Tweet
It is really, really good news today to see some early warnings being issued of the FCA’s intentions, to be extremely active in their approach to potentially harmful lending; in this case their focusing on Payday lenders:
‘The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed that all borrowers should have an "affordability" check before being given a loan…Martin Wheatley, the FCA's chief executive, said: "Today I'm putting payday lenders on notice: tougher regulation is coming and I expect them all to make changes so that consumers get a fair outcome. The clock is ticking."’ (BBC News, online).
I think we are now ripe for a new public entity which unites all those, and there are very many we are aware, who are survivors of debt. We need a to consider uniting under one universal banner – don’t laugh: Survivors Of Debt United (S.O.D.U).
The platform of SODU would be to raise awareness of the true nature of debt; the traps which ensnare, the manipulation that follows and, in so many cases the outright theft and asset stripping that consequently takes place. It could also detail the lasting harm in emotional terms which invariably come into existence. We need a strong public face, almost along the lines of the very, very respected organisation SANE. What do you all think?
So often I have asked myself, why is it, in general, so little sympathy exists for those who experience debt, so little sympathy for much of the fear, distress and destruction which can and does follow when debt happens. Within my own family, a sibling made it quite clear, when I opened up to them about my, then (what was for me) a substantial level of ‘indebtedness’ – I was viewed as ‘foolish, irresponsible and could only blame myself for my predicament’.
My story is not unique; the detail may vary, but overall we will all, on this site, see patterns we might recognize. I fully accept that some may say ‘ah…but your choices were your choices…’ well, maybe. Choice though can become limited at times and subsequently options shrink. It is the circumstance that counts. Every time.
It is almost like a set of ingredients can be found. Marriage, debt, accommodation, debt, children, debt, education, debt, redundancy, debt, higher prices, debt, falling income, debt, increased taxation, debt, less state provision, debt, mental health issues, debt. Pretty endless, I suppose once it all starts.
Certainly, in my case, access to money was quite literally delivered through my door – ‘you have especially been selected for XXXX credit card just come along to the branch (very nearby) and collect your card. No application, no effort on my part just advised it awaited my calling in and picking it up. Which, well, I promptly did. And, guess what? My card sat among many, many others awaiting other ‘specially selected’ people (I was already in deep debt at that point, perhaps that was why I was ‘special’).
Anyhow, between the late 1990s and current day we (myself and my O/H became entrapped in the spiral of debt and much of the awfulness that follows by association.
The thing is, debt, to be in debt, to be hounded by debt collectors, and all that goes with this remains, even today, something not openly discussed or, in any way properly understood at least in my experience.
Much of the suffering which comes from debt is done often in a lonely isolation (I do not include this site in such description since LB is awash with support). It is how we have been conditioned over the years. Debt and blame culture can be rife – ‘you caused your own problems yourself’ – but this is often, so very far from the truth.
I hope Mr Wheatley’s clock, above, is an alarm clock and that the bells on it are extra, extra loud!
‘The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has proposed that all borrowers should have an "affordability" check before being given a loan…Martin Wheatley, the FCA's chief executive, said: "Today I'm putting payday lenders on notice: tougher regulation is coming and I expect them all to make changes so that consumers get a fair outcome. The clock is ticking."’ (BBC News, online).
I think we are now ripe for a new public entity which unites all those, and there are very many we are aware, who are survivors of debt. We need a to consider uniting under one universal banner – don’t laugh: Survivors Of Debt United (S.O.D.U).
The platform of SODU would be to raise awareness of the true nature of debt; the traps which ensnare, the manipulation that follows and, in so many cases the outright theft and asset stripping that consequently takes place. It could also detail the lasting harm in emotional terms which invariably come into existence. We need a strong public face, almost along the lines of the very, very respected organisation SANE. What do you all think?
So often I have asked myself, why is it, in general, so little sympathy exists for those who experience debt, so little sympathy for much of the fear, distress and destruction which can and does follow when debt happens. Within my own family, a sibling made it quite clear, when I opened up to them about my, then (what was for me) a substantial level of ‘indebtedness’ – I was viewed as ‘foolish, irresponsible and could only blame myself for my predicament’.
My story is not unique; the detail may vary, but overall we will all, on this site, see patterns we might recognize. I fully accept that some may say ‘ah…but your choices were your choices…’ well, maybe. Choice though can become limited at times and subsequently options shrink. It is the circumstance that counts. Every time.
It is almost like a set of ingredients can be found. Marriage, debt, accommodation, debt, children, debt, education, debt, redundancy, debt, higher prices, debt, falling income, debt, increased taxation, debt, less state provision, debt, mental health issues, debt. Pretty endless, I suppose once it all starts.
Certainly, in my case, access to money was quite literally delivered through my door – ‘you have especially been selected for XXXX credit card just come along to the branch (very nearby) and collect your card. No application, no effort on my part just advised it awaited my calling in and picking it up. Which, well, I promptly did. And, guess what? My card sat among many, many others awaiting other ‘specially selected’ people (I was already in deep debt at that point, perhaps that was why I was ‘special’).
Anyhow, between the late 1990s and current day we (myself and my O/H became entrapped in the spiral of debt and much of the awfulness that follows by association.
The thing is, debt, to be in debt, to be hounded by debt collectors, and all that goes with this remains, even today, something not openly discussed or, in any way properly understood at least in my experience.
Much of the suffering which comes from debt is done often in a lonely isolation (I do not include this site in such description since LB is awash with support). It is how we have been conditioned over the years. Debt and blame culture can be rife – ‘you caused your own problems yourself’ – but this is often, so very far from the truth.
I hope Mr Wheatley’s clock, above, is an alarm clock and that the bells on it are extra, extra loud!
They were not doing this out of charity, but because that's how they make their money, at least part of it, on the retail banking side of things. It was all fueled by the bonu$ $y$tem, whereby people get a bonu$ based on their contribution to the bu$ine$$ over the past year, whatever your area. The higher the volume of money lent or credit awarded, the bigger the bonu$. 
This system doesn't take into account what happens next. If most of the people you awarded credit to, later default, they won't take the money back from your bonu$, in fact, in the financial $ector, it's customary for people to move on right after receiving your annual bonu$, usually in the spring.
This is the equivalent of scavenging through the rubbish bins and using the food waste to make food products and re-sell them as fresh delicacies. Sounds disgusting? Yes, it was disgusting what they did! 
Anyone else doing something similar would be behind bars! 
I wish I'd written it! There are principles at stake here..dreadful injustices happening... the rich stealing from those who have minus nothing..and a political expedient that perpetuates all that.
Comment