Monument calls for customers to repay balances

02/11/2009

Monument, a provider of credit for consumers with poor histories, has closed and called for clients to pay back their balances.

The business, which at its peak had nearly one million customers, has told borrowers they can no longer use its credit cards and need to repay what they owe, the Guardian reported.

Monument's customer-base is thought to consist of some of the UK's poorest households, which may struggle to find credit from any other financial services provider.

Mike Smith, director of card services for Monument, told the newspaper: "We have closed the programme. We have been closing accounts since the middle of September. We have not issued any new cards for some time now."

He added that customers will be able to pay back their debt in montly installments rather than being forced to make one large repayment.

"There are internal and external reasons for the closure, which can be associated to the banking industry's approach to the credit crunch," Mr Smith continued.

Kevin Stills, EuroDebt director, said: "This type of situation is probably a card holder's worst nightmare, especially if they are already in financial difficulty, having to repay the balance on their card.

"Given the wind up of the firm, there is likely to be an aggressive campaign to collect out on as much of the outstanding credit as possible, putting many vulnerable clients in a position of jeopardy."

He added: "EuroDebt would recommend that people adversely affected by this situation take professional advice, especially if they are subject to aggressive debt recovery tactics. In these circumstances a debt management service may be applicable."

Tags; Income Worries and Debt,

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