Monday 28 December 2009

Successful Credit Card Settlement

Credit card companies know exactly what they are doing when they make it so easy for us to get the things we want, even though we can not afford them. When money is tight it is all too simple to turn to our flexible friends for help. The problem creeps up slowly as the debt builds up, until the burden of paying them back becomes impossible. The credit card payments then exacerbate the problem still further, making us rely even more on credit and borrowing.

The ease with which we can spend money with credit cards is one reason why serious credit card debt has become such a problem for so many people today. At this point many people can see no way to get rid of the debt, so they start considering serious options such as filing bankruptcy. While this may be necessary in some cases, there are far more times when it can be avoided by using a negotiated settlement.

The main principle of successful credit card settlement is that new agreements are negotiated with each card company, which result in them writing off a large part of what you owe them. While that sounds simple, it is a complicated area and the negotiations can take anything from weeks to years. The basic choice you have is whether to try to do this directly on your own, or to do what the majority choose to do and use the services of a debt settlement company.

Successful credit card settlement is possible to achieve on your own, provided you have the right understanding of the processes that card companies go through when dealing with outstanding debts. A lot depends on the timescale of your approaches and when you choose to try to make a deal to settle. Knowing when to negotiate and what to say makes the difference between getting no settlement deal and writing off over half the debt.

To go into that without help is unlikely to yield great results, though there are various online resources that can teach you about the process and help to give you an understanding of how to reach successful settlement deals yourself.

The alternative is to approach a debt settlement company, who will have highly experienced negotiators, who know exactly how and when to approach creditors in order to maximise the discounts on the debt. The best companies will have relationships with many creditors already, which can make the settlement process that much more effective.

If you do decide that the best way to successful credit card settlement is to work with a professional company, you should exercise some caution with regard to selecting the company to use. Debt settlement has gained a bit of a reputation from some companies who do not operate ethically or responsibly. Unfortunately many people have fallen prey to organisations who take large advance fees from people and then fail to gain any reductions on their debts.

It is important not to let this put you off the whole settlement process, because it works very well when done by reputable companies, but you should indeed be put off from taking any chances with who you use. There are many good companies and you will be perfectly OK provided you make sure you only deal with reputable organisations who are well established and can demonstrate a history of successful credit card settlement. The other essential precaution is to approach at least two or three so that you can see who provides the best proposal, and find out who you feel most at ease with.

Read reviews and recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies and UK IVA providers.

Friday 18 December 2009

How Do I Consolidate My Debts

Debt consolidation is a widespread method of tackling debt problems, and involves consolidating lots of different debts into one, lower monthly payment. There are two different approaches to debt consolidation, one of which involves taking out a new loan, and the other type which does not involve any borrowing at all.

The type of consolidation which involves borrowing makes use of what are called debt consolidation loans, and this is the usual interpretation of what the term debt consolidation means in the UK. When the term is used in the US it more often than not refers to consolidation through a Debt Management Plan, which is an option common in both the UK and US.

Taking out a loan to consolidate your debts can be useful, but is also risky if not used properly. Just the idea of taking on more debt when you are already in debt is one which obviously requires careful thought. It is only worthwhile if you are sure that you are paying off debts which are at a higher interest rate than the new loan you will be taking out. It is usually only suitable for relatively small amounts of debt, which are at a particularly high rate of interest.

If you are not careful about how you do this, you could end up paying more in the long run, even if your monthly payments are lower. Sometimes people are offered a new loan and all they look at is the monthly payment. This is dangerous because the amount could be lower, but you might be paying it off for much longer, meaning it costs you more in the end.

The debt management method of consolidating your debts is therefore generally preferable to a loan, and is more suitable for dealing with larger amounts of debt. The process involves using a debt management company to negotiate with your creditors in order to reach new agreements for repaying what you owe. This normally means reductions in the interest charges you pay and changing the repayment terms to bring them in line with what you can afford.

The company deal with all your creditors to end up with you only having to pay one affordable amount every month to the company, who then share it out among the creditors. The main benefits being that your monthly outgoings go down and you no longer have lots of different payments to make, and your creditors stop chasing you for money.

If you want to take part in this type of debt management plan, the debts you can include must be what are called unsecured debts. This just means that they are things like money owed to credit card companies, personal loans, bank charges etc, rather than debts secured against assets like your home. Your mortgage, for example, cannot be included in a debt management plan.

