I'm a keyholder and friend to an elderly gentleman.

He took out a loan with Lloyds bank some years ago to purchase a mobility scooter for his disabled wife.

She was repaying the loan from her disability income.

A few years later, she had to replace the scooter and he got out another loan which consolidated his previous loan.

She since died two years ago,

he got another loan out to pay for her funeral (which consolidated his previous loan).

He is finding it difficult paying this loan off,

he had a meeting with a Lloyds staffmember,

who advised him to take out another loan to consolidate his previous loan and pay off his overdraft.

The gentleman in question is 86, and is constantly short of money

- to the extent that he is survivng on Pot Noodles and fig rolls!

My view is that Lloyds bank is acting recklessly and immorally, given that my friend is 86 and on a very severe budget.

I would appreciate any advice anyone can give.

He is extremely loyal to Lloyds bank

- never a good thing, to be honest, especially in his case!

Hope I posted this in the correct forum - if not, hopefully a mod can move it?

urm..

smacks of irresponsible lending here

I bet the loand had all manner of insurances and PPI involved

and the OD I bet has numerous charges that can at best be deemed questionable.

well done you for helping him.

i'd p'haps be starting this crusade by sending LLoyds an SAR

get everything the hold

and find everything he has.

so what happened to the scooters?

He sold his mobility scooter to help pay for the funeral, and is using her old one - it was much better than his.

It makes me so angry that Lloyds did this.

They did it to me when I was skint,

when I became redundant,

I rang Lloyds complaints team and told them I was unhappy with the way my loan was pushed on me (and for far more than I needed and asked for).

They agreed with my argument, and wiped the oustanding amount!

I'm tempted to complain on his behalf, but it seems daft if he won't change to a more decent bank.

Oh, and he assures me that there is no PPI attached to this loan.

sar time

dx

Hello there. I'm sorry your friend is having problems.

My husband's father had loans from two major high street banks when he was a similar age to your friend and was on a low income. To cut a long story short, they were written off so it's well worth looking into this.

HB

If the loans were affordable at the time of application I'm not sure you would have any recourse. What were his circumstances and income at the time of taking out the loans?

he had a meeting with a Lloyds staffmember,

who advised him to take out another loan to consolidate his previous loan and pay off his overdraft.

Lloyds branch staff don't advise on loans anymore. Given that your friend indicated he was struggling with current repayments, it was probably suggested as an potential option. A new loan could have a lower monthly repayment, lower interest rate. Though extending the term could mean having to pay more interest overall.

He may also wish to speak to their Customer Support Unit (Financial Difficulties) team.