Even a “mild” problem with depression, anxiety or other mental health issues can make it harder to manage your money. Reading letters, taking decisions, paying by a deadline and talking to creditors may feel like impossible tasks.
One in five people with mental health problems are in problem debt – that’s more than three times the rate as people without mental health problems (5%). And half the people in problem debt also have a mental health problem.
It’s no wonder debt and mental health are called a “toxic combination”.
This isn’t just credit card and loan debt. People with poor mental health are also much more likely to be behind with essential bills.
The Money and Mental Health Policy Institute produced a great report called Money on Your Mind, explaining the links between mental health problems and debt. And they are looking at practical ways to cut or reduce the impact of these links.
But if you have a debt problem right now, what can you do?
Am I actually depressed?
You may be feeling helpless, fed-up or even desperate about your debts but not be suffering from depression. Then the answer is usually to take some action so you get back in control: read up about the possible debt solutions and start taking steps yourself. Stop using your credit cards is often the vital first one.
But suffering from depression and also having debts is a more difficult situation and that is what this page is looking at.
A typical aspect of depression is that you think nothing can help you A couple of common comments are:
- I thought I was just being weak and needed to get a grip on things and
- With hindsight I can see that I had been stopping doing many things gradually over about a year, but at the time it just seemed normal and not like an illness that a doctor could help with“.
The NHS says,
“There are many symptoms of depression, including low mood, feelings of hopelessness, low self-esteem, lethargy and sleep problems. The more symptoms someone has, the more likely they are to be depressed.”
If you haven’t talked to your doctor already about this, there is a mood self-assessment test here that may help you decide if you should see your GP.
Getting help with depression and other mental health issues
- If you think you might be depressed or have other mental problems, talk to your doctor. There are alternatives to antidepressants if you don’t want to take medication.
- The charity MIND has a useful page of resources to get support.
- The charity Rethink Mental Illness has a website with a lot of information and an advice line.
- In a crisis with thoughts of suicide or self-harm, call The Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 any time of the day or night or go to your local A&E.
Getting help with money problems and debts
Many people with mental health problems will need support from debt advisors to help with their debts. Often the top priority is to get consumer debt problems (loans, credit cards etc) placed “on hold” whilst more urgent problems – health, benefits income, housing, priority debts etc – are tackled. There is a list of good places to contact here.
Making the first phone call is so hard, but most people do find it a huge relief to share their problem.
Creditors will take note if you have mental health issues
You may think creditors and debt collectors won’t care that you have mental health problems, after all you borrowed the money and they want you to repay it.
The good news is the FCA, who regulates lenders and debt collectors, says they should treat vulnerable customers fairly. The FCA sees this as a priority. People with mental health problems are vulnerable because those problems make it much harder to manage debt issues.
Most banks, building societies and credit card providers subscribe to The Standards of Lending Practice, which has a section on identifying and handling vulnerable customers.
The Credit Services Association is the trade body for debt collectors. Its code of practice says firms should
consider refraining from commencing, or consider suspending or ceasing, any legal or bankruptcy action upon identifying that the customer is particularly vulnerable and that such action would be likely to exacerbate a physical or mental health condition.
What to tell your creditors
You may not want to discuss very personal problems with strangers, especially one who may have phoned you to get you to pay money that you can’t afford.
You may feel that if you tell your creditors more about your situation they will push you even harder.
But all creditors and debt collectors have procedures and policies for when customers have mental health issues and they can’t use these unless you tell them about your problems. If you don’t tell them about your situation then they may decide you are a won’t pay rather than can’t pay.
You may not want to talk over the phone. Using emails or letters can feel less pressurised. It lets you state your full situation clearly and gives you a record of what you said.
These situations are very individual, but think if any of the following apply to you:
- I have had a mental health problem for the last x months/years;
- my doctor has diagnosed xxxxxxx
- I have been referred to xxxxxxx hospital/clinic/therapist [copy of any letter attached];
- I have been prescribed xxxxxxxx and attach a copy of the prescription;
- I have been an in-patient at xxxxx hospital / I was sectioned [from dates];
- I am under the care of [ xxxxxx mental health team / mental health social worker];
- my income has fallen because I am unable to work / am on sick pay / I am living only on benefits;
- I am finding it hard to manage and can’t make the normal repayments to my debts;
- I also have rent or mortgage arrears / council tax arrears / other priority debts;
- please accept a token payment of £1 a month/ I cannot make any payments to this debt at present;
- because of my vulnerable state, please suspend any collection or legal activity on this account until my situation improves and freeze any interest or charges;
- Phone calls make me anxious and I and would like all communications to be by email.
If you don’t feel you can write these letters, contact one of the recommended debt advisors to help (see above).
If you can make more than token payments to your debts, then a debt management plan may be a good option for you. Talk to StepChange about this. You can talk to them in confidence and you will find them a friendly voice so you can tell them about your problems. Then they can talk to all your creditors – so making that one call to StepChange can take a load off you.
What will your creditors do?
