Lenders urged to be more sympathetic

Money lenders across the UK have been urged to be more sympathetic to the plight of their customers who are facing a desperate struggle to become debt free, it has emerged.

Citizens Advice is keen to see mortgage lenders in particular take a fairer approach when dealing with homeowners who are finding it difficult to keep up with their repayments.

The charity has revealed that its staff are being approached about mortgage debt on an increasingly regular basis and has suggested that lenders are not always willing to give their customers a fair chance of avoiding repossession.

A statement from Citizens Advice read: “We need a ‘pre-action protocol’ – measures to ensure only those cases where no agreement is possible end up in court.”

“We want to see all lenders doing everything in their power to avoid things getting to this stage.”

Figures released by Citizens Advice in March showed that during the first two months of this year the number of people approaching its advisors for mortgage-related debt advice “shot up” by more than a third.