Has my dad been mis-sold a credit card. Advice needed please !!!

opinions4u

Paul1975 wrote: »

My dad is 67yrs old and lives off the basic state pension. I have just found out RBS sold him a credit card and he has run up a £500 bill. He is struggling to pay this back however i am not sure he should have even been sold this by RBS in the first place.

Are you saying people on a state pension should automatically be declined credit?

He's a big boy. He spent the money owing on the card. He should pay it back.

If he's only on a basic pension, I'd suggest he contacts the benefits office. I'd guess there are various top-ups that he's entitled to.

I would have thought there would have been some financial need highlighted that could justify the bank selling him this product. He is a pensioner with minimal income so i fail to see having a credit card was a priority for him at his stage in life.

The conversation could have gone something like this:

Mr Pensioner: I'm fed up of using those cash machines. I feel so nervous, especially now the nights are drawing in.

Mrs Bank Teller: Well you could use a credit card when you shop instead of cash, and then pop in once a month to pay the bill of in full.

Mr Pensioner: Oh that sounds good. Is there any charge for it?

Mrs Bank Teller: If you pay the bill in full every month there isn't. But if you don't, then you'll get charged interest.

Mr Pensioner: No problem, where do I sign?

Mis-sold?

12bdebt3

Hax wrote: »

Surely that depends on what information they were given? What income he said he had, what his outgoings are, etc, etc...

Just because someone's on a pension, it doesn't mean that they don't have the means to operate a credit card.

opinions4u wrote: »

Are you saying people on a state pension should automatically be declined credit?

He's a big boy. He spent the money owing on the card. He should pay it back.

As I said before on a previous post at the top of this page:

"True, it was never sold to him BUT RBS do have a responsibility to make sure that they give credit cards to people with the financial ability to pay it back."

The OP seems to feel that there isn't means to pay this back and that RBS have not checked whether or not their debtor has the ability to pay back a credit card.

Please read an entire thread before commenting on one reply.

Edit: Please note that I am not assuming that RBS didn't check an ability to pay back the card, I'm merely sympathising with the OP and believe that they think there isn't an ability for their father to pay back the money owed otherwise they wouldn't be on this forum for help. Also as I have seen exactly the same thing as this before based on the practices at RBS then I believe that more than this OP is affected.

opinions4u

arrontdep wrote: »

Please read an entire thread before commenting on one reply.

Rather arrogant to think I was responding to your post. I wasn't. It was a direct question to the OP. I will edit the previous post to make this clear.

If there had been, say, 1500 posts on the thread are you suggesting that users should be banned from responding until they've read all 75 pages of posts?

12bdebt3

opinions4u wrote: »

Rather arrogant to think I was responding to your post. I wasn't. It was a direct question to the OP. I will edit the previous post to make this clear.

If there had been, say, 1500 posts on the thread are you suggesting that users should be banned from responding until they've read all 75 pages of posts?

Sorry if I thought it was directed to my comment, but it looked that way and it was similar to Hax's comment so I addressed you into it as well.

This is where common sense would come into play, there are 14 posts on this, 11 before you commented, I'm sure you could manage to read that many.

Twisting what I say to make it sound like I implied something that we all know I didn't doesn't make you clever, it makes you a hypocrite for calling me arrogant. :T

bengal-stripe

On a state pension (including Pension Credit) a single person gets about £ 132.00 a week. In addition, s/he gets rent and council tax paid (not to mention the Winter Heating Allowance of £ 250.00 which is now due). That is about twice what an unemployed person on Job Seekers Allowance gets.

Why should an OAP not be in a position to serve a modest debt (with maybe £ 10.00 a week)?

Paul1975 wrote: »

He is a pensioner with minimal income so i fail to see having a credit card was a priority for him at his stage in life.

I believe, the OP is absolutely patronizing towards his father. Has the OP actually spoken to the father about his wants and needs?

Maybe having a credit card was a priority in the father's life. (For all we know, the father might have wanted to have a bit of independence with such an overbearing son.)

dmg24

arrontdep wrote: »

Sorry if I thought it was directed to my comment, but it looked that way and it was similar to Hax's comment so I addressed you into it as well.

This is where common sense would come into play, there are 14 posts on this, 11 before you commented, I'm sure you could manage to read that many.

Twisting what I say to make it sound like I implied something that we all know I didn't doesn't make you clever, it makes you a hypocrite for calling me arrogant. :T

You are making a very good job of alienating practically everyone on MSE! :rotfl:

OP, your dad is 67 not 87. Unless he lacks mental capacity he is quite capable of choosing whether to take out and use a credit card, no one forced him to do so.

12bdebt3

dmg24 wrote: »

You are making a very good job of alienating practically everyone on MSE! :rotfl:

I wouldn't say everyone, I get on with most people in here. Some are like you though...

P.S. That's a pretty nice response considering opinions4u started the reply by calling me arrogant.

Hax

arrontdep wrote: »

Please read an entire thread before commenting on one reply.

I did read the entire thread.

arrontdep wrote: »

Sorry if I thought it was directed to my comment, but it looked that way and it was similar to Hax's comment so I addressed you into it as well.

This is where common sense would come into play, there are 14 posts on this, 11 before you commented, I'm sure you could manage to read that many.

I was simply posting to point out that RBS (or indeed any lender) will base their decisions on the information they are given. They don't follow someone round for a month or two to make their own, independent, financial assessment. They "trust" that what they are told is accurate.

Your assumption that RBS haven't checked the applicant's ability to service a credit card is just absurd - of course they have checked - they will have credit scored him and taken into account the income he has declared to them - just like they would any other applicant.

Otherwise, if what you are saying is true, then everyone would be running around with an RBS credit card - and Vanquis wouldn't have any customers!

In addition to this, if someone is spending £200/month on groceries, then why not use a credit card for that spend and pay it off in full at the end of the month.

Then there's the possibility that the applicant want's to run up a huge credit card bill with the intention of only ever paying the minimum, knowing full well that they can service the minimum and have enough assets to cover the bill when they die - there are people who think like that!

End of the day, the person in the best position to judge whether or not they can manage a credit card is the applicant. The lender can only make a coarse judgement based on the information they are given from CRAs and the applicant.

12bdebt3

Hax wrote: »

I did read the entire thread.

If you read the entire thread then you'll know that your previous post shouldn't have been aimed at me because I already made my point about what you brought up, you should have have quoted the OP and not me...

[Deleted User]

I really dont see the problem here,after all the monthly payments are only £15 a month even thats not beyond a pensioners ability to pay