CCCS solution: Bankruptcy
As stage actor Jim reached his 60s, the number of parts he could audition for got smaller and smaller.
Forced into semi-retirement, and with a diminished workload, the former Royal National Theatre actor, now 62, owed more than £40,000 across a variety of personal loans, credit cards, car loans and overdrafts.
Now receiving pension credits, supplemented by an irregular income from short periods of acting work, Jim relied on credit to make ends meet. Having maxed out all his cards and being unable to get any more due to a bad credit rating, Jim could no longer keep up his monthly repayments.
With some of his debts sold to collection agencies, Jim, a divorcee with two children at university, was harassed by collectors and threatened with legal action. He was told that he would have charging orders placed against a flat he owns, despite it being in negative equity.
Referred to the CCCS after a chance meeting with someone in his local town, Jim has been advised to file for bankruptcy. Despite concerns that he may lose his flat, Jim is considering bankruptcy as an option.
“Older people like myself could easily be pushed into becoming stressed and feeling guilty. There's no pastoral care. It’s great to have an organisation like CCCS available to help pick up the pieces.”