Is there any suprise the poor sod killed himself

[Stewart]

Whether he was foolish to use it all is a moot point. The Credit card company should simply have said "No your income is insufficient for this, forget it"

No; he should have said to himself "My income is insufficient for this, forget it"

Credit card companies, or any other companies, for that matter, have no right (in my opinion) to protect the stupid, greedy and naive, from themselves.

We all know fags are killers, it’s printed on the packets - 'Buy these, and you're well dead mate', or words to that effect. People still buy them.

Should Benson & Hedges get on the blower, and start ringing people up, saying 'Hello Mrs Johnson, according to our reports, you had a 20 pack of Bensons from the local garage last night, and a 10 pack the night before. Are you sure you're not smoking a few over the odds?'

Of course not; because as an adult, you are expected to take responsibility for your actions, that’s why you can smoke if your choose, you can get credit, if you choose, and a million other things. With that freedom of choice, comes the responsibility for your chosen actions.

I really can't see the problem. His greed and naivety got the better of him, and he got in deeper than he could handle, and took the cowards way out, leaving his wife and family to pick up the pieces. Yes, it’s a shame it got so bad that he topped himself, but it’s hardly a tragedy, just a sign of the times.

The borrowing habits of the average person are way out of control, and perhaps it’s going to take a few horror stories like this, to get a few people to take a reality check.

[Zak33]

No; he should have said to himself "My income is insufficient for this, forget it"

Credit card companies, or any other companies, for that matter, have no right (in my opinion) to protect the stupid, greedy and naive, from themselves.

I nealry agree...I spend my working life trying to get people to spend what they dont wanna spend.....and sometimes I get them into debt. Its my job.

BUT the deals normally get rejected by the finance company if the loan is wrong for the punter.....I NORMALLY have to beg the finance company and try to get the decisions changed.

In THIS case they just kept saying YES without checking to see if he was literally digging a hole.

Its very wrong.

However...on the whole I agree that the punters are already too protected and that they don't need looking after in such a way. Its just this case is so damn stupid....so ridiculous....

I mean comeon guys.....by the time he was at £50,000 ish SURELY ALARM BELLS WERE RINGING on a system SOMEWHERE !!!!

[unrealrocks]

Yeah - imo banks should do much more checking and/or declining of credit. Only problem is that if banks tighten up people will just head to loan sharks - legal and illegal which could be worse off for alot of people.

[Ravens Nest]

I moved into my own place two years ago, and what shocks me is the amount of junk mail i get but the most shocking thing about it is the amount of loan & credit card companys that send me an envelope with how much i can borrow & the interest rate in large letter's on the front and when i go to trash it i have to rip up the form they give me to fill in into little peice's.

I get 3-4 letters a week tempting me to borrow money, every time i turn on the t.v. the adverts have at least 2-3 loan companys again tempting me to borrow money.. to be honest i feel we are heading for a fall in this country worse than the one in the 80's ever was.

It seems everything is about how good you look and how many luxurys you have, everything and everyone tells you you need a new car some new clothes a new mobile even a new pc, if you dont have these then you must not be normal

Just look at the kids nowadays, they look like the have come straight out of the gap adverts, all there idols tell them they need bling bling! that they have to have perfect bodys and once again the best clothes and nice cars, nearly everyone has become far too materialistic and this in turn creates debt's as you always seem to have to keep up with the jones and that cost money.

Hmmm that loan seems very tempting now

[VladTheImpaler]

"and when i go to trash it i have to rip up the form they give me to fill in into little peice's"

Nah, better than that, send the form back to them in the pre-paid envelope and leave it blank. That will cost them the postage and to dispose of the litter. That will teach them to litter my doormat!

And yes, I do have too much time on my hands to think stuff like that up....

[Punky]

whats wrong with living within your means? i only spend as much as i earn, i stopped the bank giving me an overdraft and i plan on never gettin a credit card. if you only spend what you've got, then debt isn't goin to be a problem.

[HarryOatcake]

At the end of the day, Credit Card use depends on ones self discipline.
Any fool these days can get a card and run up massive credit debts, this as been proved time and again, and will still continue.

The cards are an asset if used sensibly, I have had them from pre 1972 remember Access, and have never paid a penny in credit charges, as I settle at the end of the month even paying upfront for purchases that I have yet to be billed for.

If I was to make a large purchase I would use a present card and then immediately
apply for a new one, with an extended interest free purchase and transfer offer, then transfer my balance from old to new, play them at there own game.

I think it was a pity that the man concerned commited suicide, as he could have recieved councelling and help, after all it was only money, and no mans life is worth that.
But for the grace of God go I.

[petrefax]

Nah, better than that, send the form back to them in the pre-paid envelope and leave it blank. That will cost them the postage and to dispose of the litter. That will teach them to litter my doormat!

i tend to favour sticking the junk from one card company into the free, pre-paid envelope of another & vice versa (obviously after removing the bits with my name on) then popping them both in the post on the way to work

someones already mentioned it but daytime TV adverts are the worst, they're obviously targetted at the sort of people who are at home all day (students, unemployed etc) the first ad break in a programme shows you all the wonderful things you SHOULD own, (and implies that if you don't already own these items you're abnormal) the second ad break comes along & offers you all manner of ways to get into h00ge debt, just to afford the stuff they've told you you must own

tell me....what is the difference between a "homeowner loan (secured on your property)" and a mortgage??....apart from the vastly different interest rates that is?

by the way, if you're canny enough you can make credit cards work for you - just about every card company offers 6 or 9 months interest free credit at the moment, take out a few cards, max them out on premium bonds for the duration of the interest free period - any winnings you make are yours to keep, (tax free iirc)

just make sure you cash in the bonds & pay back the entire credit card bill just before the interest free period ends

[lynni]

I have a £100 overdraft only because i receive so little from the NHS. I have no intentions of increasing it cos i dont need to, i barely go overdrawn more then £30 and i only last week, finally got myself a debit card, cos i pay for my trips to see tumble over the internet and was always owing somebody money.


I rip anything up that comes in the post for me about loans, i ignore all the adverts on tv and in magazines. How can any bank allow somebody get themselves into that kind of debt? who in their right mind would continue to 'dish out' credit cards like sweets, when that person owes in total £72,000 i mean wtf????

[Ravens Nest]

"and when i go to trash it i have to rip up the form they give me to fill in into little peice's"

Nah, better than that, send the form back to them in the pre-paid envelope and leave it blank. That will cost them the postage and to dispose of the litter. That will teach them to litter my doormat!

And yes, I do have too much time on my hands to think stuff like that up....

class! im going to do that from now on, but rip my name of the top first though

[Allen]

Return them 'address unknown' or 'not present at address' or just call them up and tell them to remove you from their database/mailing list.