If this is something you wish to explore further, the most important thing to do is exercise caution with regard to finding a debt management company to work with. While there are plenty to choose from, unfortunately there are many who will happily offer you a plan, but it will be very much more to their financial gain than yours.

For this reason you need to ensure that you find reputable, ethical and well established companies with experienced debt advisors. You want people who will look at your situation and tell you what is best for you, whether that happens to be a debt management plan or not. Finally, always approach at least two or three, to ensure you can compare the proposals they make.

Read reviews and recommendations for reputable debt management companies in the UK and US.

Wednesday 16 December 2009

Debt Payment Plans - Using Debt Management Plans To Get Rid Of Debt

Debt payment plans are known by various other names too, including debt management plans, debt payment programs and debt consolidation. These terms all means the same thing, which is a process of consolidating all your debts into a plan that leaves you with one monthly payment, which is lower than the sum of your old debts. An important point about this kind of debt payment plan is that it does not involve borrowing any more money, so does not increase your burden of debt any further.

Debt payment plans are arranged by debt management companies, who offer this service in the US, UK and other countries. You will need to approach a company that operates in your own country of residence. What the plan involves is the management company talking to your creditors to agree new deals for paying back their money. This tends to mean that interest charges can be reduced and some fees are often waived. The result of the new arrangements will be that your debt stops getting bigger and you get agreement to new payment amounts that you can afford.

When agreements have been set up with all your creditors, all you have to do is make one payment to the debt management company, and they pass it on to all your creditors. The more obvious benefits of such arrangements are that you only have to worry about one easy payment, and you no longer have creditors phoning you all day long to get their money.

You normally need to have quite a large amount of debt for a debt payment plan to be suitable for you, and the type of debts must be what are known as unsecured debts. All this really means is that you cannot include debts which are legally secured to assets, such as your mortgage. Unsecured debts refer to such things as personal loans, credit card bills and other unpaid bills.

The other requirement if you are interested in arranging a debt payment plan is that you have enough spare income to meet the regular repayments. It can be a useful exercise to work out your monthly income and expenditure, to see how much you could afford to pay. Include all your regular household costs except your debts, and see what you have left each month that you could put toward the debt payment plan.

If you find that you do not have enough spare money to meet the repayments on a plan, then you may need to look at other alternatives such as debt settlement. This is suitable for people with serious debts and not much spare income, and involves negotiating settlements with your creditors that include writing off significant amounts of the debt you owe. The equivalent to debt settlement in the UK is called an individual voluntary agreement, or IVA.

Most importantly, once you understand what a debt payment plan is and decide you wish to look into it, take some time and care over which companies you contact to help you. It is important to approach at least two of three, so that you can compare them against each other, but it is more important to only approach reputable companies. Look for well established and reliable organisations with a history of helping people to get rid of debt.

Read reviews and recommendations for reputable debt management companies in the UK and US.

Saturday 12 December 2009

What Assets Can Be Taken In Bankruptcy

Bankruptcy is a drastic step, and one usually taken by people who feel they have no other alternative. When you are declared bankrupt you essentially lose control of all your assets. In the US there are certain modest personal exemption levels for different types of asset, intended just to cover the essential things you need to get by. Anything above these levels will be liquidated to raise money to pay off your creditors. What these exemption levels are is governed by state law and therefore varies from state to state.

In the UK full control of your assets is transferred to your trustee, with the only exceptions usually being what are classed as essential items, which includes clothes, bedding, basic items of furniture and any equipment you need to carry out your work. This can also include one vehicle if it is essential to your income. Even if some items are essential, you could still find them being sold and replaced by cheaper alternatives if they are particularly valuable.

By filing bankruptcy you basically lose everything, and there are lasting consequences in terms of your credit, future employment and reputation. It is a very serious step to take and one that should not be taken lightly. While bankruptcy proceedings will sometimes be started by your creditors, if you are thinking of filing for bankruptcy yourself, you need to ensure that you are fully aware of, and have properly considered, the possible alternatives.

To be looking at bankruptcy we will take it as read that you have a very serious amount of debt and you do not have the means to pay if back. In this situation, some people think that means their only option is to file bankruptcy, but it isn’t. You are probably beyond the reach of a debt management plan or debt consolidation, but there are more radical solutions which involve seriously reducing the amount of debt you owe.

