How to deal with the bailiffs
With fines and debts worth millions of pounds going unpaid every year, bailiffs are busy as never before.
If you are having problems paying a fine, contact the court or relevant organisation and try to negotiate with them.
If they don’t know your situation, they could assume the worst - that you have no intention of paying.
Once it reaches this stage, the debt could be passed to a debt collection agency or a warrant might be issued by a court which authorises a firm of bailiffs to try to recover the debt from you.
Mortgage rates lifted by lenders
Borrowers coming up to remortgage have been urged to snap up a good deal while they still can, amid warnings that the cost of home loans is set to soar again.
Some of Britain’s biggest lenders, including Abbey and Nationwide, trimmed rates last week. However, that was before the Bank of England said on Thursday that inflation could jump to 3.7% by the end of the year, and indicated that it would be more cautious in cutting interest rates.
The inflation report sent rates in the wholesale markets soaring, suggesting rates on offer to homeowners would also head up, at least in the short term.