Yahoo Finance Financial abuse: 'My ex racked up £20,000 of debt in my name'
The financial services industry is responding to the growing awareness of financial abuse and is stepping up its efforts to identify and support victims.
Financial or economic abuse, soon to be formally identified as a form of domestic abuse in the Government’s upcoming domestic abuse bill, occurs when a perpetrator exerts control over a victim’s personal finances.
It can come in many forms, according the LWA, a charity: taking control of someone’s income, making them report their spending, coercing them into giving up employment and racking up debts in their name.
One in three people know someone who is or who has been a victim, and 18pc of adults have been a victim, according to charity Refuge and Co-op Bank.
One victim, Diana, whose name has been changed in order to protect her identity, has been financially crippled by her former partner who accrued around £20,000 in her name without her knowledge.
After the birth of her first child, Diana returned to work. Her partner at the time, who was unemployed, took possession of her wages and credit cards.
She was unable to confront her partner about unexpected bills that arrived in her name, as conversations about money would often end in violence.
She eventually fled. However, two years later she was pursued by debt collectors after her ex-partner had built up £20,000 in debts in her name, destroying her credit rating and causing enormous distress.
She said financial institutions needed to understand that many women who experience domestic violence won’t have time to grab their bank details, ID and national insurance card when leaving an abusive partner in the middle of the night. It’s also too easy for abusers to use a victim’s bank details to get credit in their name, she went on, adding that the onus is often on the victim to prove the debt is not theirs.
Katie Ghose, of Women's Aid, a charity, said financial abuse is often misunderstood and rarely talked about.
“Economic abuse has a long-lasting, devastating effect. Many victims report that it impacts on their ability to leave the abuser, and that when they do build up the courage to leave, some are left without a home and with nothing but the clothes on their back,” she said.
Sandra Horley of Refuge said the charity had dealt with over 1,500 cases of financial abuse in last last 12 months alone.
“Victims we supported described how abusers had complete control over household finances, forcing them to take out overdrafts and loans in their names which they then spent, or preventing them from working and earning money,” she added.
In league with Co-op Bank, the charity is calling on the financial services industry to adhere to a new voluntary code of practice that aims to support victims and treat them in a more compassionate way.
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According to UK Finance, a trade body, the code calls on firms to identify and raise awareness of financial abuse: to train in-house staff on how to deal with victims; to offer victims appropriate help, such as putting them in touch with the police, for example; and to help victims take back control of their personal finances by closing down joint accounts or cancelling accounts with creditors.
Victims in search of help can call the Freephone 24/7 National Domestic Violence Helpline, run by Women’s Aid in partnership with Refuge, on 0808 2000 247 or visit www.womensaid.org.uk.
