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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Business
Rupert Jones

Church of England accused of ‘acting like a loan shark’ over vicar’s widow falling £313,000 in debt

A church yard and house in East Sussex
The Church of England introduced its mortgage scheme to help retiring clergy buy a property. Photograph: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The family of a vicar’s widow has accused the Church of England of behaving like a loan shark after a £55,000 mortgage it granted became a £313,000 debt – on top of monthly payments she has been making for almost 30 years.

Tessa Norris* says her 84-year-old mother, Rose, has “devoted her life to the church, all on a voluntary basis” but that it is treating her, and others in a similar position, “as commodities to make money”.

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