Does your bank care if you're ill?

I'm_not_going_into

We must have been incredibly lucky with Barclaycard then as they have been excellent with us. Even putting a GOGW into the account.

ICan'tStandIt

stclair wrote: »

The difficulty in some cases is requesting the proof.

Normally doctors charge for providing letters etc which customers are reluctant to pay.

If the bank want proof then they should cover such costs.

Lloyds / Halifax also have something called the Customer Priority Team who deal with ill customers and I understand that they reimburse the cost of providing medical proof.

Not sure of the difference between the Customer Priority Team and this new department. Maybe they've just rebranded it.

PeacefulWaters

stclair wrote: »

The difficulty in some cases is requesting the proof.

Normally doctors charge for providing letters etc which customers are reluctant to pay.

Using my sample of one, consultant NHS oncologists don't charge.

My GP ask me for £105 to supply a medical reference. I referred them back to the insurer requesting the information. I assume the insurer paid out.

stclair

ICan'tStandIt wrote: »

If the bank want proof then they should cover such costs.

Lloyds / Halifax also have something called the Customer Priority Team who deal with ill customers and I understand that they reimburse the cost of providing medical proof.

Not sure of the difference between the Customer Priority Team and this new department. Maybe they've just rebranded it.

They possibly will cover the cost once proof has been provided.

ICan'tStandIt

ceredigion wrote: »

Arr but does a "payment holiday" help when interest is calculated dally.


Rhetorical question.

I'll answer anyway

I guess it depends how you define 'help' and what someone expects a bank to do if they've not got any insurance, savings or advances on their mortgage to help cover their payments if they are taken ill.

A payment holiday does not count as arrears and is not reported on credit files as missed payments, so whilst future payments are recalculated to incorporate the higher balance, it's better than having arrears.

stclair wrote: »

They possibly will cover the cost once proof has been provided.

Quite likely, but I would imagine that if the bank are asking for proof then they'd have to cover the cost of providing it. It would not be fair to expect someone struggling with their illness and their mortgage to cover the cost of proving how unwell they are.

PixelPound

The FCA have stated how they expect organisations to treat customers, so not sure how much this is Lloyds wanting to do the right thing and how much they are ensuring they comply before been forced to change.

ICan'tStandIt

nic_c wrote: »

The FCA have stated how they expect organisations to treat customers, so not sure how much this is Lloyds wanting to do the right thing and how much they are ensuring they comply before been forced to change.

I very much doubt that this is Lloyds just wanting to be altruistic, however, some of the motivation may have come from staff feeling that not enough was being done to help their most vulnerable customers.

Having said that, I'm not too sure what Lloyds are really offering and it all seems a bit vague.

stclair

ICan'tStandIt wrote: »

I'll answer anyway

I guess it depends how you define 'help' and what someone expects a bank to do if they've not got any insurance, savings or advances on their mortgage to help cover their payments if they are taken ill.

A payment holiday does not count as arrears and is not reported on credit files as missed payments, so whilst future payments are recalculated to incorporate the higher balance, it's better than having arrears.



Quite likely, but I would imagine that if the bank are asking for proof then they'd have to cover the cost of providing it. It would not be fair to expect someone struggling with their illness and their mortgage to cover the cost of proving how unwell they are.

We'll see how it pans out as you'll always get people trying it on.

TheBanker

My bank, which is not Lloyds, has done this for a while, but the team aren't there specifically to help people with cancer, they will help any customer who has fallen on hard times.

In the past, we didn't have procedures to help people until they actually went into arrears, at which point the Collections team would contact them. Collections could agree payment holidays, freeze charges/interest etc. But at that point the arrears were often quite bad. So a new "pre-collections" team was set up. They use a lot of the same solutions as Collections but the theory is that they can offer help before the problem gets too bad. They also work with charities e.g. Stepchange to refer customers for advice where this is appropriate.

Ultimately, it's in the banks own interest to do this as it keeps the customers active rather than have them default - we don't want a load of bad debts on our books...

ICan'tStandIt

TheBanker wrote: »

My bank, which is not Lloyds, has done this for a while, but the team aren't there specifically to help people with cancer, they will help any customer who has fallen on hard times.

In the past, we didn't have procedures to help people until they actually went into arrears, at which point the Collections team would contact them. Collections could agree payment holidays, freeze charges/interest etc. But at that point the arrears were often quite bad. So a new "pre-collections" team was set up. They use a lot of the same solutions as Collections but the theory is that they can offer help before the problem gets too bad. They also work with charities e.g. Stepchange to refer customers for advice where this is appropriate.

Ultimately, it's in the banks own interest to do this as it keeps the customers active rather than have them default - we don't want a load of bad debts on our books...

But it is bad debt of a sort if the customer is not paying, the debts is increasing and the mortgaged property has reducing equity.