£130 parking fine debt that led to suicide
A DEBT-ridden 20-year- old killed himself after he was pursued by bailiffs when £130 in parking fines spiralled to over £1,000.
Jerome Rogers committed suicide after debt collectors visited his home and clamped the motorcycle he needed to work as a courier, an inquest heard.
He was being pursued for two £65 parking fines owed to the London borough of Camden which had escalated – with non-payment penalties and bailiff’s fees – to a total debt of £1,019.
He had frantically searched for payday loans, before leaving his home while the bailiff was still outside to die in woods nearby.
Calling for reforms of the debt collection industry, his mother Tracey said that her son’s inability to clear his debt and the stress of the bailiff’s visits were the main factors in his suicide.
‘We are shocked that bailiffs have the power to seize people’s tools of trade, which will prevent them from working and earning the money to pay off their debt, and that they can enforce unfeasible repayment plans,’ she told The Guardian.
Assistant coroner for south London, Jacqueline Devonish, recorded a verdict of suicide, expressing concern at some debt collection practices.
She said that although the bailiff Ross Cutler had been rea- sonable towards Mr Rogers, a debt collector outside his home would have been intimidating to him. Mr Rogers, from New Addington, Croydon, south London, worked as a selfemployed bike courier for City Sprint delivering blood supplies to hospitals, but as he suffered from severe asthma he was not always able to work.
His weekly earnings in the months before his death ranged between £38 and £89 and his livelihood depended on him being able to ride his motorcycle.
He had received two visits from the bailiff contracted by debt collectors Newlyn plc between January and March 2016. The second visit, on March 7, was when Mr Cutler clamped the bike.
Mr Rogers left home soon after, while Mr Cutler was still there. The next day Mr Rogers’ brother Nat, 26, and a friend, Michael Strong, found him hanged near his home in woods where he had played as a child.
The coroner said Mr Cutler had acted reasonably and professionally, but that Newlyn had been ‘less than helpful’.
A spokesman for Camden council said bailiffs they contracted were expected to abide by a code of practice.
A spokesman for Newlyn said: ‘Our deepest sympathy goes to the family in these tragic circumstances.’
For confidential support, call the Samaritans on 116123 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details.