It is a normal thing for people in financial difficulty to want to stay in their home.  So when faced with repossession, to have a firm or individual buy your home off you so that you can stay there and rent it back and provide stability for the family can be an attractive scenario. 

However in these circumstances it is not uncommon for a house to be sold for between 60 and 80 % of its true value and  I know the purchaser is taking a risk, but come on, be fair and treat those that are suffering financial difficulty with some honesty and respect. 

I have been approached many times and offered very large commissions to advertise this style of service but am proud to say that I stood my ground and, unlike some, have refused these offers. 

So far only around 80 firms have applied for authorisation under the FSA’s new rules which is a worry about what has happened to the remaining 920 firms of the 1,000 that the OFT thought there were operating in this market.  Are these too scared of regulation, are they the cowboys that needed to be taken out? 

I will wait with interest to see how the regulation goes and re- examine how the schemes are helping distressed mortgage holders. 

We will also see how many sales will have taken place from June 30^th this year which will have a bearing on the house repossession figures. 

I have always argued that these sales have never shown up on the CML data and believe we could have had as many as 25,000 homes sold this way throughout 2009 alone. Add this to the CML predicted 48,000 homes for the same period and we are looking at a total of 73,000, pretty darn close to the 76,000 figure in 1991, when the schemes were not available. 

Add to this those repossession figures from 2nd charge holders, like secured loans, again which do not feature in the CML stats and I would argue we are above the 1991 level!

In any event I applaud the moves by the OFT and FSA for bringing clarity to this issue and support to the consumer facing repossession. 

The key points of the new rules and what consumers need to do if they find a firm unregulated can be found in our article FSA gets tough with 'sale and rent back' schemes.

Fraudsters target tens of thousand UK tax payers offering false tax rebates

With 9 million people expected to file their tax returns on-line the potential of this scam is huge. I believe we will hear of thousands of consumers being duped into giving away details for their bank accounts and credit cards.

What will simply happen to those that do is they will have their bank accounts emptied or their credit card will get red hot though unauthorised use. 

If you get caught by this ‘not new scam’, as it tends to surface every time there is a deadline for the self assessment return date, then don’t expect too much support from the financial institutions.

Recently the banks and credit card companies have been trying to avoid reimbursing consumers for giving their bank or credit card details away.

If I get caught, who do I report it to?

As from April 2007, anyone who has been a victim of card, cheque or online banking fraud in England, Wales and Northern Ireland no longer has report the fraud to the bank or card company, not even the police.

In the past some banks required a crime number, but now the consumer only has to deal with the financial institution of the relevant bank or credit card provider.

If I am a victim of fraud will I get my money back?

Under the British Banking Code you will be reimbursed provided you have not acted fraudulently or without reasonable care. However it is in the bank’s interest to say you acted ‘without reasonable care’; therefore expect a battle or two to get your money back.

Just spread the word to as many people as you can that you feel could be vulnerable to this type of scam, hindsight is a wonderful thing, don’t say, oh I wished I had said something! Do it!

You can find the full article along with the email address the scammers are using at Fraudsters attack thousands of tax payers offering false rebates