Have You Recently Received A Charging Order? Beware Of The Current Tactics.

Did you know that The recession has caused a huge increase in the number of charging orders issued? Some 111,311 were meted out last year, more than double the 49,218 issued in 2005, before the recession. A damning investigation by consumer watchdog the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) into how debts are enforced has uncovered serious concerns with several major lenders. American Express Services Europe, HFC Bank (part of HSBC) and Welcome Financial Services have been singled out for criticism by the OFT.
Problems include threatening or misleading letters which suggest homeowners could be forced to sell their family home to pay off small debts, and hefty fees levied on consumers as their cases are passed to collection firms. The OFT has been looking specifically at the way charging orders are enforced. These are court orders on unsecured loans that place a 'charge' on a debtor's property - this forces outstanding debt to be paid back from the proceeds of the sale of the property. These don't require people to sell their home, but it can lead to an order of sale - where customers are forced to sell their property if they can't repay their debts.
However, the problem is that some companies are trying it on by pressurising clients with debts as low as £600 with a charging order, which is clearly wrong. Do not be a victim to this sort of malpractice.
In some cases, firms issuing charging orders are misleading customers into believing that they could be forced to sell their home. In other cases, homeowners are being threatened with orders of sale even if the bank has no intention of issuing them. Cheshire-based debt collection firm Aktiv Kapital has been found guilty of chasing disputed debts without investigating them properly and pressurising customers.