Tuesday 19th February, 2008 

Mortgage companies are just "piling on extra charges" rather than supporting those who are facing having their homes repossessed, claims Citizens Advice Bureau.

It is also claimed that the rather than helping those with debt management difficulties in line with the British Banking Association (BBA) code of practice, mortgage companies are taking borrowers to court.

The CAB bases its claims on their own figures which saw an 11% increase in the number of people seeking advice associated with secured loans and mortgage arrears.

Debtwatchdog believes that the banks should not be walking away from their responsibilities either ethically or under the BBA code of practice. Ethically the banks should be helping their customers if they get into trouble meeting their financial obligations. After all the banks looked at the borrowers finances and their spending and were happy to lend didn't they? The BBA code of practice states that its members will "consider cases of financial difficulty sympathetically and positively." Based on what the CAB is claiming this is not being done.

Today many people are struggling with their debt management and for the banks to take court action at the first sign of a problem is deplorable and against their own code of practice. I believe that the banks are worried about the future and are trying to get as many customers off their books as possible in preparation for a recession.

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