Friends of Leduc man fight his credit card debt
EDMONTON- Friends of a 39-year-old Leduc man who lives with developmental disabilities went searching for answers, after he accumulated $10,000 in credit card debt.
Ralph, who has asked that his last name not be mentioned, has Down syndrome and cannot read or write. He has been living on his own for just over a year and has control of his own finances. Ralph received the credit card in 2005, from a Bank of Montreal kiosk in a grocery store, and says he didn't understand what a credit card was.
"The bank gave me it," Ralph said. "I didn't know I had to pay this thing back."
Ralph's friends say he shouldn't have to pay the money back, because he wouldn't have been able to understand the credit card contract he signed.
"Ralph has no academics, Ralph lives a simple life," said Ingred Dubyk, whose daughter is a friend of Ralph's. "I couldn't wrap my head around that for the longest time. It was hard to absorb that Ralph could be given a credit card."
Ralph says he thought the credit card worked like a debit card and used the card to buy many things including movies and watches.
"The credit card I used, I didn't know (anything) about it because nobody told me (anything) about it."
Ralph says he started to worry when the collection agencies began calling to collect the money he owed.
"I didn't know anything about this and I told them again I have no money, I have no money, I'm not making enough money," he explained.
Ralph is on Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) and works part-time bagging groceries. The credit card payments came out of his bank account automatically. Ralph says he turned to Dubyk for help when he ran out of money.
"He's just such a wonderful, sweet person," Dubyk explained. "My heart wept. I knew I had to do something."
"He brought me some of his statements and I started the procedure of going through the front line at the bank," Dubyk explained. "I just started calling and what I heard was 'he has to pay his bills.'"
Dubyk says she explained to BMO that Ralph did not understand the contract he signed.
"I want them to look at this and acknowledge that this was a mistake and give Ralph whatever break they can."
BMO says everyone applying for credit cards is treated the same and must meet the same criteria.
Officials from the Alberta Association for Community Living (AACL) say that's important, but there needs to be way of protecting vulnerable individuals.
"We don't want to discriminate against people on the basis of their disability, we want to be in a position to assist them to be able to have access to the means to a good life as the rest of us have," explained Bruce Uditsky, CEO of AACL. "Some individuals can manage cards quite well, there are other ways to limit how much the card is, there could be prepaid cards for example."
After Global News contacted BMO Monday, officials reviewed the case and decided to forgive the entire debt, and offered the following statement:
"While it can be challenging, we believe firmly in our obligation to protect customers from discrimination, including for reasons of a disability. We cannot presume that a disability equals inability. We are comfortable that we acted responsibly when the application was first adjudicated and we also believe that we have made the appropriate decision (to forgive the debt) in light of the information that we now have before us."
With files from Julie Matthews.
Ralph, who has asked that his last name not be mentioned, has Down syndrome and cannot read or write. He has been living on his own for just over a year and has control of his own finances. Ralph received the credit card in 2005, from a Bank of Montreal kiosk in a grocery store, and says he didn't understand what a credit card was.
"The bank gave me it," Ralph said. "I didn't know I had to pay this thing back."
Ralph's friends say he shouldn't have to pay the money back, because he wouldn't have been able to understand the credit card contract he signed.
"Ralph has no academics, Ralph lives a simple life," said Ingred Dubyk, whose daughter is a friend of Ralph's. "I couldn't wrap my head around that for the longest time. It was hard to absorb that Ralph could be given a credit card."
Ralph says he thought the credit card worked like a debit card and used the card to buy many things including movies and watches.
"The credit card I used, I didn't know (anything) about it because nobody told me (anything) about it."
Ralph says he started to worry when the collection agencies began calling to collect the money he owed.
"I didn't know anything about this and I told them again I have no money, I have no money, I'm not making enough money," he explained.
Ralph is on Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) and works part-time bagging groceries. The credit card payments came out of his bank account automatically. Ralph says he turned to Dubyk for help when he ran out of money.
"He's just such a wonderful, sweet person," Dubyk explained. "My heart wept. I knew I had to do something."
"He brought me some of his statements and I started the procedure of going through the front line at the bank," Dubyk explained. "I just started calling and what I heard was 'he has to pay his bills.'"
Dubyk says she explained to BMO that Ralph did not understand the contract he signed.
"I want them to look at this and acknowledge that this was a mistake and give Ralph whatever break they can."
BMO says everyone applying for credit cards is treated the same and must meet the same criteria.
Officials from the Alberta Association for Community Living (AACL) say that's important, but there needs to be way of protecting vulnerable individuals.
"We don't want to discriminate against people on the basis of their disability, we want to be in a position to assist them to be able to have access to the means to a good life as the rest of us have," explained Bruce Uditsky, CEO of AACL. "Some individuals can manage cards quite well, there are other ways to limit how much the card is, there could be prepaid cards for example."
After Global News contacted BMO Monday, officials reviewed the case and decided to forgive the entire debt, and offered the following statement:
"While it can be challenging, we believe firmly in our obligation to protect customers from discrimination, including for reasons of a disability. We cannot presume that a disability equals inability. We are comfortable that we acted responsibly when the application was first adjudicated and we also believe that we have made the appropriate decision (to forgive the debt) in light of the information that we now have before us."
With files from Julie Matthews.
© Global News. A division of Shaw Media Inc., 2013.
Read it on Global News: Global Edmonton | Friends of Leduc man fight his credit card debt
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