ABSTRACT
[27.01] In our modern society, the use by consumers of debt, and especially of instalment debt (see para 1.03 ), has become a widespread method of acquiring the life-style which our society assumes, this being particularly the case with young families (the 25– to 40-year-olds with children). The demand is fostered by advertising (see Chap 8), e.g. of interest-free, low-start and instant credit, whereas it is hoped that consumers will be helped to manage it by education (see para 3.01 ), consumer codes of practice (see para 3.13 ) and credit insurance (see para 24.48 ). Even assuming an initial ability to pay, 1 a proportion of those consumers will not pay their debts lawfully due. Those who will not pay include not only ‘professional debtors’, but also those who misguidedly cease payment because they have a valid complaint, e.g. about goods supplied (see Chaps 13–15) and those who cannot pay. This last group include the inadequate and a proportion of low-income families with unexpectedly reduced income, e.g. through illness or redundancy or divorce. 2
