You hear about people in debt committing suicide
YES SAYS Pete Tyson, Financial Skills Adviser at North Liverpool's Citizens Advice Bureau ONE of my clients was so worried about his debts, he went for a meeting with the manager at a bank, which shall remain anonymous. He came out of the branch some time later with two more personal loans to add to his problems. Another client had accrued £150,000 of debt with 52 credit cards. How on earth were they allowed to have that many in the first place? I have dealt with an 18-year-old boy who was given a debit card and a £150 overdraft. Before long his dad accompanied him to an appointment with me, because he now had an overdraft of £4,000 and he didn't know how he was going to pay it back. You could say these people were all responsible for their own actions, but on the other hand, how can the banks be so irresponsible? There was a story in the national newspapers last month about a man who committed suicide because he couldn't pay his £130,000 debts. You here about this all to often now. Too much credit can turn into a vicious circle and the one way to stop this happening would be for the banks to reduce the amount of credit one person can have. But for this to happen there needs to be a major change in the way banks share and check information. Communication needs to radically improve. They should be responsible for checking how many credit cards one person has and whether they have the income to meet the repayments. People end up taking out credit cards to make repayments on their existing cards. They do this until they can't get any more. It's not unusual for people to come into the Bureau with debts of up to £70,000. They are depressed and in tears. Often the thing that is at the centre of downward spiral is the fear of what will happen to them. They think if they don't take out another loan or credit card, the bailiffs will come and take their house, or they will be sent to jail. But a lot of that is because they don't have the right information. The one thing I would say to anybody who is worried about their financial situation is don't get into any more debt. Come to the CAB or another agency where the advice is free. We tell our clients to prioritise their debt. The most important thing is for them to to pay their mortgage or rent, food, gas, electric and council tax. The others all come under the Consumers and Creditors Act and are non-priority debts, and we can negotiate repayments with their creditors. Last year, the North Liverpool bureau dealt with £2,189,388 of debt and £275,470 was written off. That figure increases year on year. The best thing we can do at the moment is educate vulnerable people. The CAB has been holding workshops across the area. Meanwhile Liverpool City Council is proposing to cut the budget for voluntary services. With fewer resources all we will be able to hope for is that the banks will take up more responsibility themselves. | 
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