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Potential Irresponsible lending?

Hello all,

Not sure I am allowed to name the bank so we will refer to them as "789" for the purposes of the post.

Basically, with 789, I hit a really rough patch with gambling - I ended up with a 4K overdraft and around 3K on a credit card with 789 too.

I reached out to the bank via their methods, asking for some serious help - I did not know what to do, I told them I can't afford it, I want to block the abiity for credit, freeze the accounts so I can only make payments to the balances and allow me to spend the next 12-18 months fixing this mess. I felt useless, worthless, pathetic. 

It took me around 10 contacts to finally even get a response, which was a generic "we will look into this for you" - it took 5 weeks for them to come back to me.

By some absolute stroke of luck, I won on a scratch card to the value of £6.5K. 

this was paid into my bank, overdraft cleared and a huge huge chunk of that credit card was paid off.

At this point, I reached out to 789 via their preferred method - I explained my mental health issues, the stress, the inability to pay and so on so forth and I explicitly requested a block to all "borrowing" products - I also, explicitly request them to remove the apply to either;

- apply for a new overdraft
- increase the limit on the credit, only decrease.

What then happened, is I was passed from pillar to post, agent to agent, no action ever taken.

Unfortunately during this time, I lost out around £2000 or so through other means of gambling which I am super ashamed to admit - I now have gamstop enabled, I have therapy in place and support from Gamsafe. 

However, my argument is, had 789 took the very initial contact seriously, had they accepted my own self-assessment of the inability to pay the debts, had they actually given me the help they so proudly advertise when I cite "my life is ruined, I don't know what to do" and all the other things, I truly truly believe I would not still owe this bank £2000. 

Looking at the ombudsman page, I feel I may well have a case, there was never any follow up assessments in the bank, if I wanted to increase my limits hey it took me two clicks. I also feel that the fact I personally reached out and asked for help, I said I cant afford it and this was never taken seriously, is simply another example of being irresponsible.

I have made a complaint and I ultimately would like to come to an agreement that they wipe the remaining £2000 due to the fact that over the course of 5 weeks I was chasing them, begging them almost daily for help with this...

finally, as of this week - the products are now blocked. I am feeling okay in myself, just have 2.5K or so to pay them, which I genuinely feel could and should have been avoided.


What do you guys think, do I have a leg to stand on with this or do I need to take it on the chin?

Comments

  • km1500
    km1500 Posts: 2,536 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    First of all well done for trying to sort the mess out - a gambling addiction is something I would not wish on anyone.

    I think your best route is to continue to pursue the complaint and see if you get a resolution that way. If not you can get a deadlock letter and take it further.
  • MalMonroe
    MalMonroe Posts: 5,783 Forumite
    Ninth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Hi, glad to hear you have sought help and are hopefully on the way to recovery. I'm also glad that gambling is now beginning to be recognised as a proper illness/addiction.

    Is the bank actually doing anything? Are they investigating and what is the hold up?

    I don't see any reason why you can't just contact the Ombudsman now and see if they can help. If they think you need to get further info from the bank before they can intercept, they will tell you so.

    In your position, I would ask the Financial Ombudsman what they think because the sooner you can start your complaint, the sooner it will be sorted. Hopefully in your favour.

    The bank should definitely have carried out proper searches and ensured that they were acting responsibly. 

    Obviously this is just my own opinion - I wish you all the best. 
    Please note - taken from the Forum Rules and amended for my own personal use (with thanks) : It is up to you to investigate, check, double-check and check yet again before you make any decisions or take any action based on any information you glean from any of my posts. Although I do carry out careful research before posting and never intend to mislead or supply out-of-date or incorrect information, please do not rely 100% on what you are reading. Verify everything in order to protect yourself as you are responsible for any action you consequently take.
  • born_again
    born_again Posts: 16,855 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Fifth Anniversary Name Dropper
    MalMonroe said:
    Hi, glad to hear you have sought help and are hopefully on the way to recovery. I'm also glad that gambling is now beginning to be recognised as a proper illness/addiction.

    Is the bank actually doing anything? Are they investigating and what is the hold up?

    I don't see any reason why you can't just contact the Ombudsman now and see if they can help. If they think you need to get further info from the bank before they can intercept, they will tell you so.

    In your position, I would ask the Financial Ombudsman what they think because the sooner you can start your complaint, the sooner it will be sorted. Hopefully in your favour.

    The bank should definitely have carried out proper searches and ensured that they were acting responsibly. 

    Obviously this is just my own opinion - I wish you all the best. 
    As the OP has complained, then until they receive either a outcome they are happy with, a deadlock letter or 8 weeks from complaint (although bank can request longer if further information is required) then it is pointless going to FOS. As they can do nothing.
    Life in the slow lane
  • Hi just a few notes I forgot to put

    On the very first application for an Overdraft, if I recal correctly I was offered 1K and I had to fill in my details.

    On any further overdraft increases, I was never challenged on the app again and permitted up to 3K. 

    Does me explicitly stating I cannot afford this and asking for them to block the product actually mean anything... as this is ultimately ill-handling by this bank and as a result has cost me at minimum 2K although its more likely, about 4K....
  • MrSilk
    MrSilk Posts: 1,513 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    edited 6 June 2023 at 10:11AM
    Barclays and Barclaycard (Whom I assume you are referring to in this post) have a history of irresponsible lending and a couple of years ago wrote of the debt of a lot of people as they approved credit or limits that where too much for the borrower. 

    If you have proof that you told them from day one to stop lending and that you needed help then surely you would have a case for the debt to be wiped?. 
  • artyboy
    artyboy Posts: 1,254 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 8 June 2023 at 1:09PM
    (Removed by Forum Team)
    Ah yes, was reading this thread earlier and just knew, KNEW, that there would be an ignorant, ill-informed post such as this before long. I'm all for 'taking responsibility', but I can only assume that you don't understand, and likely don't care about the disease of compulsive gambling and how relentlessly destructive it can be to an individual and their loved ones. 

    OP - from what you've written, it does look like you went out of your way to ensure Barclaycard knew you were vulnerable - organisations have an increasing responsibility to take steps to support vulnerable customers (which in this case would be not to lend any more!). I wish you well in pursuing this and hope you are getting support through your recovery.
  • elasto
    elasto Posts: 35 Forumite
    Second Anniversary 10 Posts
    To GenieBoy: That isn't how addictions work.

    When you win you carry on playing - because you have all the reasons you had before plus a couple of new ones: First, you can fool yourself into thinking you're skilled and, second, you're now 'playing with house money'.

    When you lose you also carry on playing, because you get angry and chase your losses.

    Noone finishes ahead. Noone. That's why when you hit a personal rock bottom and reach out for help, it's essential that your requests are taken seriously.

    To the OP: Nothing is guaranteed but I have read the ombudsman ruling in the customer's favour on the basis of a far weaker case than you have represented.
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