‘People treat you like it was all your own fault’

Heartbroken couple Patricia and John Burnett lost their modest bungalow to a lender after falling into arrears on a €169,000 loan, originally taken out on their house in 2006 to pay for business debts.

John was made redundant as a truck driver in 2010 and the couple ran into difficulty meeting mortgage payments on their Tipperary home soon after.

The Burnetts handed over their home on foot of a High Court order after it was repossessed by lenders GE Capital Woodchester.