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Conmen pushing the mentally ill to the brink of suicide

Service providers fear that rogue debt collectors will continue to prey on vulnerable people

A leading social care organisation has warned that rogue debt collectors profiting from the mentally ill are pushing them to the brink of suicide.

On World Mental Health Day (Friday 10th October 2008), mental health service providers are speaking out against this cowardly practice against vulnerable members of society.

CrossReach, the Church of Scotland's social care arm, is worried that the problem will increase amidst the current financial turmoil.

Liz Twigg, service manager at CrossReach's Morven Day Centre said:

"This is a complex issue that can affect anyone from any walk of life.

"As help is hard to find, the debt recovery predators are just waiting in the wings. With the credit crunch, the potential is there for any individual to become a target."

Mary Smith, a lady in her sixties who is bi-polar and a mental health service user, suffered this traumatic experience. She believes the legal enforcement of leniency by debt collectors towards debtors like herself would help prevent suicides.

The Consumer Credit Act 1974 suggests a compassionate approach but does not enforce it. The 2006 legislation at least provided an ombudsman service for victims, people like Mary, whose bullying debt collectors might otherwise not have been able to pursue her to within inches of her life.

At the recent National Youth Assembly, young church members recognised there is a stigma attached to people who suffer from mental health conditions. They called upon the Church and society to work for a more honest, fair and just approach to people who find themselves often in quite intolerable situations.

On World Mental Health Day, as many feel the stresses associated with job loss and financial insecurity, CrossReach joins with others in a bid to "Get Fair", raising awareness of mental health issues and calls for stricter controls over the ways in which debt collecting agencies approach and deal with mentally ill debtors.

Ends.

Note to News Desks

nr/63/10/2008

Thursday 9, October 2008

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