A St Albans couple facing repossession by their mortgage provider, Santander, have been given credit by the very same bank. Santander insisted that the credit card issued to the couple was a routine re-issue of a card previously issued in 2007.

But Linda Solly, one half of the couple in question, said that the bank was “covering its back” and she and her husband had never had a credit card from them before. Speaking about the card issue, Santander spokeswoman Siobhan O’Shea said: “It was not an unsolicited credit card, a card was definitely issued in 2007.” Are they good for credit or not, make your mind up Spanish Abbey!!

We’re almost a year on from the Bank of England base rate reaching a record low of 0.5% and the rate still remains at this mark. Although it doesn’t much positive for the economy, home owners on a variable rate mortgage have benefited from low mortgage repayments.

Variable rate mortgages have no doubt helped thousands avoid repossession as unemployment has taken away a vital source of income. It’s no surprise then that the number of tracker mortgages being sold has increased as people face financial uncertainty. And this trend is likely to continue as we see lenders like the Woolwich and the Halifax reducing the cost of some of their variable rate deals this month.

Hows about this for statement, the Tories have come out and said they reckon twice as many families have been unable to avoid repossession than official Government figures suggest. Browns lot have said that repossessions are falling but Camerons crew say that the figure is being deliberately underestimated as it doesn’t include sell and rent back situations.

A sell and rent back is when a home owner can no longer afford the mortgage repayments and decides to sell the property to a company or individual who then rent the hoe back to the seller. With official figures showing there were 48,000 repossessions in 2009, this revelation from the Opposition would put the number closer to 100,000.

And now for a bit of good news… A scheme designed to help those at risk of sleeping on the streets due to repossession has found a home for a mother and daughter from Knowsley, Merseyside. The mother contacted Knowsley council after seeing an article in the council’s magazine. The article discussed the council backed Mortgage Rescue Scheme and appealed to the pair as they were having difficulty repaying the joint mortgage on their house.

The mother had to give up work after being diagnosed with a heart condition and spent most of her time caring for her daughter who is disabled. The Building Society then requested that they start repaying the loan amount instead of just covering the interest each month. But the mother and daughter couldn’t afford the difference or stop repossession from threatening their home. Thankfully, the council and Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) came up with a rescue package and Knowsley Housing Trust bought the house and let the pair live in it as tenants. There is hope.

Housing minister, John Healey, has announced the Government will step in and help repossession hot spots by way of 56 nationwide events. These events will offer support and advice and a further 30 locations, although not getting an event, will benefit from the promotion of a special helpline and website.

The events will be run in conjuction with Citizens Advice and will be held in public areas such as supermarkets, with the first areas to be visitied including Salford, Birmingham and Peterborough. To make sure that struggling home owners get the support that’s on offer, adverts will be played on local radio, so listen out.