A good Cheltenham festival for me. Started off with the first two winners on Tuesday at 12/1 and 6/1. Added 7/1 and 14/1 winners on Wednesday, a 9/1 winner on Thursday and very unlucky on Friday with a 33/1 second place. Made a very small profit but at least better than losing money.

So no debt problems for me currently, although I'm not retiring either. On the subject of debt I'm currently working on a new debt problem blog for one of my website clients. This should be fully up and running by the end of the week and will offer debt advice and help for anyone who find themselves in this tricky situation.

UPDATE - 31st March 2010

This post was cut short as my wife was taken ill and ended up in hospital for an operation. Many thanks to my employers, 21c Telecom Ltd, who have let me take time off at short notice to look after my wife and son.

21c Telecom offer business phones to all UK businesses. This includes mobile phones, landline phones as well as broadband and mobile broadband. In fact they specialize in providing converged communication solutions for businesses large and small, handling all communication and IT provision ensuring the best possible mix of cost and efficiencies.

Not sure when the next blog post will be as I will be looking after my wife for a few days yet as she recovers. Fingers crossed it will be about a big competition win as we need a bit of luck at the moment.

I used to be really big into horse racing, had my own racehorses, followed the form and watched it live and on TV all the time. I used to love a bet too and my Saturday used to consist entirely of studying the form, placing my bets and watching them win (or lose more often than not!).

I really used to enjoy it but, for a variety of reasons, I gradually stopped following it, stopped betting and generally lost interest. With one exception - The Cheltenham Festival.

Without fail I like to watch and have a bet at Cheltenham in March. The best four days racing of the year. I would love to take the time off work and watch it live but I don't have enough holiday so I'm going to record it and watch it at night, hopefully without finding out any results.

As I no longer follow the form I'm going to get up early, buy the Racing Post and see what I can gleam from it. A safe bet is to follow horses who love the track as the Cheltenham hill can find many out.

I always back the Irish in the first race of the meeting. A second or third string regularly pops up in the 10-14/1 bracket which would get me off to a good start. The only other horse I know is running is one of my recent favourites, Katchit.

I backed him when he won the Triumph and the Champion Hurdle so he owes me nothing. He loves Cheltenham and this is his time of year so I expect his best run of the season. It will probably still not be enough but he could sneak a place at a big price.

I don't have any other tips or insider info. I'm just going to enjoy it and, win or lose, it's always exciting. I'm off to the Racing Post website now to see what's running tomorrow. Good luck if you're having a bet.

The financial crisis we have all been experiencing over the past 18 months or so has led to lenders tightening up their criteria and made it difficult to get any type of credit. This applies to personal loans, mortgages and also to business loans.

Slowly things are starting to change and more lending seems to be available now than, say, 6 months ago. However it is very slow progress and many people will still be unable to borrow any money due to bad credit, lack of earnings, insufficient equity etc.

On the subject of business loans I am currently involved promoting YES business loans a website specialising in lending to all sorts of businesses throughout the UK.

All types of business finance are available including business loans, business mortgages, bridging finance, start up finance, buy to let. Credit problems are accepted including ccjs, arrears and debt problems.

It's easy for your business to get a quote, there is a simple online form which will only take a couple of minutes to complete.

Rates are extremely competitive and they are often able to help where others have turned you down. For more information visit the Yes business loans website.

For individuals looking for loans the situation is still difficult, although not impossible. If it is debt problems that are leading you to think about taking out a further loan make sure you get professional advice. Another loan is not always the best answer depending on your circumstances.

Specialist debt website IVA Debt Problem can guide you through all of your options. They have a very handy comparison table detailing the merits of the different debt solutions including IVAs, debt management, debt consolidation and bankruptcy. This will give you an idea of which is best for you.

Alternatively you can call them on their debt helpline or make an online enquiry from which they can give you the best debt advice.

Reducing or writing off some of your debts will help you Improve Your Future. Act fast as failure to deal with debts will inevitably lead to further debt and more problems.

I consider myself to be reasonably lucky, all things considered, and one area in which my luck has been good is that of debt. I did get myself into debt when I was in my early twenties, but not so badly that I couldn't get out of it.

In fact being in debt at that time made me vow never to do it again and so far I have stuck to this, although it gets harder every year as living expenses continue to rise faster than my meagre salary!

The problem with debt is that if you leave it unchecked, making minimum repayments for instance, the interest continues to pile on and you make no headway in clearing the initial debt, the situation just gets worse and worse. If you're not careful you can get into a very steep downward spiral and lose control over your finances.

I hope no-one reading this has reached that stage, and if you are in debt now is the time to try and regain control and sort out your finances. It might mean tightening your belt and enduring more hardship than normal but clearing the debt and becoming debt free is well worth it.