The alternatives to bankruptcy will partly depend on what country you live in. For US residents, the main alternative to bankruptcy is called debt settlement, or sometimes debt negotiation. This involves using a specialist negotiator to work out new settlement terms with all your creditors, which normally means agreeing to significantly reduce the amount owed in return for an up front payment. You do not have to have money available for the up front payment, you just keep paying an affordable amount each month into a separate account. This money gradually builds up and is used towards the settlement payments as each agreement is reached.

If you are a UK resident, there is an equivalent to debt settlement, which is even better is some respects. The government introduced something called IVAs, or individual voluntary arrangements, and these are specifically designed to give you an alternative to the drastic step of declaring bankruptcy. They are formal agreements, which like debt settlement, involve negotiated agreements with your creditors, and usually involve a substantial part of your debts being written off. Because they are legally binding agreements, one advantage of them is that if you can get 75% of your creditors to agree, then the rest are legally bound by the arrangement too.

If you are considering bankruptcy and have not already discussed alternatives with a debt settlement or IVA company, then you should certainly do so. Do ensure that you only deal with reputable companies though, otherwise your situation could be made worse if you are given poor advice. Always look for well established companies who already have a reputation for delivering responsible debt solutions successfully. You should also consult more than one company, as offers and proposals will vary.

Read reviews and recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies and UK IVA providers.

Wednesday 9 December 2009

Reputable Debt Management Companies And How To Find Them

When you have serious debt problems and you turn to a debt management company for help, you really cannot afford to take chances. All too often people make the decision to deal with their debt problems once and for all, they sign up with a company, and a year or so down the line they find that they have handed lots of money over in fees, but that their creditors are still chasing them for all their debts. This is a consequence of getting involved in one of the less reputable organisations who are currently operating in the field of debt help.

If you are going down the debt management route you need to ensure that you choose a reputable company to work with. Before you go that far, however, you should make sure that debt management is the right option for you, and that you have an understanding of the process you will be going through. The reason you need to understand the process is so that you can make an informed decision. It is also important to make sure you are opting for this route because it is the best solution to your problems, rather than because that is the only option you are aware of.

Debt management is sometimes referred to as debt consolidation, though this should not be mixed up with the type of debt consolidation that means taking out a loan. No borrowing or loans are involved in this kind of debt consolidation. The process involves a skilled negotiator dealing with your creditors on your behalf, to come to new arrangements for paying back your debts. The person will work for you to reach agreements that result in new payment amounts, which are combined together into one affordable monthly payment. You only have one payment to be concerned with, which you pay direct to the debt management company.

A reputable organisation will deal with your creditors for you, so you should not be hassled for payment any longer. The negotiations usually involve reducing or at least freezing your interest charges, or even writing charges off, which stops your debt growing and makes it easier to fix a timescale for becoming debt free. Debt management does not involve writing off any of the actual debt, so your creditors do end up being paid back all the principle amounts that they are owed.

For a debt management plan to work, you need to have some money spare each month to put towards the payments. You will therefore be expected to have a regular income. The debts you can include in the plan will need to be what are called unsecured debts, which are things like credit cards and household bills, rather than mortgages or hire purchase agreements.

If you think you will not have any, or enough, money spare each month to set up a debt management plan, you still have options available to you apart from bankruptcy. The main alternative is known as debt settlement, and is a process that involves negotiated settlements with your creditors which include writing off large amounts of your debt. The equivalent of debt settlement for UK residents is called an IVA, or individual voluntary arrangement.

Once you are sure that debt management is your best option, you need to find some reputable debt management companies to approach. The key points to remember when looking at companies is to only approach those who are well established and have a track record of helping lots of people already, and always approach two or three in order to compare the proposals they can offer you. Following reviews and recommendations can speed up the process of coming up with a shortlist of reputable companies.

Read reviews and recommendations for reputable debt management companies in the UK and US.

Tuesday 8 December 2009

Letters To Write To Creditors - Advice About Negotiating Debt Settlements

When you are deep in debt and trying to find a way out of it, one option is to see if you can reach an agreement with your creditors yourself. This is a very positive step, and is certainly better than ignoring the situation and hoping that it might go away. If you are able to reach agreements with your creditors to change the repayment terms on your debts so that they become affordable for you again, this is certainly one of the most direct ways of dealing with debt problems.

