Reclaiming money spent with mental illness

budgie22

Hi all,

This is a bit of an embarrassing situation for me but really I just want to get some general advice.
I have bipolar type 2 (diagnosed) and just recently I went through a manic episode. I bought a return flight on my credit card which I really couldn’t afford and the airline states it’s non-refundable.
I wonder if anyone has ever gone through the bank to get money back due to mental illness. I’m worried about telling my bank in case it affects me somehow.

Thank you all.

Carrot007

budgie22 wrote: »

I’m worried about telling my bank in case it affects me somehow

You tell your bank. They will cancel your creditcard and you will not get in this situation again.


They cannot be held responsible unless you have already told them.


Please tell your bank. Maybe even put a notice on your credit report to stop you getting more credit. You can do things to help yourself.


I cannot see you getting the money back.

elsien

I was told recently when having this conversation with a colleague that it used to be possible to get some credit card debts written off if the person was suffering from a manic episode of Bi Polar at the time the debt was incurred but that this is not now the case.

Carrot007

elsien wrote: »

I was told recently when having this conversation with a colleague that it used to be possible to get some credit card debts written off if the person was suffering from a manic episode of Bi Polar at the time the debt was incurred but that this is not now the case.

It is possible but it is discretionary as far as I am aware. Like I say the bank cannot be held responsible for something they are not aware of. (Like if you lied to get credit). Though if they did, expect it to wreck the credit file (which sounds like a good thing here to be honest).

dj1471

Agree with others, but it's also worth explaining the situation to the airline as they may be willing to let you cancel given the circumstances (depends on which airline it is).

eDicky

Why not take the flights you booked..?

In any case if they are nonrefundable and the fee to get the taxes refunded would exceed the refund, don't cancel. There's always a chance that the airline will cancel the flight or change it to a degree that entitles you to a full refund.

Willing2Learn

budgie22 wrote: »

This is a bit of an embarrassing situation for me but really I just want to get some general advice.
I have bipolar type 2 (diagnosed) and just recently I went through a manic episode. I bought a return flight on my credit card which I really couldn’t afford and the airline states it’s non-refundable.
I wonder if anyone has ever gone through the bank to get money back due to mental illness. I’m worried about telling my bank in case it affects me somehow.

In my experience, it can sometimes be possible to get a refund, but you would need your Social Worker or support worker to act as your advocate (I am assuming that you get some support from your CMHT). The fact that you did not tell the bank of your diagnosis will count against you though.

If you tell your bank, they could do something such as put a block on high value transactions (say £250) or unusual spending patterns. Uncontrolled spending sprees by patients who are going through a mania stage of bi-polar is fairly common. The banking system will understand if you tell them.

Just google 'bipolar spending spree' to see how common it is. You are not alone...