to hope this can be sorted without police?

[ashamed2011]

Hello, I really need some advice on what I can do here. I posted this in money matters but got no reply so posting here.

Firstly I know what I did was very wrong and unreasonable but I am hoping this can be sorted out without court/police

Very long story but basically I am bi-polar and was sectioned for a short while last year. Before I did this while ill I used my dads name and details to obtain credit of £2000. I was making the payments fine even overpaying until the section, then crap after crap happened, I lost my job and it became impossible.

I recently feel ok and recovered, and I was starting to write to the companies saying what had happened and confessing what I did, and asking them to change the account to my name. They wouldn't, so I also confessed to my dad and got a letter from him stating what had happened and that he didn't want to press charges, just get these accounts in my name instead so I can arrange a payment plan (it was fine making payments in my own name before they got passed to debt collection but now its more difficult)

Today I got a text from my dad to say his credit card limit has been reduced because of what I did and that he had spoken to one company who said they were putting it through their fraud department.

Of course I don't blame him, I accept that it's my fault and I accept the consequences of whatever I have to do or go through to sort this out

I just wondered if anyone knows what will happen? Will the police be involved? He still doesn't want to press charges, but will he have to in order to get what are basically my debts taken off his credit record?

Like I say if so I accept the consequences and will do whatever necessary to pay it back and do my time. I just want some idea of what will happen and if this is able to be sorted at all without police?

I am utterly ashamed of myself but I want to put this right.

I think you need to speak to a solicitor. As you were ill I don't think you would get into serious trouble but I am unsure if it could be kept out of court.

Can you get a doctors letter with dates?

Couldn't you just give your dad the money to pay off the debt to put an end to it?

Forgot to say that citizens advise should be able to provide you with some free advise and point you in the right direction to get help.

if he doesn't want to press charges and it's not in the public interest to prosectue you, and prosecuting someone who did something when unwell, that they have confessed to and are putting right, is not in the public interest, i don't think you need to worry

you could contact `MIND , tehy are a helpful organisation and CAB as has been said

well done for taking the steps to sort this

I'm not sure what the credit card company will do but I would imagine the fact you have agreed to pay it back may have some bearing.

However the fact your father 'doesn't want to press charges' is irrelevant as he is not the victim here. It is the is the credit card company that you defrauded.

All the credit card company want is to get their money back so they may not be bothered about involving the Police as long as you pay off the debt.

Thank you for the replies, LB29 CAB sounds a good idea.

Compo I couldn't give him a lump sum, there is about £1200 of the debt left to pay and I don't have that available in one lump. I could give him the money for some sort of payment plan totalling about £220 per month but that wouldn't remove it from his credit record and he wants to move soon, well in 5 ish months or so (renting) so if possible I need the companies to switch this to my name or some other way for it to be removed from his credit record. He can't pay a lump sum to get rid of it either at the moment (and then me owe him rather than debtors... we discussed this but it won't work right now)

I think it's very unikely the police will be interested. The bank's fraud dept may load your details to a national fraud database, which will make it extremely difficult for you to obtain credit again. You may be able to appeal this due to ill health - CAB should be able to help. Good luck.

Sorry cross posted thank you for the further replies. I think I will see if I can go through this with CAB, doctors back up with a letter is possible too.

Can you obtain a personal loan or pay on credit card? £1200 is a sizeable amount but certainly not very hard to lay your hands on. And if you can pay £200 odd back a month you'll clear it very quickly.

Don't be ashamed of yourself - this was not you, this was the illness. And more people need to understand bipolar!

I haven't got any helpful advice, only support, but I would imagine that getting letters/references from your medical team would be helpful.

It would also probably pay to make sure your medical support team are all in order, just in case you need to show that this won't happen again.

A friend of mine went 10yrs+ without an episode of illness, but has had several bouts over the last 2 years. Because of the gap, she didn't have any support in place when she started to become ill again. She has since managed to get a whole team sorted, her local surgery now understand fully (the receptionist refused to let her see the doc when my friend first realised what was happening, delaying treatment and prolonging the illness), she's got regular therapy, someone who visits when she's ill, and amazingly her employer is being wonderfully supportive.

In future - can you take yourself back to your parents as soon as you start to feel ill? For support and (for want of a better phrase) supervision?! And so you've got people who can speak to employers etc. and manage your bills for you while you're ill.

It would be a shame if this does end up with a criminal record for you, not only personally, but perpetuating stigma of mental illness and making it even harder for people with bipolar to live normally (employed, able to get credit, etc) even when they're well.

Try ringing Mind for advice - they'll probably have very helpful legal types who can advise you (and help with arranging any support if you need it).

Good luck with everything. It might take a while, but I hope it all comes right in the end, and doesn't make you ill again in the meantime! x

No idea what the legal situation is in UK, but in Germany we had a similar situation with my SIL. We were able to cancel the contracts made, as we could prove that she was not of sound mind at the time (one of the reasons that she was sectioned was that she had ordered a BMW).

See a solicitor and find out where you stand legally. Perhaps you could contact MIND, the mental health charity - they might be able to advise on the legal ramifications of being sectioned.