On Friday, I had some fun calling a bank. Yes, I know, it’s not much fun talking to them usually. This time, I wasn’t ringing them for me, but for my friend.

My friend is in debt. She worked for a large company that shut down. 3,000 people redundant at the same time, many with the same skill set, means jobs aren’t plentiful. Redundancy money only lasts so long, so now things are hard. Like nearly all people in debt and not yet able to deal with it, she ignored a letter until it caused a problem. The bank called her, which meant she wasn’t prepared, and the guy bullied her into agreeing to an amount she couldn’t possibly pay. The thing is, she had only exceeded her overdraft because of their bank charges.

I told her I would speak with them and see what I could do. Sometimes, it’s better to let someone less emotionally invested in the outcome, deal with creditors for you. The man she spoke to, had got her to agree to pay £50 per month off her overdraft. That was ridiculous on an income of £56 per week. The bank had asked my friend to send her debit card back and had threatened court action and the debt collection agency as well.

She called and said she’d like me to speak on her behalf. I got to speak to a woman called Siobhan. I was friendly and had a quick chat. I got her on our side and then said, “I know you can help. The bank doesn’t really want to take her to court and even if they did, she doesn’t have any money. Let’s see what we can do together and come up with a plan that works for both sides.”

Within 5 minutes she had agreed to waive nearly all the bank charges and agreed a pay back rate of £8 per month. That’s it, no agencies, no court, no cutting of cards and no rudeness or bullying. It’s simple (though you will sometimes get a bully),

• call them by their name,
• put yourself on the same side as them,
• remember you are the customer and they want something from you
• don’t be afraid to say no.

You can get someone else to do it. When I was seriously in debt and felt cowed by the bank a friend gave me sage advice - When you speak to anyone at the bank have in your mind this question - “Do you have any idea who I am?” no matter how small you feel, have the attitude that your difficulty is temporary and remember Who You Really Are.