They may agree to suspend collection activity for a time after which they will review it. They may ask you to complete an Income / Expenditure form.
If this seems too difficult, contact a debt advisor. They may ask for a letter from your doctor or a Debt and Mental Health Evidence Form.
If you don’t think your creditors are responding properly to your situation, you could ask the Financial Ombudsman to look at this. “I borrowed 20k in two weeks” – a bipolar spending spree looks at how a reader did this. Your local Citizens Advice will be able to help with these complaints.
Other options in the longer-term
Stopping interest or putting a hold on a debt may not be enough for a long-term debt problem – it may be necessary to look at options such as a debt relief order (DRO). Or sometimes creditors may be prepared to consider writing off a debt.
National Debtline has a good factsheet that looks at a lot of these options.
Can’t pay all the bills and debts?
Can you really offer just £1 to a debt?
How to ask for a payday loan refund
Marica says
Thank you!
You’ve answered some questions that I had.
One answer I dont see is what to do when a debt collector refuses to acknowledge and proceeds to instruct their solicitor to issue a court claim?
Sara Williams says
hi Marica, if you have received court papers, you need urgent advice on what to do – I suggest you call National Debtline 0808 808 4000. If you haven’t and are just concerned this might happen, there isn’t much point in worrying about it. Fewer cases get taken to court than you might think if you have contacted them and aren’t ignoring them. Again National Debtline would be good to talk to if you aren’t sure or need some help to think through your options.
Miss R says
I received a claim form for a debt that has been paid in 2008. County court business centre have filed the claim for a debt that has been paid but somehow not acknowledged. I have multiple sclerosis and have been ill as a result of the stress throughout the years from 2008 to now where I am more stressed/ill. My m.s has been exacerbated and I have endured countless attacks. My bank today confirmed that I payed £500.00 in Dec 2008. The claim states no payment was made from on or around 30/04/2008. Further more my credit rating has been damaged. What counterclaim should I submit. Also it has passed the 6 years period meaning it should be wiped. (If I did still owe and hadn’t paid which I have). I have suffered immensely. Please let me know how to deal with this. I know I have been wronged. Thank you so much.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi, I suggest that you phone National Debtline https://www.nationaldebtline.org/. They are a charity that are great at helping people deal with court claims – it’s their busy time of year, but keep trying and you will get through!
Karen says
Hi, I have been trying to arrange a repayment plan with an OC after major surgery left me without work. I have rang and sent letters and they have refused to make an arrangement. I have never received a default letter, but have a default registered in my name. I noticed on my credit report that he default has now been registered by Lowell DCA. I have never had any correspondence so I contacted Lowells to complain about the default registration without even contacting me. Lowell have come back to me and state that they have no record of the debt with them. I do not know what to do. Lowell want a screenshot or printout of my credit report but wanted some advice before I do this. I accept the debt and want to make an arrangement, I am really upset that I am not getting any help. I do suffer depression and have a diagnosis of PTSD so I struggle with dealing with this anyway. Should I try and contact the OC again, and should I send the screenshots to Lowell??
Sara (Debt Camel) says
HI Karen, I think you should put in a written complaint to the OC. They probably have an email address for complaints on their website. Complain that you have tried to make an arrangement to pay but they haven’t let you. Mention your depression and PTSD is making it hard for you to cope with your financial affairs and you would like their help.
I would be inclined to ignore Lowell until they contact you!
Mike says
I took out a joint loan with an ex partner in 2010, we split up and I paid £5000 of the £17000 via a debt plan after bailiffs turned up on my door demanding payment.
At the time of actually signing the forms I was in a bad way suffering from PTSD and heavy medication. Would this affect my debt at all seeing as I was technically I was mentally ill at the time of application for the loan and at the time wouldn’t of truly known what I was signing / letting myself in for?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Mike, if you want to try to get some of this debt written off then I suggest you go to your local Citizens Advice and ask for their help. These aren’t easy claims to make and it is usually better to have help with them. They will also be able to help you review your current debt situation.
Sarah says
Hi,
I wonder if you might be able to help.
I have been receiving letters from Lowell for the past 6 years regarding an old Capital one debt and a small ish Halifax debt. In 2010 I lost 3 of my beautiful children and as a result had a breakdown of mammoth proportion and was rendered alcohol dependent until I managed to get a grip of myself 2 years ago.
During this period my mum and step father were intercepting my mail to avoid my anxiety escalating and as a result I have got absolutely no idea now if my debts are statute barred or not as I don’t know whether they contacted Lowell and indeed if Lowell could have started the clock again as a result of contact from them. I am not in contact with them to find out.
My capital 1 debt fell off my credit report in February this year and the Halifax is due to drop off in December.
I’m unsure whether to be sending a request for proof of agreement or whether remain silent and hope they are statute barred, hence why they haven’t issued in the last six years. I have just checked and I had pre-legal assessment letters last year from them for the same debts and whilst my circumstances have improved slightly I am still receiving support group Esa. The most recent letters are a 20% reduction letter for Halifax and Pre legal for Capital 1.
