Loan with Natwest leaves 72 year old dad struggling

kittyQC

I am not particularly close to my Dad but I've been making an effort as i'm an only child. Last summer he rang me and asked for some money to help him out and I obliged. However since then it seems I get this call for help every month and I end up giving him around £70 each time and he never pays it back or even offers to. This is not something I can afford. When I asked about his situation he said he has a Natwest loan at 18% which he paying off. Firstly that percentage sounds high to me so I was thinking the first thing he should do is look at getting a cheaper loan but do banks give loans to pensioners. I tried The Co-operative but they seem to have an age limit of 69.

Apparently NatWest have offered to loan him more money at a lower rate but he says that will just put him back to where he started 3 years ago and so he'll never get the chance to pay it off.

I don't know what his pension is so I can't call anyone on his behalf so i just want to give him the details of a bank that is likely to let him have a loan at a lower rate. At the moment I'm just trying to avoid his calls which makes me feel terrible but it's that time of the month when I
know what the call will be about...

Any tips or advice would be much appreciated...

Thanks!
Any help

kazwookie

Is he getting all the benefits he is entitled to?

Does he live on his own, if so he should get reduced council tax, does he?

HappyMJ

As much as you shouldn't interfere (not being close to him-that's the only reason) it sounds like he is struggling and needs your help. I wouldn't recommend borrowing any more at that age. What's his housing situation like? Council, rented, owned? I'd advise him to pay only what he can on the loan. i.e "Dad pay the payment due less the £70 you need for living expenses." Natwest will have to accept it or take further action. Does he care whether he has a perfect credit score? I don't think so. So if you can write a letter on his behalf, or ask him to, to Natwest asking to freeze the interest and accept the lower payment.

kittyQC

Thanks the responses so far. He does live on his own, I think he rents his place from my cousin who kicked him out of the house he shared with his sister until she died. To be honest I'm not sure now legit that all is...

And HappyMJ thanks for the idea is there any legislation or anything I need to quote? Or do you simply tell the bank you're not going to pay? Don't they have the power to just take the money from his account - which is also with them...

zppp

An APR of 18% is a prime rate unfortunately. Sub-prime would be in the 30%+ area.

I suggest he gets advice from the following if he is struggling with his debt;
www.nationaldebtline.co.uk
www.cccs.org.uk
www.citizensadvice.org.uk

Savvy_Sue

do you live close enough to be able to go to the bank with him?

If you think there may be other problems, then discussing Lasting Power of Attorney with him might be worthwhile.

Alternatively, what would happen if you said "sorry dad, no, I can't afford to lend you any more money."?

gravitytolls

Does he receive HB? If he receives Pension credit, he should be automatically entitled to HB and CTB. If the renting situation is not stricly legit, it could be that he's paying rent when he shouldn't be, which is why he's hard up.

My FIL lives in a mobile home in my BIL's garden for several years. He paid £50 a week for the privelage, and all his savings went on things like an expensive driveway, caravan, greenhouse etc.

He has been in shletered accommodation for 5 yrs, and has manages to accumulate over £5000 in savings..... just goes to show what a drain such situations can be on the finances.

He may not be forthcoming about the tenancy, but I strongly suggest you spend the £70 you'd like as not end up lending him on acquiring POA, then applying for pension credit, HB and CTB on his behalf. If the tenancy is dodgy, it will soon come to light.

While you're at it, get him on the waiting list for sheltered housing with the local authority.

Does he have a social worker? A call to SS might be in order, seems he needs some support and they're likely to be able to access agencies that you wouldn't be able to do so.

HappyMJ

kittyQC wrote: »

Thanks the responses so far. He does live on his own, I think he rents his place from my cousin who kicked him out of the house he shared with his sister until she died. To be honest I'm not sure now legit that all is...

And HappyMJ thanks for the idea is there any legislation or anything I need to quote? Or do you simply tell the bank you're not going to pay? Don't they have the power to just take the money from his account - which is also with them...

No legislation as such. It's a self-managed DMP technically. Yes you just tell the bank (in writing) that you can no longer pay what is due. Yes they can take money but they can only take what is in the account...so if he has any money he has to open a new account with someone else then go to the hassle of moving all direct credits and direct debits to that new account.

margaretclare

The OP asked: 'Do banks give loans to pensioners?' Yes, they do. DH borrowed £2K a few months ago when we changed the car, and he was almost 76 when he did that.

But, but, but....DH has an absolutely exemplary credit rating and he will have paid off the loan in a much shorter period than the 2 years.

Your Dad could consider taking up the bank's offer - yes, it may mean he pays more interest over the long-term, but it's either that or the situation he finds himself in now. If he's using *your* money to pay off *his* loan then he's not actually paying it off himself, is he, although he may think he is.

sleepless_saver

some late night thoughts -

Tell him you can't afford to give him money every month, but encourage him to contact the Pension Service to check he is getting all the benefits he should be. They can offer face to face appointments at local centres or by phone 0800 99 1234 which will cover pension credit, council tax benefit, and housing benefit. You could offer to help him with any paperwork.

Before either of you speaks to the bank, it would be a good idea to find out exactly why he needed the loan in the first place, as if his income is consistently less than what he spends he won't be able to keep up more than token repayments. Is he falling for lottery scams, fake charities etc, or just not good at day to day managing.

And before even thinking about getting another loan, check what early repayment costs are associated with the one he has.

Have a look at the sticky on the debt free wannabee board for how to tackle debt including how best to approach creditors and who to speak to for help.

cabbage

I think he needs to look at his options for dealing with this loan long term. Some of those could include an IVA, Bankrutpcy, Admin Order, Debt Relief Order or a Debt Management plan. Some of them might not be suitable or he might not be eligible.

As others say, he needs to check he is receiving all of his benefit entitlement. You should stop bailing him out otherwise he will have no incentive to sort himself out.

He could talk to nationaldebtline, cccs, payplan or CAB.

Its not a good idea to borrow more to get yourself out of debt but I can see it is attractive if its at a lower rate.

He also needs to sort out his budgeting to ensure he is living within his means.

All in all, HE needs to do something to sort it out. Perhaps you could offer to go to the CAB with him and then leave your involvment at that