Wonga.com is 'a new web loan innovation' according to some, but what does it actually do - and does it have a place among debt management solutions?

Wonga.com is a UK based internet loans company.  It has been running for approximately 10 months now, and is already profitable.  It ofers loans similar to those offered by payday loans companies.  The difference is in the selection process, and the speed.

Wonga use a 100% online application, the credit check is fast, and once accepted, they can arange for the money to be transferred to your account within the hour.  Wonga charge 1% per day for their services, on a 5-30 day loan.  This can work out at a staggering 2689%APR.

Unlike some other payday loan providers however, Wonga make it clear that they are aexpensive, and have put a lot of effort into making debt management information available on their website. 

If you need quick cash for an unexpected accident, Wonga could potentially help.  If you are struggling with debts, then Wonga isnt for you - call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156 to speak to one of our debt counsellors.

Confused.com, the price comparison site has released figures from research showing the most indebted areas of Britain.  The research, based on the amounts owed by individuals on their credit cards shows Chester-Le-Street in Durham, and Camberley in Surrey as the most indebted.

These figures are based on Chester-Le-Street having the highest average personal loan and hire purchase debt - at £3470.79 per person on average, with consumers in Camberley owing over £2000 each on credit cards.

Confused research shows that workers still owe more than they earn, at a rate of £1.02 for every £1.  Consumers in Kingston-upon-thames owe an average of 169% of their annual income, with those in Manchester only owing 55% of their income.

If you are struggling with debt, call MRA Debt Help, where one of our debt counsellors will be happy to help.

National Debtline have called for more funding after revealing that they can only answer 50% of calls to their call centre.

National debtline answer around 800 calls a day, yet they have to turn away the same amount.  The last set of funding from the government went on training an extra 50 advisers.  Once their training is complete, the charity will be able to answer an estimated 1250 debt management related calls per day, still falling short of being able to help everyone in need of debt mangement advice.

Rising unemployment has seen calls and appointmants at the charity soar.  If you are in need of debt help, then call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156 for free advice from one of our debt counsellors.

In a brave turn up for the books, LloydsTSB has announced that it will be re-introducing mortgages for 95% loan to value in the UK.

It may not be a comfort to debt management clients, but the news does herald a little bit of hope for the UK housing market.

The loans are aimed at young first time buyers, and like all things, come with a catch.  The loan will be fixed at 4.39% for 3 years, a massive reduction on the rates offered by the other lenders willing to lend high loan to value (ltv) mortgages - for example Yorkshire building society.

The catch is all related to the parents savings.  Lloyds stipulate that the mortgage is only available to clients whose parents have 25% ltv in savings with Lloyds, and Lloyds take a charge over this money in case of defaults.  At the end of the fixed rate, the charge can be rmeoved, providing the ltv has reduced to 90%

If you are struggling with mortgage arrears, call our debt management experts on 01424 777156, and we can help you decide on the most appropriate debt solution for you.

Debt management solutions are becoming more and more important due to the rising number of people falling behind with their mortgage payments.

New data, published by the council of mortgage lenders (CML) shows that 12800 properties were repossessed by first charge lenders in the first 3 months of this year, a massive 4300 more than in the same quarter last year. 

205300 people are currently in arrears by more than 2.5% of their total mortgage balance, a 62% increase on the same time last year. 

If you are struggling with payments on any of your debts, call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156 to speak to one of our debt counsellors

It's time to get on my debt management based soapbox again!  Egg have announced that they are scrapping ATM withdrawals from their 'cash card' accounts (come on Egg, the clues in the name).

The changes will leave 11,000 customers unable to use their cards, and restrict them to banking online.  This is the latest in a string of changes imposed by Egg recently, affecting many of their customers, including those on debt management plans and arrangements.  Last month, Egg decided to scrap all credit interest on their credit cards, and increased cash withdrawal charges on their credit cards.  Interest rates for cardholders also increased by as much as 7% earlier this year.

These changes have all happened since the company was bought by US banking giant Citi, and it is a real shame, as Egg used to have fantastic customer relations.  Egg used to be extrememly proactive towards customers facing debt problems.  Their literature for customers facing dificulties paying was informative and helpful, andfrom a debt counsellors point of view  they used to be one of the easiest lenders to deal with when arranging debt management plans.

If you are struggling with credit cards, loans or any other form of debt, then call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156 to speak to one of our debt counsellors.

The debt management industry is set to receive more funding from the governement.  Children, Schools and Families Secretary Ed Balls has announced a boost of funding for charities involved in relationship and family counselling.  A third of this is due to go to Relate, a charity also known for its work with online debt advice.

Mr Balls said "It's really tough for families when the main breadwinner loses their job or they are under threat of repossession and it puts an enormous strain on relationships.  Organisations like Relate often work closely with families under stress, and find the cause to be related to debt management problems.

The £1m lifeline will be spread over 2 years, and has been welcomed by the charity.  "We are delighted the government has comitted this new funding.  Tens of thousands of people affected by the recession will be able to access Relate family and relationship counselling at a reduced rate this year." said Claire Tyler, chief executive of Relate.

If you are struggling with any form of debt management, and would like debt advice and counselling, call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156.

Yes, its that time of the month again (well its a few days late but we won't mention that) where we take a look at the latest debt management statistics from Creditaction.

The first debt statistic to jump out at me this month is from the 'striking numbers' section - 1 in 33 people in work are estimated to become unemployed during 2009.  Thats not one of these debt statistics padded out by the numbers of people who were already unemployed - this is people currently in work.  Thats 3% of the UK's workforce, which is a lot in anybody's book.

The average amount owed by the number of households who have some form of unsecured credit is now £21580, with the average mortgage now standing at £104,475.

