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Divorce season sponsored by low interest rates

The good news: mobile Web services aren't involved. But the bad news is that divorce is being sponsored in the UK. I have this as one of those things which the Internet has caused, in today's mailbag. I nearly deleted it as obvious spam.

"Interest Free Credit for Divorcing Couples" - it just doesn't look like a real message. I thought: "Aimed at fundy religious activists..."  I guessed, and I nearly dumped it. But no! It's a genuine silly season story.

Supposedly, the "silly season" of summer (no stories from Parliament) has ended with the start of the Party Political Conference. But no to that, too!

"According to Relate statistics," says the UK's first online divorce service, Divorce-Online, "disagreements over money are the second most common cause of divorce."

They go on to say that, unfortunately, families have to stay together because of being unable to borrow the legal fees.

"The pressures of 'keeping up with the Jones's' on expensive holidays cause problems in unstable marriages," says Mark Keenan, Managing Director of Divorce-Online. "Couples trying to hold rocky relationships together for the sake of their children often decide to split once the schools reopen for the Autumn term."

But with Northern Rock on the rocks, where can they get the money for the solicitor? Why, at Divorce-Online, of course!

"When they investigate costs, many disillusioned partners cannot raise the necessary cash immediately to begin proceedings," says Keenan's company; "so Divorce-Online now offers interest-free credit to spread the cost of getting divorced over several months."

Presumably it gets deducted from the alimony. Anyway, I tried getting to the web site from my mobile phone, and failed... so my marriage looks safe for another week.