Thanks
Sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Sarah, I am so sorry to hear of your problems, it’s good that you seem on the road back from a dark place.
Nothing your mum or step dad said could have reset the statute barred clock unless they had Power of Attorney for you or made payments to the debts.
One option would be to sit back, wait and defend any court action taken against you. But if you would like to take a more pro-active role, I would suggest that you should consider going to your local Citizens Advice and asking them to write to your creditors requesting that the debts be writtem off, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/write-off/. The combination of the debts being probably statute barred and your mental health history and the fact that on ESA you can’t afford any debt repayments means that this has a reasonable chance of success.
Maureen says
Good Morning,
I have received a letter saying I need to fill in a Letter of Authority for a family or friend to speak on my behalf as I have told the company I have depression.
Do I have to do this?
I have also offered them a token payment as advised by the CAB.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Maureen, if you would like someone else to talk to your creditors for you, you do need to complete a letter of Authority.
If you don’t want anyone else to do this, I suggest replying saying there is no-one you can ask to do this.
Joanne says
Can I just ask some advice please? We experienced severe financial difficulties during the 2008 recession and my health went rapidly down hill. We took out a loan foolishly thinking it would help our situation. Is it possible now for me to contact the lender and say my mental health was severely affected and taking out that loan was not made with clear judgement? Any advice appreciated.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Are you hoping to get the debt written off? That is pretty unlikely, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/write-off/.
Joanne says
No we are willing to pay & haven’t missed any payments.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
So what are you hoping to achieve?
G Haynes says
I have recently found out that a CCJ has been issued against me back in 2008. I moved address 4 years ago and have never received any letters or paperwork until something from the court was hand delivered to my address 2 weeks ago telling me i had to attend of would go to prison for 7 days. The original debt was a HSBC overdraft which has now been sold to a company called arrow global limited. I am finding it really hard to deal with them. I have had depression which is treated with medication now for 12 years. I attended court and they made me complete a means form. The orginial debt is 12 years old. Is there anything i can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
The age of the debt doesn’t really matter, but two points:
– I am concerned about what you may have put on the means form – these things are always as simple as they seem. I suggest you should talk to National Debtline (0808 808 4000) about this and about your whole financial situation, including any other debts you have, even if they are ones you aren’t paying anything to at the moment.
– if you are finding it difficult to deal with Arrow, make sure you tell them about your mental health problems. Sometimes people worry this will mean a debt collector tries to take advantage of them, but Arrow will have a team that specialises in handling people who are in vulnerable situation such as yourself.
Helen says
Hello
I had a credit card with capital one that I stopped making payments towards in Dec 2009 when I had an episode of depression and anxiety. Then in 2010 when I began working again I set up a debt management plan that ran until 2012 when I had another episode and gave up work completely. I then didn’t work between 2012 and March 2016 due to my illness. I had a number of debts which my now husband has helped me to attempt to resolve. Some dropped off my file this year and other’s he repaid for me.
In June this year I received a letter from lowell chasing the capital one debt and I replied with a statute barred letter, it then came off my file. Suddenly at the end of July I received a court letter saying lowell are applying for a ccj.
Over the last couple of months i’ve had another relapse with my anxiety and depression. I’ve yet again been placed under the crisis home treatment team and they now suspect I may have bipolar. I have repeated told lower all this and sent them expenditure forms but they just keep hounding me. I work a 0 hours contract only working when I feel fit enough and I don’t receive any benefits. We have 3 children under 5 and what we have coming in just about provides to cover living and the debts we are managing.
Please can you give me any advice of what to do next. I have now received a notice of proposed allocation to the small claims court. I haven’t got any money to pay them or to offer.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Hi Helen, you have an urgent problem with this court case and I think could do with a general review of your whole debt situation. National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 can talk you through what you need to do with the court papers (you can offer a token £1 a month is that’s all you can afford) and also look at the bigger picture and how to manage your debts given your mental health problems.
darren says
Hello I have a credit card debt with mbna I wrote to them telling them how I suffer from depression and cannot make the monthly payments. They wrote back saying they would freeze the intrest on it then four weeks later wrote back saying they are going to sell the debt on or take me to court can they do that?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
It may help your situation if you can provide a letter from your doctor or something like that as evidence of your mental health problem?
You could reply to MBNA saying that you are surprised they are suggesting selling your debt or taking legal action. Point out that they are a subscriber to the Standards of Lending Practice code and do not seem to be following its guidelines for handling vulnerable customers. (Links to the code are in here https://debtcamel.co.uk/creditor-wont-freeze-interest/)
If you are finding dealing with creditors difficult, you could consider talking to StepChange and asking for their help with all your debts? See https://www.stepchange.org/
Christopher Aitchison-Knight says
Hi Sara,
Should I include mental health in payday loan complaints or will that just confuse the affordability issues?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should definitely include it if the lender was aware of your mental health issues at any point but continued to lend. This is a point that needs to be stressed.
