The shocking impact sky-high bills are having on mental health has been exposed by a report highlighting how worries about money are leading many people to think about suicide.
the Institute for Monetary Policy and Mental Healtha charity founded and chaired by consumer advocate Martin Lewis, reported that 17% of respondents to a survey said they had experienced suicidal ideation in the past nine months due to rising cost of living.
Around three in 10 of the 2,049 UK adults surveyed by YouGov said they were late on at least one bill. The survey found that harassment by debt collectors is playing a significant role in the mental health of defaulters. At least 11% of respondents said they are now “afraid” to open the post. from banks, energy companies and other creditors.
The report’s authors have called on the government to urgently adopt US-style rules to prevent debt collectors from bombarding people with overdue bills. They also call for the updated national suicide prevention strategy to be published urgently to better reflect the role of financial hardship as a contributing factor.
The charity said there were no firm legal rules in the UK limiting how often debt collectors can contact people about overdue bills, unlike in the US where creditors can call debtors up to seven times in a week.
One respondent to the report described how he had received seven contacts in seven hours from a single debt collection agency, forcing him to stop answering his phone and messages and turning him into a recluse.
Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, has been open about their own mental health struggles. He said: “The link between serious financial problems and suicidal thoughts has been long established. So it’s no surprise that the cost-of-living crisis, with bills skyrocketing, due to the pandemic is causing increasing angst for some people.
“However, the scale of this distress is particularly troubling and leaves serious concern about the impact on the number of people who may consider taking their own lives. We know that being bombarded with letters, calls, and threats of legal action from debt collectors can make people feel hopeless, powerless, and even contribute to people becoming suicidal. Therefore, the sooner specific protections are put in place to limit how and how often debt collectors can contact people about late payments, the better; even the bastion of free markets, the US, has stricter rules on this than we do.”
Helen Undy, the charity’s chief executive, said suicide rates rose in the last recession and the government needed to act urgently to learn the lessons of that time. “There is rarely a single cause for someone to become suicidal, but it is clear that the barrage of letters and calls bombarding people with debt problems is causing great distress.”
A government spokesperson said: “We understand the negative impact that financial problems can have on a person’s mental health, and the government is committed to supporting those with debt problems. Through our Breathing Space program, we’ve protected more than 100,000 people who can’t afford to pay their debts by pausing foreclosure action, contacting creditors, and most interest, fees, and charges during a 60-day period, giving them time to find a debt solution that works for them.
