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Mental Health and Debt Wishful Thinking Guide
scrimperdave
Posts: 37 Forumite
I first posted this message in the responses to the Mental Health and Debt guide forum, but I think it bears repeating here - even though I think I made the beginner's mistake of attaching it to the wrong thread earlier...:(
The Mental Health and Debt guide is a worthy piece of work, but my experience with Barclaycard and the Financial Ombudsman was absolutely demoralising, and bears no relation to what is in the guide regarding lender and ombudsman's responsibilities to borrowers in difficulties.
6 months ago Barclaycard bullied me and harrassed me to the point I made a formal complaint to them about their conduct. I'd told them I had mental Health Problems and was living on benefits, at their request my GP wrote to them confirming their behaviour was having a seriously detrimental effect on my well-being (I was becoming suicidal).
Barclaycard wrote one of those phoney apologies (sorry you feel that way, not "Sorry for our conduct") and said "That is our final response." Nothing changed except I told them I would no longer accept telephone calls and they had to put every communication in writing.
When I rang the Financial Ombudsman about how to make a complaint about Barclaycard, I was made to feel like pond-life by a supercilious man who (in addition to lecturing me about bad credit references being important to most people) said they don't consider any complaint unless financial loss has been suffered.
I was so demoralised I just crawled back into my shell, made the payments I could afford (about half what Barclaycard would agree to on a formal basis) and have just been served with a default notice from Mercers Debt Collections Limited.
I have felt sick to my stomach for 6 days now, having nightmares and anxiety-themed dreams. I've been taking such a high dose of antidepressant for the last few months that I struggle to think clearly, and still am depressed.
What really upsets me is that Barclaycard bought my debt from Goldfish, with whom I had an affordable repayment plan. I swore I'd never do business with Barclaycard after they drove me to a suicide attempt in 1985 that I barely survived. They are aware of that.
They don't give a damn, and neither does the Financial Ombudsman.
However, with the information in the guide, I may be able to summon up sufficient anger to try again.
The Mental Health and Debt guide is a worthy piece of work, but my experience with Barclaycard and the Financial Ombudsman was absolutely demoralising, and bears no relation to what is in the guide regarding lender and ombudsman's responsibilities to borrowers in difficulties.
6 months ago Barclaycard bullied me and harrassed me to the point I made a formal complaint to them about their conduct. I'd told them I had mental Health Problems and was living on benefits, at their request my GP wrote to them confirming their behaviour was having a seriously detrimental effect on my well-being (I was becoming suicidal).
Barclaycard wrote one of those phoney apologies (sorry you feel that way, not "Sorry for our conduct") and said "That is our final response." Nothing changed except I told them I would no longer accept telephone calls and they had to put every communication in writing.
When I rang the Financial Ombudsman about how to make a complaint about Barclaycard, I was made to feel like pond-life by a supercilious man who (in addition to lecturing me about bad credit references being important to most people) said they don't consider any complaint unless financial loss has been suffered.
I was so demoralised I just crawled back into my shell, made the payments I could afford (about half what Barclaycard would agree to on a formal basis) and have just been served with a default notice from Mercers Debt Collections Limited.
I have felt sick to my stomach for 6 days now, having nightmares and anxiety-themed dreams. I've been taking such a high dose of antidepressant for the last few months that I struggle to think clearly, and still am depressed.
What really upsets me is that Barclaycard bought my debt from Goldfish, with whom I had an affordable repayment plan. I swore I'd never do business with Barclaycard after they drove me to a suicide attempt in 1985 that I barely survived. They are aware of that.
They don't give a damn, and neither does the Financial Ombudsman.
However, with the information in the guide, I may be able to summon up sufficient anger to try again.
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