It’s also worth mentioning if you feel the continuing payday loans contributed to your mental health problems.
Luke says
Hi, been reading though here and looking for some advice on my partner. She suffers with mental health issues she had BPD and PTSD along with very high anxiety and other things. She had a council tax debt it was 2 separate bills I think one was from a certain year and another from another year I thing it’s 2015 not sure, anyway We have been together for sometime however only decided to move in and live together officially this year. The debt for these two bills is now with a debt collection agency who have been out in person and hand delivered a letter This was good few weeks ago, they said if she didn’t pay the full amount it was the 2 bills they would come to remove goods, the total was around £900 she can no way afford to pay this in 1 sum. I did I small amount of research and read that if a person falls in what they class as a vulnerable person which I think she does then they have to take a different approach anyway cut long story short they did and they set up a payment plan of £5 per week she paid it for few weeks but then she went On a bit of a slippery slope with regards to how her illness affects her she has these very low periods. Anyway she missed the payment for a few weeks now they’ve been back out and are demanding it in full obviously this has had a absolutely awful and distressing impact on her and has now triggered off another bad spell for her, she can not afford what there asking in full they are threatening to now take goods from the house,
she’s explained she was not good and she missed payments on arrangement it wasn’t about the money it was fact when she goes in these bad spells she doesn’t go out of the house. Is there anything else she can do to get them to reset up the arrangement as now I’m fully aware of the situation I’m happy to help make sure the arrangement is kept.
I understand where they coming from but it’s not a simple situation she can’t really manage financial affairs she has to have me or her mum to help most of time.
Any advise would be great as she’s very anxious and worried at the moment that’s obviously not good for anyone but certainly not for someone who suffers theses illnesses.
Any advise would be much appreciated
Sara (Debt Camel) says
HI Luke, these “debt collectors” are probably bailiffs. Has she let one of them into the house? If she did, did she sign anything?
Luke says
No they have not been into the house only at the door hand delivering a letter, I accepted the last one they knocked and asked for her I said she was unwell and they gave it to me and asked her to get in contact, she rang number on letter and they said she needed to pay full amount by end of week (this week) she said she can’t possibly do that so they saying they are coming in morning to remove goods.
She hasn’t signed nothing either
Sara (Debt Camel) says
OK if she hasn’t let them in then they can’t force entry. Read https://debtcamel.co.uk/bailiffs-dont-open-door/.
As she has some major mental health problems, the best things is to see if the debt can be recalled from the bailiffs and passed back to the council. Could you go with her to your local Citizens Advice? It may help if she has anything from her GP or hospital about her health problems.
Luke says
There now saying in full by end of month but that’s not much help either as where only over a week from end of month, and on top of Christmas too, very unreasonable
stev says
Hi, I was sent a extra large phone bill back in 2012 that I couldn’t pay in full, on looking at the numbers called it was obvious that it was my then lodger who had been making long international calls and premium line calls, so I asked her to make a contribution, her response was to start shouting and finally attack me seriously, (left unconscious) which left me with PTSD. I rang the phone co. and told them . and they said not to worry about it so I thought the debt was written off. They sold it however, and I started receiving letters from a solicitor, which triggered my flashbacks and anxiety attacks so I was unable to deal with them properly, eventually I managed to pull together enough to write to them explaining that I thought the debt was written off and they were having a severe effect on my mental health. The solicitors responded by sending a court form which I was unable to read properly, never mind respond to in time, so I ended up with a CCJ, and a default order to pay £25 per month wihich I cannot afford due to being unable to work, would applying for a set-aside from the court be possible? Should the
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think it’s good to get some help with this. I would suggest your local Citizens Advice. It may be simpler to ask for the debt to be written off rather than to try to reopen the court case.
It may also be a good idea to send Subject Access Requests to the phone company, to the debt collector that bought your debt and to their solicitors. At the moment this would cost you £10 for each, but from 25 May (a weeks time!) this will be free. See https://debtcamel.co.uk/free-access-data-gdpr/. I don’t know if SARs will turn up anything useful that could help your complaint, but it’s worth a try.
Victoria says
Hi Sara
I’ve received a letter from Capquest today stating that mbna have recalled my account from them. I didn’t know they had it to start with? This is the first contact I’ve received from them. Have you ever known this to happen or any idea why?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you been making the normal payments to MBNA?
Victoria says
No they refused my offer of even a token payment and froze all interest and charges over 4 years ago moving my account to a vulnerable department. I have contacted them every 6 months or so to update them of my situation but they have never contacted me.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
A guess: if MBNA were treating you as a vulnerable client, it may be that your case was incorrectly sent to a debt collector. Capquest looked at your records, realised this, and sent it back to MBNA.
Do you mind me asking if your health condition is likely to improve at some point? And how large is this debt?
Victoria says
The balance is 1600. My health has improved but my circumstances haven’t I called mbna this evening they just said it’s back with that same department the balance is the same and the are regulated by fca and aren’t looking to persue any legal recoveries so I should Just keep them informed of any changes to my circumstances.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
ok, hopefully that has set your mind at rest.
