rite2bite

rite2bite · 23rd February 2007, 23:21

I am still trying to sort out my son's debt mess caused when his newborn daughter had to have a MAJOR heart surgery at birth and he couldn't get the overtime he needed to pay his bills nor get to the BS where his wage was paid into to transfer money to the bank.
Some of the credit cards he had are allowing him to pay off £5 per week, however Barclaycard have put would not let him do this and have put his debt into the hands of a debt collecting agency, who rang him the other day demanding he pays £1400, he thought he only owed £900. They will only accept a minimum of £70 per week, once he has paid his bills he only has £10 left for food. He works really awkward shifts as a postman but no matter how hard he works he cannot keep up with the spiralling charges on bills accumulated when his ex partner was sitting at home with her 2 year old (Not my sons) whilst my son was in hospital with the baby she was running up massive bills. When baby came home the Ex got the social to rent her a nice three bed semi!! All bills including taxis to nursery paid for. If my son isnt working he is having BOTH children.
Now can someone please help me, Im new to site. Is there anything I can do to lower this debt, and what can the collecting agency do to him? He is trying not to worry us as we are pensioners, that means we are more worried than ever. Little by little we are trying to find out if there are any more debts and also what the other credit card companies can do if he only pays £5 per week. HELP

dx100uk · 24th February 2007, 00:19

ok well firstly, don't worry.

here is how i am dealing with a freinds debts, not as sad a story as yours, but basically the same situation.

what you need to do first is to get the last 6 yrs of statements from everyone he has debt with. read the FAQ's or step by step instructions.
this is called an Subject Access Request it will cost £10 for each bank / card company [unless you already have them.]

once you have requested these, the accounts will be in dispute. and if any are with a DCA [debt collections agency] they need to be told this. they will then back off and refer the debts back to the orignators. and any payments he is making to them he should stop. you want to CCA them also then you will find out if they added any charges of their own too.

then just follow the step by step again and work out the charges + interest. and claim it back!

in the meantime write to everyone, tell them he can only afford £x per month for a period of x months. and you want the interst frozen. they might wiggle and say no, but write again saying that is all he can afford. they will get the msg, esp when you start to claim back the charges.

there are example letters for everything you need to do, but the site here is a bit limited at present because of the tv prog tonight!

take your time and ask for help where needed.

dx100uk

rite2bite · 24th February 2007, 11:37

Dx100UK Many thanks for help I am a pensioner with bad eyesight and NOT very computor literate I'm afraid, I'm just hoping my son has got some paperwork, as usually happens when people get into debt, he has tried to ignore things even on occassions not even opening his post!! As I said he spends all his time either working or looking after the little ones on his own. I dont know what CCA means-sorry! (See your message.)\I Can only guess Credit Card Agency but cant make sense of that!! Once again thanks. Rite2bite

hagenuk · 24th February 2007, 12:37

Hi rite2bite

Go here to find a selection of templates which will be useful when dealing with creditors.

There is also a budget planner on the first post in that thread too.

First and foremost, select the appropriate letter from the templates on that thread, get them printed out and sent off ASAP.

Come back and ask about anything you are unsure of.

rite2bite · 25th February 2007, 19:27

Can anyone help me. My son thought he owed £900 to Barclaycard but like most people because he could not pay due to being a single working father with a heart baby daughter, he buried his head in the sand, eventually cutting up his card. I have only just found out that last October he recieved a letter from a firm called first credit saying they were going to take legal proceedings against him. He contacted them by phone offering to pay £5 per week(leaving him with only £5 left for food per week! They demanded £70. He says he has heard nothing since.
Can someone help urgently please. He cannot remember the credit card no. and only has a client account no. on 1st credits letter. Does he write to them? or to Barclaycard. They say he owes £1400. and What exactly is Barclaycards address.

Michael Browne · 25th February 2007, 19:39

Write to Barclaycard with as much detail about him and the a/c full name,DOB, address, utility bill from new address if moved, etc.

1. Data Protection Act, Subject Access Request letter - List of charges

BARCLAYCARD
Data Protection Team
Dept LRC
Barclaycard
Northampton
NN4 7SG

rite2bite · 25th February 2007, 23:41

thanks for info. I think it will be a long drawn out job. Just hope it doesn't go to court before I can sort it out

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