please share: Dealing with debt One of the most difficult things human beings find to talk about is the state of their finances. Finances are a very private thing for most people I have met, and it is with great reluctance and persuasion that they can feel safe enough to open up and let me, as a therapist, know the extent of the ‘trouble’ they are actually in, and how much worry and stress it is causing them. This problem of debt in Ireland is widespread. I heard a prominent financial adviser recently stating that there were two kinds of people in Ireland presently as far as finances are concerned, ‘Those who are running out of money and those who have already run out of money’. It sums it all up really. Many people out there are privately keeping this issue to themselves as they are often afraid, feel stupid, or ashamed to mention it to anyone as they do not know who to trust at the moment. Week on week there are new fraud or ‘sharp practice’ scandals regarding banks and financial institutions in the media. Too often we see banks failing and officials of these institutions being seemingly ‘rewarded’ for failing instead of being held to account for doing things that would certainly get us ‘ordinary’ folk in trouble with the law if we took similar action. We see and have to pay for the gambling debts of bankers and they do not even have to account as to what was done with the money they received from us as taxpayers. It seems that bankers are in control of governments rather than the other way about. Just last week Barclays have been accused of being involved in money laundering, the latest in a whole host of scandals involving some of the largest and hitherto most respected institutions in the world. Now, I realise that over the past five or so years many people borrowed irresponsibly and at a level that was logically unsustainable. At the same time there was definitely irresponsible lending on behalf of the banks. I met a young man recently who went to his local bank to borrow (before the ‘credit crunch’) £100,000 to build a new house for himself and his partner. He was apprehensive about asking the bank manager for the funds (as you do), in case he would be refused and feel rejected. After analysing his accounts the manager informed him that he could advance him up to £450.000 and he could use the difference to do with as he chose. Fortunately this young man declined the extra money however I can appreciate that not everyone in that position would do the same and the consequences could have been devastating. The tactics that financial institutions employ in an attempt to recover funds are also very questionable. Bullying and threats are widespread. Too often people are afraid to open the door to strangers who may be debt collectors. Remember you are not obliged to speak to any debt collector. If you feel you must speak, simply ask them how they obtained you private financial information without your permission as it may be a breach of the Data Protection Act 1998. The best thing to do, I believe is to join a group of people who are in the same position and they will let you know what you can and cannot do regarding debt. They can show you how to respond to bullying letters, telephone calls or home visits from financial institutions and debt collectors. One such not for profit group, Common Law NI, meet regularly to help people with similar issues and you can email them at commonlawni@gmail or find them on Facebook. Why not contact them now and learn how to take the fear out of the position you find yourself in. Until the next time. Tom Herron
Posted on: Thu, 06 Jun 2013 07:59:53 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015