Credit Mad Britain

The Office of Fair Trading released figures yesterday showing that loans amounting to more than £40bn were taken out in 2002 by consumers who wanted to consolidate multiple debts into one large loan.

Where will it all end ?
Is this the sign of the boom and bust we had back in the eighties ?
I can remember Tony Blair saying that this government was not about boom and bust, well if it isn't Tony, what is it ?

Credit is all to easily available IMO.

I have just read this sad story which makes me wonder why people are allowed to get in such a position.

A very sad state of affairs indeed.

[tkiely]

This is a very sad story.

As far as credit goes, there are two sides.

My Boiler blew up (literally) this week and needs replacing at £800.

think I can get credit for this? can I F$%^

[xaq141175]

What does the government have to do with people spending on credit cards again ?

I guess if it gets to be a major problem then they'll have to be laws passed to address credit services. That would be a shame though as the people who do keep thier debt's manageable would be denied a useful service. Unfortunately it seems as though many people do need a nanny state.

[Shaun]

Originally Posted by yesman

Where will it all end ?
Is this the sign of the boom and bust we had back in the eighties ?
I can remember Tony Blair saying that this government was not about boom and bust, well if it isn't Tony, what is it ?

Credit is all to easily available IMO.

I have just read this sad story which makes me wonder why people are allowed to get in such a position.

A very sad state of affairs indeed.

I thought it was a Tory policy to allow people to run their own lives, and for governments not to interfere??

But you are right, it cant be sustained, people do need to learn that you do have to pay all that "free" money back

Originally Posted by xaq141175

What does the government have to do with people spending on credit cards again ? [...]

Unfortunately it seems as though many people do need a nanny state.

The problem is that, at the moment there is insufficient regulation of the credit lenders so that it is too easy to a) get credit and b) get into serious debt.

Yes, ok, I don't deny that some people get themselves into trouble, but when there are people begging you to take their cards and effectively offering inducements (low introductory rates etc) to persuade you, it's not difficult to see how people can be suckered into taking out more credit than they can repay.

Of course by the time they *realise* it, they're so deep in the s$$t that there's very little they can do to get out without *further* borrowing.

[tkiely]

just hope that they dont introduce controls on borrowing like in the '70s.

limits like 1.5x salary for mortgages (if you are lucky), say goodbye to credit cards,

bring back the tin under the floorboards.

Originally Posted by tkiely

just hope that they dont introduce controls on borrowing like in the '70s. limits like 1.5x salary for mortgages (if you are lucky)

IMO that wouldn't be such a bad thing, because it's about the only thing that is going to stop the housing market going even further out of control to the extent that we see another 80's style crash.

Too many people are already lying on Self-Certificated mortgage applications, saying they're earning as much as two or three times their real income, to get a mortgage, but if interest rates go up by another percent or two, they're going to find themselves in severe problems trying to repay their loans.

Trouble is there is all this new credit with people consolidating loans. Does it take into account the loans that are paid off?

I think they should kill these adverts on day time TV "Consolidate your loans and reduce your monthy payments" why does it reduce your mnthly payments? cos your paying it over a longer period of time and paying more!!!! Too easy for people to get sucked into that one. They consolidate and then what do they do? Borrow more cos they can then afford too.

[kronas]

Originally Posted by Graham

Too many people are already lying on Self-Certificated mortgage applications, saying they're earning as much as two or three times their real income, to get a mortgage, but if interest rates go up by another percent or two, they're going to find themselves in severe problems trying to repay their loans.

there is no accurate figure for the amount of self certificated mortgages, although it sits at about 30-40%, most people rely on the interest rates to stay low, atthe current conditions of over borrowing through credit and mortgages, the assessment is rates will be going up.

[Maggy J]

The real answer is to refuse to have a CC and to SAVE up for what you want.It seems like everyone thinks they MUST have a CC.Why? Surely the only credit one needs is the mortgage that you have on your home.Why go looking for any other credit?

We also seem to have forgotten how to save money for a rainy day.Mind the interest rates don't exactly inspire one to save but we should all make the attempt to save some money as and when we can.That way hopefully we can pay out for the unfortunate situation of a blown up boiler.

I also have some very important questions that I ask myself before I buy any item that isn't food.I ask myself do I need this item?Why do I need it? Can I wait until another time to buy it?
Quite often I can talk myself out of spending money on an item I don't really need or waiting until another time if I do.
I'm pleased to say that I owe money to no one least of all the greasy,groping loan companies and CC companies who are the very worst at leading folk onwards down the slippery slope by increasing credit limits without discussion,hiding behind complicated interest rates by using unclear,complicated jargon to confuse the unwary.

Sorry for the rant.

Incog.

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by Graham

IMO that wouldn't be such a bad thing, because it's about the only thing that is going to stop the housing market going even further out of control to the extent that we see another 80's style crash.

Too many people are already lying on Self-Certificated mortgage applications, saying they're earning as much as two or three times their real income, to get a mortgage, but if interest rates go up by another percent or two, they're going to find themselves in severe problems trying to repay their loans.

