No suprises...

... for money advisers in the report by the BBC about Banks wilfully selling their customers unaffordable loans. We see them all the time, day in day out. And they get away with it, time and time again. There's little your client can do ("but you signed that had read and understood it...") and the government won't do anything about it...

10 (Grand) Don't Come For Free

New figures show that Bankruptcies are on the up again: 10,901 in the first quarter of this year. That's a 28% increase on the same quarter last year, and the fact that accountants are gloomy about it means things must be bad news.

Many money advisers will own up to contributing to that figure, and that's not necessarily anything to be ashamed of: (excluding the high fees) bankruptcy is now easier, doesn't last as long and is a sensible solution for many debtors. By changing the law surrounding bankruptcy, the government have 'increased demand' for it. And all this is despite the prohibitive fees charged for issuing your own petition (£310 + £150 County Court fee). If the fees weren't there, you would see the figures double or probably treble.

This is the real flipside to the economic 'feel good factor' that is rammed down our throats by the media. It's the only way out for many people trapped in the debt spiral - the veritable 'elephant in the living room' that no one wants to talk about but cannot be ignored for long.

Middle Class poverty

You know things must be bad when even the bourgeoisie start to moan. All I can say is 'Boo fucking hoo'...

Housing Market recovery? Yeah, right...

This press release, and subsequent (though patchy) coverage in the National Press is a sign that mortgage possession actions are on the increase. Indeed, the statistics show the highest quarterly figure in the past 10 years.

Although the Guardian tries to stay optimistic ("The figures do not show how many houses are actually repossessed because not all orders are carried out. In many cases, a compromise will be negotiated or an order will be suspended"), money advisers know that those compromises often suit the borrower rather than the lender: they may entail further borrowing, a remortgage or unrealistic levels of repayment.

I can't say that I've managed to notice any changes 'on the ground' to the numbers with such problems, but given these figures, it would seem to be only a matter of time.