Grandmother terrorised for a stranger’s debt
A 61 year-old grandmother committed suicide after being hounded for a debt that belonged to a complete stranger. The debt the pensioner was being harrassed to pay was enough to be elible for bankruptcy or an IVA.
The widowed pensioner suffered severe stress as she was terrified that the bailiff would visit her home to seize possessions.
For months, the distraught lady was taunted by GE Capital Bank for a debt of £15,670 which had been accumulated by a man who lived over 200 miles from where she lived. In actual fact, Mrs Brazier only owed £400 to this company.
Her distraught daughter explains how her mother was terrorised for this debt, even though she had tried explaining that she did not owe this amount and had written several letters trying to rectify the situation.
Mrs Brazier even paid £500 off the stranger’s debt, in order to ease the pressure of the debt collectors, but they just continued harassing her.
The final straw came for Mrs Brazier when her bank wrote explaining that they were taking the case to county court and sending someone over to her home to discuss the matter. It was at this point that the elderly grandmother panicked and was found drowned in a pool nearby. The elderly woman felt that suicide was the only way to stop the bank worrying her for a debt that she had not accumulated.
After Mrs Brazier had taken her life, it became apparent that she actually owed very little with GE Capital. The mix up occurred after she changed address and mistakenly received demands for the previous owner’s debt of over £15,000 - enough for the debtor to delcare themselves bankrupcy or start an IVA.
Although this is a very tragic outcome, many people should learn from Mrs Brazier’s experience. Instead of suffering in silence, they should seek professional debt advice immediately.
IVA and Bankruptcy News posted on 29/10/2007 12:10:49
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