Writing letters to your creditors is the best way of negotiating, as it ensures that you can state clearly what you want to say, and makes it easy to keep clear records of what you have said and done and what their responses are. You will need to write several letters, starting off with an initial one to explain what your situation is, how you got into it and to say that you are trying to address the problem. You need to ask each creditor to confirm exactly how much money they are owed, and get them to state clearly any interest charges or late payment fees included in that.

You then need to use the information you get back to make a list of all your creditors and how much you owe to each one. Before you can write letters to your creditors again, you need to split them into two groups. In one group you put all your priority creditors, and the other your secondary creditors. Priority creditors are ones where the consequences of not paying are serious, such as your mortgage. Secondary creditors are generally unsecured debts such as credit cards, store cards and unpaid household bills.

Before you can make offers to your creditors, you need to be able to demonstrate how much you can afford, otherwise they will not know if your offer is reasonable or not. You do this by preparing a personal financial statement showing all your income and expenditure. Do not include your secondary creditors in this for now. Your financial statement will show you how much money you have left over each month to go towards your debts.

This is when you write letters back to your creditors to make offers of payment. The fairest way to do it is to share out what you have spare proportionately among your creditors. This will be the easiest to justify and defend if you are challenged over the amount. Do not be persuaded to increase your offer to one at the cost of another, and start to make the payments you have offered even if they refuse your offer. That way at least you are continuing to pay off some of the debt.

This kind of personal debt settlement can be effective, but you need to know what you are doing and be very well organised too. If you do not feel confident about taking on the process yourself, you could approach a debt management or debt settlement company to help you. They will go through your finances with you and make a proposal for a way forward that best suits your needs.

If you do decide to talk to a professional debt advisor, you should be aware that some are better than others, and that some are definitely to be avoided. To make sure you get good advice, you should only approach reputable organisations who have been in business some time, and who can demonstrate a history of successfully helping people like you. You should also approach more than one, so you can make a comparison between what they offer you.

Read a full guide to debt negotiating on the author's Debt Help Website.

Monday 7 December 2009

Are Debt Settlement Companies Safe?

The current economic climate has certainly brought many bad consequences with it, but one perhaps less obvious effect is the glut of rip-off merchants getting on the debt help bandwagon. I suppose it was inevitable that some people would see the financial problems of people as an opportunity make a quick buck, but it is still disheartening.

The good news is that these people are the exception and their irresponsible practices should not be taken to mean that the process of debt settlement (or negotiation as it is often known) is inherently bad or that the good debt settlement companies do not help many thousands of people to get out of debt each year. You just need to be clear in your mind about what the process involves, so that you know what to expect and what questions to ask if you do approach a company. You also need an awareness of the things to look for when you want to find a reputable debt settlement company, so that you can easily avoid the bad ones.

Debt settlement should not be confused with debt management or debt consolidation. Unlike the other two, it involves a negotiated reduction in the actual amount of money you owe. With debt management and consolidation, you still end up paying the full debt back, just on different terms which make it more affordable for you.

Settlement companies are specialists in negotiating with creditors to get substantial discounts off the original amount owed. It is not unusual for more than half the debt to be written off. By achieving these huge reductions they are able to offer you a much lower monthly repayment amount than a debt management plan could. Debt settlement is usually for people with very serious debt problems, who may well be considering drastic alternatives such as bankruptcy.

Any debt help company needs to be paid for their services, but the ones who have caused concern and dissatisfaction are those who have charged substantial up front fees and then not delivered on the promised debt reduction. With a good debt settlement company you will not have this problem, as their fee is likely to be only a percentage of the amount they manage to reduce your debts by. On this basis you cannot lose. The best ones even offer a written guarantee of what the results of your settlement will be, so you are perfectly safe. Go to the right debt settlement company for help and you will not have a problem.

The way debt settlement works is that you stop paying your creditors and start paying a regular amount in to a separate account. The debt settlement company will deal with your creditors on your behalf, and negotiate deals to settle your debts at the best possible rates. They know exactly how to time this to maximise the discounts they can achieve. The money you pay into the account builds up and is used to settle debts as each one is agreed.

One of the main benefits of using a debt settlement company is that you only have one monthly payment to find, and this is an amount that you can afford. You are also freed from being hounded by creditors as the settlement company deals with them for you. Debt settlement provides a much less drastic alternative to bankruptcy, and leaves you debt free within a set time period.

