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He's one of more than 100,000 desperate debtors who each year attempt suicide in England.That's according to the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. The charity has called on the government to change legislation which it says contributes to people in problem debt becoming suicidal. 'We skipped meals'
"I have experienced bouts of anxiety and depression at various times in my life, but the worst period was when I was made redundant from my job," said Steve Goddard, aged 40, from Colchester. Adding to the stress was the fact that Steve's wife had just gone on maternity leave for their second child and they had recently moved home. "The bills were mounting up, we were falling behind on rent and council tax, and my wife and I were skipping meals several times a week in order to make sure the children had food," Steve recalls. Eventually he turned to debt charity Christians Against Poverty, which helped him sort out a debt relief order. But it was at that point that his mental health really deteriorated. "The pressure had lifted, but the feelings of failure set in. I felt useless, and that I should have been providing better for my family."
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To know you are in debt and see bills turning red is bad enough. The constant phone calls and threats of court from people who work in the call centres of the likes of Cabot and Intrum, who bought the debt for a pittance push you ever closer to the edge. Is knowing you are worth more dead than alive the wind in the sails?
Debt purchasing should have greater regulation or be banned altogether. Alternatively, there should be a mechanism for the debtor to pay only as much as the debt purchasing companies pay for them.