If there is still no real change after another year or 18 months, you could go to your local Citizens Advice and ask them for help to write to ask for this debt to be written off, see https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/write-off/.
Donna says
I have had to send in letter of authority for my sons debt with rossendales company, they gave us a po box number.. I’ve sent emails with links of letters showing I have authorisation over his payments bow his pip and various things I also sent them proof via email mail he has severe depression and anxiety.. They won’t acknowledge these.. And I’ve sent not one but two letters to them and they’re still saying they’ve not received them but won’t discuss my sons account with me… All he wants to do is set up a payment plan.. He has no phone as part of his anxiety and depression consists of non communication verbally.. I have explained this over the months this has been going on and they still send bailiff to him which resulted in him not answering but after feeling so low he tried to take his own life.. Again I’ve got o to them and told them.. They’re just not listening what can I do now..
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That is a dreadful situation, you must feel desperate when you are just trying to help your son but they won’t listen to you.
Can I ask if this is a council tax debt they are collecting?
Emma says
I have large business and personal debts.
I had a period of approx. 12 months where I couldn’t work because of depression & anxiety. My doctor completed an Evidence of Mental Health Form and all the organisations have worked supportively with me except one Nucleus.
They have taken me to court and have today requested a judgement. I have been conversing with their solicitor and they held-off for a fortnight for my monthly payment offer to be approved. Then on Thursday they told me they agreed to the payment if my partner and I agreed that they could take a charge over our property.
I took out the loan under the name of my ltd co, which is a personal services company.
I thought that as I was in close contact with their solicitor that they wouldn’t take the court action forward.
And whilst I was not working I did not apply for benefits, I sold my possessions to pay bills.
I need help please!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you talk to Business Debtline urgently on 0800 197 6026. Transforming a limited company debt into one secured on your home may not be a good idea but you need someone to help you look at your options.
Emma says
Thanks will do!
Adam says
Hi I was wondering if anyone can help me out here iv been suffering from anxiety and depression Alot through my 25 years of life and even over does on sertline high level anti depression an anxiety but I went to see a specialist other day and I felt like was being spoken down to hence why my anxiety is so bad but my nan died and 2 days later so Did grandad but she turned around and tried saying my depression wasn’t that bad and that she’s only just recently lost her brother i don’t think she could see that people don’t always act or feel the same over situations but I don’t know what to do as I’m bouncing from wall to wall for help should I go to another doctors? Or keep making appointments at same clinic I’m so exhausted and everytime I go there or even out my heart races and begin to panic and get clamy that’s bad enough but then I’m forced to live in a private rented place using universal credit payments to cover my rent 380 out of 420 was 470 but got council tax arrears taking it down to 420 leaving me with 40 pounds to survive on for a month electric is 50 at least so iv ended up having to use rent money to eat buy supplies and travel leaving me in over 800 debt after a few months and iv still got council tax that I need to pay I just don’t know what to do no more
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Could you talk to your GP about whether to go back to this specialist?
Money problems can make mental health problems even worse, if you an get to your local Citizens Advice they can look at your options for dealing with the council tax bills and any other debts you have.
Jonh says
Hello
I asked my bank (Lloyds) that if they could block me from requesting loans and using overdraft because of my mental health situation(bipolar disorder) is deteriorating quickly and I wanted to avoid getting into debt with them. They ignored me and while having a manic episode I got a small loan of 2k with them and cannot afford to pay back as I cannot hold a job and my family wants to take me back to my home country to receive proper medical treatment. But the idea of leaving a debt behind me is giving me anxiety and making my situation worst. Was that legal from them ignoring my request and lending me the money ? What options do I have ?
Thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am sorry, but several questions:
Did you ask them in writing or on the phone?
How large is the loan now, and your overdraft with them?
do you have other debts as well?
I assume you aren’t working at the moment?
Jonh says
In writing thru the chat in the banking app, the amount owed is about £2300 now, no I don’t have any other debts and no I am not working at the moment. Due to the severity of my situation (suicide risk) I cannot work
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am very sorry to hear about your health. I hope you are getting some support from your GP or other NHS professionals. In addition, the Samaritans can be contacted any time of day or night, see https://www.samaritans.org/how-we-can-help/contact-samaritan/.
Because you told Lloyds you did not want to be given further loans, I think you can ask for your current loan to be written off.
I have written a page about this here: https://debtcamel.co.uk/debt-options/less-common/write-off/
That has a section saying “Was there something unfair about the original contract?”
In your case, the unfair thing is that they gave you the loan even after you had told them you did not want one.
You can write to Lloyds and say you would like them to write off your debt because you had already told Lloyds about your medical problem and that you did not want any more credit. You were a vulnerable customer and they ignored this important information about you when they gave you the loan.
If you want to do this, you should attach a copy of the banking app chat. And it will help if you can get a letter from your GP which says that you are in a mental health crisis.
