The bottom line on all this pontificating is that a large number of people who should not be allowed to borrow money have slipped easily through the net. They are the ones who at the slightest hint of adversity hand the keys back. Caveat vendor!

Simon, Wirral,

banks should be forced to write off 10% of all debts owed
it might wake them up-and the shareholders!
they and B/societies 'DO' have a responsibilty to lend according to means-they have failed in this pushing loans/mortgages to those who are illl equipped to realize the impact of 'risky' borrowing.
who thinks that the average school leaver over the past 10 years or so -many (most?) unable to read/write properly- it seems 90% unable to string asentence together - has a clue about what they ahve been getting into ?
sign here dopey.....

mike, oxford, england

Yes ,of course there is a degree of personal responsibility involved when borrowing money.
However when the money available to borrow is seemingly unlimited,and the interest rate applied is so low, temptation beckons to many financialy uninformed people.
It is apparent that the Bank of England's MPC bears a heavy responsibility for allowing interest rates to have remained so low for so long.(And they are still too low! ) Also the greedy, short term profit focussed lenders,must also share the blame. In particular, past loans made based on self certified income verges on business negligence.

Nic, Royan, France

People who argue that the borrowers are to blame clearly have little or no understanding of how modern economies work.

If you borrow a £1000 from the bank and agree to pay back at the rate of a £100 per month all well and good. The trouble is you and the bank manager are not the only people in the economy.

Other people in the economy will note you now have £1000 cash in your account and you have a disposal income of £100 per month. They will seek to relieve you of some of that money. So your gas, water, electricity, council tax and a host of other bills will rise accordingly.

So money you were intending to pay back to the bank has now been diverted to the utility companies and the general increase in the cost of living.

Whereas its a long and drawn out process for the bank to recover its money if you don't pay your utility bills and other costs associated with living the services will be cut off immediately.

THAT'S HOW MODERN ECONOMIES WORK.

RD, London,

A 0.25% rise increases interest payments on a £100k mortgage by £20pm not £25 shurely.

Generali, Sevenoaks,

I'd agree with Murv usually however the financial services industry has sold products their experts said were sound (I question if these people are experts or salesmen) saying its different this time and the BOE said in 05 that we won't let the housing market fall by reducing rates at a stupid time (Economics is the dismal science for a reason). Its no wonder people now have homes that will soon be worth the 1999 price, debts they can't afford and a bleak 5 years to look forward to. The only people I hope will suffer is the government when people wake up and realise its been a house of cards not great policy.

Truth is the real people to suffer will be those who were prudent - we always pay for the fools who think they can make a quick buck

S Baker, Harrogate, North Yorkshire

What's wrong ?
If you can't pay, why borrow the money ? If someone takes money from me, I have every right to get it back at any cost. and banks are doing the same. Fair Enough.

Ash, guildford, UK

We live in a short term time bubble, ever living for the moment and caring little about tomorrow.The ability to get it now to impress one's peers is as prevalent amongst the middle aged middle classes with their regular hops to the Continent and love of electronic gadgetry as it is amongst the young and impressionable.

We want it all and do not view income or price as a deterrent when those same banks and other financial institutions now getting tough with defaulters spend so much of their time getting all and sundry signed up to impossible payment schedules on the back of eternally rising house prices.

The British economy thrives on greed greased by an acute sense of status which together will cause yet more repossessions, money judgements and general unhappiness for those who have been misled into believing that judgement day can be put off indefinitely

W.R JACKSON, WEST BRIDGFORD, UK

With Gorden Brown giving the OK to IVA's its no wonder the general public are going bankrupt. The easy come easy go attitude to money lending has to stop at some time. If the Banks have at last decided to clamp down on IVA's it will at least ensure a more realistic and responsible attitude to debt. I have been amazed that a credit limit really means the amount of debt an individual has built up over aperiod of time. Credit in my language is how much money do I have in the bank!

Chris Smith, Eastbourne , UK

A consumer society needs consumers. There are always plenty of volunteers as long as there is access to credit. It takes two to lend and borrow, a financial marriage so to speak with hopefully both parties getting what they want. The saddest is when either party are agrieved, we as a society become lesser and a villain must be found. The dream of provident living for most while still having low unemployment is I fear a fantasy.

