Controversial question so don`t shoot the messenger. Who is to blame for folk getting into so much debt?

Question

I mean is it too easy to get credit cards and loans. Are the banks to blame for enticing or is it down to the individual to think first before they get out of their depth?

Answer 1

it's a vicious circle, banks should have more restraint, people should have more self control.

Answer 2

I think that the true answer is both. The banks are preying on weak minded people that feel that the more they have the better light they will be seen in. You know, he's got a great car, he must be doing well. Look at her clothes, she must be well off. People just need to learn to live within their means. At the same time, banks offer more and more incentives to get that loan or sign up for that credit card. "Only 2 % A.P.R." but then you read the fine print and they can change it to 15% if you are late on just one payment. If the lateness becomes a habit, whether you just forget or you lose a job, than the interest gets even higher. Now you have a payment that is a lot less manageable and soon you are sinking further in the hole. It is a vicious cycle that you really have to work hard to get out of.
As I said, I believe the fault lies in both. The only way to fix the problem though is for the individual to take more accountability for his or her actions and stop getting so much extended credit. I hope this answers your question, I could just be ranting.

Answer 3

i reckon its down to the consumer society we live in. the western world in particular is obsessed with buying things - most of which aren't necessary. We always want to get the latest everything and there's something new out every week. We all want to fit in with the 'in' crowd or have what the 'cool' people have. And the current generation doesn't save for what it wants like the previous generation. so the only alternative is to go get a loan, and a credit card. or seven. and spend spend spend. no doubt its good business for the banks and the individual has a bit of the blame as well, but society is focusing on all the wrong things so i think societies are to blame

Answer 4

You are responsible for your own actions.
That's the whole story really.
But, I think there are 2 types of debt. There are people (probably the majority) who are just careless. They succumb to temptation and then wake up with a nasty financial hangover.
But some people do find themselves under intense pressure financially. And turn to debt in real desperation.
The Banks etc are predatory and sometimes irresponsible, but so are a lot of other organisations. It's their job to sell their products in the same way as double glazing salesmen and a whole load of other businesses.
In most businesses irresponsible actions usually get their just deserts - banks are picking up the bill right now with the American sub prime lending crisis and serves the greedy beggars right!
The real answer is education. The world is a tough place and always has been. You don't send children out to play in heavy traffic - you explain the dangers.
Schools should be teaching kids how to cope with the real world and spending a bit less time worrying about politically correct nonsense like renaming the blackboard.
Although, just like the roads - there will always be casualties.
Sadly this world reserves it's greatest punishments not for the bad, but for the stupid.

Answer 5

My job involves helping people with debt problems.
As I see it the banks etc. are the main problem here. They do not do thorough checks to see if people have outstanding loans etc. There would appear to be one dept. who sell these "products" at any cost without consulting their colleagues to check further. These people probably have targets and will do anything to meet these. I have many low income clients with horrendous multiple debts and I would advise anyone thinking of borrowing to ask themselves "what will I do should I have a change in circumstances" i.e. unemployment, new baby, bereavement etc.
I know of cases where applicants, sometimes with the aid of the lender, have lied about income in order to get the money.
In the thousands of cases I've dealt with perhaps only a handful have "played the system" with no intention of repaying.
I've had clients attempt suicide, seen many relationships break down and people losing everything due to the unbearable collection methods and threats employed by collectors.
Be warned: If you're thinking of borrowing money -please think again!

Answer 6

The banks are too greedy. They thought that they could make some money out of people who had difficulty in paying and encouraged them to take out loans. When they were not being repaid, they suddenly have to take losses - but who pays for these losses? Why, the poor old regular account holder whose charges will no doubt go up now. Or perhaps the shareholders, who are probably the pension funds, so that the pensioners will miss out.
Who wins? The bosses of the banks who leave with a golden handshake.
Moral of the story - go and work for a bank.

Answer 7

Speaking frae personal experience, I wiz the eejit tae be drawn intae the super offers that the credit buffs were flinging at me. It's so easy tae get dosh when ye urr struggling. I wish I had gied yon eejits a wide berth. Huv spent the last few years paying back loans that I should never huv had in the first place. It's the fault o' the skint person fur beleiving that it's a breeze tae pay the credit buffs back nae bother.......

Answer 8

Themselves.

Police don't say a burglar was enticed to steal by seeing a pretty house.

People who do this have no one else to blame. They know they are living beyond their means. They know that even if they can afford the minimum payment, paying that, the bill will never go away.

Banks are only offering a high interest, short term loan service. People who abuse it are to blame. If a person does not understand how revolving credit works, they have no business applying for a credit card. The terms are enclosed with the application. If you can't understand how it works, don't apply.

The only people I feel sorry for with credit card debt are the one's that got it by their spouse running it up behind their back and subsequently leaving, leaving them holding the bag. Don't even get me started on that one !!!

Answer 9

Its too easy to say'themselves' because most people aren't taught how to handle money, credit cards, loans etc.
Budgeting and expenditure should be compulsary topics in school offered along with other life skills such as changing a tyre, cooking, sewing, fixing a tap, changing a light bulb, child care and all the other stuff that isn't taught but is very practical for every day living!

Answer 10

I think there is blame on both parts! Banks shouldnt hand out loans to just anyone but then people know what banks are like and know what they are letting themselves into. I find it so ironic when i heard adverts like "you in debt? we'll concolidate all you debts into one low monthly repayment!"...i mean i cant beleive people fall for these things. Cos its obvious that its not the best thing to get another loan to cover a loan!

Answer 11

Cultural problem cause no one knows how to wait for anything. Absence of spiritual integrity means that people are swayed more readily by materialism and that is all about what you have and when you have it.

However, specifically around debt, when credit is not available, people dont take it, so I would say that the ease of availability is to blame.

I think the fact that people say 'themselves' so much is a reflection of the misperception of the pre-eminance of individuality. People dont live in isolation and are not independant of cultural and social context, no matter what most 'Conservative thinkers' (I know it is a contradiction in terms) might have us believe