Episode description

The debt collection industry: Laurie Taylor explores what happens when everyday forms of borrowing, such as credit cards, personal loans and store cards, spiral out of control. He talks to Joe Deville, Lecturer in Mobile Work at the University of Lancaster, and author of a study which offers a vivid account of consumer default and the evolution of agencies designed to collect people's debts. He's joined by Adrienne Roberts, Lecturer in International Politics at the University of Manchester, who has researched the growing reliance of households on borrowed money.

Also, how do couples react to spousal job loss? Karon Gush, Senior Research Officer at the University of Essex, considers the ways in which couples re-configure their lives and finances in response to one person losing paid employment.

Producer: Jayne Egerton.