Talking To Your Creditors

These are a few considerations:

1 - Speak To The Right Person

If the creditor has a specialist team or staff member who deals with vulnerable customers, ask to speak to them. If not, then ask to speak to a senior customer services team member. If you disclose a disability, the creditor has to adapt its procedures under the Equality Act 2010. Keep a note of who you spoke to.

2 - Set Some Rules

Be clear that you are disclosing this information on condition that the creditor only uses it in the way you outline, such as to identify unusual spending patterns. Also tell them what you don’t want the info to be used for, for example when processing future credit requests.

3 - Get Confirmation

Under data protection law, mental health information is considered sensitive personal data and is subject to stringent restrictions. Confirm that the lender will treat your details as sensitive personal data under the Act.

Reasonable Considerations

Its reasonable to expect that you will be treated sympathetically and fairly.

Here are some reasonable considerations that a creditor should adhere to:

· Offer you a period of breathing space – 60 days is the usual standard.

· If you are receiving mental health crisis treatment, you might get a longer grace period, which lasts as long as their treatment plus a further 30 days.

· Creditors should act sensitively when communicating with the borrower and promptly respond to agreed actions

· Creditors should keep debt in-house

· They should refer you to suitably trained staff.

Mental Capacity

If someone signed up to a financial commitment they didn’t have the mental capacity to understand, in some very rare cases, they may be able to get it cancelled. Under these circumstances, banks would find it hard to enforce contracts if the customer had insufficient mental capacity to make that decision at the time.

Return to Mental Health Section on Home Page