Support with Debt

m2yuout

New member
Jan 19, 2020
3
0
Hello there,

I have recently joined the community in order to seek advise about some debt that my Nan has been trying to manage for over 20 years, we have watched as the Dementia has progressively taken over her memory, she recently had a fall a few weeks ago and has been in hospital, sadly she managed to break her hip which has had an impact on her quality of life, since the fall, it seems that her Dementia has progressed and she is unable to complete day to day activities.

She luckily has quite a few family members who have been doing everything they can do to support her, but with little income and money managing this debt this should be one less thing they need to worry about, I am currently looking into the exact details but I originally know this debt was from a credit card which used to be around £15,000, the debt now sits at around £5000, so she has been doing what she can to manage this, the debt is managed by a debt recovery specialist but my Nan is no longer able to make the decision to release these payments.

My Auntie has been making these payments on her behalf but my Nan now questions where the money is going, she gets very stressed and upset when the money is taken to make this payment.

The main question is, has anybody dealt with a similar situation?

As my Nan is classed as a vulnerable person who is unable to make the correct decisions, she does not have the mental capacity to longer agree to making these payments - is it fair that she continues to pay this (most of the money owed is interest from the bank).

I have only just found out about this and am looking at the steps we need to take next, any help would be appreciated.

Many Thanks,
 

canary

Registered User
Feb 25, 2014
25,018
0
South coast
Hello @m2yuout and welcome to DTP.

My first question is - does anyone have POA for your Nan? As far as I am aware debt is debt, whether its an electricity bill or credit card..If your Nan is unable release the funds then this means that someone else will have to do it for her - which is why I wondered whether anyone had POA for her. Assuming that she was OK when the credit card debt was taken out, then it is reasonable to pay it off. Im glad that it is being managed by a debt recovery specialist, but they may not be willing to talk to you without POA.

BTW - your nans questions about money and where it is going is really, really common with dementia once they start to lose understanding of finances. They remember that money is important, but no longer understand about banks etc, so they do not understand the answers to their questions and often become very anxious. Frequently this anxiety results in them accusing family members of stealing their money.
 

Jaded'n'faded

Registered User
Jan 23, 2019
5,258
0
High Peak
I would write to the Bank the money was originally owed to - their head office. Explain the situation, point out your Nan has been faithfully trying to pay off this debt for more than 20 years and also the (no doubt) huge amount of interest she has been charged. Add that the debt recovery company are insisting payments continue even though Nan has dementia and no money. Tell them how outraged you are about this and that it's an appalling thing to do to a vulnerable person. With a bit of luck they will write off the remainder of the debt, which they sold on to a debt recovery company years ago anyway. (You'll have to tell them who is dealing with it now as the debt won't be on their books any longer.) Do not deal with the debt recovery people - despite all the horrible things they may say, your Nan owes them nothing. They might threaten court if she stops paying but tell them the situation then tell them to get lost - your Nan needs her money for her care. If they were to take her to court - which is extremely doubtful - any magistrate would throw the case out and cancel the debt. The courts do not take kindly to DC companies bullying sick old ladies.

When I had to pay off a load of debts, the first thing I did was write to my creditors and told them my situation. I offered to make a small payment every month (which I did) and you can ask them to stop adding further interest. This works. And it avoids a constantly growing debt.

Good luck - hope you get this sorted for your Nan.
 

Tragicuglyducky

Registered User
Apr 4, 2016
66
0
Hi, I work for a bank and have worked in debt collection. I would recommend you or a family member get as much information about this debt as possible and speak to a debt charity like citizens advice. If the debt was outsourced for collection you should be able to bring it back in-house based on the basis that your nan is vulnerable and a pensioner on low income. People of your nan’s generation will do everything they can to repay debt they can’t afford, it’s heartbreaking. You could also try writing to the head office of the creditor to waive the debt or make an offer of £1 a month. Explain your nans situation, maybe include a doctors note, the fact that she’s been paying what she could for however long, even start breaking down her finances etc. The worst thing that’ll happen is they say no but at least you’ve tried. But definitely try to get that debt managed by the creditor again.

It might also be useful to get POA or COP, someone on here might be able to advise of activating POA but I think all of the accounts are frozen this might also freeze outgoings (including any repayments for a debt) but also may mean you can’t access any income or that accessing income becomes laborious so you just need to be careful.
 

cobden 28

Registered User
Dec 15, 2017
193
0
Hello there,

I have recently joined the community in order to seek advise about some debt that my Nan has been trying to manage for over 20 years, we have watched as the Dementia has progressively taken over her memory, she recently had a fall a few weeks ago and has been in hospital, sadly she managed to break her hip which has had an impact on her quality of life, since the fall, it seems that her Dementia has progressed and she is unable to complete day to day activities.

She luckily has quite a few family members who have been doing everything they can do to support her, but with little income and money managing this debt this should be one less thing they need to worry about, I am currently looking into the exact details but I originally know this debt was from a credit card which used to be around £15,000, the debt now sits at around £5000, so she has been doing what she can to manage this, the debt is managed by a debt recovery specialist but my Nan is no longer able to make the decision to release these payments.

My Auntie has been making these payments on her behalf but my Nan now questions where the money is going, she gets very stressed and upset when the money is taken to make this payment.

The main question is, has anybody dealt with a similar situation?

As my Nan is classed as a vulnerable person who is unable to make the correct decisions, she does not have the mental capacity to longer agree to making these payments - is it fair that she continues to pay this (most of the money owed is interest from the bank).

I have only just found out about this and am looking at the steps we need to take next, any help would be appreciated.

Many Thanks,


When your Nan started with the credit card all those years ago, did anyone else sign up to be responsible for the debt if she was unable to pay? If so then that person is responsible for making the required repayments. And does anyone have POA for your Nan, so that they have the legal authority to deal with her finances?
 

Jessbow

Registered User
Mar 1, 2013
5,678
0
Midlands
Nan is classed as a vulnerable person who is unable to make the correct decisions, she does not have the mental capacity to longer agree to making these payments - is it fair that she continues to pay this (most of the monest from the bank).

She has been making these payments for years though. She may not understand where her money s going but that's the way it is. Its not something new, its ongoing.

Is it fair that she continues to pay? Debatable. She knew what she was signing upto when she did so
 

m2yuout

New member
Jan 19, 2020
3
0
Hello Everybody,

Firstly, I wanted to say a huge thank you for all members who had an input on this thread, we have spent five weeks of hell with my poor Nan who had a fall and broke her hip - sadly in Hospital she had another two falls, internal bleeding and a stroke. She sadly passed away on Sunday.

Thank You!
 

m2yuout

New member
Jan 19, 2020
3
0
Thank you all for your well wishes.

I wish you all a great future and thank you all for the advise.
 

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