Government should issue warnings

livinginhope

Been seeing quite a few adverts on the telly about the dangers of too much salt,too many crisps,speeding etc and was wondering if anybody else would like to see an advert to warn about the consequences of taking on too much credit.As we all know credit is being dished out to anyone and everyone with very little thought about what could happen if it cannot be paid back.
I would like to see an advert explaining to people what to do if they find themselves in trouble and what help there is,not all these fee charging companies.
I know this would affect the country's economy,but it would also save the NHS some money as a lot of the stress related illnesses could be reduced.
Just my thought of the day,off my soapbox now

lynzpower

Yes, but wouldnt it shoot themselvexs right in the foot.

If I have to see one more of those "dont worry about student loans, its fine you can pay them off when you are earning a MASSIVE 15k a year, go on, its easy, just sign up today. I didnt come out with even half what the poor !!!!!!s are coming out with now, as I didnt pay fees, but 10 years on im still slogging away at the student loan

So irresponsible.

ZTD

The Government relies/persuades/forces/leans on the banks to buy the gilts that it offers, and hence to reduce the effective rate of interest they pay, and reduce the amount of money they have to print.

Yes they will bad mouth them from time to time, but it is just political grandstanding.

The Government is never going to "save" you from the banks.

Prudent

As a society we generally have an uncaring attitude to debt. We always perceive it to be the 'fault' of those in debt and take little responsibilty for help or preventative measures. I have never personally been in debt, but would welcome a more pro active role being taken by the govt to help people who are, or at risk of being.

Mike_St_Helens

To be fair though, Its like tobacco and Alcohol.. There are warnings all over the show.. does anyone take any notice?.

And more to the point, can you imagine the state of the economy if say everyone stopped smoking or drinking.... Debt is a safe bet for them !

livinginhope

Thanks for your thoughts on this,I know the government can only win with our debts,but I do feel they could do more to help,there should be a 'mapped out route' if you like to go down when things turn sour.Most of us didn't know what to do when things went wrong,the banks didn't do anything other than offer more credit,the CAB were utterly useless (not all I know,but ours was),so you end up hitting a brick wall and in desperation take on more credit
the only warnings found with credit are 'your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage or other loans secured on it' this doesn't say that your home could still be at risk from unsecured debt when creditors turn nasty and want charging orders etc.
When you watch programmes like 'whistleblower' the thought of a bailiff coming round fills me with terror,it's not a surprise that people comit suicide or turn to crime when they are in debt.
I think there needs to be more regulation on lending,but also somewhere to go when things go wrong.
Maybe children in school should be tought more about money and it's implications,I have started educating my children about the value of money and drumming in to them never get a credit card.

dudleyboy

I like your way of thinking but that sounds a bit to proactive for a govt, don't you think? They'd much rather let things go to pot and then bring us all back from the brink of extinction so we can thank them for being so wonderful and vote them in for another couple of years.

Nutritional information and advice has only prominently surfaced recently, for example, thanks to Jamie Oliver's high profile school dinner's campaign and the govt's realisation that all these fat, malnutritioned kids are going to put a huge strain on the NHS over the next few decades. The same goes for green and environmental issues. It matters to them more now because they realise that more of the voting public hold these views and, afterall, they could generate more income through a variety of new and innovative taxations.

Fatty food and pollution bad. Vegetables and recycling good. Well who would've thought... :rolleyes:

As for debt, it's in the govt's best interests if we remain that way. the longer we're in debt, the longer we have to work to repay it, the more income tax we pay and the longer they get to own us

ManAtHome

..and the longer GBHs 'economic miracle' continues... Not difficult really, let people continue to spend 110% of their income for a few years - instant boom!

The govt only ever (over-)react to what the headlines are saying - "unhealthy eating" being a prime example. Children being small but growing do actually need something a bit more substantial than salad - instead of ancouraging a balance, lets just ban chips and choccies (both of which I used to eat in the 60s without any seriously bad effects).

MABLE

livinginhope wrote:

Been seeing quite a few adverts on the telly about the dangers of too much salt,too many crisps,speeding etc and was wondering if anybody else would like to see an advert to warn about the consequences of taking on too much credit.As we all know credit is being dished out to anyone and everyone with very little thought about what could happen if it cannot be paid back.
I would like to see an advert explaining to people what to do if they find themselves in trouble and what help there is,not all these fee charging companies.
I know this would affect the country's economy,but it would also save the NHS some money as a lot of the stress related illnesses could be reduced.
Just my thought of the day,off my soapbox now

.................

lady_fuschia

I would like to see some more high-profile advertising for the free debt-counselling organisations. I don't know about others, but I was only vaguely aware of these before I found MSE. It seems there are so many adverts showing the worried couple suddenly smiling and happy with the weight off their shoulders after taking out an ill-advised consolidation loan that its hardly surprising so many people go down this route. A higher profile for the free organisations might cause people to take some independent advice before they fall for the promises.

Ames

After the post yesterday saying that as a whole, everyone in the country is spending £110 for every £100 income, the government can't afford to stop debt. Apart from keeping interest rates down, there's all the VAT they're getting, all the tax on the business profits...