Helping Margaret to cope with her debts

7th June, 2011

Five Lamps have been helping people to manage their money through a ‘Capacity Builders’ course, which helps people to make a budget, understand what financial terms mean and also to cope better with their debt.

In February 2011 at one of our courses held in Bishop Auckland, Margaret approached Paul Burton, Five Lamps’ Financial Inclusion Team Leader.

Margaret confided in Paul that she had serious financial issues and confessed that this had led to her attempting suicide in the past due to the severe stress that she was under.

Paul arranged for John McCoy, Five Lamps’ Loan Officer to meet with Margaret and complete a full financial review. From this meeting it became apparent that Margaret had borrowed some money from her nephew to pay off some of her debts to Provident and Greenwoods as her husband had lost his job.

Margaret explained to John that she needed to pay back the money borrowed from her nephew as there was a funeral in the family.

Margaret said “I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. I felt like I couldn’t discuss the debts with my husband. I felt like I had no choice but to turn to an illegal door street lender”.

Following our review, Five Lamps supported Margaret with a personal loan that enabled her to pay back the money she had borrowed from her nephew. We also wrote to Provident and Greenwoods to ask them to reduce the weekly amounts that Margaret was paying. They both agreed, leaving Margaret with more money to manage her bills.

Margaret said “I can’t thank Five Lamps enough for their help. I feel that I can now get on with my life without the worries I have been carrying for the past 6 months”

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