'She was hard working, but life was unfair'
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Your support makes all the difference.Politics graduate Lisa Taylor was found hanging by her father the day he returned from holiday. By her side was a suicide note which revealed that mounting debts were to blame for her death. And on the doormat was a pile of final demands from banks and credit agencies.
Depressed, out of work and faced with £14,000 of debt, Ms Taylor took her own life in July 2005 because she could see no way out of her situation.
Like thousands of other graduates, the 26-year-old was still struggling to pay off a student loan which she had taken out to cover her tuition fees at the University of North London as well as her living costs. The aspiring scriptwriter had debts which included nearly £7,000 on her graduate loan, about £4,000 on her Barclaycard and more than £2,000 for another loan.
Her brother Mark, 31, is angry that there is not more support for people like his sister who was not extravagant but was just unlucky in securing a permanent job. "She was hard working, never lazy, but life was unfair," he said, speaking from his home in Blackburn, Lancashire. "People should be able to get an education without having to suffer. I know Tony Blair wants their revenue but there has to be some stop on students borrowing money off lenders."
In the weeks leading up to her death, Ms Taylor was receiving up to 20 letters a day. These included a letter from Barclays Bank which stated that she would be forced to pay back £7,000 of her graduate loan if she failed to pay the arrears at once.Ms Taylor would write to debt collectors to plead for more time. One letter read: "As soon as I get a job I will increase my monthly repayments. I ask you to be patient because I will honour my debt in full." But the tactic failed.
Ms Taylor's brother plans to have her included in the book of remembrance in their local church, and wants the message to read: "Lisa Taylor, missed by her many friends and family. We are so sad that it had to turn out this way."
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