Bim Afolami is MP for Hitchin & Harpenden.
The weather may have changed for the better, but there is no immediate end in sight for the hardships that many households have faced this winter. This month, millions of people across the country will be hit by hikes to their council tax and mobile and broadband bills, adding more pressure to already strained finances.
Of course, last month’s Budget brought important announcements that will do much to ease the load, from the decision to postpone the rise of the energy price guarante to the landmark announcements on childcare. But there is more that the Government can do to reduce the distress that many people are facing here-and-now as a result of the cost-of-living crisis — and the Chancellor will be glad to hear that it doesn’t involve spending a penny.
If you’re struggling to put food on the table or to keep up with bills, the impact goes beyond your finances — it can have a serious psychological impact too. Expenses are rising, things you could previously afford are slipping further out of financial reach, and unfortunately, there’s little sign of prices returning to normal. For some people, that uncertainty is causing serious distress in the here and now.
Research published in December by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute (on whose advisory board I sit) highlighted that one in six UK adults have experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings over the previous nine months due to financial concerns. Among those who are behind on more than one bill, this rose to nearly one in two.
Suicidality is always complex, but one of the research’s most concerning themes is the impact that debt enforcement techniques can have on mental health. The barrage of letters and calls that some people struggling to make ends meet are receiving is causing grave distress —in some cases, it is even contributing to people becoming suicidal. These techniques are all too often ineffective, doing little good and grave harm to those on the receiving end.
Money and Mental Health has heard stories of people being contacted seven times in as many hours by the same creditor, through a variety of channels. If you’re behind on payments to several different creditors, it’s not hard to see how this could quickly start to feel like harassment.
But unlike in other countries such as the US, there are no firm legal limits in the UK on how often creditors can contact people about overdue bills.
Introducing a limit, and stopping people from being bombarded by creditors, is a change that the government and the Financial Conduct Authority can make that would go a long way to ease the pressure that far too many are facing.
This isn’t about increasing red tape. Nor is anyone saying that creditors should not contact people when they fall behind on bills. Instead, it’s about making sure that this contact counts — that it helps people get the support they need to get on top of their debts, rather than leaving them feeling so overwhelmed that they can’t begin to face the problem.
Ultimately, placing limits on how often creditors can contact people is in the interest of us all – those in debt, debtors, and society at large. Alleviating some of the mental burden of debt on the hardest hit is a small step that the government should consider carefully. In some cases, it could even save lives.
Bim Afolami is MP for Hitchin & Harpenden.
The weather may have changed for the better, but there is no immediate end in sight for the hardships that many households have faced this winter. This month, millions of people across the country will be hit by hikes to their council tax and mobile and broadband bills, adding more pressure to already strained finances.
Of course, last month’s Budget brought important announcements that will do much to ease the load, from the decision to postpone the rise of the energy price guarante to the landmark announcements on childcare. But there is more that the Government can do to reduce the distress that many people are facing here-and-now as a result of the cost-of-living crisis — and the Chancellor will be glad to hear that it doesn’t involve spending a penny.
If you’re struggling to put food on the table or to keep up with bills, the impact goes beyond your finances — it can have a serious psychological impact too. Expenses are rising, things you could previously afford are slipping further out of financial reach, and unfortunately, there’s little sign of prices returning to normal. For some people, that uncertainty is causing serious distress in the here and now.
Research published in December by the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute (on whose advisory board I sit) highlighted that one in six UK adults have experienced suicidal thoughts or feelings over the previous nine months due to financial concerns. Among those who are behind on more than one bill, this rose to nearly one in two.
Suicidality is always complex, but one of the research’s most concerning themes is the impact that debt enforcement techniques can have on mental health. The barrage of letters and calls that some people struggling to make ends meet are receiving is causing grave distress —in some cases, it is even contributing to people becoming suicidal. These techniques are all too often ineffective, doing little good and grave harm to those on the receiving end.
Money and Mental Health has heard stories of people being contacted seven times in as many hours by the same creditor, through a variety of channels. If you’re behind on payments to several different creditors, it’s not hard to see how this could quickly start to feel like harassment.
But unlike in other countries such as the US, there are no firm legal limits in the UK on how often creditors can contact people about overdue bills.
Introducing a limit, and stopping people from being bombarded by creditors, is a change that the government and the Financial Conduct Authority can make that would go a long way to ease the pressure that far too many are facing.
This isn’t about increasing red tape. Nor is anyone saying that creditors should not contact people when they fall behind on bills. Instead, it’s about making sure that this contact counts — that it helps people get the support they need to get on top of their debts, rather than leaving them feeling so overwhelmed that they can’t begin to face the problem.
Ultimately, placing limits on how often creditors can contact people is in the interest of us all – those in debt, debtors, and society at large. Alleviating some of the mental burden of debt on the hardest hit is a small step that the government should consider carefully. In some cases, it could even save lives.