This website was registered on 8th March 2012 and is a memorial for 60 of our friends who died from suicide or other lethal means where debt and the cost of living became too much.
Calum’s List: Under New Custodianship
People Should Not Die of Debt
We Now Aim Reduce Debt Suicide
Chapter 1: The Bank Heist!
Please do NOT try this at home. The new custodians of this website have experience in bank heists. Not as criminals, but as cops. The first “bank heist” was actually a proper and fully legal process. It netted £48,000 for our money advice charity and when one of our clients found out, in humour, she uttered a memorable sentence “Youse are Robin Hood snappers for real. A debt advice charity scr*wing the banks for almost fifty grand. Now that is grand!”
^^ Our First Bank Heist: It Was Fully Legal ^^
This was triggered by Santander UK plc refusing/obstructing the return our Creditcare money advice charity’s balance of approximately £727.
We had expected maybe £1,000 or possibly £2,000 from the day job of rescuing + renovating + re-opening closed-down high street buildings (in this case a closed bank-building).
But the £48,000 shocked us. In a good way ~ and YES it was totally legal as we shall explain, in due course, within the process of rebuilding this renewed website.
Always remembering and working towards our new, core purpose of reducing the number of debt-suicides.
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The what, why, where, when and how of our new Calum's List mission...
During March 2025, this website had reached an end of life point (here). The founder of Calum’s List (registered: 8th March 2012) was Michael Moore and he had died. Most of the original group of subscribers had also died or become too ill to function.
However, the person who could not bear the sight of this terrible list and fact that several thousand of the government’s own figure of 81,140 are dying of debt (here) could not, in all good conscience just walk away. So he and some friends paid the outstanding costs and renewed the £188 registration (here) with the declared aims…
1]. To prove from our first (1997~2007) Creditcare debt advice charity, that it is possible, in real life to stop people dying of debt.
2]. From our second charity, (established 2012~still alive and ongoing) to prove that it is possible for communities to come together and start their own community-power-generation organisations. With the result of halving electricity costs of an entire town (or village or city).
Simply put, from 16th March 2025, the change of ownership/custodianship (here) this website will change direction. It will always remember the 60 friends who are no longer with us and the tens of thousands of premature deaths (here). But the new purpose will be to leave a legacy that ensures our friends did not die in vain.
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How?
From the first charity we ran for 10 years between 1997 to 2007 ~ here) we discovered via the mandatory debt-advice licensing and training a simple fact…
=> Debt advice centres factually do reduce the number of debt suicides.
=> How we will help reduce the number of these tragedies is to install an independent debt advice centre in every bank so that…
=> Debt advice is always free at the point of need.
There is a solution and a very potent legal one at that, which will legally oblige the banks to help reduce these horrendous debt-suicide numbers. We really hope the banks’ will play nice and work with us and other charities. But if they don’t, the law says we can legally…
=> Repossess bank buildings, where closure is or will cause harm to a local community
But before we get to that, the new custodians of this website need to make one thing clear…
=> After watching this debate in the House of Commons, it is evident that a politician who became shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer was unable to help reduce debt suicide (nor welfare reform suicides) then we are on our own.
What do you think…
Original Parliamentary Hansard Source: Here
If such a senior politician cannot help reduce debt-suicide, then we best “park” the politics and find another way.
Why? Because our 1997 Creditcare money advice charity research revealed that in 1998, a terrible total of at least 404 people a year committed debt~suicide (source from HM Coroners and Procurators Fiscal).
=> That means a family loses a loved one each day.
So time is of the essence.
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Our Credentials
Just for those who are cynical and think ordinary people cannot make a difference, 15 years ago Michael Moore helped teach Calum McLean how to work internet websites.
As a result, a lot of jobs were created (ironically by an “unemployable” disabled old cop). Plus remember that £48,000 from the legal bank heist? Well that was used to help advise people on how they can work themselves out of debt problems…
=> But a sizeable lump of the association funds were also grown in what we have been told is referred to as a “virtuous circle.”
So there is a decent set of financial reserves in place for the new laws that make it mandatory for banks to give local communities first refusal to buy bank buildings that bank bosses wish to see closed down.
=> But more relevant to reducing debt~suicide and also removing debt~misery from the lives of so many, we will be putting our money where our words are!
Calum and some very good friends are sitting on a decent wedge of cash to start BUYING bank buildings.
These are the ones that very profitable banks want to sell (because High Street bank buildings are not making these greedy blighters enough profits, NOT because they are loss making branches).
So here we start with what will be a theme of this new website: proof and bona fides of this association’s ability to deliver.
This first step is on buying more bank buildings…
^^ We Are Deadly Serious ^^
^^ About Stopping Debt Suicides ^^
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Who?
Our hope is that…
=> At the start of this new approach to reducing the lethality and misery of debt, the banks will play nice.
If the banks decide not to do the decent thing, then this bloke in the next (very old) photo has been taught well, and so too have our pro bono barristers and advocates.
^^ A New Journey ^^
^^ We Are Determined To Find A Solution ^^
^^ To This Nightmare of Lethal Debt ^^
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What?
For starters, the bosses at the Santander UK plc bank that has our charity’s £727 (and is refusing/obstructing its return) has announced they are sacking/redeploying the (good) staff and closing our local branch…
^^ Our Next Bank Building Purchase? ^^
A bit different to earlier bank building buys! But with a decent outcome all the same. We will be asking for the District Valuer to go into this building and we will be commencing MANDATORY ministerial consent for first-refusal to buy this building and make sure the local community have either a bespoke charity or not-for-profit association in which to deploy the growing network of these…
^^ Community Banking Hubs ^^
^^ This Is an Excellent Solution To ^^
^^ Greedy Banker Building Closures ^^
For new readers to Calum’s List and our third charity for buying bank buildings (and community power generation assets to halve electricity bills), here is an earlier bank we are also intending to buy under Land Reform Act and Community Empowerment Act legislation…
^^ In Addition To The Closing Santander UK plc Banks ^^
^^ We Are Looking To Deploy Land Reform Law To ^^
^^ Oblige RBS To Sell Us This Closed~Down Bank Building ^^
Here is the proposed interior of a current bank buildings we are pressing the bank bosses to sell. It should give an idea of the new layout, including the “Community Banking Hub” element…
.^^ Real Life (Closed) Bank Buildings Will Help Reduce Debt Suicides ^^
^^ Why? Because They Will be Owned By The Community ^^
^^ That Is Land Reform Law ^^
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Chapter 2…
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Calum’s List: Under New Custodianship
People Should Not Die of Debt
We Now Aim Reduce Debt Suicide
Chapter 2: Stopping Debt Misery!
The second aim we are working on curing is the eye watering cost of living crisis.
^^ Source: Click Here ^^
We have already been bidding to buy infrastructure sites in order to test a proof-of-concept on whether a COMMUNITY OWNED power generation project will work.
=> Our belief is that community owned power generation projects will REDUCE electricity costs by up to HALF.
That is surely a healthy, pragmatic and workable solution to the dire “eat or heat” dilemma.
However, we have only just acquired custodianship of this website and the third charity process is still ongoing, albeit in an expedited manner.
So for now, we would recommend existing and new readers keep an eye on our main…
Calum’s List
Social Media Page
There will be regular news an updates…
Click Here
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