He was certainly suffering from very serious depression and anxiety issues long before this and had probable been considering suicide for months if not years. No otherwise healthy, happy person kills them self over a very small amount of debt like this.
That said, one of the major characteristics of an anxiety disorder is being completely unable to see level-headed solutions to problems and "catastrophising" - blowing a problem way out of proportion and being unable to think clearly. So, this situation probably did ramp up his underlying anxiety, and then the frequent "pestering" from the "bailiff" (loan shark muscle on commission; that's all they really are) it's very likely that it is what tipped him over the edge... not getting a chance to regroup before being hit with reminder after reminder. This is so often what happens with people in debt. They WANT you to feel scared and trapped... they think that's the best way to get the money... and it's a horrific practice.
He should have told the guy to go and **** himself sideways and blocked his number. Call whatever number they've given, hold strong, make a payment arrangement (i.e. tell them to suck a dick until they agree to £10 a week, which they will) and moved on. Hell... the absolute worst case scenario is bankruptcy, which is highly unlikely from a small fine, and also not the end of the world for a young single person.
But that's not really the point. The point is, they were harassing someone who wasn't emotionally equipped to handle that sort of aggression. Sure, some will say "well that's not their fault and they weren't to know" but the simple fact is they shouldn't be harassing ANYONE like that, because a lot of people have anxiety issues, and a lot of people are conditioned to believe that money is the be all and end all of everything.
..... I mean... if £500 is suicide worthy I'm pretty screwed, as I'm easily £15k in the hole, have been for years, and my car is owned outright + I rent, it's not "legit debt" like a car or mortgage... it's cards and other bull****
. £300 a month goes straight down the drain
. It's crappy but it's not the end of the world. I could work on paying it off but I do it for a couple of months and then get sick of the belt-tightening and go back to just paying the interest. Sigh. That doesn't even include damn student loans, we're at nearly £40k combined if you include those
. Debt is sadly just a fact of young adult life these days.