If Lloyds say No, you can send the complaint to the Financial Ombudsman.
This may feel difficult for you to do. If you go to your local Citizens Advice they will write the letter for you.
I think you have a good case. but this sort of request can take months to resolve, especially if it has to go to the Ombudsman. You could choose to start the complaint now and continue it by post from your home country? Or to go home and start the complaint by post from there?
Jonh says
Thanks you very much for your help, I will contact Citizens Advice for further help.
jas c says
Hi. I hope someone can help me.My Gp diagnosed me with anxiety and depression and this affected me personally and my work.
I have been referred and waiting to see a mental specialist. I worked full time nhs but i have been off work since August and so far receives full salary from work. I am single and lives alone with no family support as my family is based overseas. i am british citizen. private rent.
My gp thinks it will be good for me to go home so i can get family support. My manager think so too but due to work policy my manager still have to proceed to formal hearing due to my sickness.
I have debt barclaycard 7500 MBNA 8500
i pay baclaycard 250/mo but interest alone 130 MBNA 270/mo interest 147
i stopped using both as i wanted to pay it off but my monthly payments is only enough to for interests alone.
with my mental situation work is not anticipating me to go back to work soon.
I only have 3000 in my savings account.
i am very worried that i will not be able to keep up with the monthly payment
I would like to go home as it will be nice to have family support but at the same time i worry how i’m going to pay my debt monthly.
i am not good with the system and how bank works that is why i am here.
i tried reading the above article but i could not comprehend most of it. mind couldn’t process it. sorry.help please.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As you are getting full pay at the moment, you are OK to make the current monthly payments? Or are you already finding this difficult and are having to use your savings do this?
If you are OK at the moment, then you could just carry on and see how things go. If you want to go home and your GP thinks it’s a good idea too, then that is what you should do. Luckily you have those savings, so that will cover your costs to get home and keep you going while you have no income.
At that point you need to think what to do about your debts – it will probably be telling the credit cards that you have mental health problems and you aren’t working, so you won’t be able to pay them anything until you are back in work, ask them to stop adding interest. But there may be other debt options then.
jas c says
I am having difficulty paying my monthly dues and yes, i’ve been using my savings for awhile now that is why i am getting worried as my pay will soon stop. also, i still have to pay for my ticket to get home. plus i have to sort out and move all of my things as i will not be able to keep up with my rent once i go home.
I tried asking barclaycard and mbna months before my mental breakdown and they both told me there is nothing they can do or offer me.
they even send me letters asking to increase my monthly payments.
I would really appreciate for all the help and suggestions.
Do i qualify any help from the government? is there anything i can do now to start the application for benefits whilst i am still here as it will be difficult for me to do it overseas.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
This sort of thing can be hard to deal with when you aren’t well. You could go to your local Citizens Advice and ask for their help? They can look at benefits as well as debt.
Some people prefer to meet an advisor. But if you would rather talk on the phone, National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 are good about debts.
If you would like to go home, and your GP recommends it, then it may be best to do this now, not sit on your own, worrying and not getting any better.
You could tell Barclaycard and MBNA that you asked them before for help and they refused, but now you are unable to work. Tell them what your GP has prescribed for you. Say you will be getting debt and benefit advice but at the moment you can’t pay them. Ask them to freeze the interest and put the account on hold.
You probably won’t be able to get any UK benefits when you have gone home.
Anony Mouse says
This may or may not help but it is how I cope with things. It won’t always apply…
I used to not sleep due to worries, and I found something that helped me and it may help others too.
With non priority debts most collection depts and/or third party agents do not tend to work weekends, and neither should you!
What this means is trying to treat “dealing with creditors” as a job not as a 24/7 service.
Come Fri at say 4/5 pm , just stop. Yes stop. Do you have food to eat and elec/gas etc ? If so again just stop. Try to put these creditors out of your mind until Monday morning. If you cannnot “resource manage”
until after the weekend then stop reading and speak to CAB, GP or church/food bank.
This does help me partially but I want to reiterate this won’t work for some cases or Bailiffs etc, but you must NOT allow as I did these problems to consume every waking moment, they would like you to but it will only cause you stress and possibly mental/physical health concerns.
It took me about six weeks to adjust to this mind game, the issues are still there but at least I actually sleep now a bit.
This does not mean in any way that you should ignore them! Come Monday you start with anything pending from Friday or Saturday etc that you need to deal with.
Summary: They do not work 24/7 so you should not either.
Hugh6989 says
Hi
Just recently gone bankrupt I suffer from server depression and general aniexty disorders the bankruptcy has caused me so much stress and anxiety that I’m wondering if it was worth it is it worth telling the official reciever about it as when I had my interview they really didn’t care about it and asked why after all these years I’m still suffering depression my problem is I don’t keep statesments or receipts and spent thousands before I went bankrupt how will they deal with this now panicking
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You should be able to get statements from your bank or credit cards.
the best advice is to be straight with the OR – what happened has happened. Just answer questions.