I have some contacts in the financial services sector, having worked on a number of financial websites, and one which has recently re-launched is IVA Debt Problem dealing specifically with debt and how to get out of debt.

The three areas they concentrate on are:

• Debt Management
• Debt Consolidation
• IVAs (Individual Voluntary Arrangements)

Which option is best for you will depend upon your current circumstances and the amount of debt. They will guide you through all of your options and discuss the best way forward.

So if you are in debt, looking for a debt solution, get in touch with them via their debt advice helpline or online enquiry form and see if they can help you regain financial control.

a. they are both useless

b. their "customer service" is appalling

c. they will try and rip you off

d. all of the above

The answer of course is d. I am currently banging my head against a brick wall with both of these companies as I attempt to sort out a lost parcel with Royal Mail which they refuse to compensate me for and charges from Virgin Mobile for 1 second "calls" where their network has failed, and phantom internet access.

I've got to the point where I question the value of continuing either complaint as it is taking up my time which might be better used in something more productive. But on the other hand there is a principle involved and neither of these companies should be allowed to get away with ripping off their customers.

They are sticking to their positions, ignoring my questions and generally being obstructive and unhelpful. My only option looks likely to be taking matters further with relevant ombudsmen. But what powers do they have? Are they any more likely to see common sense? Does common sense even apply in the modern world? I'm beginning to think not.

I've referred the Royal Mail complaint to their review panel, a supposedly independent ring-fenced unit "outside" of the customer service department (I have my doubts). They will take a little time to look into it so I don't have to do anything on that front for the time being.

Virgin Mobile, on the other hand, will need another letter asap, when I have time to write it. I will sleep on it before deciding whether to proceed with another complaint. I have a feeling I have to write again as the standard of their first response was lamentable and, as usual, ignored the pertinent points made in my initial letter, presumably because they have no defence to the claims.

What has happened to customer service in the UK? Is there any company out there who treats its customers with respect and as human beings? If so they are becoming a rarity. Looks like both Royal Mail and Virgin Mobile can be added to Vodafone and Cheltenham and Gloucester in the list of utterly useless companies that must be avoided at all costs. None of them will be getting any business from me in the future and I will continue to make sure they get as much bad publicity as possible.

Ripping customers off may result in short term gains but in the long run is unlikely to prove a profitable business model.

It isn't that long since I was singing the praises of Virgin Mobile. At the end of last year they dealt well with a replacement phone under warranty and I've not had any problems with my tariff or contract.

So I not only decided to renew my own contract, getting a nice E63 for upgrading, but I got a second phone on contract for my wife for Christmas. Big mistake.

Unfortunately, unlike my contract, Virgin Mobile now don't rollover unused minutes and texts from month to month. They also insist on charging a minimum of 1 minute for all phone calls, no matter how short. More of that later.

I, of course, was unaware of either of these facts expecting my new contract to be identical to the existing one, as it was on the same tariff. They don't exactly make you aware of these terms in big letters either, preferring to hide them away in the usual lengthy Ts and Cs.

At the end of January our son was ill, a bug picked up from playgroup. My wife was in touch to see how the other kids were and had to use the mobile as many of the other mums don't have landlines (an increasing trend these days). This resulted in her going 19 minutes over her 100 minute allowance.

Well the bill has arrived now and the total extra cost is £19. In other words the equivalent of £1 per minute. The reason for this amount is that although my wife has only actually used 19 extra minutes in calls, the minimum 1 minute call extends this substantially. By the way she was 23 minutes UNDER her allowance the month before so with rolled over minutes no extra charges would have occurred.

This prompted me to look at the bill in greater detail which led me to find that Virgin Mobile are indeed ripping their customers off. There are several "calls" on the itemised bill of 3, 2 and even 1 second. All of these are charged at 35p, the minimum 1 minute charge. If you extrapalate this based on a 1 second "call" it equates to £21 per minute!

The reason the word "call" is in inverted commas above is that these are not telephone calls. Exactly what sort of a conversation can you have in 1 second? These are dodgy connections, dropped before any call can take place. So Virgin Mobile are charging £21 per minute to provide their customers with no service! Brilliant!

There are also 5 seperate "Internet" charges, even though my wife has never accessed the internet from this phone. The reason for this is simply that Virgin Mobile choose to place a direct link to the internet in the most awkward place possible so that as many people as possible connect by accident. This is deliberate to maximise their revenue by stealth.

I appreciate that Virgin Mobile are a business and I don't object to them making a profit. My wife has exceeded her minutes and I don't object to paying a little extra as a result. What I do object to is being ripped off.

There is no justification for charging for 1 second "calls", nor phantom internet usage and, if they don't sort it out they will not only lose me as a phone customer but I will be moving my Virgin Media account too as my contract has recently expired.

I suggest you think long and hard before taking out a contract with Virgin Mobile because what looks like a good deal on the face of it could turn out to be a costly mistake, as it has proven for me.

