Question: When would you use a sledge hammer to crack a nut?
Answer: It’s hard to tell but maybe if you’re really desperate for what’s inside – a winning lottery ticket? Or maybe if you’ve finally lost it and after trying to politely crack the nut open with a traditional cracker, you decide to do it caveman style?
Or maybe….if you’re a particular type of lender or debt collector, you’ve been doing it for a while already and fail to realise the nut in front of you isn’t the only nut in the room!?
A report from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) shows that applications for charging orders has risen by 722% in just two years (since 2007)! It appears that this particular court action is becoming massively over used against an unprepared public. Causing stress and despair, consumers are being threatened with charging orders left, right and centre by companies forcing them on many cases, to pay more than they can afford for unsecured debt commitments.
Some companies have even gone so far as to request the courts to approve charging orders through an order of sale. This is not only unjust for those who are contributing to their creditors as much as they can already, but also to other creditors who may have agreements in place with the same individual.
David Harker Citizens Advice Chief Executive said: “The law as it stands leaves debtors far too exposed to unfair treatment and the risk of losing their homes from unsecured creditors.” The CAB has now called for both the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and Ministry Of Justice (MOJ) to step in and review into the use of charging orders – looking at the law and restricting access to enforcement when debtors are genuinely doing all they can.
I wonder whether this form of debt chasing crosses the line between ethical and unethical? Between respecting the long term benefits of being paid back debt over a period of time, or taking what you can now and leaving the debtor and their family with nothing but a cardboard box. Is that what we have really come to? It seems, sadly, for some it is.
So going back to my original question, when would you use a sledge hammer to crack a nut? With the options first pointed out in mind, to do so, you’re either slightly mad, desperate, or just plain stupid with no sense of ethics on drawing that ever so thin line between right or wrong…I guess, the ones falling into this category would excuse themselves with the rationale…it’s just business.
I ask…is it really? I add…not for me, not for my contemporaries and not for those I respect.
