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Trying to sort out ill mother's credit card debts...How?!
emmajeff1985
Posts: 6 Forumite
in Credit cards
My mum has two credit cards - one Capital one and one Santander. I don't have the statements on me so I'm unsure how much is on each one, but together the balances total around £1,800.
In July this year, she suffered a stroke and ended up in hospital for approximately 6 weeks, and has now been transferred to a Care Home as her physical and medical needs now deem her unable to live independently any more. Her flat was rented (with the help of housing benefit) and has now been emptied and returned to the landlord, and her post is now being redirected to my sister's address.
She has no savings and no assets since going bankrupt over 10 years ago.
Before the stroke her only income was her pension and DLA (she's retired). Now she is in a care home, she no longer receives DLA and a large portion of her pension goes towards her care home fee's (some of it is government funded and then they take a 'top-up' from her pension).
My sister is obviously receiving re-directed letters from the Credit Card companies wanting payments because nothing has been received since she fell ill in July.
We've been burying our heads about it for a while as we are unsure what to do, but we feel that it now needs to be tackled and we don't know how. She also has vascular dementia as a result of the stroke and is very confused, has lost years of her life and isn't even aware that she has these credit cards let alone how much money she owes them. She is now unable to use a computer or her mobile telephone (she's forgotten how), and cannot talk to any creditors on the phone as she's also very hard of hearing.
Her social worker has advised us against anything like Power of Attourney because it's costly and not worth it for the amount of debt she has. We also don't want to be pursued for her debts; we all have families of our own and so are unable to pay off her debts. But in her new circumstances she now has no money herself to pay them either. I believe her own personal money now amounts to approximately £20 a week, which is the remainder of her pension after her care home fee's have been paid.
We were going to try and construct a letter between us to send to both companies but are unsure how to approach the situation. I'm almost certain they wont accept that she simply can't pay it, so is it worth even going for that approach at all? Or go straight for a payment plan approach, bearing in mind the payments would be extremely minimal and I'm not sure how this could be set up without them actually speaking to her, which wouldn't be possible?!
Thank you in advance for any light you can shed on this!
In July this year, she suffered a stroke and ended up in hospital for approximately 6 weeks, and has now been transferred to a Care Home as her physical and medical needs now deem her unable to live independently any more. Her flat was rented (with the help of housing benefit) and has now been emptied and returned to the landlord, and her post is now being redirected to my sister's address.
She has no savings and no assets since going bankrupt over 10 years ago.
Before the stroke her only income was her pension and DLA (she's retired). Now she is in a care home, she no longer receives DLA and a large portion of her pension goes towards her care home fee's (some of it is government funded and then they take a 'top-up' from her pension).
My sister is obviously receiving re-directed letters from the Credit Card companies wanting payments because nothing has been received since she fell ill in July.
We've been burying our heads about it for a while as we are unsure what to do, but we feel that it now needs to be tackled and we don't know how. She also has vascular dementia as a result of the stroke and is very confused, has lost years of her life and isn't even aware that she has these credit cards let alone how much money she owes them. She is now unable to use a computer or her mobile telephone (she's forgotten how), and cannot talk to any creditors on the phone as she's also very hard of hearing.
Her social worker has advised us against anything like Power of Attourney because it's costly and not worth it for the amount of debt she has. We also don't want to be pursued for her debts; we all have families of our own and so are unable to pay off her debts. But in her new circumstances she now has no money herself to pay them either. I believe her own personal money now amounts to approximately £20 a week, which is the remainder of her pension after her care home fee's have been paid.
We were going to try and construct a letter between us to send to both companies but are unsure how to approach the situation. I'm almost certain they wont accept that she simply can't pay it, so is it worth even going for that approach at all? Or go straight for a payment plan approach, bearing in mind the payments would be extremely minimal and I'm not sure how this could be set up without them actually speaking to her, which wouldn't be possible?!
Thank you in advance for any light you can shed on this!
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Comments
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In the first instance, just call them up and explain the situation. They will most likely at least put a hold on the situation and freeze interest and charges until they have the full picture.
You may find they're more helpful than you're expecting.0 -
The mother (with vascular dementia) no longer has capacity to give power of attorney, so that's not an option worth considering.
OP could consider helping mum to apply for Attendance Allowance.0 -
She has been medically assessed as having correct mental capacity. Not specifically for Power of Attorney, but in general - something which none of us 5 children can quite believe, as we don't believe she has at all.
However it's not a route we will be going down anyway as it's too costly and have been advised it wouldn't be worth the cost. The social worker also advised us that she doesn't qualify for any other benefits like Attendance Allowance as all her care needs are being met within the Care Home, most of which is already government funded.
Our first port of call will definitely be to get the interest and charges frozen at the very least, but we are just at a loss about how the balances are going to be paid at all :-(
Unfortunately she was a bit of a secret spender, and now we are left now knowing what to do!0 -
Power of Attorney will only cost her £55 !!0
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OP - just contact the lenders. More sensitivity and flexibility is shown by lenders these days, as they realise they cannot always only demand to talk to the account holder in instances like this.
It will at least put things on hold while they assess the situation.0 -
Power of Attorney will only cost her £55 !!
It's £110, or £55 repeat application. However, the low income 50% remission may apply, which would bring it down to £55.
https://www.gov.uk/power-of-attorney0 -
The daughters aren't liable for mum's debts so can't be pursued for them - if mum was to pass away with debts still owing then they could only be taken from the estate, and it sounds like there wouldn't be one, given no assets or savings.emmajeff1985 wrote: »We also don't want to be pursued for her debts; we all have families of our own and so are unable to pay off her debts. But in her new circumstances she now has no money herself to pay them either.
So, playing devil's advocate, what's the worst that could happen if the daughters continue to ignore the letters that are presumably addressed to mum anyway?0 -
emmajeff1985 wrote: »She has been medically assessed as having correct mental capacity. Not specifically for Power of Attorney, but in general - something which none of us 5 children can quite believe, as we don't believe she has at all.
However it's not a route we will be going down anyway as it's too costly and have been advised it wouldn't be worth the cost. The social worker also advised us that she doesn't qualify for any other benefits like Attendance Allowance as all her care needs are being met within the Care Home, most of which is already government funded.
Our first port of call will definitely be to get the interest and charges frozen at the very least, but we are just at a loss about how the balances are going to be paid at all :-(
Unfortunately she was a bit of a secret spender, and now we are left now knowing what to do!
As there are 5 of you and the debt isn't large, couldn't you eaxh put in a couple of hundred quid and try to make a full and final offer?0 -
Honestly? No. We all work but we all have families and very much 'just get by'. Apart from the eldest - the only one who's financially comfortable, who's insisting we 'just tell them she can't pay' and it's as simple as that... :mad:
I personally have no disposable income each month and my partner has to top me up.So, playing devil's advocate, what's the worst that could happen if the daughters continue to ignore the letters that are presumably addressed to mum anyway?
This is more what we were wondering. They only have her old address (thinking she still lives there) and considering her situation now, it doesn't really matter what happens to her credit file.
And if that's not an option, how do we best open the lines of communication without them insisting the full balance is owed regardless
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You pick up the phone and start talking to them.0
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