`Under the regulations, bailiffs for private firms would for the first time be given permission to restrain or pin down householders.`

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/poli...icle5375668.ece

as far as i can remember there were never prisons for civil debtors, only for non payment of fines, of course this can be a fine or payment due agreed by a court, but not civil,.bailifs will need police assistance for sure, they wont be carting anyone off,.not on their own .same as the likes of the trading standards etc

Of course there were debtors' prisons. Have you never read your Charles Dickens? dam_n good thing too . . serve people right for living beyond their means and causing this whole global mess.

The wouldn't have room in any prison for all the debtors. They would comprise the majority of the population (maybe).

There were many debtors prisons in olde London, there was one next to the Newgate prison near Snow Hill, used to walk past it twice daily and it made me think about my credit card bills at the time!

Of course there were debtors' prisons. Have you never read your Charles Dickens? dam_n good thing too . . serve people right for living beyond their means and causing this whole global mess.

Yes people lived beyond their means but were encouraged to do so by banks and governments. The bankers wanted huge bonuses, the governments wanted their economies to look good. The general public relied on government and banks for advice, all they got was spend, spend, spend. So thats what they did.

Of course there were debtors' prisons. Have you never read your Charles Dickens? dam_n good thing too . . serve people right for living beyond their means and causing this whole global mess.

Yes people lived beyond their means but were encouraged to do so by banks and governments. The bankers wanted huge bonuses, the governments wanted their economies to look good. The general public relied on government and banks for advice, all they got was spend, spend, spend. So thats what they did.

Oh, pullease. Spare me the sobbing heart routine. Encouraged, my arse.

What about personal responsibility? They lived beyond their means, end of story. Noone put a gun to their head and forced them to borrow more than they could afford to pay. They are adults; they should be able to look after their finances responsibly, instead of borrowing, going broke and then crying foul.

And - for balance's sake - the same applies to the banks and carmakers going bust. It's all part of the 'me, me, me, I want it all now' mentality. Sod them all, I say.

On a more positive note, I LOVE the carnage those people have caused themselves and others. I'm cashed up and looking to acquire plenty of assets in the firesale that people have brought upon themselves? A new house sir? Yes, please, but I'll only pay half your asking price.

Meanwhile, food, gas and borrowing costs are plummeting. Good times are here again (for the financially prudent).

as far as i can remember there were never prisons for civil debtors, only for non payment of fines, of course this can be a fine or payment due agreed by a court, but not civil,.bailifs will need police assistance for sure, they wont be carting anyone off,.not on their own .same as the likes of the trading standards etc

In the Town I used to work in in Cornwall there was the old Debtors prison. Still there, but obviously no longer used.

Wouldn't be a bad thing reopening it.

Well, I may have come across a plan here.

After the 31st of Dec and because I've never been in debt, I suggest a 20ft high fence is erected around the UK and none are permitted to leave.

Why not turn the whole place into one big debtors prison . . . I mean it's got a moat already and a bet Brown could do an excellent Mr. Mckay impression.

Of course there were debtors' prisons. Have you never read your Charles Dickens? dam_n good thing too . . serve people right for living beyond their means and causing this whole global mess.

Yes people lived beyond their means but were encouraged to do so by banks and governments. The bankers wanted huge bonuses, the governments wanted their economies to look good. The general public relied on government and banks for advice, all they got was spend, spend, spend. So thats what they did.

Oh, pullease. Spare me the sobbing heart routine. Encouraged, my arse.

What about personal responsibility? They lived beyond their means, end of story. Noone put a gun to their head and forced them to borrow more than they could afford to pay. They are adults; they should be able to look after their finances responsibly, instead of borrowing, going broke and then crying foul.

And - for balance's sake - the same applies to the banks and carmakers going bust. It's all part of the 'me, me, me, I want it all now' mentality. Sod them all, I say.

On a more positive note, I LOVE the carnage those people have caused themselves and others. I'm cashed up and looking to acquire plenty of assets in the firesale that people have brought upon themselves? A new house sir? Yes, please, but I'll only pay half your asking price.

Meanwhile, food, gas and borrowing costs are plummeting. Good times are here again (for the financially prudent).

With such a sympathetic tone, you ought to take up a job a the Citizen's Advice Bureau, mate. Or perhaps you might like to consider a vocation with the Samaritans. I'm sure you could save many a person on the verge of being slung out their house by the baliffs from considering topping themselves, with your knack for hearing out their tale of debt and sorrow.

Psssstt.........where's those half price houses going begging?

As this thread has nothing to do with Thailand it's closed.