More oversight needed in debt recovery area

More oversight on how debt is being recovered for private creditors through the courts is needed in what is an outdated, archaic area of law.

Senior policy officer with FLAC Paul Joyce believes the laws governing sheriffs and the collection of debt for banks or other private creditors need reform.

“There is no state oversight here as such, and this is not a good way of dealing with people in debt. Protection for them is not great, and this area of law has not been reformed in a long time. Even the language is archaic, and people can’t relate to it,” Mr Joyce said. “You hear of sheriffs going to houses with teams of big men, and of course they will say it’s because of the need to move the goods, but they can look intimidating. Sheriffs can appoint people to collect debt on their behalf, so it is not very transparent.”