| As interest rates increase, more and more people are | | | | However there are those who use remortgaging as a |
| looking to their credit cards to support them during | | | | tool by which to free themselves from debt, |
| times of financial difficulty. However, credit card | | | | consolidate all monthly payments, and also reverse the |
| consumers are discovering that debt breeds debt as | | | | negative effects on their credit ratings. A mortgage |
| they struggle to meet repayments. In the first half of | | | | broker specialist in remortgaging with bad credit can |
| this year, over 4 million repayments were missed, | | | | arrange a mortgage product that best suits your |
| resulting in penalty charges that exceeded | | | | repayment ability. These repayment schemes are |
| £50,000,000. The consequences of these missed | | | | designed to reflect the financial circumstances of a |
| payments are more far-reaching than some realise, | | | | given homeowner, sometimes with designated |
| with consumer credit ratings being affected negatively | | | | 'repayment holidays'. This allows funds resting in bricks |
| for up to three years. In turn, these consumers then | | | | and mortar to be used directly to pay off mounting |
| find it harder to borrow or take loans and can pay | | | | debts - such as those from missed credit card |
| much higher rates of interest, as creditors view them | | | | repayments - and gradually reverse the spiral of debt |
| as high-risk borrowers. Unfortunately this system, | | | | and also repair the damage done to a credit rating by |
| which was designed to offer the consumer a way in | | | | bad money management. It would seem that the credit |
| which to support their lifestyles beyond their immediate | | | | card may have a serious rival in terms of using funds |
| means, can, if not carefully managed, have directly the | | | | to support a lack of immediate finances. |
| opposite effect. Many of those unable to meet | | | | Tom Mead is a qualified mortgage advisor specialising |
| repayments and penalty charges are now faced with | | | | in Self Cert Mortgages editorial, on how best to |
| a spiral of debt with no obvious escape route. | | | | arrange a self certification mortgage. |