The rise in complaints from consumers who have paid a credit broker a fee only to find that they have not been accepted for a loan or in some cases, not even been referred for a loan at all, have increased sharply in the last few months due in part, to a major BBC investigation.

Consumers are told they have been accepted for a loan and are asked to pay a fee on their credit or debit card, anything between £50 and £100, and then told that the documents will be in the post for them to sign. Unfortunately in the vast majority of cases, no documents are forthcoming and the applicants have never actually been approved for a loan at all, it is just a way of obtaining cash off an individual, the sort of individual who can least afford it.

Reports from the OFT will appear here when they publish their findings.

The OFT have moved to revoke the credit licences of two associated loan and finance businesses; NIZ Financial (UK) Ltd and First Money Direct Ltd after uncovering unfair business practices.

The full story is here.

TFS Money, the newly formed packaging arm of TFS Loans, have announced plans to launch into the intermediary market.

More to follow shortly…

www.alltypesofloans.co.uk has been launched as an alternative to those firms that confuse visitors when they reach their website because of their multi product offering. alltypesofloans.co.uk have adopted the philosphy of “we do what it says on the tin” and make no excuses for what they describe as a refreshing, back to basics approach to lending.

They offer all types of loans and focus specifically on those people who are suffering from credit problems.

Rumours have been rife for many months that a number of new entrants were planning to make their mark in the UK but initial reports centred on the secured loans sector as this appeared to offer better returns for large scale investors.

More details as we get them.

A guarantor loan is much like any other loan in that it is a sum of money borrowed by an individual repaid over a period of time. The loan itself is unsecured and this means that the lender lending the money has no security over the money they have lent out. In other words, if the borrower decides not to repay or can’t repay the loan, then they have no recourse or way of getting their money back, apart from the usual legal demands for full repayment. This is why this type of lending is considered to be risky from a lenders point of view.

It differs from a secured loan because lenders can apply to reposess a property in lieu of full repayment for the loan if the borrower defaults on the loan. Secured loans and mortgages are just two types of secured loans.

This is also why guarantor loans came into existence.

A guarantor loan works in exactly the same way as a traditional loan (mentioned above) but the main difference is that the person borrowing the money is not the same person that the lender is lending to. Confused? Read on for a more detailed explanation.

The borrower applies for the loan. The lender asks for a guarantor to endorse the application. This guarantor will be someone in full time work, employed, a homeowner and with a decent credit history. Most guarantors are family members, friends or other people well known to the borrower.

The lender then assesses the loan application on the ability of the guarantor to repay the loan, not the borrower. If all ok, the money is paid into the borrowers account and the borrower makes all of the repayments on the loan over an agreed period of time. Only if the borrower fails to make the repayments will the guarantor come into play. The guarantor is ultimately responsible for the loan meaning that if the loan is in default and needs to be repaid, then the guarantor will have to pay it, not the borrower. Likewise, if the case came to court, the court would rule that the guarantor is completely, 100% responsible for the loan, not the borrower.

Hence, any individual agreeing to become a guarantor will have to be aware that they are legally responsible for the good conduct and ultimately, the repayment of the loan. The initial applicant or borrower is simply someone who will be providing the bank details to pay the loan into…it is not their loan and under the guarantor loan rules, it never will be.

Research carried out by moneysupermarket.com revealed that the average APR on loans of up to £15,000 has risen in varied amounts over the course of the recession. And with the UK economy still in a state of the unknown, borrowing can still be a difficult prospect for many.

The average APR of a loan of £3000 currently stands at around 14.64%, compared to 6.46% back in 2006. The economic crisis has hit lenders hard in the past few years, which will ultimately affect consumers who are looking to take out loans in the future.

If you’re considering taking out a loan in the future, what can you do to help yourself to secure the best deal? Here are a few helpful hints to bear in mind when searching for the best rate:

• Plan Plan Plan – it can be worth taking a little time to analyse your financial situation before signing the loan agreement. Work out a monthly plan of how you can budget to help reduce your deficit.

• Make a list of any outgoings and other financial commitments, such as credit cards. Look to pay some of these off earlier in order to help reduce your debt levels.

• Taking steps to reduce your debts and repair your credit rating can hold yourself in good stead with any future lenders and help to increase your chances of finding a better rate for future financial products.

• Take a look around – there are a number of different loan deals out there, so it can be worth shopping around to find a rate that’s right for you.

Look into a number of offers and read through the details carefully before you come to a decision. Don’t be tempted to rush into the first deal that comes along, be selective and you might just find that you can get a better rate elsewhere.

• Consider your credit rating – get yourself a copy of your credit report by applying online. Use this as a helpful reference to help you focus on clearing up your existing financial commitments.

• Ask if not sure – if you are unsure of whether the deal you are looking at is the right one for you, consider consulting a financial advisor. These advisors will be able to assist you in your decision making in order to make sure you get the best deal for your situation.

While there is still a degree of uncertainty in the financial markets, by taking the time to look around and keeping your options open, you can help yourself to find a rate that’s right for you.

Written by the loans team at moneysupermarket.com

Their new offices in Wirral offer free customer parking and training facilities which will be used to increase the skills, knowledge and efficiency of the loans processing staff.

Paula Harrison, owner of Any Type of Loan commented: “Our rapid growth has really taken us by surprise. This business was just myself and one other part time person a few weeks ago and now we have four full time staff with plans to increase that to 9 by Christmas 2010.” It is a testament to everyone’s hard work and commitment”.

For further details please visit http://www.anytypeofloan.co.uk

Felton Smith has worked in the financial services sector for over 25 years and will join Cattles on 7 June, subject to the approval of the Financial Services Authority. His most recent role was as chief financial officer of Lupus Capital, and prior to this he served as chief financial officer of Metronet Rail. During 2006/07 he acted as finance director of Yes Car Credit during the run-off of its loan book.

Drummond Smith was appointed as interim finance director back in April 09 to help with the preparation and publication the 2008 annual report and financial statements. He will leave Cattles after it’s forthcoming annual general meeting on 29 June.

Cattles recently announced it was in discussions with creditors over a possible buy-out of the firm, which would involve creditors using £5m of the money that is already owed to them to pay off shareholders of the company.

Churchwood is owned by Mike Noblett who owns 70% of the company whilst Naden has 13% which he purchased last year. Naden’s plan was to buyout Noblett’s majority shareholding via a private equity deal, however Naden feels that the takeover has taken up too much of his time and wants to pause so he can spend more time on developing the business.

Results for the group are still impressive with turnover increasing to £24m in the year to April 30 and earning before EBITDA was £6.3m

Naden hopes to revisit the deal at the end of this year.