Debt settlement is tried and tested in the US though is not widespread in the UK because there is a good alternative, called an IVA. This is an individual voluntary arrangement and also involves writing off large portions of your debt to make it affordable to pay off the remainder in a set period.

So debt settlement companies are not all bad, but if you are considering it you should take great care to choose the right company to work with. The best starting point is to look for well established and reputable settlement companies, who have a history of solving serious debt problems successfully. Always apply to more than one, so that you can compare what you are offered, as proposals do vary.

Read recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies.

Thursday 3 December 2009

Negotiate Credit Card Settlement - How To Settle Your Credit Card Debts

We all use credit cards and we probably all spend a bit more than we really ought to, but when finances are tight it is really easy to slip gradually into fairly serious debt. It gets to a point where it becomes a vicious circle as your card bills rise, leaving you less and less each month, leading to even more reliance on credit cards. The end result for a great many people is a mountain of debt to many different card companies, with no apparent way of ever getting enough money to pay it all back.

So you wonder what to do and look around at possible solutions. Too many people end up trying to solve their debt in ways that simply push the problem further down the line. Taking out new cards to pay off the old ones for example or getting a debt consolidation loan to pay off all the cards. The problem here is that you are not actually getting rid of any of your debt, just transferring it somewhere else.

When your credit card debt has built up to a really serious amount, as it does for many of us, you need to find a solution that will actually lead to the card companies being satisfied and leaving you alone. If your monthly payments are far more than you can afford, then your solution has to involve negotiating new terms to settle the debts. This can range from freezing interest charges and agreeing smaller payments, to agreeing to write off a proportion of the debt in exchange for a lump sum payment.

The solution you end up with will depend on many factors, but you essentially have three choices. You can either try to negotiate with the card companies yourself, use a debt management company to set up a payment plan (Debt Management Plan), or use a debt settlement company to reach a negotiated settlement with your credit card companies.

Anyone who has tried negotiating with a credit card company will know how tough this can be, and it is not for everyone. However, if you are able to do it well, you can maximise the benefits of any reductions you manage to achieve. The process is made harder if you do not understand the way card companies work and the systems they use when dealing with unpaid debts. An inside knowledge can mean the difference between getting agreement to write off 60% of the debt or being sued instead.

The debt management approach is to use debt negotiators to agree new terms with your creditors, which allow you to just make one affordable monthly payment instead of all your previous debts. The process does not involve writing off any of your debt, but usually does mean freezing or reducing interest charges or late payment fees.

Using a debt settlement company to negotiate credit card settlement means that experienced negotiators work on your behalf to agree new deals with the credit card companies to settle your debts. This often, but not always, means that the debt is drastically reduced in exchange for a lump sum payment. As you are unlikely to have a lump sum to settle with, you just keep paying a regular monthly amount into a separate account, which builds up and is used towards the settlement payments.

While debt settlement companies are common in the US, it is not a widespread practice in the UK, because there is a better alternative, called an IVA. This is an Individual Voluntary Arrangement, and, like debt settlement, usually involves writing off a good proportion of your debt.

If you would like to negotiate settlements on your own, there is help and advice available on how to do this. If you wish to use a debt management or debt settlement company to help you, there are a few things to bear in mind when deciding which ones to approach. You may hear stories about debt settlement being a rip-off or a scam. The fact is that debt settlement is not a scam, but some companies have used it to take advantage of people in debt, giving it a bad name.

As well as not wanting someone who is trying to rip you off, neither do you want someone who just isn’t very good at debt settlement negotiation. You therefore need to take care to use only reputable companies. Check that they are well established and have a track record of successfully negotiating credit card settlement for many other people. You should also approach two or three companies in order to compare what they can offer you. Most have a website with a very simple online form to start the ball rolling.

Read recommendations for reputable online debt settlement companies.

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Can You Be Sued For Credit Card Debts?

When credit card debts go unpaid, it is not at all unusual to be threatened with legal action. When this happens, it is reasonable enough to wonder if they really can sue you or whether this is just another ploy to scare you into paying back the money they are chasing. Debt collection agencies often use this threat, and we all know that some of the less reputable collectors are not afraid of some slightly underhand practices if they think it will get a result.

