URGENT Help courageous whistleblower on the brink

Whistleblower Nick Wilson fought a bruising David and Goliath battle against international banking giant HSBC, and Britain’s financial watchdogs. The result was hundreds of millions being paid out in compensation to thousands of HSBC customers. (Full story below).

Nick lost his job, was blacklisted from further employment and has suffered physical and mental health issues. He Phas been living on benefits (£390 per month) and wouldn’t have kept his head above water but for donations from Twitter followers and from a wealthy benefactor who sadly died of Covid 19 last year. Now his mortgage payments have escalated to beyond his benefits, he’s in payment arrears and he’s in grave danger of losing his home. As a mortgage prisoner, stuck with an inactive lender, he is unable to re-mortgage to a cheaper deal, and his mortgage goes up every month. It is currently 5.8%.

He has now (October) been diagnosed with Stage 3 prostate cancer, and faces months of hormone and radiotherapy treatment, as well as potentially losing his home.

Having done so much for so many, over many years, Nick needs our help NOW. If he can keep his home until he reaches pension age next year he may be able to do some part time work, subject to his health.

What Nick Needs

Between now and March 2023, £5,000 will cover Nick’s mortgage payments, easing an enormous amount of debilitating stress, anxiety and depression, hopefully affording him stability to begin getting back on his feet in every sense, and perhaps helping him start writing a book about his story.

Whatever is received on top of that sum will be used for other living and repair expenses that Nick struggles to cover or simply cannot meet with his DWP payments.

Why I’m Doing This

Often, Nick is so mentally and physically incapacitated he finds himself barely able to get out of bed, let alone leave his home. And now he has cancer. As a result, I am launching and managing this crowdfunder on his behalf. Nick is a good personal friend, who has been an invaluable source of encouragement and support to me personally and professionally over many years.

I have not and never will receive any remuneration for my involvement in the campaign, and will not be able to access any funds generously donated. Everything raised will go straight to Nick, to be used as necessary. You are welcome to contact him via Twitter (@nw_nicholas) or via his website http://nicholaswilson.com.

Each and every donation, no matter how small, will be gratefully received and never forgotten. Even if the total isn’t reached in full, Nick will still receive whatever is raised.

Nick recognises that times are difficult for everybody, so if you aren’t in a position to give anything currently, I would be extremely grateful if you could please consider sharing this campaign among your friends, family, workplaces, etc. You could well personally know someone who has been compensated due to Nick’s courageous actions - they may not be aware though!

Please give whatever you can. Every penny raised will go directly to him.

How Nick helped thousands of HSBC customers to regain £millions wrongly charged

In 2003, Nick discovered that HSBC subsidiaries were charging customers who’d fallen behind on credit card payments a flat, punitive charge amounting to 16.4% of their balance to their account as a “debt collection” fee, despite this in no way reflecting the actual cost of collecting outstanding debts from creditors. He raised the matter with superiors, as it was completely illegal - in response, they simply dubbed him “Mr. Ethical”. He blew the whistle and was immediately sacked.

Undeterred, Nick tirelessly battled to expose the fraud publicly for 16 years, and secure justice and compensation for affected customers. Every step of the way, he was harassed and surveilled by HSBC, and received no support, legal or otherwise. As of this year, the bank has paid out £200 million to those it defrauded, with some victims receiving over £10,000 due to his whistleblowing.

Meanwhile, Nick has paid an incalculable personal and professional price for his actions.

Blacklisting

Nick’s whistleblowing means he is now blacklisted from employment, and has been unable to secure full-time work since 2006. He was once turned down for a £13k pa job - for which he was significantly overqualified - on the specific grounds that he was a whistleblower.