes.

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Identity Fraud

When you draw money out from a cash machine you may check that no one is looking over your shoulder, but how much attention do you pay to the actual machine?

cash machine1.jpg

Recently a person noticed that the cash machine outside a Tesco sote in Stroud, Gloucestershire had been tampered with. A device was fixed above the slot where you put your card. The device reads the magnetic strip and steals the card details. You are completely unaware that your card detials have been stolen as you can continue to use your card. You may not realise that you have been a victim of identity fraud until your bank statement comes through your letterbox.

According to recent statistics the average amount taken from an account using a cloned card is £1,800, but the figure can be much higher. If you believe you are a victim of identiy fraud, obtain a copy of your credit file and visit What if it happens to you?

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