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Hello All

In my work yesterday I came across a particularly unusual case, in that the person I went to see had vey little discernible income, not a problem as a lot of folk are like this. What I couldn`t believe was the amount of credit they had been allowed to accumulate, how on earth a lender could ever expect to be repaid was a real head scratcher and I thought maybe there should be a limit on how many credit cards we can have , possibly with 1 being the maximum and if you manage that account accordingly then the credit limit could be increased, therefore giving 1 lender the opportunity to advise accordingly dependent on what they are experiencing with their clients. The reason I say this is because credit cards are not a bad thing it`s just that holding so many open us up to potential problems, same with personal loans maybe we should be restricted to the amount we were allowed to have. Perhaps this is a unworkable answer but this daft type of lending should be more closely monitored. Just a thought. Tony

Hi Tony
This is the message that just comes time ands time again over this forum, irresponsible lending. It is too easy to get credit cards and from experience I found the advice swop to get no interest for six months ,but they never gave you enough to transfer the whole balance so you can see how a number of cards can build up. I totally agree ther should be a limit to what can be borrowed. I never lied about income but they just kept giving and as you start to struggle you just keep going you try to keep up.

Hope you get what I'm trying to say.

Ang

I agree with you Welshboy. I had so many credit cards I lost count. Maybe they should make it that when you get another credit card the previous one must be cancelled.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

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I agree in priniciple with what you say Welshboy but with one obvious flaw (in my opinion, anyway). The greed of the creditors themselves, with their strong arm tactics, especially if they see an asset. How many people out there are aware of their rights in regards to dealing with debts, suffering harrassment to 1 inch of their sanity, behind closed doors? Furthermore, how many of these IVA factory type companies are cashing in on this lack of awareness? How many of us on this site have paid thousands and thousands of pounds back in interest on the cards before the proverbial and all his mates hit the fan?

How much are they really losing?

I am not sure how many wont pays there are but how many cant pays does debt destroy? Who actually cares????????????

Lenders bins must be full of noses they have cut off to spite their own faces, how many on the forum would have paid something but have been forced into paying nothing or much less?

There must be an easier way to learn a lesson.

LILY

fly me beyond the distant star, I will wish on tonight to see you smile just once more to know youre there.

I agree lily,
and i think what the judge said to kerri today speaks volumes your creditors will regret not allowing your iva to go ahead,as through there greed they will get a big fat 0.As Tony says if credit was monitered,then we would not end up in the state that we are in,ok we borrowed but mostly out of desperation to try and put of the ineveteble,at the end of the day why should we worry about paying back the most we can afford when creditors dont care one way or another how and why we got here,if they did then we wouldnt be able to get our hands on credit so easily surely most of the blame lands at there feet

Its true that even when you are deep in debt, you will get offered more credit, every time I would phone my bank (I already had 2 loans and 1 Credit card) I would be told I qualify for a new loan or credit card. I also think some of the problem is bank staff getting a bonus for products they sell. I think this is part of the problem, easy credit, but I must take some of the blame, I spent the money!! and did not look after my finances.

Cheers, Mark.

IVA accepted, so 60 months to go!!

My one bit of advice, if I can do it, so can you!

View my IVA story blog at: http://sopty.blogs.iva.co.uk

I agree - most people use credit these days which is fine until your cicumstances change which you really don't anticipate and then you use more and more credit just to stay afloat till you finally have to admit you are really sunk. Having used credit over many years it would be interesting ( or terrifying ) to see just how much we have paid back in interest over the years. A loan we had which we still had another 3 years to pay on I worked out we had already paid the full amount back plus £3000 interest and they wanted another £10000 more back on top. Guess we didn't read the small print but who does. I know nobody forces you to borrow but there should be a limit on the number of credit cards you can hold at least.
Sue

Its a good point regarding how the banks keep lending to people already over committed.I,ve been told that when the banks etc search the credit register that they only see the payment profile and not the outstanding balance.So as long as you have a good payment history yo will more than likely get further credit,even if you are using credit to pay credit.Surely if this is true banks need to have access to this info so that they can see straight away that you already owe 30,40 or 50k plus.
Also why do we neede more than one credit card ??
regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson and site manager
(aka Neverending)

Please check out my blog: http://andydavie.blogs.iva.co.uk

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http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

Hi all

I got to the stage where just before the 1st of the month I would be making large cash machine withdrawals on my cards to pay into my account to cover all my direct debits going out on the 1st. Maybe the credit companies should look at spending trends. I'm sure I'm not the only one that did this and to me that would demonstrate somebody in financial trouble.

