In today's economic climate we are nearly all affected by the mess that we hear about in the media: homes are being repossessed even as you read this, loans being refused on a daily basis, small firms having their overdrafts called in, and if that was not enough - creditors calling at all hours and even chasing people at work.

Employment is on the rise and so is the number of job openings for bill collectors.

We are responsible for our own debts and we need to accept that, but equally if credit companies sat down and explained the full implications of credit to us, they would have far less customers. After all they were the ones who offered to lend money to all and sundry with little or no checks, and now the big boys are in trouble. The result is often untold misery and anguish for those finding themselves' unable to cope.

We have been encouraged to spend and we have never really given much thought to tomorrow and the unheard of collapse in the world banks. Consumerism has become such a way of life and most of us have been sucked in.

Credit cards and store card have become the norm these days and it is now causing so much misery as creditors call demanding payment. They use tactics which are sometimes totally against the law. Wouldn't it be great to have a way that would put and end to harassing creditor's letters and telephone-calls?

Well there is a way to stop creditors dead in their tracks from harassing you. You do not need to live in fear and stress. Stress leads to so much illness and can even be a killer.

Any money we are able to pay back must be affordable for us and also fair to other creditors. We cannot be expected to repay what we do not have. When creditors get on the phone to you it is vital that you know your own rights.

Creditors rely on fear and lack of knowledge when it comes to understanding how they work. I know they say ignorance of the law is no excuse, but come on, how can we all be expected to know how organisations work. Believe me, creditors do not want us to know this?

You know, most people chasing money are full of wind and making threats they know they cannot carry out. Some creditors are what is known as unsecured. It is often tey who shout the loudest and expect us to buckle at the sound of their call.

What is an unsecured creditor? Well it is one who has to take their turn in line behind secured creditors when it comes to getting money back.

A secured creditor is one who can force us to sell an asset that they have taken as security for a loan. It could be stocks or a charge on our home.