A friend of mine was hooked on subprime loans (from what we call a 'doorstep lender' in the UK). Not great sums in principal but leaving him always cash-poor an

A friend of mine was hooked on subprime loans (from what we call a 'doorstep lender' in the UK). Not great sums in principal but leaving him always cash-poor and in need of another loan as he cleared the preceding one. I explained to him about 0% credit cards and how, since he'd never defaulted on a loan, he would be certain to get one. He used his new card to clear his existing debts and has been paying off the balance over the past 12 months (he has 18 months and could move to another 0% easily enough, if need be). He really didn't believe a bank would give him so much free credit since nobody had ever told him so. The good news is that he has now filed a complaint against the original lender and is likely to be refunded most of the interest paid over the years plus statutory interest of 8% p/a while he waits. It's going to be around £9,000 Why? Because he was unemployed all that time and they shouldn't have been lending to him.