The world of high finance can often seem a remote place. A friend once told me that after the financial crash and subsequent fall out that they were frustrated that they couldn’t link the behaviour of capital to the lives of ordinary people. The reason why citizens groups and citizens organising is all the rage at the moment is because it does this very thing – it links the intangible and the remote to the immediate.
After the financial crisis Citizens UK began to hear stories about the increase in interest rates on money loans. More and more stories also emerged about doorstep and other high cost lending. High cost lenders were targeting housing estates with offers of immediate credit at very high prices. Once people took out these high cost loans their problems often become worse and they had to borrow more. (more…)