For many, the Christmas season brings joy and celebration. But for victims of economic abuse, who may be battling crippling debt and arrears as a result of their trauma, the holidays can feel incredibly bleak.
In the midst of the current financial crisis, the burden is even heavier when someone has been subjected to coercion, fraud, identity theft, or the theft of their life savings.
Economic abuse is legally recognised as a type of domestic abuse and is a key element of coercive control. It’s a crime designed to create financial dependency and cut off any path to escape.
The Holiday Risk: Financial Abuse at Christmas
The holiday season often exacerbates the risk of financial abuse due to increased spending and stress. Abusers can weaponise the pressure of the holidays by:
- Causing Debt: Forcing a victim to take out loans or credit cards to fund holiday spending.
- Controlling Finances: Leaving the victim with no access to funds for necessities or gifts.
- Using Deception: Making a victim believe bills are being paid when they are not, or spending money intended for household expenses
What is Economic and Financial Abuse?
While the terms are often used interchangeably, it can be helpful to view financial abuse as a subset of economic abuse.
Economic abuse: Controls or restricts a person’s overall economic situation, including money, resources, employment, and housing.
- Examples of behaviour: Sabotaging employment or study; preventing access to benefits; controlling access to essential needs (food, clothing, transport); taking or selling belongings.
Financial abuse: Controlling a person’s access to money, cash, accounts, and assets.
- Examples of behaviour: Forcing someone to take out loans/credit in their name; controlling spending; stealing money; adding their name to your account without consent; cashing in a pension/cheque without permission.
Spotting the Signs of Financial Abuse
If someone’s behaviour around your money makes you uncomfortable, it may be abuse. You may be experiencing financial abuse if someone:
- Forces you to take out loans or credit in your name.
- Makes you hand over control of your accounts or changes login details.
- Cashes in your pension or cheques without your permission.
- Controls what you can and can’t spend money on.
- Asks you to constantly prove what you’ve spent money on.
- Pressures you to change your will or insurance policies.
- Sets up Direct Debits from your account for bills that aren’t yours.
Some financial abuse, such as taking out credit cards in your name without your consent, is a criminal offence.
Other actions, like forcing a victim to hand over funds or take out loans, often leave the victim with no easy legal recourse.
Why Leaving is So Hard
The reality of economic abuse creates immense barriers to leaving an abuser.
A damaged credit rating, substantial debt, and lack of money or assets make it incredibly difficult to secure any form of housing.
Landlords, including social housing providers, often look unfavourably on rent arrears or a history of eviction.
For victims with children, pets, or those with unsafe immigration status and no access to public funds, staying with the abuser can feel like the only option.
The impact of this debt is profound: debt is a leading cause of emotional distress, depression, and even suicide.
Why use Oakwood Solicitors Ltd?
We are a regulated firm of Solicitors, with over 20 years’ of experience in financial mis-selling claims. By using a solicitor who is a specialist in financial mis-selling claims.
We aim to take the hassle out of the claims process as we do all the hard work for you and support you through it all.
In the last 3 years, our Financial Litigation Team have successfully recovered more than £13.5 Million for our clients across mis-sold investments and mis-sold pensions claims.
You will be allocated your own experienced claims handler who will keep you fully informed throughout the whole process.
Do not fight this battle alone, lets help you get the justice you deserve this Christmas.
Where to Get Help and Support
Although new guidance is helping creditors and public-sector bodies respond more sensitively to victims of economic abuse, this does not deal with the core issue of erasing debt and restoring credit. However, there are dedicated avenues for support.
If you are facing spiralling debt and feel unable to cope, please reach out. Getting the right help could be the gift you give yourself this Christmas, making next year feel less daunting.
- In Immediate Danger: Dial 999 for the police. If you cannot speak, dial 999 followed by 55 (this is called the ‘silent solution’).
- Financial Support Line for Victims of Domestic Abuse: Call 0808 196 8845 for dedicated support.
- Surviving Economic Abuse: Visit the charity’s website for comprehensive advice and information. They can also point you to safe and appropriate debt advice.
- NCDV (National Centre for Domestic Violence): If you need a civil protection order (e.g., non-molestation order) and are ineligible for Legal Aid, NCDV’s pro bono team may be able to assist.
- General Healthcare: Your GP or other NHS healthcare provider can talk to you in confidence about abuse and the help available.
Further information:
Financial mis-selling.
What is economic abuse?
When economic abuse stole Christmas.
WHAT TO DO NEXT:
If you are a survivor of financial abuse as a form of domestic violence, get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation.
Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help
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Danielle Lightfoot is a Director and our Head of the Financial Litigation Department. Danielle joined the firm as a Paralegal in 2011 and qualified as a solicitor in October 2014. She has acquired ext…
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