Lloyds Banking Group has launched a new initiative to provide financial support to cancer patients, including debt forgiveness and repayment holidays. The move comes after research by Macmillan Cancer Support revealed that cancer sufferers are nearly £7,000 a year worse off due to the disease, with many falling into debt or even homelessness.
Tracy Jameson, a former assistant head teacher from Oxford, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year and was forced to give up her job. As a single mother, she used up her £2,500 overdraft and struggled with unexpected costs. Lloyds offered her a mortgage holiday and refunded all banking charges for six months.
The bank's 'Moments of Truth' team, which previously helped customers with bereavement or personal issues, has now been trained by Macmillan to assist cancer patients. By the end of the year, 100 staff in call centres in Newport, Leeds, and Dunfermline will have the power to refund fees, offer budgeting help, and arrange repayment holidays on loans and mortgages. Customers of Halifax and Bank of Scotland are also eligible.
Lee Jones, who runs the team in South Wales, said: 'We can give them a two-month holiday break on loan payments; mortgage payments similarly.' The initiative follows a similar scheme by Nationwide Building Society two years ago, which has since helped nearly 2,000 cancer patients or their carers.
Macmillan's research shows that many cancer patients face extra expenses from travel to hospital or giving up work. Nationwide's Mandy Griffin noted: 'With cancer we are often looking at short-term measures, to try and get people through a particular period of treatment.'
