Let's face it, Abbey is a company that could be considered quite wealthy. Here are several reasons why:

• It's part of the Santander Group, which is the 7th largest bank in the world
• Santander has 69 million customers
• Abbey can afford to sponsor the McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 team and sailing's America's Cup
• They have Lewis Hamilton advertising their products in TV adverts

So, with more than a few quid in the bank, you would expect Abbey to be bit more generous when it comes to lending money wouldn't you?

 

Sadly, it appears not.

This is because they have made it more expensive for some of you to take out a new mortgage. If you are planning to take up its 95% mortgage deal, you must now pay the arrangement fee of £2,499 up front, rather than just adding it to the sum of your mortgage.

This change by Abbey is just another example of a bank making its lending criteria much tougher due to the ongoing credit crunch. As a result of this, most mortgage lenders now require a minimum 10% deposit from you.

How will this affect you?

The move by Abbey will force those of you who are interested in this mortgage to save more money before taking it out.

Abbey said this wasn't the case and said that it would in practice, affect very few new borrowers. An Abbey spokeswoman said:

"Loan to value (LTV) ratios of above 90% are not our core market and account for less than 3% of the business we do."

Abbey has only one mortgage on offer for those of you who have just a 5% deposit and it is fixed for 5 years at 7.04%.

Rising costs all around

For most of you that haven't been hiding under a rock (or wasting your life watching Big Brother), you will have noticed in recent weeks that many mortgage lenders have been raising the cost of their mortgages for new borrowers.

This is due to the cost of borrowing the funds in the financial markets has been going up. The Halifax, Nationwide, Bradford & Bingley and Abbey itself, have been among the mortgage lenders who have been pushing up the cost of their new fixed-rate mortgages.

Earlier this week the Bank of England revealed that the average cost of a 2-year fixed rate mortgage to someone with a 25% deposit, had risen to an eight-year high in May. The average interest rate charged by the UK's banks and building societies for this type of mortgage was 6.27%, up from 6.06% in April.

So, while the credit crunch rolls on, you can see why mortgage lenders want to tighten their lending practices.

But let's be honest, with the vast amount of profit that they make, surely companies like Abbey can afford to be a bit more generous in their mortgage lending?

Do you think they could be doing more to encourage people to get a mortgage?

(Please note that articles on Money Hospital do not constitute regulated financial advice. The articles are intended to provide general personal financial information. We urge you to consult an Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) before making any important decisions about your finances. All rates are correct at time of printing but are subject to change without notice.)

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The words debt and credit crunch are becoming more common these days; but just how widespread is the debt problem?

Pretty widespread by the sounds of it, especially when a leading debt advice charity says it is being overwhelmed by demands for help even in some of the richest parts of the country!

Transact, said demand for debt advice was rising across the country, but the increase was dramatic in middle-class areas. It said some advice centres were so busy they had been turning people away.

At the Mid-Sussex Debt Advice Centre, which serves the Haywards Heath area, the average debt of clients (excluding mortgages) is £20,000, rising to £110,000 in the most extreme cases.

Emma Russell, a debt adviser, said: "I've had at least two clients tell me that they would have killed themselves if they hadn't found out that we were here."

Transact says government funding has been generous, with an extra £55 million over the past three years to fund an extra 500 debt advisers. But it says this has been concentrated on inner-city areas where the rise in problem debt has been less severe.

Jamie Elliott, of Transact, said:

"In the past it was almost uniquely people on benefits, people in social housing, who went to debt advice agencies. Since the credit crunch started they are seeing a big increase in professional people and homeowners coming to seek help, who have just been pushed over the edge and now can't cope with their outgoings."

"These services now with the credit crunch are being overwhelmed by a whole new breed of debtor: middle-class people. But what that means is there is much less debt advice to go round."

Many of you seeking help from debt advisers have already used the credit in your homes to pay for home improvements but, as your fixed-rate mortgage came to an end and the cost of living having gone up, many of you have been finding it hard to meet your repayments, even if you earn a relatively good salary.

 

Transact said that it expects the problem to become worse, and has called for more funding to provide debt advice.

Debt advisers say banks and building societies must take some responsibility for encouraging debt and the government should do more to educate people about financial responsibility. But they also say a large part of the blame also rests with those of you who have borrowed so much.

If you are struggling with your finances then do not panic. You can seek advice and support from these organisations:

Consumer Credit Counselling Service

National Debtline

Citizen's Advice Bureau

Samaritans

You should also speak free of charge to a debt adviser who can provide you with advice and solutions to help you resolve your debt and credit problems.

Are you struggling with debt? Have you been pushed financially to the edge?

What will you do about it? Why not let us know in the comments?

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There are some right toasters out there and this guy definitely qualifies as one of them.

We think that you have to be pretty low to steal from a church; that or you just assume that peaceful churchgoers are going to stand idly by while you make off with the goods!

Well, this guy soon realized that this particular bunch of worshippers were not the meek and mild type; he got judgment served on him big style!

In the sleepy Cape Cod town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, a would-be robber cheekily tried to steal a collection box during a service at the Hyannis Foursquare Portuguese Church, while wearing a mask and carrying a cigarette lighter shaped like a gun.

Massachusetts Police Officers arrived to find 45-year-old Clyde Bridges being held down by parishoners who had tackled him, ripped off his mask and disarmed him.

Clearly Bridges had not learnt anything as earlier in the month he had also tried robbing a pizza delivery boy!

Bridges is now being held on $200,000 bail on armed robbery charges, while his lawyer Terrance O'Connell says Bridges denies robbing the pizza man and does not remember what happened at the church before he was pinned down.

Perhaps his amnesia is a cover up for his embarrassment at being such a low-down and, quite frankly, abject robber?

