Taking on credit while mentally unwell

ontophp

Hi,
During a period I was significantly unwell for mental health (i.e. in hospital), I took on a new car hire purchase and credit card debt. I'm not sure what I said on the forms but it wouldn't have been right, as I had no income, but I gained more than £30k in credit. That's now debt. After hospital I was unwell for a long and confusing period.
Please does anyone know anything about either:

1. If debt acquired during serious mental health is treated differently, and
   
2. The likely consequence or outcome for incorrect information on credit application forms?

Thank you

ontophp

Sorry just thinking back actually I did have some income at that point, though I never back went to the job.

Also to add, the credit card debt was both personal and business credit cards. The business had no income.

[Deleted User]

1. No - though if you told the lender of your mental health issues, you would expect them to have taken extra care in assessing your application.

2. A CIFAS fraud marker is a possibility, but as long as you don't advertise the fact you misled them, repercussions are generally unlikely.

Brie

I think you may be treated with some sympathy if you are with one of the mainstream banks.  But even that may depend on when this was.  They have very recently been more careful about lending to those they consider vulnerable but it is was 15 years back less so.

As for incorrect information on an application...if you said you earned X because you were employed and the employer would normally pay you X then the bank etc would have taken this at face value and credit risked you on that basis.  If you earned X but were only getting a fraction of that due to being off work sick then it's entering the fabrication zone.  Lots of people lie to get credit, mostly because they are desperate or trying to commit fraud.  You may have been desperate but were also unwell so that might count in your favour but I don't believe a bank or other creditor would just let you off simply on that basis.

Sorry if that all sounds very vague.  But you might find something more constructive on Debt Camel.

Debt and mental health problems (debtcamel.co.uk)

elsien

Being in hospital/mentally unwell doesn't automatically mean you are too unwell to manage your finances. Did you tell them that you were in hospital when you made the applications, and were you a voluntary patient or under section? 
When you put the incorrect information down and knew that you had no business income, what was your thought process?  Did your consultant/care co-ordinator/any other professionals have any concerns about your ability to manage your finances at that point? Did you tell anyone what you were doing? Would any of them be willing to give a supporting letter about your illness and capacity at the time (if financial capacity was assessed, which it may not have been if no-one knew what you were doing.)

sourcrates

OP has three threads running about essentially the same issue.

Best to stick to just one thread per subject.

ontophp

Deleted_User said:

1. No - though if you told the lender of your mental health issues, you would expect them to have taken extra care in assessing your application.

2. A CIFAS fraud marker is a possibility, but as long as you don't advertise the fact you misled them, repercussions are generally unlikely.

Thanks for your message.

1. I was very mentally unwell, as in I had just left hospital. I didn't know or understand I was so unwell. I don't think my health was any consideration during the application.
2. I was very unwell. I don't recall what I said.

ontophp

Brie said:

I think you may be treated with some sympathy if you are with one of the mainstream banks.  But even that may depend on when this was.  They have very recently been more careful about lending to those they consider vulnerable but it is was 15 years back less so.

As for incorrect information on an application...if you said you earned X because you were employed and the employer would normally pay you X then the bank etc would have taken this at face value and credit risked you on that basis.  If you earned X but were only getting a fraction of that due to being off work sick then it's entering the fabrication zone.  Lots of people lie to get credit, mostly because they are desperate or trying to commit fraud.  You may have been desperate but were also unwell so that might count in your favour but I don't believe a bank or other creditor would just let you off simply on that basis.

Sorry if that all sounds very vague.  But you might find something more constructive on Debt Camel.

debtcamel

Thanks for your message Brie, it's positive and helpful. I'm really not sure what I said on credit applications but I ended up with personal and business credit which is probably beyond what they'd give for the income I had around the time.
The debtcamel resource also looks good. Thank you

ontophp

elsien said:

Being in hospital/mentally unwell doesn't automatically mean you are too unwell to manage your finances. Did you tell them that you were in hospital when you made the applications, and were you a voluntary patient or under section? 
When you put the incorrect information down and knew that you had no business income, what was your thought process?  Did your consultant/care co-ordinator/any other professionals have any concerns about your ability to manage your finances at that point? Did you tell anyone what you were doing? Would any of them be willing to give a supporting letter about your illness and capacity at the time (if financial capacity was assessed, which it may not have been if no-one knew what you were doing.)

Thanks for your message elsien. I had no health discussions with creditors. I had been sectioned. My financial capacity was temporarily taken from me. I may make another post about that as it's a separate issue. My thought processes at that time were terrible. I'd been very mentally unwell > sectioned > received heavy medications (and the medications can have varying positive and adverse affects). There's plenty of medical evidence to support I was clinically unwell. On leaving the loony bin, I was very confused and disorientated. But somehow I made it through quite a few credit applications.

ontophp

Actually also to add, having learnt that my personal and business finances had been meddled with while I was in hospital (separate issue, and also noone had told me), I made an application to a private bank which was £ million + bank accounts.