Hatfield family facing eviction offered credit card
A FAMILY facing eviction from their home were astonished to receive an offer for a credit card worth �500 – by the same bank threatening to repossess their property.
In a few weeks, Geoff and Lynda Solly and their two daughters Lauren and Katie could be homeless, after a repossession order was taken out on their house by their bank Abbey, rebranded this week as Santander.
Their bank accounts have been frozen and Mr Solly, who used to work as a finance broker before his company folded in 2008, was declared bankrupt in December that year.
“We phoned the bank and asked if they could help, but they said we could defer payments for two months and that was all they would consider,” said Mrs Solly, 40. “We hadn’t missed a payment in 17 years; all they’re interested in is money.”
But as the family prepared to leave their home in Daisy Drive, Hatfield, they received a credit card with a limit of �500 – from Abbey.
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“That was the straw that broke the camel’s back, really,” said Mr Solly, 38. “I’ve worked and paid taxes for more than 20 years; now I might have to put my children in a hostel. The credit card we just dismissed as a bit of a joke.”
Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps has been involved with the Solly’s plight, and said he would now be writing to Santander about the credit card being issued.
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“I’ve been working with the Solly family for several months, putting pressure on Abbey to see whether there are any further ways to assist,” Mr Shapps, the Conservative shadow housing minister said.
“Given that the lender had already frozen the families bank accounts and are about to turf them out of their home, it is astonishing to discover that the same lender has just mailed them an unsolicited credit card.”
A spokeswoman for Santander said: “Mr Solly took out a credit card with us in 2007 and the card sent to him was an automatically generated renewal card. In light of the customer’s current situation, the card, which has a �0 balance, has now been blocked.”
