A High Court Judge has warned that the days of granting automatic costs for the legal professional in repossession cases could be numbered.
Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne was speaking after hearing a number of cases taken by financial institutions against mortgage holders in arrears.
Every Monday, the High Court hears cases for repossession or repayment of loan arrears.
Recently there has been a large number of cases taken by sub-prime lenders after their customers got into difficulty.
Yesterday there were 39 cases listed, 15 of them brought by one company alone: Start Mortgages.
However, the legal bill can often be higher than the sum of money owing in arrears.
In one case which involved arrears of €8000, which were paid by a couple, they then faced a legal bill run up on behalf of the mortgage company of €12,000.
Ms Justice Dunne said she would like a comparison study of the costs with those in cases taken in the Circuit Court, rather than the High Court.
She said she was concerned that people already in difficulty were having to pay large legal costs
The Money Advice and Budgeting Service, which helps people in difficulty with their mortgages, urged people facing arrears not to bury their heads in the sand, to tell their mortgage company of their problems, and to reply to all letters.