If you think they don’t understand you mental health problems, you could get a letter from your doctor to give the OR.
Hugh says
Hi i applied for a PPI refund through a Claims Management Company in July, and before the claim was resolved i applied for Bankruptcy. I have now been told that I’m due a refund of PPI, and i wanted to know whether i would be liable for the fees to the Claims Management Company.
I know if I receive a refund it will go to the or (no problem with that) it’s just the company who have made the claim for me I’m worried about and I also forgot to tell the or about claim as I completly forgot aboutit as I hadn’t heard anything
Many thanks
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I think you had a contingent debt to the claims company – that will have been wiped out by you going bankrupt.
kel says
my bankruptcy officia reciever is going to take my inheritence from me even tho my bankruptcy has ended infortunately my nan died durjng the bankruptcy but all the fees (that i didnt know about) total wayyyy more than my debts ever was, is there anyway to reduce these fees? i have mental health problems and wasnt even fully sure what i had gotten myself into and this is affecting my well being very badly
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large are the fees and how large were your debts?
Rufus says
Hi, I lost my job in december and have mental health issues so can not work and now in ESA support group (took 4 months waiting), my wife still works so cannot claim anything income based. we are unable to make payment to loan/credit card/ mortgage companies. we have contacted cit advice debt management and they have contacted all our lenders including mortgage company, with our intention to sell our home and move but then corona virus came along. so that has not happened. The mortgage company wont reduce our mortgage payments or change our mortgage to interest only as we are not yet in arrears (madness as we have told them our position and we cant afford payments but they are unwilling to help and have done nothing except send us demand . we have managed to get a 3 month mortgage holiday only due to the virus (unable to sell house due to lockdown) and not because they have tried to help us, hopefully we can get another 3 months as promised by the GOV.. The vast majority of lenders have not acknowledged any of the letters from Cit Advice asking for holds on the accounts until we can sell, instead just sending us demands, fining us for missing paymants and threats of sending round bailiffs, even though they have all been contacted – I just dont know what else we can do as they refuse to even reply to cit advice – I dont know if I can take this anymore!!!
Sara (Debt Camel) says
That sounds a very difficult situation.
How large are our total debts?
How much equity is there in your house?
Rufus says
total debts about 70K
all depends on what price we sell the house for but should be approx 100K equity in it.
we have another property which we are planning on moving to when we sell our current home, that is buy to let so still owe ful mortgage
of 90K on that but we can afford the mortgage for that on my wifes wage, need to get that buy to let mortgage changed to an ordinary so we can live in as I believe its illegal to live in a buy to let but our credit score will be terrible now so getting a mortgage will be difficult/ impossible
When we sell our current home could we pay the mortgage off on the buy to let first before paying the debts off ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
how much equity is there in the BTL?
Rufus says
BTL has little to no equity in it – 10K max
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest you ask Citizens Advice if they can write to your creditors again and remind them that as you are unable to work because of mental health problemsyou should be treated as a vulnerable, and ask them to stop adding interest and charges.
I can’t suggest what your long term solution is because that would involve looking at your situation in detail, including what your future expenditure would be likely to be, as I am concerned about how you have managed to acquire such a large amount of debt. Citizens Advice is again the best people to talk to about this.
Rufus says
Cit advice have already sent 2 letters out to each of them, all (except 2 ) of the companies have not acknowledged that they have been contacted and cit advice has received nothing from them., these letters were sent out months ago.
These are all large corporate financial institutions – Halifax, Barclays, Llyods, Santander, AA, Bamboo, Mbna
Is there an ombudsman or some organisation that we can contact and complain – this is effecting my mental health.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You can go to the Financial Ombudsman but first you have to send each of the lenders a Complaint and then they have 8 weeks to respond to you. talk to Citizens Advice about how you should word the complaints and what you should ask the lenders to do.
Kevin says
Hi am trying to pay off all my loans and credit cards by myself. I have payed off 2 of my capital One cards, payed off big loan and finally finished my Very, I have payed off 4 things since January. But I have a lot of defaults. My question is I want a mortgage, but I know I have 6 years to wait. I have been offered settlements, is it best to take them or should a pay then all off in full ?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How long ago are the default dates? How long will it take you to save up a deposit once the loans are repaid?
Joy says
Hi, I was given a default in April due to not paying my credit card since Nov last year. This is because I was depressed after I broke up with my partner who abused me for years and he lied to the court that I was the abuser. I informed the bank that I was unable to work that period then I was getting better in March, however the covid 19 broke out. I could not work because I work in the hospital and I have kids as well as underlying health condition. I rang the bank last month to pay if off but I was told a default has already being recorded. Kindly advice if there is anything I can do.
Thanks in advance.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
You could put all this in a complaint to the bank and ask them to reconsider because of your circumstances and use their discretion to remove the default. But technically they are correct that you have defaulted.