Total consumer credit lending has fallen again, to £232bn at the end of March 2009, with total secured lending slowing down a further 0.4% to £1227bn.

According to PriceWaterHouseCooper more than 5483 companies became insolvent during the first 3 months of 2009, a 14% increase on the previous quarter.

At the end of March 2009, the public sector net debt was the equivalent of £30,000 per household.  If you include losses incurred from financial sector interventions, this rises to £57840 per household. 

Creditactions statistics also mention the litle gem that I blogged about earlier this year - yes, debt freedom day!

One figure I had to add in, thats not on the creditaction debt statistics, is the number of households to have currently benefitted from the £285m mortgage rescue scheme set up by the government (drum roll please)...1.  yes thats not a typo, its one household, and as far as we know its not an MP's second home either!

If you are affected by debt, don't become a statistic, call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156 to speak to one of our debt counsellors

The Daily Mail has published breaking news on the debt ridden state of middle class Britain today.  As eager as ever to cause concern and dismay in middle Britain,  the harbingers of doom at the publication have finally realised that there is actually a debt problem, even in more affluent areas.

One of our earliest blogs, by Jason, mentioned that the middle income earners were at the highest risk from debt problems, way back in July 2008.  Since then we have included several posts warning people of the fact, based on our own experience from dealing with debt management clients, and backed up by debt statistics from the likes of creditaction.  More from Creditaction later, as ill let you know what their latest statistics have in store for us in another debt blog. 

Anyway, back to the story.  The Mail tells us that the number of Britons from 'traditionally affluent areas' now in need of debt advice has doubled in the last 6 months.  In St Ives, the average amount owed by those seeking debt help has risen to £70,000. 

Transact, the financial inclusion organisation who provided some of the figures, also feature in the story, making some very poignant comments.  They talk of 'keeping up appearances', something that can be very evident in higher income clients.  This can lead to clients leaving their problems for up to a year, worried about how their peers would react.

If you are experiencing problems with debt, then dont bury your head in the sand, call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156, for free, confidential advice from one of our debt counsellors. 

Theres been a lot of talk recently about debt collection agencies and their 'fishing trips'.  Keith has mentioned it a few times in his debt management blogs, and I know he feels quite strongly about it!

New press releases from the money advice trust and credit services association aim to keep consumers vigilant against such claims.  Cases have arisen where consumers have been sent letters addressed to "The Occupier", asking for information about the supposed debtor.  In some cases, identical letters have been sent to the neighbouring houses!

Becky Boden-Wilks, from the MAT said "Debt Collection Agencies should not discuss personal details with anyone other than the debtor.  Anyone that feels they have been a victim of this practice needs to make a complaint via the company;s own internal processes or to the OFT."

The CSA (Credit services association, not Child support agency!)  beleive that most complaints stem from incidents of mistracing.  This is where the person who receives the letter is wrongly identified as the debtor, maybe because they share the same name. 

Debt collection agencies are also accused of increasingly trying to enforce statute-barred debts.  These age-old debts cannot be claimed due to the amount of time that has passed between the last contact from the creditor. 

If you have recieved letters from creditors or debt collection agencies and dont know where to turn, then call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156, where one of our debt counsellors will be happy to help.

Experian, the global credit checking and information services compnay has unveiled a new tool to aid the credit scoring process.

Experians new affordability index is built as an add on to the current credit scoring system to consider all areas of a consumers spending habits, helping a credit card, loan and mortgage lenders to judge on the clients ability to make repayments. 

This new process will hopefully give the lender an insight into the clients future ability to make repayments, as well as their past history.  This can only help to reduce the amount of clients suffering from debt problems, and perhaps even reduce the amount of unresponsible lending to clients unable to afford the repayments.

If you are struggling with repayments on your debts, call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156 to speak to one of our debt counsellors

A government consultation has today ruled that using tips to bolster staff pay in the service industry is an unfair practice, and it will be outlawed from October 1st.

This may not be a particularly debt management based topic, but it is one that i feel strongly about.  So there.  Before I started in the financial industry and ended up as a debt counsellor, I worked in the service industry.  Like many college students it was a way of creating an income while studying, and I was lucky enough to work for restaurants where the tips were divided fairly and equally.

For me, the idea behind leaving a tip is to show appreciation for the way in which the staff members have treated you at that particular restaurant/hotel/organisation.  It is a payment from the customer to the staff.  It has no bearing on their salary, as each and every worker in the country should recieve the minimum wage from their employer.  Tips should not be used to boost pay levels to the legal minimum.

The hospitality industry stereotypically involves long hours for little pay.  Today has been, in the words of Derek Simpson from trade union Unite, "triumph for the poorly paid in restaurants bars and hotels across the country, and for Unite's campaign on behalf of all hospitality staff".

And I promise to make my next blog related to the debt management industry!

If you are in need of any form of debt help then call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156, where one of our debt counsellors will be happy to help

The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit (NHPAU) has stated that the lack of mortgages has widened the gap between the rich and the poor, creating a more polarised society. The NHPAU was set up to provide local and national government authorities advice on housing supply and affordability.

It has said that it has evidence to suggest that the current affordability problem 'can make the children of affluent owners still richer and the poorest even more disadvantaged".

They remind us that the current fall in house prices does not make them more affordable, especially for those with debt problems or low incomes, as mortgage rationing reduces the affordability level in 'real terms'.

They also warn that the lack of housing affordability can lead to poorer health, unemployment, rising debt problems a housing market prone to "bomm and bust".

If you are struggling with any form of debt, call MRA Debt Help on 01424 777156 where one of our debt counsellors will be happy to help