Lenders get little credit

A new inquiry into the debt and money question is long overdue (Cost of easy credit, October 14); however, one immediate relief could be a bill to make new loan agreements legally unenforceable.

The present laws could be amended to prevent existing lenders from using the courts, bailiffs and police to pursue debtors. Mortgage borrowers in arrears could be given the option of suspending repayments but retaining the right to whatever equity they have. Business could be fostered by the right to convert debt to equity. The money accumulation system, which benefits the rich at the expense of the poor, must be brought under strict public control.
Kevin Donnelly
Christian Council for Monetary Justice

The paradox of debt is that those least able to afford it are forced to pay the highest rates of interest - up to 800% in some cases. While those with money may be racking up debt as a result of record low interest rates, upwards of 6 million people are regularly refused access to cheap credit. The government's forthcoming white paper must include a commitment to cap interest charges, as well as opening up affordable credit for people on low incomes.
Audrey Bronstein
Oxfam UK Poverty Programme
Niall Cooper
Church Action on Poverty

You will make a lot of people nervous for no reason with your claim that lenders are moving swiftly to punish delinquent borrowers, "with cases pushed to bailiffs when an individual is only two months behind in payments".

High-street lenders offering products regulated by the Consumer Credit Act - credit cards and personal loans, have no direct recourse to bailiffs. In order for one of these lenders to "send in the bailiffs" they would first have to have had a county court judgment (usually setting reasonable installments) which the debtor had failed to pay, then gone back to the court and successfully applied for a warrant of execution.

Even in the most awkward of cases, it is unusual for a responsible lender to even apply for a CCJ in any less than about six months as pre-action protocols require them to take all reasonable steps possible to avoid court action.
Steven Lee
Wallingford, Oxon

The impact of your story on easy credit was muffled somewhat when I unfolded the paper and found two identical advertising leaflets for a platinum-style credit card, with "low" rates and the enticement of a free personal CD player added in.
Chris Hansen
London