Just received another pathetic letter from the Royal Mail in relation to my lost post item. They are still refusing to compensate me for the lost item without giving any sensible reason for their refusal.

They are also refusing to answer any of my questions, probably because it would expose their position as ludicrous, trying to get out of a compensation payment which they should rightly be paying.

The Royal Mail are arrogant and contemptuous of their customers. This is borne from their many years as a monopoly supplier. If your customers can't go elsewhere and have no choice but to use your service why treat them with respect? After all they have to keep using your services.

I can't wait until their monopoly position is broken and they have to compete in the real world. They are in for a real shock and I can't see how they will survive given their shocking customer service.

I've expressed my disgust with them via a new service from You Gov - Tell You Gov. By the looks of it I'm not the only dissatisfied customer. The Royal Mail are no longer held in much esteem due to their lack of integrity, amply demonstrated by their handling of my claim.

But I'm not leaving it here. I will be writing back and escalating the matter as far as I can. Why should I suffer financially due to the incompetence of the Royal Mail? They lost the item, which was sent by a method entitling me to compensation, and now refuse to compensate me.

Beware the Royal Mail, do not trust the Royal Mail as you too could face trying to get what is rightfully yours from an organisation that is morally bankrupt and determined to refuse compensation under any circumstances, no matter how legitimate.

Royal Mail - if you really don't want to pay out compensation here's an easier way - STOP LOSING PEOPLES MAIL!

I've been working on a project for some friends of mine building a mortgage comparison website called MortgageFinda. It's nearly finished now, just needs them to start entering their latest mortgage plans into the database.

As credit brokers they have suffered tremendously during the financial crisis but things do seem to be perking up a bit and mortgage lenders are starting to appear again.

Although it is still not easy to obtain a mortgage, particularly if you are self employed or have had credit problems, there are mortgages out there and if you have found it difficult getting a mortgage elsewhere try the mortgage finder service to see what they could offer you.

It literally only takes a couple of minutes to enter your details into the simple system and get quotes for a new mortgage or remortgage (or even a buy to let mortgage). Indications of monthly payments are included on the site for both repayment and interest only mortgages.

These are subject to status and the final payment could be more depending upon your circumstances. Applying for a mortgage will take a little time and effort but if you can save money each month or get the property you really want it will be worth your time.

You can borrow from £25,000 to over £3million. The amount you can borrow will be based upon your earnings and circumstances. If you are self employed proof of earnings will be required in order for you to obtain a mortgage.

By using a mortgage broker you keep your options open and can choose from a number of lenders, many of whom will offer specialist mortgage products for applicants like yourself. Don't restrict yourselves by going direct to a bank or building society. You might end up paying more than you have to and over the course of 20 or 25 years this can add up to several thousand pounds.

For your own personal mortgage comparison visit MortgageFinda.

After my recent woes sending a parcel with Collect Plus I have gone back to using the Royal Mail. I've never had a problem with them before and the mail always seemed to arrive. Until now that is.

Before Christmas I posted out a brand new Samsung U600 mobile phone. I sent it by recorded delivery as I thought that this would improve the chances of it being received and also I could track the delivery progress. I was wrong.

Like many people I assumed that as a tracking number was issued the parcel was tracked. At the point of sale in the Post Office I was informed of the maximum compensation of £39 and assumed therefore that if it was lost I would be compensated. Wrong on both counts.

Recorded delivery signed for mail is sent with the standard 1st and 2nd class mail. It is not tracked on its journey, but a signature is recorded if it does arrive!

When they do lose mail the Royal Mail will try everything to weazle out of paying compensation, even though they acknowledge they have lost the item. In my case I have intially been given 6 x 1st class stamps, even though it says on the Royal Mail website that the minimum compensation for a lost item is 12 such stamps!

They have made no offer of compensation to replace the lost item, seemingly because I do not have a standard purchase receipt. This is because the phone was a warranty replacement. I have sent them a copy of the delivery note which would suffice as proof of purchase for normal commercial transactions.

It states quite clearly on their website - "if your mail gets lost, we’ll give you a minimum compensation of 12 First Class stamps. However, if there was something of value in your mail, we'll refund the actual loss, up to a maximum value of 100 First Class stamps or up to the market value, whichever is the smaller amount."

Clearly a brand new mobile phone has a value, regardless of how much was paid for it intially, and I now have to pay for it to be replaced. This will cost in excess of the £39 compensation limit. The fact that Royal Mail acknowledge they have lost it but refuse to make good their error speaks volumes for the company and its attitude towards its customers.

I would strongly advise against using the Royal Mail recorded delivery signed for service. I cannot recommend their special delivery service either, as it would appear their attitude to compensation means that attempts to claim for lost items may prove futile. I can only recommend using other couriers for your parcels given the poor service received from the Royal Mail in this instance.