When it becomes difficult to meet all the festival expenses on your own, you might feel the need for taking a loan. There are many types of personal loans available in the UK loan market. Some of the loans require you to pledge your home but some dispense away this requirement, making it easier to get a loan.
In the absence of security, it becomes quicker and easier to get a loan. Being a borrower, you have to comply with fewer formalities and the loan process becomes easier. The time taken in the process is also reduced by a fair amount. Christmas loans are special purpose loans based on the concept of personal loans. These loans also do not require any security and are available with almost all the lenders.
Lenders provide a Christmas loan of up to £25,000. This amount is more than sufficient to meet your festival requirements. The rate of interest depends upon many things like your credit history, debt to income ratio and monthly income. In a current scenario, when the UK financial markets are badly affected by the global credit crunch, it may become a little difficult for the borrowers having bad credit history to get a Christmas loan. So, you need to search and shop around a bit more than what is expected of you in normal circumstances. This will help you in finding a Christmas loan that suits your purpose and involves a competitive rate of interest.
You can use Christmas loan for various purposes like decorating your home, going on vacations, buying gifts for family and friends and many other things that you wish. Many people like to throw lavish parties at this time of the year where they can enjoy the company of their friends and relatives. It requires a lot of expenses and a Christmas loan can help you in this situation.
Christmas Time Is Here Sheet Music
Online shops are expecting record sales and ATMs will be working overtime as we take out cash. However the big spending will mean big opportunities for fraudsters. Most of us are concentrating on enjoying the festive season but for crooks it is an ideal time to make some extra money.
The good news is that the introduction of CHIP and PIN technology has cut the levels of fraud. In the first six months of this year it was down to £209 million. But that is still a lot of money and the bad news is that online credit card fraud is rising.
Play your cards right and stay safe
The most important advice is to not let your credit cards, or your card details, out of your sight when you are spending. When paying for goods your credit card should always remain visible, this will make copying or cloning your credit card or debit card details impossible by would be fraudsters.
It also means not throwing away receipts in the street or leaving them in restaurants or shops. Ideally you should shred everything but at least you should try to dispose of them safely.
Do not write down passwords, login details and PINs. If they are in your wallet and it is stolen it's an invitation to fraudsters.
And when you are online don't reply to unsolicited emails asking for your passwords and PINs. This is a technique known to fraudsters as phishing. Don't get caught in the net.
Guard your cards in shops and online
When you are taking cash out of an ATM or paying in a shop don't let anyone look over your shoulder to see what your PIN is. Use your spare hand to shield your card and PIN details.
When you are on the phone only give out your account details if you have made the call and you trust the company you are dealing with. If they phone you they should not ask for your account information, so do not let it slip if you weren't expecting the call.
You can register your credit cards with Verifiied by Visa or Mastercard SecureCode. Ask your bank or credit card provider about these services. You can register online but of course if you do register keep your password safe and secure.
When you go to your bank's website always type in the address yourself. Don't click through from emails.
And only use websites which have a security icon on them. This will be a locked padlock or an unbroken key in the bottom of your browser window.
If it all goes wrong
One in three people in the UK have been credit card fraud victims and a card fraud takes place every nine seconds. So you're not alone.
If you have been caught tell your bank or building society immediately and report the theft or loss to the police immediately.
Telling the police will make the process of getting your money back a lot easier.
Don't worry. If someone uses your credit card before you tell the bank or building society then the most you will have to pay is £50. However some companies take a tough line so you need to be able to prove you were not negligent (which may not be as easy as it seems). That means, for instance, not giving away your PIN to others and not being careless with receipts.
What Next?
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Both Gracy Bonsu & Moneyexpert are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Gracy Bonsu has sinced written about articles on various topics from Jewelry, Bad Credit Loans and Unsecured Personal Loans. The author is a business writer specializing in finance and credit products and has written authoritative articles on the finance industry. She has done her masters in Business Administration and is currently assisting Loans-Bazaar as a finance specialist. Gracy Bonsu's top article generates over 74000 views. Bookmark Gracy Bonsu to your Favourites.
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