On the point of being continually offered credit I haven't paid my creditors for 6 months now yet yesterday I received a mailshot from Yes Loans headlined "Yes to a Brighter Future". It then has tick boxes next to the headings "arrears" "defaults" "CCJ's" "refused credit" "self employed" then "We could help you raise the cash you need"

It goes on to say "We'll give you an instant decision on a Tenant Loan from £500 to £20,000 or a Homeowner Loan from £500 to £75,000. Whatever your circumstances, even if you've been refused credit before, we like to say YES!"

Now if thats not irresponsible lending I dont know what is. However it gets worse as I googled Yes Loans and found a forum. It seems they are actually a broker that charge £49.50 but as we've found with certain companies on here they promise things but dont deliver and trying to get your money back is a nightmare. I've pasted one disgruntled applicants comments below:

Good Points

None
Bad Points

Everything
General Comments

I applied to them for a loan. I was approved over the phone, and told I would get forms to fill in in two days, and a cheque 5 days after the agreement was returned. What tosh! I have a good credit rating, but because of work, I have moved about a bit and am in private rented accommodation. I wanted £5000 for a car. This was offered at £146 a month.

Actually, I had only become a client of Yes Loans, and 8 days later I got a letter from Welcome Finance offering me the opportunity to apply to them for a loan, at the rate of 46.5%! What a rip off!! I have not even replied, and I am now seeking my £49.50 admin fee back off Yes Loans.

Seems the sharks are everywhere if money is involved.

As Nick Ross might say: "Don't have nightmares...."

Regards

Dave

I agree it's unbelievable the amount of credit offered.

I had 22 cards, loans etc - mostly becuase I kept getting offers of interest free transfers and then consolidation loans etc etc.

Was I irresponsible in taking up the offers - almost certainly yes - but why did I keep getting them? I ended up with unsecured debts more than 3 times my gross salary which is more than you are supposed to be able to get on a secured loan!

A good example was my bank who offered to consolidate my credit card and overdraft into a loan. I did this but they didn't want me to stop using my credit card (as they'd lose fees) or pull my overdraft facility.

The result - within 18 months I had the loan, card maxxed out and overdraft again. I hold my hands up that I am responsible for this but if the bank just said okay you have a limit for total borrowing from us then I couldn't have done it.

The answer is to get the lenders to be more responsible - decisions should be on ability to pay not payment profile.

But this won't happen - why? - it's all down to money and power. No government is going to bring in laws that majorly restrict lenders profitability - it would be political suicide.

Now that I'm in my IVA I will never borrow unsecured again. I've fed the fat cats in the banks enough for one life time thankyou.

This is what I meant by greed of creditors, I too have had offers even though I havent paid my creditors the full amount for 7 months. Every other advert on TV is for loans and credit cards and they want you to swap, which is why people end up with so many. My bank phoned me every three months with an improved loan offer to combine the debt, I believed they were acting in my interests and not theirs. I am still responsible for signing on the dotted line and accept that. I had to take out money on my cards also, in order to feed the family and maintain dd's. I still never really believed I wouldnt get on top of it all. Until it was too late.

LILY

fly me beyond the distant star, I will wish on tonight to see you smile just once more to know youre there.

That just about sums life up; those that can least afford to pay end up paying the most. And I'm not only talking in terms of money! How many lives have been ruined or lost, thanks to these tactics used by creditors. I can assure you some of them certainly have blood on their hands...

You're absolutely right Ivoriva.

My journey into debt has cost me my house and aonther 5 years of hardship to come but I still have a job, a loving partner and son and understanding friends and family and that is all that matters in the end.

Unfortunately it's taken me a few years to realise it but better late than never!

I will be making all future financial decisions on ethical grounds i.e. no dealings with banks unless I absolutely have to.

Yes Hunter - all that matters are those who are close to you. For me, one reason I buried my head in the sand for so long is because of the fear I would lose my wife and those closest to me. In hindsight if I had tackled my problems much sooner, im sure my problem would of been only half of what it is today. But at the time, when you're in that loop, the desperation and fear takes over...

Well I did lose my wife (partly due to debts) but fortunately have found someone else mad enough to marry me!

Just goes to show you can never tell what life will throw at you! All you can do if go with it and keep smiling.