As the UK economy continues to struggle and people are finding it harder and harder to secure loans, many consumers are turning to pawnbrokers in order to solve their financial problems.
When people think of pawnbrokers, they nearly always imagine run-down backstreet shops filled with old TVs and Hi-fis.
However, the modern pawnbrokers are keen to escape this image and re-invent themselves as the modern alternative to traditional loans.
The common misconception that people have regarding pawnbrokers is that they will only buy your products off you for a fraction of what they're worth and then sell them on to other people for a large profit.
This might have been true in the past and indeed could still be the case in less reputable services.
However, the role of the pawnbroker in the modern era is completely different.
For starters, you no longer sell your products to the pawnbroker.
You simply use them as collateral to secure a loan against.
So if you can't get a loan from a bank or building society then you can visit pawnbrokers and use your jewellery to guarantee finance.
Then you simply make repayments on your loan and when you've paid back the full amount, the items you used as security will be returned to you.
The only event in which you could lose your possessions is if you can't afford to pay back the loan.
In which case your items are then sold to pay off the balance, with any extra money generated on top of that amount paid back to you.
During the Credit Crunch when loans are more difficult than ever to secure, people should see pawnbrokers as a legitimate answer to their financial headaches.
After all, they offer you a far more competitive rate of interest than many providers and anyone can be accepted, providing they have valuable items to secure the loan against.