"I honestly would not be here today if it wasn’t for everyone who helped me."

In his own words, Geoff* shares why he needed Crosslight’s support and how he is feeling now.

I was referred to Crosslight by my doctor as my debts were taking a major mental health toll on my life. I had nothing to live on after paying the interest and I ended up having to use the food bank to survive. I kept borrowing more money to be able to live. I physically and mentally couldn’t cope any more and had had enough. It all got too much, and I attempted to take my own life.  

My doctor was the one who raised the alarm and the police found me. I was struggling really bad; I was severely underweight as I couldn’t afford food and suffering with a number of health issues as I am disabled. It was after this that my doctor referred me to Crosslight.  

The following day I was able to talk to Crosslight and be paired with my debt adviser straight away. He told me that it could be sorted and to try not to worry, but you do worry. For the first month of working with Crosslight, my debt adviser spoke with me daily via phone or email. He wanted to put my mind at rest and really get on top of the debts.  

In the beginning, I had companies calling me up and harassing me right up until Christmas Eve, multiple letters between Christmas and New Year, and then as soon as it was 2nd January, they were calling me again. One company came to my home at 7am, banging on my door - I was hiding behind my sofa, and they stayed there for around 4 hours. They asked my neighbours where I was, which made my personal business public. This was another stress put on me. 

A few days later my debt adviser had had enough. The companies did not listen to the many letters my debt adviser sent and so he [put me into Breathing Space]. Since then, one of the companies has offered me some small compensation because of the level of harassment.  

Once things had calmed down slightly, my debt adviser gave me some options, including a Debt Relief Order. I am now in control of my finances because of the DRO. 

I also went on one of the Money Courses. They were a great 3 weeks and I learnt so much. I was able to speak and open up about my situation to the people on the course, which was great. I learnt how to balance my finances, put my money into different pots and how to spend my money. Because of the advice, I was able to reduce my household bills dramatically which has saved me over £100 a month. The course taught me how to budget too, so I’ve been able to budget for my food. I now have some surplus money left over each month, so I am able to save, which I’ve never been able to do before.  

I honestly would not be here today if it wasn’t for everyone who helped me. I never want to go back to that chapter in my life. I now look forward to the next day, the next month. My debt adviser and the money course really helped me to achieve all of this. I have never had that sort of help before in my life and I cannot thank the team enough.  

*Name has been changed to protect identity.