Bankrupts Unable To Get Banking Facilities
The credit crunch and following economic down turn and recession has caused huge financial difficulties for a large number of individuals in the UK, many are struggling to maintain their monthly repayments on their loans and other debts, with the inevitable result of a build up of loan arrears and missed credit card payments.
In the worst case scenario, this can eventually lead to an individual being declared bankrupt by the courts and over the course of the last six years there have been 542,834 individuals who have been made bankrupt and with unemployment likely to rise significantly over the next year or so, the situation looks as though it can only get worse.
As most of us would expect, an un-discharged bankrupt will not be able to obtain any form of credit, such as a homeowner loan, personal loan or credit card, at least until they are out of their bankruptcy and it could possibly even be some considerable time after that before they are granted a new loan. However, new research from talkaboutdebt.co.uk has shown that those in bankruptcy are unable to even be accepted for a basic bank account, without any credit or loan facilities and that banks are considering bankrupt individuals in the same light as criminals and fraudsters.
Jessica Bown at Talkaboutdebt.co.uk said “Since the Government introduced basic bank accounts over half a million people have fallen into bankruptcy. For most this is a last resort, accompanied by a feeling of shame that is perpetuated because they are refused access to even the basic banking facilities necessary for modern life. By excluding them in this way, the banks are effectively treating them like criminals and making it harder for them to pick up the pieces of their lives and improve their financial situations.”
