UPROAR OVER DEBT FIRM SCANDAL
by Matthew Baker
MPs are urging the government to introduce tougher measures to safeguard low-income borrowers after last week’s revelations in the Big Issue South West that up to 50,000 loans owned by a major finance company are being investigated following allegations of unlawful practice. Last month a judge ordered courts in England and Wales to refuse repossession orders for Ocwen while he investigated claims that brokers had conned borrowers. David Taylor, Labour MP for Leicestershire North West, said: "The government needs to intervene and prevent lenders from preying on poor communities. I would like to see government action to encourage the development of credit unions and better access to financial services, which people are entitled to but routinely excluded from." Paul Flynn, Labour MP for Newport West, said the DTI should have acted after Labour MP Barry Gardiner voiced concerns about similar cases involving Ocwen in an Commons debate with Consumer Minister Melanie Johnson last October. "Ocwen just can’t stay away from controversy," he said. Ocwen itself has refused to comment because the case is on-going but argued in court that borrowers should honour their contracts. Meanwhile Carol Riley, the Staffordshire-based campaigner who has saved more than 1,500 people from having their house repossessed through her National Association Of Mortgage Victims organisation, has spoken about a smear campaign which threatened to stop the court hearing going ahead. She said she has received threatening anonymous phone calls and been investigated by Staffordshire Police. Officers contacted more than 30 members of Riley’s action group asking them if they had ever given money to Riley or were aware of any irregularities. "This was a deliberate smear campaign intended to scare our members into disassociating themselves from the group," she said. "I was totally disgusted. These are vulnerable people who are on the verge of losing their house and the last thing they need is a police investigation questioning the credibility of their only source of help." A spokeswoman for Staffordshire Police said: "We received an allegation that Riley’s group was guilty of financial irregularities last year. Our initial investigation was closed after we found these allegations to have no substance. The people who assisted in the enquiry were notified the investigation had ended."
Reproduced courtesy of the Big Issue
13 May 2002
