MSE News: defends Mental Health & Debt guide after debt collectors' criticism

Former_MSE_Dan

MoneySavingExpert.com creator Martin Lewis has defended our guide to mental health and debt after the debt collectors' trade body accused it of feeding "prejudice".

The Guide to Mental Health & Debt was compiled with the assistance of charities Mind, Rethink, CAPUK, as well as free debt help agencies Citizens Advice and Consumer Credit Counselling Service.

Read the full story
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/family/2012/07/mse-defends-mental-health-guide-after-debt-collectors-criticism

chris-j

Couple of things, I am no fan of the tactics sometimes used by CSA members, but with so many on these forums who borrow money looking for ways to avoid paying it back I can understand why they feel softly softly does not work and I believe some fake mental health issues which does nobody any good, especially genuinely ill people.
Your guide is a reasonable general guide but I do not think it is targeted specifically at those with mental health issues. Some of the examples used are simply people struggling and burying heads in sand. What annoys me about it though (and I expected more from Martin) is the start where surveys are quoted giving horrific stats but no data to back up the claims, similarly in article Mind quote stats and again no data to back it up.
This is endemic in journalism today - sensationalist headlines but no data to back anything up.

jamesd

The head in the sand aspect is a form of mental health issue, since depression and that reaction can be consequences of debts once someone realises that they are becoming a problem. Debts are simply depressing, as is trying to live on little while dealing with them.

One nice thing about the MSE forum is that people can get help without initially discussing with those who prompt the negative reaction, the debt collectors, and can get a plan together to help them deal with things in a less stressful way. Once you have a plan and support in place it's a lot easier to deal with things.

sallyjo_2

How can we put legislation in that forces original creditors to offer the same heavily discounts on the debt to the original debtor, instead of to these horrible parasite companies supported by the CSA.

Businesses that buy debt and then hound the debtor for payment, sometimes - no usually - in a very harrassing way, should also be heavily taxed. They should be forced to pay for free public education in schools churches and adult education on how to live frugally, see debt for what it is, and how to avoid it and save money instead.

Petlamb

As someone with mental health issues, the guide is great. DCAs are just panicking that people can see the tactics so many of them use and don't think they're acceptable.

There are ways and means.

cusally

I was helping a man who had been trying to pay off his debt to one lender. After his heart attack he suffered from depression and was finding it very hard to cope with phone calls and letters. So we wrote a letter to them saying he asked me to represent him and not to call him. I called them while he was with me and paid the final amount owed by Debit card.
Two days later they started phoning and writing again stated that there was still one penalty late fee to pay, even though they had given a "full and final " figure on the phone.
I wrote to them 3 times repeating that he was ill and not to contact him, to discuss it with me only. He was still getting up to 20 phone calls per day, i told him to log them and just to keep referring them to me or not answer the phone. He said they were very nasty on the phone and he was frightened they would come to the house next.
Eventually my last letter got a response - to him not me, and they admitted they had taken a full and final payment, and wouldn't be bothering him again. He called me and said it was a huige relief.
This is one case of many I have dealt with where the lender doesnt want to accept a final payment to end the relationship, they keep on and on at it, in this chaps case he was getting more and more distressed by it.

Lensman_2

We are a long way from a balance of a mature approach to dealing with debtors by DCAs and dealing with the "wont pay" people.

In the meantime, the vast majority of ordinary people are victimised by the relentless, bullying tactics of the DCA industry. That some of them become depressed can be no surprise.

A tiny minority of debtors become debtors with the cynical intention not to pay. That this minority is used to justify the behaviour of an industry still obviously out of control is narrow minded and sanctimonious IMO.

No - anything that helps people who are honestly trying to deal with an unjust system is a good thing and I salute MSE for supporting it - especially for the majority of us who are depressed due to the situation we are in.

Good work Martin.

angelhealer

Many years ago I suffered from depression and found myself in debt, having worked as a debt collector I did everything that they tell you to do. With this one company I wrote to them explaining the situation, I asked them for help, whether they could put the interest on hold, if I could reduce the minimum payment etc and I wrote them about once a month for a year. (I copy & pasted the first letter, but changed the date) Not once did they respond to my letters I just kept getting letters telling me to pay. After a year of struggling I was lucky enough to find a debt advisory service that really helped me. After one letter from the debt advisory service they stopped the interest, and agreed a payment plan. This in part helped my recovery as I no longer had to worry about how to clear the debts. A year after this I was feeling much better and had 'turned the corner'. I worked out how much they added to my account in the year that I had been writing to them and when my repayments were at this point I refused to pay it. I sent them copies of all of the letters that I had sent and I told them that if they wanted the money they could take me to court. This time they rang me saying that they would take to me court, I told them to take me to court and we would let a judge decide. I never heard from them again. I'm not saying my actions were necessarily right, but it felt good. I would like to point out that there were 2 other companies that I was in debt with and they did their best to help me.

oldvicar

The way some people with debts and mental health issues are treated is quite simply cruel. Bravo Martin & team for writing a guide and defending it, people need all the help they can get when they are struggling like this.

wouldbeqaulitymoneysaver

Seconded.
Well done to @MSEMartin and MSE Staff defending this crucial group of financial customers against Financial bodies making them all the more vulnerable.

LittleVoice

One in four UK adults experience mental health problems annually,

Please say where you obtained this "statistic".

I think you have misunderstood what you have read somewhere if you think that a quarter of adults experience mental health problems in any year.