Iris writes in:

I was wondering if you could comment on the debt reduction/elimination ads I keep seeing on tv. Are these companies reputable? Are they doing anything that I can’t do myself? I would hate to pay a huge fee for something I could do myself. I would really like to reduce our debt load so I can free up more funds in our budget every month for, say, groceries. Advice?

The first and most important thing to note is that not all debt reduction and elimination programs are the same. Although they’re often collected under the same grouping, these programs tend to provide an array of services.

Unfortunately, all of the services provided are either dangerous or easily replaced by free materials.

One common service provided is education inhow to pay off debt. They explain, in great detail, how to create your own debt repayment plan and stick to it. The

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Thousands of shareholders included on ‘sucker list’

With confidence slowly creeping back into the financial sector – seen by a rise in house prices, growth in profits reported by  businesses, and the continuation of much-maligned bonuses- it might seem now is a good time for UK shareholders to take a few risks.
Yet thousands of people have been warned they are on a fraud “sucker list”, which highlights unknowing investors who could be conned into buying worthless or non-existent shares.
City of London Police detectives think the list of 10,000 identities was being passed on by fraudsters running ‘boiler room’ scams, which involve persistent cold-calling to gain an investor’s trust before disappearing with their money.
Hapless victims are persuaded to buy shares that are highly inflated, restricted from further trade or completely bogus.
They can rarely get help from the police or Financial Services Authority because unauthorised ‘boiler room’ companies are usually based abroad and cannot be regulated, although they may give a fake UK address and route a UK phone number overseas.
About 6,500 people received a letter from the FSA and City of London Police about their potential vulnerability, as their personal contact details could have been found on public shareholder lists.