Mr. Paul Joyce:

Step 39 in the code sets out an expanded suite of solutions. On paper it looks better than the 2010 equivalent. However, it is the four words "offered by that lender", so the lender is only obliged to look at alternative repayment arrangements it chooses to offer. Reducing the principal sum to a specified amount is specifically mentioned in the CCMA but there is no category in the statistics for debt write-down, even though it has been achieved on a sporadic basis with one lender in particular. First, what is required is an obligation on lenders to look at each of the options and a proper appeals process, with full information provided to the borrower that the reasonableness of the lender's decisions can be inquired upon. The FSO on its website and from what we have heard seems not to want to look at substantive decision making, just process. As a result, people will end up in the Circuit Court without having had a proper chance to argue for the sustainability of their mortgage.