An interesting aside to the Debt crisis is that the Ministry of Justice in the UK have recently stated their intention to look into the possibility of setting a minimum amount of debt before a court can order the repossession and sale of a home, after a series of quite high profile cases where consumers have been ordered to sell their family homes after defaulting on relatively small credit card loans or other forms of unsecured debt.

This is a frightening prospect for any family facing a debt problem as not only do they have the possibility of perhaps losing their home after defaulting on mortgage repayments but also via somewhat callous creditors requesting repayment of what is essentially fairly small amounts of money in some cases. The creditors are often managing to secure a charging order against what was an unsecured debt, making the family home liable if the consumer fails to make repayments.  The charging order can lead to the court ordering the sale of a property, ensuring that the consumer can pay off their debts and meaning that in most cases the creditor will get their money back a lot quicker than is usually possible.

This callous and unfeeling approach by an admittedly low number of lenders has meant that a number of consumers that had no idea that their house was at risk and wouldn't have borrowed against it in any case if they did, are finding themselves the subject of a repossession order, a horrifying situation for say, a young family with nowhere else to go if pushed out of their home. Unfortunately, the economic downturn and credit crisis has meant increased numbers of consumers facing difficulty with making repayments on loans and consequently, lenders have quite often become more 'creative' when it comes to getting their money back.

This isn't a scaremongering post and shouldn't be read as such, this situation has only happened to a limited number of consumers, even if it is enough to make the Ministry of Justice consider an investigation, however, their proposals, if pushed through, should protect the most vulnerable.  As we all know though, the best way to protect yourself is to borrow responsibly and never more than you can afford to repay.