Student's suicide after overdraft

stebiz · 13 October 2006 at 12:46AM

I was just reading this tragic story and felt others might like to read it too.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6038086.stm

I don't know the guy personally but I can sympathise with his plight. Nearly 6 years ago I got myself into really serious trouble with debt. I was self employed at the time and was trying to tread water - unfortunately sinking all the time. I had 2 young children still in nappies and I was petrified. One day I went to see my mum and dad and cried and cried. The debts had totalled over 40k and the interest and charges being added on were swallowing all my income. I was at my wits end.

After speaking to my Dad I decided to look for a job and close my Self Employment. I was fortunate to get a job at my first interview. I wrote to all of the companies and offered 30% of the amount - which was all my Dad could afford (He is such a great guy and friend). Only 4 took the offer up and I paid them in full totalling about 5k. I now owed about £25,000. The others I make nominal payment to of £5 a month and they have frozen the interest.

It will take years to get these debts paid off. I had considered bankruptcy but I own my own home. However at least now I pay 0% interest on those debts and they are coming down.

PLEASE ANYBODY DON'T SUFFER IN SILENCE. THERE IS LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL. WHAT A SHAME THIS POOR GUY HADN'T FOUND THIS FORUM.

Regards
Stebiz

oops_a_daisy · 13 October 2006 at 12:52AM

no amount of debt is worth losing your child. My heart goes out to the family and shame on HSBC

pounds_and_pensive · 13 October 2006 at 1:28AM

Seeing his picture made me want to cry. That lovely smile gone forever, and for what?

I did type out a comprehensible reaction to this, but I was so angry that it started to turn into a bit of an off-topic anti-government rant. The gist of it was though, that this country has got it all wrong allocating so much funding to blowing up the young people of other countries (for NO good reason in my view) when our own young people are forced to borrow against the future before they can get a chance to work towards a decent one. Student debt stinks, and there must be a better way.

mossstar · 13 October 2006 at 7:04AM

right on!

*claps*

flis21 · 13 October 2006 at 7:11AM

I couldn't read and run, how dreadful and sad that story his. My heart goes out to his family. At the end of the day money (or debt) is not everything, which is something I have to remind myself of regularly.

Psykicpup · 13 October 2006 at 8:51AM

How awful! I'm disgusted with the banks attitude - did they honestly think daily hounding (which lets face it calling the parents as well obviously is) would help! They need to be sent a link to this page to be taught what people in debt reallly feel! Surely a letter written nicely & with sympathy would have been more likely to get a response! They should be ashamed! Banks have a duty of care to their customers & that should include education - it must have felt like someone was constantly peering over his shoulder waiting to tell him what a bad person he was.....

rog2 · 13 October 2006 at 9:27AM

What an unnecessary waste of a promising life.
Also such a great pity that it will have virtually no effect whatsoever on the way the banks hound their customers.
HSBC would appear to be among he worst when it comes to customer relations - there is no longer a manager to whom you can turn when you are in trouble - their contact usually consists of incomprehensible calls, at unsocial hours, from off-shore call-centres to whom you are just a number.
You may remember the case of Mr CULLEN, from Trowbridge, who recently took his own llife because of debt - most of which was offered by the same banks that were hounding him.
I appreciate that the Banks save shedloads of cash by using these foreign call-centres, but is this form of 'legal harrassment' really necessary.
HSBC is hardly down on its uppers - how many £billion pounds did they make this year. Surely this tragic loss of life should serve as an example to them to 'ditch the computer driven management' and go back to the situation when you actually had a personal contact with your account manager, who could advise rather than just impose.
My heart goes out to the family.

Pobby · 13 October 2006 at 10:10AM

Dreadful story.In my experience HSBC are a bunch of to--ers.Closed my {in credit} account some time ago with them.I hope someone feels guilty about this!

poorbutrich · 13 October 2006 at 10:44AM

What a tragic story. The poor guy and his family. Please, please - any DFWs out there, no matter how bad your financial situation gets, no amount of money is equal to your life....

tyllwyd · 13 October 2006 at 10:55AM

Obviously this is a very very sad story for the family, but when I read it I can't help thinking that there is more to it than the very simple way in which the papers have reported it.

He had money problems and hassle with his bank, but surely lots of students must be going through similar things and worse. I can't help thinking that he was a fragile person - they said he had suffered from depression in the past - and the debt was only one aspect of the problems in his life. It seems unfair to put 100% of the blame on his bank.

stebiz · 13 October 2006 at 11:05AM

tyllwyd wrote:

Obviously this is a very very sad story for the family, but when I read it I can't help thinking that there is more to it than the very simple way in which the papers have reported it.

He had money problems and hassle with his bank, but surely lots of students must be going through similar things and worse. I can't help thinking that he was a fragile person - they said he had suffered from depression in the past - and the debt was only one aspect of the problems in his life. It seems unfair to put 100% of the blame on his bank.

I think there is an element of truth in what you say. However over the years I have seen banks 'destroy' my business due to their greed. 'Unfair' and 'Bank' in the same sentence - seems about right!!!

Stebiz

Student's suicide after overdraft

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