If people were more aware of free financial help that is available, perhaps they would realise that borrowing more money to pay off current debts is not way to ease their financial situation. Debt Management Companies such as Payplan (http://www.payplan.com) offer free financial assessments and Debt Management programs which work around peoples current incomes to find best solutions to debt problems, it is hardly ever necessary to borrow more money to resolve financial difficulties.

Perhaps there should be a system in place, which allows a lender to see whether or not a person can afford either a loan or a credit card before making a decision whether to lend money.

Creditors currently say that they will only lend money if applicant meets their criteria. However, if people are still able to borrow money when they cannot afford to pay it back, then criteria fails to give a true representation of whether or not applicant is able to repay.

Information supplied through credit reference agencies do not show full picture to a lender when making a decision to lend money, either that, or credit companies are not taking full advantage of information provided.

Some lending companies will lend you without question half of your annual income, not taking into account what you already owe.

These are things that need to be addressed when lending money. Both lenders and borrowers alike are responsible; therefore, tighter restrictions need to be applied on both sides.

We can only rely on Government to recognise problem, and do something to resolve current state of lending and borrowing in this country. Debt in UK crashing through 1 Trillion pound barrier is not something to be proud of; it is something that needs to be addressed now!

Develop a relationship Using same bank or lender repeatedly helps to establish a relationship between you and them, and increases your likelihood of getting a cheap secured loan. If you have bank accounts or write cheques with a certain bank, check with their loan department and make sure that they know you're already a customer. If you've obtained loans from a certain finance company in past, remind them of your good experiences when you apply for your most recent cheap secured loan. If a lender has had positive dealings with you in past, then they're more likely to trust you now… which means that they'll offer you lower rates and a cheap secured loan.

Plan for future Should you not get best loan rates, don't despair. Make sure that you make all of your payments on time and pay off your loan quickly… this will give lender a good impression of you that you can help them to recall in future. The next time that you're on market for a cheap secured loan, come back to lender that you've had best experiences with first… and make sure that they remember you as a good customer from past.

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