Please tell us your questions on mental health & debt

fullerton_2

my brother in law was bi polar and was allowed by credit card companies to build up ludicrous levels of debt during his highs which served to even further exacerbate his lows. this may or may not have contibuted to his eventual taking of his own life, I belive it did, it certainly didn't help.
My point is that it is morally bankrupt of credit card companies to extend vast levels of credit to people with this sort of problem. it's bad enough extending it to people fortunate enough not to have mental health issues if they clearly don't have the ability to pay it back, but there should be a structure in place to block companies from offering excessive credit to anyone suffering from this condition.

Sue1962

Would be very interested in finding out which companies will provide life insurance to those with a history of 'risky' behaviours/depression/ self harm /suicide attempts. Are there any companies that will cover but with MH exclusions?

foghorn

Sue - at the risk of hi-jacking the thread - there are specialist brokers out there that have experience of placing such risks albeit with some premium loading. A quick Google search will reveal them. In the case of both myself and my wife, we have managed to get cover via a prominent broker in this field whilst under treatment for major depression (although neither of us have a history of suicide or self harm).

My experience of this is actually pretty good when compared with major problems I had trying to get life cover before suffering from depression but after cancer (a loading of circa. thirty times the standard premium from those insurers that were prepared to quote).

tricia.dickson

I'm also concerned about Insurance issues. I was diagnosed with severe depression and social anxiety 3 years ago. Although I'm now on the road to recovery, I'm worried if my illness will have an affect on insurance, present and future.




talk-depression.org is a friendly supportive forum where you can chat with like minded people.

rubytuesday

I think advise on travel insurance would be a good one. I contacted the Bipolar organisation last year when I went to Aruba as they used to recommend an insurers who insured for Bipolar but they said they nolonger recommended them as they had put their premiums up dramatically. I rang them up anyway but their quote was outragious! In the end I got general cover elsewhere but wasn't covered for the condtion which was a bit worrying.
Definitely advice on employment rention. I managed to successfully return to work after my first illness in 2004 but was basically forced out after my illness in 2006, although I did accept a compromise agreement. I could have gone to Tribunal instead but when you are ill the last thing you need is a big fight on your hands!

jackboc

My 75 year old friend has early onset dementia and is about to be sectioned :-( He has a car on finance and pays via direct debit. As he is no longer able to drive and there is a large balance outstanding, would it be able to just cancel the direct debit and hope they reclaim the car [cutting losses] or should we try to sell it? His family arent really 'in touch' so is it all down to his next of kin to arrange?

many thanks

crazy_girl_2

I have suffered with depression, M.E. and chronic pain for years. I have continued working (part time) and it is a struggle dealing with finances when you have mental health issues. I was also a single parent from when my children were young. I have to make a little go a long way. I realise I cannot have luxeries and 'cut my cloth accordingly' What really annoys me though is people who borrow money and get loans and then want the world to bail them out!! Being materialistic when you are on a low income is foolish - I agree there is little support and hard to find people who can empathise and support you.

Amoeba_2

I also am a fellow sufferer, Depression, PTSD and Agoraphobia. When everything hit me totally out of the blue some years back – I REALLY HAD NO IDEA WHERE TO START!

Yes you can just about make a Drs appointment. Yes you can be medically referred to a hospital. But beyond that when all you want to do is close the curtains and curl up in a ball, where do you start when your only thoughts are “it’s a big world out there but I can’t deal with ANY of it”?

I do think the government ought to compile information sheets covering Mental Health and its Various Disguises and ‘What To Do Next’ if it ever happens to you.

Information Like:
· Employment and yours legal rights
· Mortgage payments whilst ill or at least while you are being diagnosed
· Utility bills and which dept to contact regarding future budgeting
· Any guidance towards benefit entitlement during your illness
· How to contact companies (credit cards especially) explaining that future payments will be reduced
· How Prescription Prepayment Certificates can help to save you a fortune, particularly if medication is changed/altered a lot in the early stages of an illness
· A list of local Organisations, Societies or even Self-help groups who deal with and understand these particular health issues
· Life after your diagnosis... A reality booklet outlining that it will be a long haul and may be not be easy in many cases. But it must state “there will be light at the end of the tunnel if you are helped, understood and just given time.
· For You: Basic illness description leaflets, covering why you may feel the way you do and how your family/friends can help you work through it
· For Your Family: Basic illness description leaflets, explaining why you feel the way you do. How you are still the same person merely gripped by an ‘invisible’ illness

MENTAL ILLNESS IS NON DISCRIMINATORY – IT CAN AND DOES EFFECT EVERYBODY

Personally I feel there STILL is a certain stigma attached to Mental Illness today. So let us now try to pave the way and make it easier for any future sufferers to get the help they will so desperately need at the right time, should it happen to them.

EmmaLi

Hi all,

I have lived with depression for 13 years now and have life assurance and critical illness with Royal Liver with no exclusions. I did try one of the "specialist" insurers, who initially quoted me twice as much as Royal Liver and then refused to cover me. I work in financial services and we find Royal Liver the most sympathetic company when it comes to health problems.

I would also like to know what responsibilities banks have when it comes to customers with mental health problems. We have had to go into a Debt Management Plan and despite HSBC being told that I have mental health problems they persist in phoning several times a day to try to get us to sign a managed loan with them, even though they are receiving payment from the CCCS on our behalf.

dorey69

Gnomie wrote: »

I would really have welcomed advice on help and support that is available while trying to claim benifits. I have severe depression, anxiety and OCD. For the past 8 months I have had no income after suspending my studies and so I started trying to claim Employment and Support Allowance. Problem was, I couldn't really deal with the phone calls, unhelpful people and letters telling me I wan't eligible for one reason or another, or that paperwork was missing. The last letter I recieved was a month ago telling me my claim had been terminated, despite me never having seen any money from them at all. It sent me into a complete crisis and I am just getting back on my feet. Trouble is that now a month has passed the appeals process becomes even more complex. I have now asked the CAB for advice, but a couple of weeks ago I could hardly leave the house, let alone go to a new place with new people. In the mean time I have been just accumulating debt. If I had had support from the start I might have got out of all these problems by now, and have one less thing to worry about.

i have had probs since a was left butchered after a hysterectomy, 5 years i have been fightin this, and they wont admit it or fix me, they say nothing is wrong, but for the last 2 half years i lay on the settee in so much pain my children look after me and all i do is sleep, i am only 41 and now i am fighting the the incapacity tribunals who have refused to beleave what evidence from my doc that sent them, already tried to commit suicide once and now i will have to fight that to,