Is not paying 'morally' bad?

[Decanus]

Hi guys,

 

Been away a little from the forum for a while, due to work and other stuff, but my fights are still ongoing - will update those/ seek advice when I can!!

What got me thinking today was that sometimes arguements start on these and other forums over the moral situation of debt. Are we morally obliged to repay what we owe? I used to think yes, but my opinion has changed....

 

the lumbering, colossal beast that is the bank/ credit card establishment feels it has no 'duty of care' to its customer in the least. By offering us credit, they are not doing us a favour, or helping us out. They see a way to reel in a fish, that combined with millions other fish, feed the giant corporate machine. They NEED our business, to make the huge profits they do.

 

When I was going over my level of debt (trust me, its not looking good, especially after 3 months or so most of them are still just sending out standard computer generated letters) it dawned on me that I had often repaid the capital they had lent me, often several times over. So, they had received back ALL the money they had lent me, its the interest payments that incur the debt. The interest is not money they have lent me - in part, its levied as part of the risk of lending.

 

So, should a distinction be made between the capital debt, and tyhe interest? Is it morally acceptable for a lender to take you to court to pay £5k in debt, when you have paid them many times over the actual money owed?

 

its not as black and white as 'you borrowed, you owe', especially when they can tweak interest rates, change terms and conditions etc

 

Although I am happy to try and reach agreement, I am more and more happy to fight them, as my conscience is being cleansed with every threatening letter I receive.......

[ncf355]

You only have to look at the many instances on here of the banks and DCA's threatening people that are severely disabled (or worse still, terminally ill!) and that is an end to the moral argument for me

[sortingitout]

Agree with the above. IF my two credit card companies and my bank didn't come down so hard on me when i lost my job due to ill health and thus wasn't in a good position (even though i made an effort to make reduced payment arrangements) they would all probably have been repaid by now, but instead it has cost them money to defend against me and i will never be paying a penny to them again.

 

They made my problem much worse, so stuff them, it is there fault they wont be getting that money.

[sutherland]

According to Jewish and Christian religion some kind of debt relief has always been morally acceptable. In fact the Old Testament law required it. Here's an article about it that I Googled: http://www.jubileedebtcampaign.org.uk/download.php?id=470

 

I'm not sure that RBS will be convinced.

[2Grumpy]

Don't worry about the banks. They set their rates high enough to cover those who can't pay. Otherwise they would drop the personal loans / credit cards as uneconomic. They make most of their money on people who pay the minimum repayment because they pay the most interest for the longest. They actually like not very good payers.

 

Then they set DCAs on you when things go wrong and you have difficulty paying. If they were more understanding, didn't try to get the maximum possible out of you and acknowledged that you have other debts etc then things wouldn't get so bad. Then they harass you when you are a few days late with a payment because your giro is late or the kids need new shoes.

 

Banks & DCAs show no understanding or morality (well the majority anyway - there are a few like M&S that are mentioned a few times as being the first to respond, suspend interest etc) and go for CCJs then charging orders - effectively turning an unsecured debt into a secured debt while you are paying really high interest for the loan.

 

When you look at some of the other things that banks & DCAs do, their dirty tricks with post judgement interest, changing account types so that they can claim PJI, recreating CCAs, not providing SARs, going for CCJs on legal fees only, adding unlawful charges etc. then anything that debtors in trouble with payments can do is payback for that.

 

There are some lenders who are good - for the rest theres the CCA & OFT guidelines.

 

Grumpy Grumpy

[2Grumpy]

Heard on teh radio this morning:

 

"The World Bank is unablr to help Burma financially because it is behind with its debt repayments"

 

That's the morality of these *******s

 

Grumpier Grumpy

[blueeyedboy1980]

If you cannot afford to pay the debts and your life is going down the pan quickly and it is affecting your physical and mental well being then getting out of your debts in any way you can is the right thing to do. you are a person with feelings, a bank is just a load of computers. everyone deserves a 2nd chance at life and in todays financial climate you will never get that 2nd chance if you do things the banks way.

[cashins]

The moral issue rears its head again.

 

In this graceless age we live in, with politicians that cling to office when clearly they should resign, senior civil servants 'economical with the truth' and corporations that use every trick, legal, (or in some cases illegal), to get their way, the actions of a private individual are even questioned?

 

In my opinion the reason is simple in that the overwellming majority of people on this site are basically decent people and I suspect there are very few who have not thought long and hard on this issue.

 

At least it seems, we still care, when the powers that be who could make a difference gave it up a long time ago.

 

David

[blueeyedboy1980]

well said david.