J Fortin, Ely, Cambs

How did these circumstances arise -
Why were housing costs stripped out of the official inflation measure rather than strengthened given their inclusion allbeit limited in the previous measure.
To allow double digit house price inflation was an accident waiting to happen particularly when this inflation was removed from the Bank Of Englands target measure allegedly at the insistence ot the previous PM to placate him following the decision not to join the euro.
Why was the Bank of England so timid earlier when it could have raised rates to keep a lid on inflation
Why was council tax (also not included in the current inflation target although it was included in the previous target) allowed to increase by double digits every year.
The consequence may be to prove the dictum that a stitch in time saves 9
The consequence is that individuals have been forced to overstretch themselves in order to buy a house

Concerned, NI, UK

It's the early 90s all over again. Financial institutions throw money at borrowers and then blame them when things get tough. They give out umbrellas when the sun shines and grab them back when it rains.

Cliff Forsyth, Pinner, London

Been here, done it, got the tee shirt etc.

It took us years to get rid of what in our case was not a huge amount.
We vowed to never go there again and we haven't.
Alright, so we didn't have a car for a few years and pubs and eating out were barred, we still managed a cheap holiday abroad every year.
We live in Spain now and can afford a reasonable lifestyle but I still rember getting credit card applications about once a month which all got shreaded.
Before moving to Spain I offered my 6 year old Skoda to a young relative at a knock down price. My offer was turned down and the lad bought a 3 year old 'popular' model on the 'never never' over 6 years. He and his family now have severe financial financial problems.
The 'must have' society is not new but these days the shear level of debt is very depressing.

Nigel Grtaham-Miller, Valencia, Spain

It won't be long before the issues raised in this article coupled with the panic or forced selling of properties by buy-to-let investors tips the housing market into a major crash. This will be bad enough, but who knows how the millions who have topped up their overspending lifestyle by using equity from their property will react as serious levels of negative equity loom. Possibly serious recession, all because the BoE were too wmpy a few years ago to raise interest rates sufficiently to nip the overheating in the bud!

Clive, Chichester, UK

well, after lolling punters into a false sense of security by over lending on too generous terms the banks now turn round and blame their customers. every generation this happens; borrowers go to the wall while the errant bankers rise up the tree. moral; NEVER trust a banker.

Philip Barnes, preston,

Surprise, surprise

Chris, Sutton Coldfield,

The Banks are Companies looking to make profit. But Banks are key to the balance of the country and the health of the people of the country of its primary operational sphere. To control balance you have to have good government and the mechanisms that surround them. The BoE, The FSA and ultimately the person or persons who occupy No.11 and No.10 which for the last decade on a domestic level has been your lovely Prime Minister who the UK has not voted in. So when you blame the High Street lenders just take a step back and ask yourself this. Who should be in control of those who control your / my borrowing habits.

Paul, London, Canada

Surely the responsibility for an individuals bad debts has to rest with the person who took that debt on in the first place. People who blame the banks for offering people more money than they can repay seem to be forgetting that that it is the personal responsibility of the customer to ensure that they don't do anything stupid such as accepting that money in the first place...

Why is it that that the "blame culture" currently prevailent in the UK seems to place responsibility for peoples shortcomings with big business or the government?

Murv, Durham, Durham

People end up borrowing because they are not prepared to do whatever it takes through work to get enough money to fund their lifestyle. Why blame the banks? They are just providing a service to people too lazy to make the effort to earn enough to fund their lifestyles.

Debbie, Edinburgh,

Nobody makes you borrow money.

That is a personal decision

Get it?....Cannot pay it back?

Bad Move, Grow up.

Before anone says there is no option. Yes, there is

N Wilson, bourne, lincs

Well its about time the banks took on the responsibilty of irresponsible lending, its gone on far too long. I have never forgotten my mothers words of "don't buy anything if you dont have the money to pay for it now" I pay everything cash now and luckily i sold everything up because soon Cash is going to be King and credit is going to be very hard to obtain.

Unfortunately i think people have forgotten exactly what credit is!
Banks and Lenders, credit card companies and their ilk have for years ripped off and thrown money at people like it was water and not contemplated whether anyone could actually afford it. Lets get back to a time where you had to wait to get what you want, not slap it on the bill to pay later!

Laurance Allen, Bodrum, Turkey

Typical banks. They were more than happy to hand over this money to people who would have trouble playing it back and, now that they are feeling the squeeze, they are being totally unreasonable with regards to payment options.

Chris, London,

When the rates were they were giving money out anyone who asked and now as the rates are on the up they start to "crack" down! Its all about the media image!

When will people wake and see that they giving their hard owned money away to bunch of thieves!

usman , bradford, uk