Watch: X Factor Singer Celine Forced To Abandon Bank Loan Over ‘Blatant Discrimination’ Towards Her Weight
Getting a loan from the bank is already a complicated affair, but one Maltese woman’s attempt to do so was made impossible after she was declined for being overweight.
Two years after the matter, former X Factor Malta singer Celine Agius has taken to Facebook to describe her experience.
“Like many Maltese, I needed to get a loan from the bank to purchase a house. It was already quite stressful, but I wanted to do it because owning your own house in Malta… it’s practically ‘a must’.”
Her journey began the same way it would for most, liaising with bank officials, notaries and architects, all of whom she had to pay for their respective services at just 24 years of age.
“The whole process was already a big hassle. But we were almost there. The promise of sale was ready, and all that was left was the sorting out of the bank’s life insurance agreement since I was taking quite a sizeable loan.”
But when Celine came to the business end of the arrangements of the life insurance agreement, she was slapped with a medical examination. A standard procedure used by banks before the issuance of a loan.
The exam includes blood tests, blood pressure and sugar checks, and other things, but at its core, it means having a ‘healthy weight’.
“I went from insurance to insurance, physically talking with many doctors along the way, and everyone declined me because of my weight. Because I had a problem with obesity.”
“According to their risk assessment, whoever is obese is ‘discriminated against’ and is unable to get the loan. As if someone who is obese doesn’t need a roof over her head.”
At the time, Celine was 180kg. But she had already started correcting the issue, working alongside a nutritionist to lose weight. Eventually, she burned off a staggering 50kg.
In having lost so much weight, she made a second attempt to sort out her life insurance policy, but was declined again because she was still ‘classified as obese’.
Moreover, she alleged that the insurance company gave her two months to drop another 20kg, so that she would fall in ‘a healthy weight bracket’.
Speaking with Lovin Malta, Celine recounted how the continuous rejections led her down a different road. Towards depression, and an inevitable weight gain.
“I got depressed and regained all the weight I had lost. All my hard work, it all backfired.”
“I was losing weight and feeling better, but it still wasn’t enough for the insurance company. They declined me again and again.”
Eventually, Celine had to stop her pursuit of the loan dead in its tracks. But this did not preclude her from paying her notary for her service up until that point.
She also lost a deposit she had put forward for a kitchen she planned to set up in her new home.
“I wanted to get my story across because it is not one that is ‘out in the open’. And it is an unpleasant experience any overweight person may be forced to deal with.”
“It is important for people to know about this obstacle before committing to a loan.”
“I did not feel that banks and insurances really acknowledge the effort one makes when trying to get healthier, they just label you as ‘overweight’ and send you on your way.”
No matter how you slice it, obesity can take years off one’s life expectancy. Up to three years in moderate cases and up to 10 years in severe cases.
It does so because, in someone who is obese, there is a greater chance of developing serious illnesses like cancer, diabetes, or heart disease.
With Malta officially being the most obese country in the European Union, the problem Celine faced may be one faced by many others in the country.
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