Absolutely! It cannot be allowed to go on.

[punky]

Nobody likes credit cards, but everyone is quick to use them. I think people who try and blame credit card companies should try take responsibility for themselves for once.

I think they are in the top 5 best inventions of the 20th century. This little piece of plastic means that in (I havent check my stats), I can use it in like over 250 countries around the world. No matter where I end up, even in the most destitute countries in the world, someone somewhere will take a CC. All you need is a phone line. People say the charges are too high, but they don't realise how many features they have. They do vary from card company to card company but i got a whole book of features with mine, and I haven't got round to reading it. Give you some examples: Every electric item I buy on it is automatically covered for accidental damage insurance; Any holiday I buy on it, automatically covers me for travel insurance. I dont have one but my mate told me not long ago, that his Barclarycard has a price match guarantee on it. He bought a hard disk, and promptly saw it cheaper somewhere else. Barlcaycard sent him a form, he filled it out, and got a £17 cheque back. But the holiest of holy features, is the Chargeback. Any time you get screwed over, the credit company will be more than happy to get your money back for you, even if they company you deal with isn't This has got many people who got screwed, there money back. A while back, I had to renew my car insurance. I paid for it on CC, and soon after the company folded, and the ombusdman said the underwritters only need to pay out 90% of my claim, even though I had fully comp. A couple of calls, and a fax later, I got all my money back. If I had paid by cheque? Nothing.

Think of online shopping, and how you would do it without a CC. Send cheques to America and Australia? What about the currency difference?

Because of all the features, I use my CC all month instead of my debit card, and then just pay the bill off at the end of the month. Just imagine life without them. Terrible isn't it?

People like that guy, who run up a £70,000 CC bill. I can't for the life of me think how he'd get so far in debt, but if it wasn't for credit cards, i'm sure he would of gone to a loan shark or the like.

[Ramrod]

Originally Posted by punky

Nobody likes credit cards, but everyone is quick to use them. I think people who try and blame credit card companies should try take responsibility for themselves for once.

I think they are in the top 5 best inventions of the 20th century. This little piece of plastic means that in (I havent check my stats), I can use it in like over 250 countries around the world. No matter where I end up, even in the most destitute countries in the world, someone somewhere will take a CC. All you need is a phone line. People say the charges are too high, but they don't realise how many features they have. They do vary from card company to card company but i got a whole book of features with mine, and I haven't got round to reading it. Give you some examples: Every electric item I buy on it is automatically covered for accidental damage insurance; Any holiday I buy on it, automatically covers me for travel insurance. I dont have one but my mate told me not long ago, that his Barclarycard has a price match guarantee on it. He bought a hard disk, and promptly saw it cheaper somewhere else. Barlcaycard sent him a form, he filled it out, and got a £17 cheque back. But the holiest of holy features, is the Chargeback. Any time you get screwed over, the credit company will be more than happy to get your money back for you, even if they company you deal with isn't This has got many people who got screwed, there money back. A while back, I had to renew my car insurance. I paid for it on CC, and soon after the company folded, and the ombusdman said the underwritters only need to pay out 90% of my claim, even though I had fully comp. A couple of calls, and a fax later, I got all my money back. If I had paid by cheque? Nothing.

Think of online shopping, and how you would do it without a CC. Send cheques to America and Australia? What about the currency difference?

Because of all the features, I use my CC all month instead of my debit card, and then just pay the bill off at the end of the month. Just imagine life without them. Terrible isn't it?

People like that guy, who run up a £70,000 CC bill. I can't for the life of me think how he'd get so far in debt, but if it wasn't for credit cards, i'm sure he would of gone to a loan shark or the like.

Very good post. We buy everything on cc and pay it of when the bill arrives. We get free insurance (as you said) and 'nectar' points

[ian@huth]

Credit cards are essential if you want to manage your money and get security with your purchases, but you have to know how to use them properly.

I have a rule that we don't buy anything unless we can afford to pay cash for it, usually cash means putting it on the credit card and paying off the bill in full by direct debit. Sometimes we use hard cash if we get a better price by doing so.

What we do is budget for what we are going to spend in the future. Nearly everything you own needs replacing at some time. What we do is work out how long we think something, say a fridge, will last and work out how much a month we have to save to make sure that we have the cash to buy a replacement when the time comes. We tend to under estimate the life of most things so we are covered in case of early failure. This money we put in a savings plan so that it is earning interest. Doing this we are never in the position of a major item failing and we haven't got the cash for a replacement.

[kronas]

simple the money you dont have you dont spend, i intend to keep away from credit cards forever, at the moment this is the case, if banks try to push you services such as credit cards you simply say 'no put your foot down and tell them.

the temptation of a credit card is too strong for some, the majorty of the blame lies with the consumer for over spending, then the banks for upping credit limits and sending gold cards out, sometimes without the request of the customer.

if you have one and spend, you should not moan and cry help for bills you caused it yourself, the harsh reality is, 'you reep what you sow'