Hacker News Reader

Comment by noodlesUK | Hacker News Reader

For instance this is what happens in the U.K. if you don’t pay your water bill. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/water/water-suppl...

You can be disconnected from electricity in rare circumstances, but I personally haven’t heard of it...

View on HN

In Ontario Canada, you can be disconnected from electricity and Water, and they will disconnect it without mercy, on time, but only not during the winter months for obvious reasons that you could kill people.

That's true, but you can also lose your house for completely unrelated debts in the UK (i.e., you could pay your mortgage but if you have a different, unrelated loan that you default on then that creditor could have a court sign off on seizing your house).

This how debt law works pretty much everywhere. Creditors have the right to seize virtually any assets to cover their outstanding loans.

This is one area where the US has really good protections. Even most people that file Chapter 7 (liquidation bankruptcy) in the US don't lose any assets. Courts will generally only liquidate investment accounts, vacation homes, high-dollar collectibles, etc. They won't take your primary home, car, typical personal possessions, etc.

That only applies to water bills, and if I remember correctly the reason why that rule exists is that the UK was starting to have cholera outbreaks before it was put into place. Usually, I think electricity suppliers here deal with people who don't pay their bills by forcing them onto prepayment meters that require them to pay up front for it and automatically cut them off when the money runs out. So technically they're not disconnected entirely, but they sure aren't getting electricity unless they pay for it.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com