Brother's plea after debt suicide

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A grieving brother has called for tighter controls on money lending after his twin committed suicide when his debts spiralled out of control.

Darrel Musgrove, 37, from Llandudno, Conwy, hanged himself after his failing taxi firm ran up debts of £179,000, with monthly repayments of £4,000.

His twin Garrad said he believed the ease with which his brother borrowed money was "partly to blame".

The firms said they made appropriate credit checks before lending the cash.

Darrel Musgrove began trading with his company, Daz'll Drive U, in November 2007, but within eight months had made a significant loss, despite putting £60,000 of his own money into the business.

Mr Musgrove, who had a seven-year-old daughter, hanged himself in July.

'No other option'

A verdict of suicide was recorded at his inquest last month which also heard that Mr Musgrove was depressed.

His brother Garrad, from Penrhyn Bay, said: "I know he wouldn't have done this unless he thought there was no other option."

His brother was financed by four companies - Lombard, GE Money, Black Horse and Private and Commercial Finance Group.

Between them and car sales company Cab Direct, Mr Musgrove said his brother obtained vehicles worth £195,000, and was left with a debt of £179,000.

He added: "These figures even include three vehicles which weren't actually delivered, so even though he was struggling to cope with the fleet of vehicles he already had, he was still allowed to put deposits on these other vehicles."

Mr Musgrove, an accountant, said he had closely examined his brother's finances.

Garrad Musgrove has examined his brother's finances

"I know for a fact that my twin brother was receiving letters and phone calls in the weeks leading up to his death from finance companies after he realised his predicament and tried to cancel the agreements."

He claimed his brother later tried to obtain a bank loan to pay off all the debts, but he was refused.

"I realise this can't bring my twin brother back, however, these finance companies need to realise that the way they are operating at the moment affects peoples lives and the situation obviously needs regulating further."

A GE Money spokesperson said it was "a tragic case" and it would not discuss it in detail.

"However, it is standard procedure for any person applying for credit through GE Money to be subject to a full credit search and financial evaluation before a credit application is granted.

Credit commitments

"A number of factors are taken into consideration before making any lending decision, including whether there are any indications of financial distress.

"As a responsible lender GE Money will not hesitate to decline any credit application if an individual fails to meet this criteria".

Black Horse said it was "saddened" by the death, adding: "We only held one loan agreement with Mr Musgrove, which was offered in accordance with our usual credit criteria. On this basis we considered that the credit commitment for purchasing the vehicle was affordable.

"We have had a number of conversations and correspondence with Mr Musgrove's family and his executor since we were notified of his death.

"At no time in these discussions or correspondence were any allegations made against Black Horse."

Stringent evaluation process

A Lombard spokesperson offered the company's sympathy, adding: "With relation to the financial agreements between Mr Musgrove and Lombard, Lombard is a responsible lender and Mr Musgrove's financial facility was only agreed following our rigorous credit checks.

"We assess each business on a case by case basis and evaluate the basis of our lending through a very robust credit analysis process. We are saddened by this outcome."

A Private and Commercial Finance Group spokesperson also extended the firm's sympathy.

"With regards to our controls, we have a stringent evaluation process and all our loans are passed through an accredited credit agency.

"Individual loans are granted on a case by case basis and we use a number of processes, both external and internal, to assess the loan request."

Peter Facenna, Sales Director at Cab Direct, said: "We are really saddened for him and his family. But we are just an intermediary - the decision and assessment on whether to provide Mr Musgrove with finance was with the finance companies."