It is certainly possible to be sued for a debt by a credit card company, though it will cost them money to do it, so it is by no means guaranteed that they will. They will weigh up lots of factors when they are deciding whether to sue for a debt or not, because all they are really interested in is doing whatever will cost them least and get them the most money back.

Being sued for debt is certainly something you should avoid if you possibly can, not least because a court order against you has a lasting affect on your credit rating and could lead to problems getting credit for quite some time. It is most likely to happen if you just ignore calls from the credit card company or debt collector. The best thing you can do to avoid being sued is to take action to deal with the situation. Ignoring a problem never makes it go away.

What action you take will depend on your particular situation. Assuming you have quite a serious amount of debt, and cannot afford to keep up with the repayments, your best option is probably going to be debt settlement. The reason that this works in serious situations is that it involves reducing the actual amount of debt you owe, making it more possible to pay the remaining debts off at a rate you can afford.

It is possible to negotiate debt settlement yourself if you have a good understanding of how credit cards operate, but for most of us, we need the services of an expert who understands what makes the card companies tick. A good negotiator might be able to get well over half your debts written off, whereas someone without their experience and negotiating skills may get no agreement at all and you still end up in court.

So you best bet for a serious credit card debt problem is to find a good debt settlement company to work on your behalf. There are of course fees involved in debt settlement, but these are normally just a fraction of the amount that they manage to save you, so you are still much better off. The principle is that they deal with your creditors on your behalf to agree new, reduced terms for settling your debts. This will often involve writing off large sums of money in exchange for a one-off payment. It can also include freezing or reducing interest charges and re-structuring repayments.

The net result should be that your overall debt is drastically reduced, and you just have to make one monthly payment into a special account. The negotiations take varying amounts of time, and as the money in your account grows, it is used to pay the card companies the agreed settlements.

The theory is straightforward and it works, but you need to be cautious over choosing your debt settlement company, as the process is open to exploitation by less scrupulous organisations and individuals. People in debt are in a vulnerable situation and can be easy pray for companies who are great at charging expensive fees without actually delivering on the settlement.

Be very careful to choose long established companies with a good reputation. The best ones will have already settled huge amounts of debt for many people, so these are the ones to look for. It also makes sense to contact two or three and see which one gives you the best offer, and also which you feel most comfortable working with.

Read recommendations for the most reputable and best debt management companies in the UK and US.

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Short Term Online Personal Loan - Advice About Online Cash Advance Lenders

If you are in need of a short term online personal loan, you are in luck, because many companies in the UK and the US now specialise in exactly this type of lending. With the development of the internet, it has become extremely easy to find websites where you can apply for a short term online personal loan and have cash in your bank account within as little as an hour after you apply online.

This type of online lending is known as payday lending and is always for relatively small amounts of money and for short periods of time. One advantage of this type of loan is that a lot of these online lenders do not require a credit check before agreeing to lend you money. This is extremely useful if you happen to have problems with your credit rating.

Online payday loans are more accessible than most other personal loans because of the fact that they are for smaller amounts and for only a few weeks at a time. This makes it less risky for the lenders to give you cash, as they can be sure of getting it back once you have been paid again. This is why the main things that a payday loan company will check with you before agreeing to give you a loan are your employment status, how much you earn and your bank account details.

So provided you are in work and have a bank account, you should not have a problem getting some money, but there are some things to bear in mind about using payday loan companies. Firstly, you should think carefully about why it is that you require this cash in the first place. These short term online personal loans are really only for unusual situations such as a sudden unexpected bill or expense. You need to take care not to use them to fill a general gap in your income that is not caused by any one-off situation. This sort of loan will not help you solve a debt problem and there are other, much better ways of doing that.

Also, you need to take care about the companies you use for payday loans. The fact that they are now a widespread online service means that all sorts of people have got in on the act, and they are not all responsible or reputable. The interest rates on payday loans are extremely high, but provided you only have the loan for the few weeks you should have, this is not a problem. The difficulties can arise if you do not pay the loan back on the due date. Less reputable companies will keep adding disgracefully high penalty charges to your loan, and your debt can become impossible to get out of.

For these reasons you should ensure you use only well established short term online lenders, who have a good reputation for responsible lending and having helped many other people in your situation. The easiest way to avoid the less scrupulous companies is to follow personal recommendations and reviews. It is also sensible to approach more than one company, so that you can compare rates and charges.

Find reviews and recommendations for the best direct payday lenders in the US and UK.