Identifying debtors with mental health issues

10th October is World Mental Health Day 2022 and we find that now, more than ever, being able to quickly identify mental health issues faced by debtors is paramount.

Link between mental health and debt

There is a well-established link between debt and mental health, with debt being both a cause and consequence. We are seeing that mental ill-health is on the increase, with the combined impact of the pandemic and now the cost of living increases.

Identifying signs and triggers

Our local authority clients have always been focussed on looking after their customers who are in debt and want to ensure that they are responded to in a fair and understanding manner.

We totally agree and work hard to ensure that our teams are fully trained and capable of identifying any form of vulnerability, including mental health.

Enforcement regulations and the National Standards provide some protection from enforcement action for vulnerable debtors. The key factor is to ensure that the enforcement agent is aware at the earliest possible stage.

There are triggers that flag signs of vulnerability and particularly signs that the individual is under great pressure, perhaps experiencing potential suicidal thoughts.

These signs include certain words and phrases, sudden changes to payment activity and behaviour during a call or visit, such as shortness of breath and agitation.

Providing support

We train our welfare and enforcement teams to recognise these triggers so that we can provide the right support and signposting to debt advice organisations when it is needed.

We also provide ways that debtors, who may feel embarrassed to talk to a person, can engage with us and start resolving their debt situation, such as web chat and our mobile debtor app.