Debt (Credit Card & Unsecured)

Credit Card Debt (Homeowners & Tenants)

All credit card debt is unsecured (ie it is not secured against your home or other saleable asset) as are bank overdrafts and unsecured loans. So credit cards are available to both tenants and homeowners.

Generally it should be regarded therefore, that any unsecured debt is assessed on your ability to pay. Whereas any debt secured (eg a mortgage or secured loan) against an asset such as your home can be 'reclaimed' by the lender if you default on repaying the loan, unsecured debt is not (hence the term unsecured).

This does mean, therefore, that unsecured borrowing will be more expensive than secured borrowing because the risk for the lender is higher if you default or are unable to repay. In short, the interest charged on unsecured borrowing is always much higher than on secured borrowing.

Regulation

Mortgages and most secured lending is regulated by the FSA (Financial Services Authority). This means that the sale of these products necessitates a strict code of conduct that if breached can result in severe penalties for the lender and a means of recompense for the consumer (in theory). Only suitably qualified persons are allowed to advise you on these products. Although the word advise is an important distinction here as many lenders do employ sales people who are not qualified but can explain the lenders' products as long as they do not 'advise' you (they always issue a disclaimer first).

An independent advisor who can offer advice on whole of market products must be regulated by the FSA and suitably qualified to do this. FSA regulated companies are subjected to regular spot checks to ensure they comply with the regulation.

So what? What about credit cards?

Credit card lending is not regulated. This issue is attracting increasing attention as it is becoming evident that credit and store cards are being thrust upon unsuspecting consumers without full recourse and a full understanding of the terms and charges.

How can you help? Payments on my credit cards are crippling me!

The critical factor here is the unsecured debt and your affordability to pay.

If your total unsecured debt exceeds £15,0000 and 3 or more creditors (so apart from the unsecured loan, any credit card debt or bank overdrafts) we have specialists who can negotiate with these creditors to write off much of this debt. This is called an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) and the creditors will look at what you can afford to pay and negotiate part payment of the unsecured debt whilst allowing you to continue to pay your secured debt if you are a homeowner (ie your mortgage).

The IVA will usually be calculated over a period of 3-5 years. But, if in that period, property values do increase you can remortgage yourself out of the IVA early. Our specialists will keep in touch with you over this period to notify you if they think this would be to your advantage.

If your debt is less than £15,000 there is the option of a debt management plan.

Both of these options are available to both tenants and homeowners.

What other options are there?

There are other options available. If you are a homeowner and do have equity in the property you may be able to remortgage with a different lender. If this is the case please click here to complete our remortgage enquiry form. Otherwise, please complete our NO OBLIGATION form below and a specialist will call you in strict confidence to discuss your options very soon.

Please tell us about yourself

Title

---Please Select--- Mr Mrs Ms Miss Dr Rev

First name*

Last name*

Date of birth*

Day Month Year

Postcode*

House Number*

Address Line 2

Town/City

Telephone*

Mobile*

Email Address*

Is this a single or joint application?*

Joint    Single

Title of second applicant*

---Please Select--- Mr Mrs Ms Miss Dr Rev

First name of second applicant*

Surname/family name of second applicant*

Date of birth of second applicant*

Day Month Year

Is the second applicant aware of this enquiry?*

Yes    No

Your property and mortgage details

Residential status

---Please Select--- Homeowner (Own Outright) Homeowner (With Mortgage) Tenant Living With Parents

Approximate value of your property(£)*

Approx. mortgage outstanding (£)*

Current lender*

Please Select.. Abbey Accord Advantage Alliance and Leicester Associates Bank of Ireland Bank of Scotland Barclays Birmingham Midshires Blemain Finance Bradford and Bingley Bristol and West Britannia Building Society Britannic Chelsea Building Society Cheltenham and Gloucester City Bank Financial Services Clydesdale Bank Coventry Building Society DB Mortgages Edeus First National Mortgage FNB Future GE Money Lending GMAC - RFC Halifax HSBC IGroup Infinity Intelligent Finance Jim Whites Kensington Mortgages Lancashire Mortgage Company Leeds Building Society Lloyds TSB Money Partners Mortgage Express Mortgage Works Mortgages 4 Mortgages PLC National Guarantee Nationwide Natwest Newcastle Building Society Northern Rock Platform Home Loans Preferred Mortgages Salt Southern Pacific Mortgages (SPML) Swift The Mortgage Lender (TML) TMC Tattenham Welcome Woolwich Building Society ..Other lender

Approx. amount of any secured loans (£)

Approximate total amount of unsecured loans (inc. credit card balances & overdrafts) (£)*

Number of creditors for unsecured loans

---Please Select--- 1 2 3 4 5+

Your circumstances

Please tick any of the following that apply to you.

Have you or the joint applicant had a CCJ in the last 3 years?

Have you or the joint applicant ever had an IVA?

Have you or the joint applicant ever been declared bankrupt?

Any other information

Please add any other information that you feel may be important here.

Financial Compensation

IMPORTANT: You may be entitled to £1000s in compensation for previously mis-sold financial products such as PPI, Bank Charges etc (on average, each enquirer has 5.5 potential claims). Don't let the banks and financial institutions keep your money to pay themselves massive bonuses & pensions with! Remove the tick if you do not wish to receive information about this service.