Some people are being forced to put their homes at risk because of debts of as little as £600, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found.

The regulator is clamping down on lenders who tell customers to pledge their homes against non-mortgage debts.

Four providers have been ordered to "address concerns" about the way some consumer debts are enforced.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11810763

We definitely need a tough consumer protection agency. Without which it will harm other businesses. Contracts that penalise the public will only spread and eventually it will be impossible to get any spending growth through loans as people start to save for everything in reaction to the risks of repossession. It might be a few now but look at the spread of payday loans in the UK. Not a good sign of economic vitality of a nation.

I'm going to miss the OFT.

I've always been brought up to only buy what I can afford and not to borrow money (mortgage is an exception).

Yes but every now and then you need to get something bigger than normal and you might have to borrow to cover it, like sofa's or a washing machine.

I made do without until I could afford it. I've lost count of how many hours I spent hand-washing because as a student I couldn't afford the laundry, and I carried on for a good few years after.

When I finally saved up for a house, we all sat on orange boxes until I acquired second hand furniture. A fancy arse sofa is not important enough to lose your house over, and I've still never actually bought a new one much less mortgaged the frickin house for it

Seriously. People these days don't know they're born. They should grow a frickin' back bone and bloody put up or shut up, and no that's not supposed to be funny

It's surpising how many pieces of furniture you can make from boxes and throws.

Yup, when we first started renting we made do with what we could. If you can't afford something use a bit of imagination or, if it's something like a washing machine, use a laundrette like we did for a long time. If there's not one near by try and look for a second hand one, there's plenty of help from charities and councils out there.

Make do until you can afford something.