Mortgage lenders council praises debt tool

Thu, 12 Jan 2006

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has praised the launch of a new online debt test.

It welcomed the debt test as "an important step towards making generic advice about borrowing more widely available".

Launched by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), credit rating agency Experian and the BBC, the online debt test allows customers to assess their level of debt through answering a few questions.

Those completing the test will also be given tips on how to avoid adverse credit problems and help them manage these if they have already been encountered.

Questions about personal circumstances, income and borrowing are asked and then analysed online. The test can be accessed via FSA and BBC websites.

"Managing debt effectively is one of the most important things any of us have to do to keep control over our finances," comments the FSA's director of retail themes, Vernon Everitt, saying that the debt test is "a useful tool".

The Council of Mortgage Lenders adds that the debt test gives potential mortgage borrowers useful information.

"Borrowing can enhance the lives of consumers and provides the route by which most people become homeowners," the director general of the mortgage lenders' association, Michael Coogan, says.

"But it is important for consumers to have a clear understanding of their commitments and the debt test is a useful and highly accessible tool."

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