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/li> 19 shares 30 comments Steve Doran took out a payday loan in March 2011 and cleared her debts only  at the beginning of this year. She first borrowed about £170 but after paying it back took out another, bigger loan, and then eventually borrowed more than three times the original sum. Steve, 26, from Dartford, Kent, feels that young people need to be alerted to the dangers of payday loans.  ‘My outgoings matched my incomings but there was  little room for an emergency,’ she says. VICIOUS CIRCLE: When Steve Doran repaid her loan she had nothing to live on so she had to borrow again ‘When I repaid the first loan  I no longer had enough money to get through the month, so I took out another loan and so  the cycle went on.’ Steve, who works as an activities co-ordinator at  a residential care home, borrowed from payday  giant Wonga, which operates  a ‘trust rating’. This means that borrowers  who repay on time are often rewarded with the chance to borrow more n

/li> 7 comments Millions of cash-strapped Britons are damaging their credit records by skipping loan repayments because they can't afford them, a study has claimed. One in five British adults have admitted to occasions in the past six years when they have found themselves unable to afford a debt repayment, while more than a quarter say they have missed payments because they 'forgot'. The Experian CreditExpert research not only shows how many have bitten off more than they can chew, but also how difficult people are making it for themselves to get mortgages, loans and credit cards in the future as each missed payment becomes a black mark on their credit record. Falling behind: Nearly half of UK adults admit to having missed a debt payment in the last six years. Peter Turner, of Experian Consumer Services, said: 'It is no surprise so many of us admit to having lived beyond our means at some point, but what many might not yet realise is the possible imp

/li> 0 comments Banks are routinely charging credit card customers up to 9 per cent more than the advertised interest rate. When you apply for a credit card, only the very best customers get the top deals. While some banks will refuse your application outright if your credit rating is less than squeaky clean, others will offer you a card with a higher rate than the one you originally applied for. In fact, banks only have to offer their headline rate to 51 per cent of customers they accept. This means the remaining 49 per cent of customers may get a worse deal, paying up to 9 per cent more than they were expecting, according to research by financial website Moneycomms. Different rates: On a £2,000 balance, an extra 9¿per cent in interest would cost customers £180 a year more American Express, Halifax, Lloyds, Nationwide, Royal Bank Of Scotland and Tesco Bank are among those who deal out credit cards in this way. They each publish the minimum and maximum rates they of

/li> 15 shares 5 comments Those struggling with credit card debts can now buy themselves 26 months of time to pay back what they owe without accruing any extra interest. Barclaycard has once again outstripped the competition by increasing the 0 per cent interest period on its Platinum balance transfer card by an extra month. It wrested back the mantle of 'market-leading 0 per cent balance transfer card' from Tesco Bank, which held it for a matter of hours yesterday when it revealed a 25-month 0 per cent period with a lower fee than Barclaycard's on its Tesco Clubcard Credit Card. Balance transfer: Barclaycard is offering its longest-ever interest-free balance transfer period at 26 months. Barclaycard's 26-month card comes with a 3.5 per cent fee, meaning you would pay £35 to transfer over £1,000 from other credit cards. Any amount you transfer must not exceed 90 per cent of the credit limit on the card. Tesco Bank's comes with a 2.9 per

/li> 14 shares 12 comments More women are turning to credit cards and even payday loans to get from one month to the next as they cope with shortfalls in their income, a study has claimed. A survey of more than 2,000 people by credit report company Callcredit found that 72 per cent of women have applied for some form of credit in the last 18 months, compared to just 28 per cent of men. Worryingly, the main reason women cited for applying for credit was to make up for shortfalls in their income. Debt spiral: More women are turning to credit cards and loans to make up for their lack of income. But while women are more likely to have taken out one form of credit in the last 18 months, more men than women took out multiple forms of credit, at 50 per cent of those surveyed compared to 41 per cent of women. Graham Lund, Callcredit managing director, said: 'It's clear...that the financial pressures of day-to-day living are continuing to increase which

/li> 159 shares 68 comments Payday lender company Wonga raided a 15-year-old schoolboy’s bank account after it allowed criminals to take out a loan using his details in one of the most serious cases of fraud among hundreds to have plagued the lender. Legally borrowers must be 18 years old in order to obtain a loan but Wonga failed to check the details of Simon Oliver, now 16, from East Sussex, when they were used by a fraudsters. The case, highlighted in a report by BBC Watchdog last night, echoes those reported by This is Money in the past year and brings into question once again the checks Wonga performs before it grants loans. Wonga fraud victim: Simon Oliver was 15 when Wonga raided his bank account for a loan that he did not take out. He is one of nearly 400 victims reported to BBC Watchdog. A report on the issue is being broadcast at 8pm on BBC One tonight. The first Simon knew of a problem was when he tried to withdraw money during a school trip to Sw

/li> 10 shares 5 comments Payday lenders are pushing people in to debt by failing to check that borrowers can afford to repay loans, the Citizens Advice Bureau said today. In a survey of 1,270 payday loan borrowers, with loans from 87 payday lenders, 65 per cent of people did not get asked about their financial situation when taking it out, according to research by the CAB.   The CAB said that during the four months that it collected the data that over 11,000 sought help online from Citizens Advice about payday loans. Debt: The Citizens Advice Bureau has accused payday lenders of lending irresponsibly by failing to carry out adequate affordability checks on borrowers. Some of the issues it has identified included trapping customers into a spiral of ‘never ending debt’. One borrower repaid £57 a month on a £500 loan over a six month period – but the debt still stood at £437. Another customer was pestered at work and one even received phone messages on Christmas