Sadly, debt has become an accepted feature of life for most of the UK's population. Indeed, it may be shocking to note that debt in the UK has now surpassed the sum of one trillion pounds. In such circumstances, it is interesting then to speculate whether debt has become a serious crisis for Britain that we should all be worrying about, or whether the media has simply blown the issue out of p...

There has been a worrying new trend over the past year in which credit card companies are introducing new charges to make even more money. As consumers' association Which? has found, these "ingenious methods" for getting more out of consumers are due to a decision made by the Office of Fair Tra...

No longer confined to the hands of affluent city businessmen and wealthy heiresses, premium credit cards have become all the rage in recent years. Undoubtedly, the associated ‘snob-factor’ has proved hard to resist for many. But are there any real advantages in having a premium credit card and, more importantly, should you invest in one? Here’s a rough guide to the world of premium cre...

Identity theft is recognised as a serious threat by the vast majority of people. However, although we are more vulnerable when abroad, that is the very time that we drop our guard. According to research carried out in 2005 by the UK's Fraud Prevention Service, it takes an average of 201 hours to unravel the da...

Debt advice is everywhere: "helpful" consolidators for debt management, government-funded financial support, independent advice centres; there seems to be no shortage of people telling you what to do, whether you're paying off your credit card each month with little problem, or dealing with debts comparable to your average Third World country. However, for those of us who fall between ...