Probably The Worst Day At Work. Ever.

[Clutch]

As some of you know I'm a debt collector, I chase people for the shortfall after their car/bike/boat has been repo'd and sold at auction.

I got the death certificate today of a 35 year old who'd hung himself instead of going to an examination hearing I'd served him with a few weeks ago.
The guy was mid 30's, with a 9 year old child.

How the hell does it come to that?

I need a career change.

 

[user 10246]

Man, that's pretty fucked up. Sorry to hear mate.

Nuthin you can do, have had way too many experiences with suicide.

Take care man

 

[Lecterfan]

Agree with the above - I too have had clients take that option, this is not about you and in no way are you directly or indirectly implicated from your role; their choice was made independently (and irrespective) of you...even though this may have given you a macro-perspective of the worth/morality of the system/structure that you're involved with.

By all means use it as a chance to examine your own life, choices and priorities, but don't take that particularity on board...

 

[Clutch]

I urge anyone with financial troubles to contact someone like Anglicare, Christians Against Poverty, or some other free financial counsellor service. Let them deal with people like me, and let you get on with other stuff.
If in doubt and you're being hassled by debt collectors, just ask the next collector for help. We're not monsters.
I will bend over backwards to help someone who genuinely wants to resolve their problems. We know we can't get blood out of a stone. I would rather put you on a hardship moratorium for 6 months and let you make $10/week payments than call you on the home phone, the mobile, the work phone, and call your next door neighbours to leave a message in your letterbox in order to make contact with you.*

Abandoning your family like that is a ******* coward's way out, there are always other options.


*Does not apply to anyone who subscribes to that "Freeman of the Land" bullshit. Those guys can go DIAF.

 

[browndog]

No need for you to feel bad at all, unless it is for the child. As a father, he was cowardly and selfish in his desicion to abandon his child.

 

[manticle]

Actually he probably suffered from serious mental problems which led to an inability to cope with other problems.

Judging suiciders as selfish and cowardly is a little short-sighted.

Either way, the problem lies with the suicider rather than clutch. Empathy and sympathy for both parties.

 

[petesbrew]

I urge anyone with financial troubles to contact someone like Anglicare, Christians Against Poverty, or some other free financial counsellor service. Let them deal with people like me, and let you get on with other stuff.
If in doubt and you're being hassled by debt collectors, just ask the next collector for help. We're not monsters.
I will bend over backwards to help someone who genuinely wants to resolve their problems. We know we can't get blood out of a stone. I would rather put you on a hardship moratorium for 6 months and let you make $10/week payments than call you on the home phone, the mobile, the work phone, and call your next door neighbours to leave a message in your letterbox in order to make contact with you.*

Abandoning your family like that is a ******* coward's way out, there are always other options.


*Does not apply to anyone who subscribes to that "Freeman of the Land" bullshit. Those guys can go DIAF.

Good to hear this... Not that I'm in any financial trouble or anything.

Sucks about the poor kid losing his dad.

 

[komodo]

Does my head in the number of people that try to hid from financial struggles. There is help - really good help available. Even claiming bankruptcy isnt the end of the world. Sure it takes a few years and limits some options but its not the end. Hell the worst most people would have to do is a part 9 debt agreement.
A good mate of mine did a part 9 after getting himself into a big hole financially. Hes not the kind of guy that earns the big $ and he was trying to run away from it. My partner (his ex) found out about the issues which he was trying to hide from her she organised the mediation and helped set him up on the part nine. It took a few years but now he is back on his feet and running.

I feel for you clutch but as others have said don't feel as if you are to blame. As Manticle says there was probably mental health issues there any way.
Just got to feel for those left behind to pick up the pieces and a kid whos going to grow up without their dad.

 

[Bribie G]

Obviously it wasn't the result of your actions, it was just a final straw and you don't know what the main causes were, who knows.

About 15 years ago I was a single dad with debts from a marriage breakdown with Westpac Bankcard and a couple of other finance companies (Can't even remember their names now - they were Westpac subsidiaries ... shows how important it was in the grand scheme of things if I can't remember) - I owed around seven grand which is about 15 in todays money, would just about buy you a Barina. But in my circumstances the repayments were crushing.

I'd ended up as a single Dad at uni and went to W to ask for a consolidating loan at a personal loan interest rate, which I could actually have just about managed. They told me to **** off and said basically that single dads on Centrelink weren't supposed to have loans or Bankcards etc. So I just walked into the Bankruptcy place and it got sorted in 20 minutes. I was released after 6 months, being a single parent. Now I have a Visa Debit for buying stuff online, and cash only. No debts. Wahoo.

I can basically buy anything I need nowadays for cash or Visa D. I reckon my brewery would still just be a tin opener if I was paying off credit card debt, paying off the car etc etc. For example I'm planning to get me a Pana 50" for my personal Xmas pressy. The banks keep sending me letters asking if I would like a credit card. My opportunity to tell them to **** off this time round.

No shame in bankruptcy whatsoever and it can really clean your life up - and as others have said nowadays there are plans and programs to help before you even get there. Don't feel bad Clutch, you're a necessary wheel in the system mate, like we all are.

 

[nathanR]

Sorry about you bad day at work it most defiantly not your fault. I am sure that he had some other problems that were there.

My old man was one of those who could not handle life's problems and took the easy way out leaving my mother with a 4 year old (myself) and a 7 year old.

Unfortunately it does not make the problems go away it just shifts the problems to another person quite selfish and week in my opinion.

 

[Pollux]

Damn, that is an ugly situation......

I can understand how you are feeling though. Being a casino dealer I see people at their worst, entire paypackets hitting the table, hearing comments from partners of gamblers about the fact that that's the rent money they are using to buy in......You start to feel sorry for the family that this person is slowly dragging into poverty.

Takes a while to be able to separate yourself from the job and understand that you aren't the one forcing them to gamble, just the person operate the means that allow them to do so. I have actually seen new dealers in tears as they felt terrible after cleaning out a player who clearly couldn't afford what they were losing.

And to top it all off, Responsible Gaming laws in this country are a joke, we are effectively unable to act until the person admits to having a problem. This doesn't tend to happen until they hit absolute rock bottom.

 

[browndog]

And to top it all off, Responsible Gaming laws in this country are a joke, we are effectively unable to act until the person admits to having a problem. This doesn't tend to happen until they hit absolute rock bottom.

The sooner these hypocritical governments we have start weaning themselves off the gambers teat then we may have some decent laws to stop this kind of thing Pollux, until then, it's all just lip service.

 

[Pollux]

That would be like banning smokes and booze......They just couldn't keep the budget afloat with the excise.

 

[bigandhairy]

Banning booze...now there's an idea for us free thinkers

 

[browndog]

That would be like banning smokes and booze......They just couldn't keep the budget afloat with the excise.

When I was a young bloke, you went to the pub for a beer and to the club to have a beer and play the pokies. It's all about greed, I think those occupy people might be on to somthing.