Mature student Tamara Gray, 29, (pictured) got into financial difficulties after spending several thousand pounds on the websites Very and Shop Direct on a buy-now, pay-in-12-months basis.

The FCA this morning proposed banks should offer customers in financial difficulty an interest-free overdraft up to £500, and let them put credit card and loan repayments on hold for three months.

While borrowers make no payments for three months, card providers often still charge interest on balances during payment holidays, meaning borrowers continue to rack up interest

John Lewis has launched a new personal loan, offering borrowers between £1,000 and £25,000. Rates start from a competitive 2.9 per cent. Here's our verdict

I have £40,000 of unsecured debts - £20,000 on two credit card defaults - but having never missed a mortgage payment in 12 years, is it possible to obtain a mortgage?

It’s aimed at those travelling, living and working abroad to give them more flexibility when spending and sending money and to lower their overall costs.

All you need to do is make a few simple changes to the way that you spend your money and you’ll have found yourself a brand new source of income.

Travel a lot for work? We have crunched the numbers to help you choose the most lucrative credit card offering air miles, reward points and cashback to use for work expenses

Starling Bank is offering its current account customers personal loans of up to £5,000 from 11 per cent APR. We give our verdict on whether they are worth considering.

Challenger bank, Tandem has launched a new best-buy credit card offering those without a perfect credit rating free holiday spending and cash withdrawals. We take a look.

Some longstanding Virgin Money credit cardholders have been left with charges on their accounts after discovering they had only been making minimum direct debit payments.

Last year 71,000 people used an IVA to become insolvent, a record. But are they being driven by firms looking to make money off debtors looking for advice, regardless of whether it's the right choice?

Households are increasingly saving less and getting into more debt and a payday loan crackdown hasn't solved the problem. This is Money rounds up some of the start-ups trying to help

Nearly three quarters of women said they'd think twice about someone if they debts, compared to 69 per cent of men, according to research from comparison website Finder.

High street giant NatWest denied it was reneging on a five year old pledge to no longer offer 0 per cent balance transfer credit cards to customers, as it announced today it was re-entering the market

A record number of people are heading to debt charities with help over guarantor loans - including Emma, pictured, who paid back £23k after borrowing £10k from Amigo Loans.

As many as one in three people who hold subprime credit cards with interest rates as high as 70% are in problem debt, according to a new report released by the debt charity StepChange.

Future Finance does recommend students go through Student Finance first, but the cost of repayments should be a red flag for any students considering this option.

Dave Parr, 38, rang up Three in June to ask for a phone upgrade. Because he asked for a different delivery address, they thought it was fraud and when they couldn't contact him filed a fraud marker.

Tandem Bank is scrapping its existing, popular, cashback credit card for a membership deal offering a 1.5 per cent savings rate and a credit card that charges no interest, ever. Is it any good?

A large number of buy now, pay later users do not know the full implications of missing payments while a large chunk don't believe the terms and conditions are clear enough.

Those looking to cheaply clear their debts this January could take advantage of 0% balance transfer cards which charge no fees, provided they are happy to pay their balance off quicker.

Britain's largest banking group, which owns Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, spelled out changes aimed at those in 'persistent debt' for 36 months.

I have triggered a 10,000 point bonus for spending £15,000 on the card - but it says I can't get them until August 2020 and only if I renew. However, I don't want to pay the £140 annual fee for renewing.

In an unusual case, four decades of sticking with Lloyds Bank was the main reason behind a Hertfordshire man obtaining a £12,000 mis-sold PPI payout.

The Financial Conduct Authority has told banks to help customers get out of debt, amid concerns of a potential wave of credit cards being scrapped under new rules.

UCAS will stop sending out emails advertising private student loan provider Future Finance, the student charity announced today, following a backlash over the promotions

Buy now, pay later has become the way for the younger generation to pay. Is it a dangerous form of credit or a useful way for shoppers to pay flexibly?

A shopper who used buy now, pay later service Klarna to pay for a £199 vacuum cleaner in three 'interest-free' instalments was left confused after he was charged an extra 4.5%.

The white plastic-looking 'K ring' (pictured) - which also comes in black costs £99.99. It is both waterproof and scratch-resistant and can be used to make contactless purchases.

People applying for credit cards with two major UK lenders have to roll the dice to check if they will be accepted, putting their credit score at risk in the process.

The UK economy is built on spending, often fuelled by debt - credit cards, personal loans, car finance. We don't want to shrink it, only keep it manageable; and keep the Jenga tower from falling.

The FCA today brought in measures which offer consumers struggling with their finances bigger fee-free overdrafts and the ability to freeze credit and loan repayments for three months.

Neil Seagrave, 35, from Dorset, tried to transfer his credit card balance to HSBC at the start of March before his zero-interest term with Sainsbury's Bank expired, but this was not resolved until April.

The Bank of England's latest credit conditions survey revealed lenders believe the availability of household unsecured credit will decrease between April and June amid coronavirus.

The Financial Conduct Authority said many were encouraged by the publicity blitz it launched in the summer of 2019 to warn consumers that they had limited time left to make a complaint.

The UK arm of Santander revealed its pre-tax profit fell 58 per cent to £114million in the first three months of 2020.

Banks and credit card providers may levy fees on refunds as well as purchases, meaning a double whammy of charges on trips hit by coronavirus.

Here are around six phone calls every year that almost every household needs to make if they don’t want their outgoings to suddenly balloon.

Party manifestos are not exactly known for their jokes. But as I trawled through them all over the past few days there were two lines that at least made me snigger.

So how can we possibly plan our finances at a time of such uncertainty and disagreement about what is next to come for British households? I think there are a bunch of things we all can do to prepare.

Of course there are economic arguments to make when considering the value of a degree. But they don't cover the half of it.

Economics and comedy. Not a conventional pairing.But after spending a weekend at the world’s first economics and comedy festival, I can tell you they’re a match made in heaven.

I don't have a Vanguard account, but if someone said they wanted an easy and cheap way to build their wealth, opening one and picking a Lifestrategy fund would be near the top of my list of things to try.

Those hoping that we might celebrate the start of a new decade with the base rate above 1 per cent for the first time in 11 years, look likely to have their hopes dashed at the moment.

The financial watchdog was right to crackdown on costly daily charges and even more expensive unauthorised borrowing. Its mistake was to trust the banks and not cap rates.

Arguably, the best thing that could happen over the next decade would be for homes to get less expensive, preferably through house prices stagnating and wages rising.

House prices have only ever been as expensive as they are now compared to wages twice in the past 120 years, but surprisingly before that they were considerably more costly, a deep dive shows.

The little-known salary sacrifice tax break for electric cars combined with a new zero rate benefit-in-kind rate could be a game-changer for green motoring.

Moves such as cutting higher rate tax relief are often depicted as hitting the wealthy older generation, but that's disingenuous.