Whatever his excuse, we are pretty sure he won't be trying to steal anything from church anytime soon; next time it might be a lightning bolt that leaves him on the floor!

Buy to let; one man's investment dream, another man's lack of opportunity to get on the property ladder?

Whatever you think of buy to let, there is no denying that it is an important part of the housing market.

The number of buy to let mortgages still available to landlords has fallen by nearly 85% in the last 12 months, despite an increase in demand for rental properties.

Price comparison site moneysupermarket.com has revealed that the last month alone has seen a 40% drop in the number of buy to let mortgages available.

Louise Cuming, of moneysupermarket.com, spoke about their findings:

"You would imagine this would mean the buy-to-let market would start to grow. However, our research shows the number of buy-to-let products has decreased from 4025 to 674 in just one year, with nearly 600 of these products removed since March 31. As stringent lending pushes people into the buy to let market, the decrease in the number of buy to let mortgages becomes increasingly alarming."

When you hear something like that, it comes as no great surprise that nearly 5% of people have been forced off the property ladder since last October and are now renting.

 

This is due to number of factors such as tightening of credit criteria, higher product prices, lenders' demands for ever increasing deposits and general uncertainty over market conditions.

These factors mean that for the foreseeable future, owning a home is a luxury that is out of reach of increasing numbers of us.

In addition, more than 11% of you had plans to get a mortgage but said you could no longer afford to or were put off by higher deposits, and a third of you said you simply can't afford to buy now.

With all this in mind, is renting looking like the best bet for you to ride out the effects of the credit crunch or is it still worth buying?

Why not let us know what you think in the comments below?

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Here's how you can stop the credit crunch from becoming your credit crisis!

Rejection rates for credit card applications are running at 18,000 a day, according to one report, but the truth about credit is more complicated than headlines suggest.

Credit of any sort, from loans to mortgages and credit cards, has never been freely given by lenders (something we are all painfully aware of) You have to prove you are in control of your finances, and if you do, your chances of getting a loan when you need one will be greatly increased.

It's always been the case that lenders are choosy (or picky depending on what you think). Back in 2006, one survey showed over 3.5 million credit applications had been refused, with a similar number rejected last year. And an analyst's study last year found that up to 60% of applicants for any form of credit have been refused.

If you are among those who have been refused credit recently or if you are thinking of applying for credit soon, don't panic; just take action instead!

A good place to start is your credit report, which lists what you've borrowed and how well you are managing your repayments (if at all!). It gives you a snapshot of your current status, what credit you've had in the last few years and how you have managed it. It can also help you see where you could cut back and whether you could close some accounts altogether.

Lenders check it when they decide whether to make you an offer and what terms to set (such as interest rates). It is crucial that it's up to date and accurately reflects your circumstances. It pays to manage your money well because a better credit history makes you more likely to get a better credit deal.

To stop the credit crunch becoming a personal credit crisis, check this list of tips on further steps to take; and what to avoid!

1. Actively manage your money. Don't miss any payments. Pay your bills and make repayments on credit cards, loans and your mortgage on time; you'll only rack up worse debts, incur penalties and damage your credit rating otherwise.

2. Check your credit report regularly. It will change as your circumstances change, so you can see how well you're doing and it can act as a wake-up call if you've let things drift. Make sure that every entry is correct as a single clerical error could result in a rejection in the current financial climate. You can see your Experian credit report for free with CreditExpert.

3. If you think you might be getting into financial trouble, get help and talk to your lenders. They can help you to work out a schedule of repayments you can afford or perhaps arrange a temporary payment holiday while you sort yourself out.

4. Review your spending, set yourself a budget and stick to it. Writing down everything you spend over a few weeks is useful as it helps identify unnecessary expenditure. A coffee every day on the way to work could cost you around £500 or more each year. Trim your bills while you're at it. Try price comparison sites to find the best deals on gas & electricity, telephones, as well as loans, mortgages and credit cards. If you need help with budgeting, try the Financial Services Authority's financial healthcheck at www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk.

5. Don't try to borrow your way out of trouble and apply for lots of loans and credit cards to tide you over. You'll soon rack up debts you can't manage. And remember, every application will be recorded on your credit report; if you leave lots of these footprints in a short period, lenders may think you're desperate or even that a fraud is being planned. You're more likely to be rejected for credit you really need in the future.

6. Look at rolling up several debts charging high interest (like credit cards) into a single, cheaper package, like a loan. There are plenty of financial comparison sites with calculators that can help you to identify the best option.

7. Look for ways to supplement your income. For example, you could take in a lodger, sell off unwanted clothes or furniture on eBay or at a car boot sale, or get a part-time job in the evenings or at weekends.

8. Register to vote. Lenders use the electoral roll to help check that you are who you say you are and live where you say you live. They also look for stability; that you've lived at the same address for some years. If you fail to register to vote, they cannot verify your identity and may ask for additional identification, suspect a fraud, or even turn you down flat.

9. Make sure your partner hasn't got financial problems. Your own credit report could be as clean as a whistle, but if you have a joint account, or have applied for credit with a partner, you will be linked. If either of you make a credit application, that may well be affected by both credit histories. The name of your financial partner will appear on your credit report. You may not know if he or she has had any problems but a lender will check. So get your partner to check their credit report too. If you are no longer together, make sure you get the link broken (called a disassociation) so that any problems your ex might be having do not cause you problems.

10. If you're still having problems coping, you should speak free of charge to a debt adviser who can provide you with advice and solutions to help you resolve your debt and credit problems.

You should also try these resources:

Citizens Advice

Consumer Credit Counselling Service

National Debtline

Don't forget to check your Experian credit report for free with a 30-day trial of CreditExpert, the UK's leading online credit monitoring and ID fraud protection service.