Seek - Those Concerned About Secured Loan Payments 'Should Seek Advice'

People worried about meeting secured loan or mortgage repayments should seek help.

Such is the claim of Sue Edwards, head of consumer policy at Citizens Advice, who states that consumers concerned about their capacity to meet such demands on their spending should get guidance from a professional advisory service. Furthermore, she reported that there should be "tougher enforcement" in the regulation of mortgages and other forms of secured lending. Such a system, it was claimed, would provide a fairer environment than the "fragmented regime" of present.

Ms Edwards also pointed out that over the course of 2007 the advisory service dealt with more than 57,000 cases relating to people developing arrears with secured loans and mortgages. This figure, it was indicated, represents a rise of 11 per cent from 2006. Meanwhile, the level of repossessions has surged by more than a fifth (21 per cent) during the last year coming in at 27,100, about twice that recorded during 2005. However, it was put forward that as there are an increasing number of schemes rolled out targeting people who are at risk of repossession, the number of homeowners who are struggling with their finances could be higher than the Citizens Advice figures suggest.

After struggling to pay mortgages or secured loans, it may be possible that borrowers are developing difficulties with other sources of financial demand. Such areas could well include credit and store cards, personal loans, utility bills and council tax repayments.

She stated: "The findings of our December 2007 report on home ownership and debt, Set Up to Fail, showed that the current safety nets for homeowners on low incomes facing payment problems, such as income support for mortgage interest (ISMI), are completely inadequate. And these latest figures reinforce the need for much better quality and better value insurance products, for reform of ISMI and for a housing benefit for homeowners similar to the help with rent available to tenants on low incomes."

As such, the Citizens Advice head pointed out that all money lenders should be "reasonable" when dealing with those who are struggling with making repayments. At present, however, it was claimed that financial providers are not to always doing this and in some cases will choose not help their customers make affordable repayments on their loan or mortgages, instead hitting them with additional charges or taking them to court.

For people worried about their capacity to meet the demands on their finances that a mortgage or secured loan can entail, applying for a debt consolidation loan might prove to be of assistance. Taking out such a loan could allow borrowers to consolidate various spending commitments into a single payment, freeing up more cash each month.

In addition a cheap consolidation loan could be of help to people wishing to get their finances back on track after overspending during the Christmas period. Recently Moneyfacts pointed out that the first few months of the year present an ideal time for Britons facing up their debts to move from expensive financial products to more competitive deals.