Tracey says
I have suffered from mental health from the age of 15 due to severe abuse by my Mother. In 2004 I had 11 store and credit cards that I maxed out within a couple of weeks. I had a severe shopping addiction which I developed to compensate the abuse I was suffering. I have been in therapy since 2012, I have been working with my therapist and psychiatrist. Last year, 2019, my daughter was sorting out all my documents etc. and she came across my old statements from Santander for Debenhams Store Card. She noticed that they raised my credit limit four times. It went from £850 to £6,500 within a couple of years without doing any affordability checks. The interest was £100 per month.
….I was in a job hat only paid £150 per week so this meant I was only paying off interest each month, nothing was coming off my actual account. My daughter told me I should complain to Santander about irresponsible lending, so I did. They said they would not refund the interest charged. So I got in touch with the Financial Ombudsman. Well to put it simple, they basically just kept saying ‘you have our sympathy, but you ought reasonably to have been aware of what was happening’. Considering what I was going through at the time I found this to be uncalled for. I took my complaint to Caroline Wayland and basically told her that the way they deal with mental health issues needs to be reconsidered. Her secretary got back in touch with me (not Caroline) to say that she understands why I feel upset but there is nothing they can do. I feel I need to take this further, does anyone have any advice on to who I should take it further with.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
From what you have said before, your complaint to the Ombudsman was about credit increases before April 2007. The law that governs what the Ombudsman does says they can’t look at credit card complaints before that date. There is no way they can change this.
PPI can be considered before that date because the laws about insurance are different.
I don’t think you can take this affordability complaint any further. It seems to me that:
-Santander will not look at it again.
-The Ombudsman will not look at it again.
– If you start a court case against Santander it would be dismissed as too old because of the Limitations Act 1980.
– If you start a court case against the Ombudsman you would lose.
BUT you do have options, probably very good ones, about what to do about this debt and your other debts. Sometimes old debts cannot be enforced in court because the debt collector does not have the right paperwork from when you opened the account.
As I said in 2019, please talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
ivan timmis says
A good friend of mine who is a registered Blind person and lost his wife a few years back , He as two sons the eldest one whom is 30 years old as been in and out of the local mental heath hospital and as been sectioned on a number of occasions , the last time he was sectioned by the hospital for over two months, 3 months ago he took out a loan of £20000 for a van he part exchanged his 2 year old car for £7000 a week later he re purchased his car back for £9000 from the same company his mental state was visibly very bad and this cumulated in the police driving his car and took him home to his fathers house as he did not no who he was it was then that he was sectioned by the mental health hospital he also took out two mobile phones and £6000 worth of furniture luckily his father cancel the furniture the mobile phones and the car company and their finance have been informed but the situation is getting desperate the hospital and careers have given letters and contact details so that the debt collectors can contact them i am a friend of the family and they have asked me to help so can you please help
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I suggest the local Citizens Advice would be a good place to get help with this. A lot will depend on whether the son is prepared to give his fatyher or you permission to talk to creditors on his behalf.
David says
Hi, last year, somebody committed suicide by jumping in front of the train I was driving at work. I have been off work for around 9 months. I have been diagnosed with PTSD and I have received counselling.
Stupidly, I made a mess of my finances during this time and some of my credit accounts had gone into default. luckily I have managed to pay off the default accounts before they became more serious. I am now faced with having these defaults on my credit file for the next 6 years and that has massively affected my credit score. Even though I didn’t inform the creditors at the time about my mental health situation, would it be possible to write or speak to them and see if they would be willing to remove the defaults due to my situation? I have an exemplary record of paying all my bills and accounts on time, other than this situation where I shut everything out and for a while as I was struggling with PTSD.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
I am very sorry to hear this, I hope counselling is helping you.
Legally it is right you missed payments and defaulted on your debts. The credit information system is a historical record of payments rather than a decision that the problems wee your fault. But of course you are effectively being blamed as you will be unable to get credit at a normal rate for another five years…
You can ask your creditors to remove the defaults as a gesture of goodwill. You should supply medical evidence about what happened and the impact of the PTSD on you. Definitely point out your previous faultless record. I don’t know how likely this is to work. If a creditor refuses, put in a formal complaint in writing to them and ask for this to be considered by their vulnerable customer team.
Jon says
Hi Sara
Just wanted to say Really well done on the article and website! I mean it – I suffer from Severe Treatment-resistant Depression and anxiety and BiPolar disorder, and you have to fight for other people to try and realise how devastating these diseases are!
Bipolar especially is a cause of a lot of my debt and many people – including the recent article in 1 of the National Newspapers (forgot which one exactly, but MIND tore a strip of them? They were saying basically that alot of people with MH Conditions were faking it to just take advantage of the system or some rubbish! Don’t know which system they are talking about ‘cos the DWP are more like criminals than most convicts if you ask me!
Anyway great to see you care about anyone in debt as well as having an understanding of some of the worst diseases on the planet – As per The World Health Organisation etc etc.
Please keep up the great work!
Carla Corelli says
It is very encouraging to hear that some lenders have in place policies to help people struggling with mental health issues. I had no idea such policies existed!