January really is the cruellest month (apologies to TS Elliot), particularly in my line of work.

The courts and most mortgage companies shut down the nasty end of the litigation work during Christmas and evicted-on Chirstmas-Eve-headlines are generally frowned upon as a Ho Ho Ho, No No No.

This means that the early part of January sees all repossession activity kick off after the amnesty; much like the shells recommencing after a World War I kickabout.

I don’t know about you, but I am skint in January. After spending money like Paul McCartney’s latest wife in the consumerist frenzy that is Christmas, I generally have zip until my next pay packet.

Our pay is helpfully delivered about two weeks early in December and the next one isn’t until the last day in January. This leaves six cold, lonely, Bob Cratchett-esque weeks in which I hug my one lump of coal for warmth and suck repeatedly on the two beans I have to rub together for sustenance.

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Our customers are no different.

The amnesty over Christmas means there are twice as many accounts that are getting pushed through to my area, which means twice as many people who spent all their money over Christmas. It’s a particularly dispiriting time.

However, one trend I have noticed – and this is not just for January, but pretty much the whole of the second half of 2011 – is that more and more people are making use of the local courts.

In addition, more and more people are clearing their arrears in full.

This means they either stop a repossession by paying up or use the courts to stop a repossession, admittedly on payment plans that they almost always break, but hey ho.

I wouldn’t say most District Judges look like Santa, but who am I to judge?