Okay here we go - today I’m going to moan about two things. The first thing I’m going to grumble about is smiling faces. Why would I whinge about smiling faces you might ask. Well these are particular types of smiling faces - they’re the ones that appear on credit advertisements. We’ve all seen them and they generally fall into a two categories, firstly there’s the smiling blonde with bright red lipstick wearing a telephone headset and she’s saying to the prospective customer - “look at me I’m beautiful, friendly, ready to answer your call and sort out all your financial difficulties”. Then there’s the other type, which sometimes involves a young and healthy family or someone on their own with a very big beaming smile throwing money around saying to the camera that all their financial difficulties are now over. Why do people fall for these advertisements? Do they care? Or am I just having one of those days?
The second thing I’m going to whinge about is the growing trend in organisations setting up websites that look like they’re there to advise you on something, whereas in reality they are just the front end of a loans or IVA business. I don’t want to name names, but you know the type I mean. Hark at me you might say, pointing something out like that when you might not be whiter than white yourself. But I think I am being straight and honest - We Introduce You to Secured Loans - we’ll get you sorted out with a secured loan from a large lending panel of over 12 organisations and earn commision from it - simple as that.
Seriously though, if you do want some help and advice about managing debt then these three organisations will be able to help.
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB)
At the time of writing the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), funded by charity, has around twenty one thousand volunteers offering telephone advice, on the Internet or at its 3,400 ‘drop in centres’ spread across Britain. The Citizens Advice Bureau is no stranger to dealing with people looking at Secured Loans and late last year produced a comprehensive report detailing what it saw wrong with the selling of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) for Secured Loans, credit cards and other loans in general. At the same time it reported to the FSA, OFT and various Treasury committees to get a better deal with consumers for insurance. As recently as May 2006 it also produced a report entitled ‘Deeper In Debt’ which discussed the problems their clients faced when coping with debt. Since that date, the FSA has responded by issuing judgements against the industries handling of payment insurance.
One of the major advantages CAB has over other Debt counselling advisers is how easy it is to get in touch with them. You can literally just pick up the phone for a quick discussion or call into one of their local advice centres. The CAB also has a very detailed website that contains a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section, advise on how to cope with Debt, where to get the best deals on credit, how to give yourself a financial health check and where to go for further advice. The CAB is also renowned for its excellent fact sheets and with regards to Secured Loans produces them for advice about County Court Judgements, problems with keeping up Mortgage payments, negotiating with creditors and provides a jargon buster. It also has a series of sample letters that can be used to help getting debts suspended or used to negotiate a re-payment plan.
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service
Whereas the CAB deals in general advice the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) specifically deals with coping with bad debt - so is ideally placed to offer advice on Secured Loans. Although it is physically less accessible than the CAB, as it only has eight operational centres, it does provide a free phone number - 0800 138 1111 - where you can get specific and immediate advice. For those who don’t like talking to someone in person they can also be contacted via email the address that can be found at on their contact page
Perhaps it is the sign of the times that the CCCS, founded at one centre in Leeds in 1993, grew to 4 centres in 1996 and now have 8 dedicated centres and two satellite sites, one in Northern Ireland and one a partnership with Direct Debt Line in East Sussex.
The CCCS is a registered charity and is fully funded by the Credit Industry. As is the case with the Citizens Advice Bureau it has a website that provides full details on how to cope with mounting debt problems. Unlike the CAB it is specifically targeted at people with financial difficulties.
The National Debt Line
The National Debt Line was set up in 1987 to provide purely telephone self-help guidance for people with credit and debt problems. All their advice is free, confidential and entirely independent and they can be contacted on 0808 808 4000. The National Debt Line is funded by the charity Money Advice Trust that is in turn funded primarily by the large players in the credit and finance sector. Most of these are also some of the larger players in the Secured Loans market like Barclays Bank PLC, GE Capital Bank, and Paragon. Even though the National Debt line is funded by these organisations they in no way have anything to do with its day-to-day operation.
National Debt Line will also provide on request a selection of Self-Help packs and fact sheets most of which are relevant to someone looking for a Secured Loan. As the service is telephone based their website is limited to information about the Agency only, but for a brief guide outlining how they operate.
There you go, that’s my resume of what advice is on offer. If you do find yourself tempted to any of the other websites then please just make sure in advance you know who you are dealing with. In essence, the advice you seek should always be impartial.
