Written by John Kruse, one of the leading experts on Bailiff Law, this consumer friendly guide is essential reading for anyone who comes into contact with a bailiff.
The book is easy to understand and clearly explains the rights
a bailiff has, and also what they cannot do when collecting debts and repossessing goods etc.
First off apologies if this is in the wrong place.
My wife and I are not at the stage where our outgoings are more than our income. We have about £25k worth of debt over 3 credit cards and 1 loan plus an overdraft of £3500 which is getting higher by the week. At the moment we have been making minimum payments on the CC's and all other loans and mortgages etc are being paid in full. So our credit rating is still good however we can't continue to maintain the payments as the overdraft is max'd out with no chance of the bank extending.
Looking for advice/opinions on what our next step should be. Do we try to negotiate with banks to get reduced payments ? Do we see if the debt is unenforceable ? or both ?
You could send each creditor a letter requesting for your original agreements with them to see if the debt is in fact enforceable or not, and can then go from there. The templates for these request letters are found on this site.
You can then look into how much debt you owe, and negotiate a monthly payment arrangement with your creditors.
There is also the dmp which could help you clear your debts, with someone acting on your behalf negotiating the payments with your creditors. There are free of charge arrangements such as CCCS or Payplan.
Many thanks for the reply Looby. I guess my concern with going down the enforceable debt route is losing any goodwill the banks may have when it comes to negotiating reduced payments. It is a daunting first step in either direction for us at the moment.
Cag is a free self-help site. If you are contacted by any other user recommending or offering no win no fee or paid for service, please report this to the site or to a site team member.
CAG depends on donations. Please consider making a donation - however big or small.
Many thanks for the reply Ida. At the moment our relationship with the banks involved are still very good which is obviously going to change as our struggle continues. Is it worth phoning them first and asking for reduced payments and freezing charges/interest or just do the letter straight away ?
Regarding the bank charges which is something we have gave a lot of though over since I found this great site. We are fearful they will take away our overdraft facility if we initiate any action to reclaim our charges. Something they are probably well within their rights to do anyway considering the state of our account over the past 12 months. However the past 10 days alone we have had in the region of £330 in charges on our bank account.
Sorry for sound rather weak with no backbone but we feel like a rabbit in the headlights at the moment. We really appreciate all the input given.
re the overdraft you will probarbly find they will withdraw the overdraft facility soon anyway if they see it's not reducing and will the current climate banks are now doing this. alos this would benefit yourself as it would then not increase the balance. I personally would start reclaiming the charges as you might get a shock at acutally howe much you can reclaim and will make a big hole in the amount you are due them.
ida x
Cag is a free self-help site. If you are contacted by any other user recommending or offering no win no fee or paid for service, please report this to the site or to a site team member.
CAG depends on donations. Please consider making a donation - however big or small.
Ok Ida thanks again for your thoughts. I think we will start on the course of reclaim the bank charges so loads of reading to do on that. I am thinking losing the overdraft is not the worst thing that could happen to us at the moment since we want to reduce it anyway.
We will be dealing with HBOS anyone have an idea of how long the process takes in reclaiming charges ?
Cag is a free self-help site. If you are contacted by any other user recommending or offering no win no fee or paid for service, please report this to the site or to a site team member.
CAG depends on donations. Please consider making a donation - however big or small.
yes, up here you can oppose the sist and many are being granted
ida x
Cag is a free self-help site. If you are contacted by any other user recommending or offering no win no fee or paid for service, please report this to the site or to a site team member.
CAG depends on donations. Please consider making a donation - however big or small.
Yes, thats the procedure to use, the only thing I would say is the POC wording needs amended as it menions 'penalty charges', I'm trying to get this sorted.
Regards.
Scott.
Any advice I give is honest and in good faith.
If in doubt, you should seek the opinion of a Qualified Professional.
If you can, please donate to this site.
Help keep it up and active, helping people like you.
If you no longer require help, please do what you can to help others
Cag is a free self-help site. If you are contacted by any other user recommending or offering no win no fee or paid for service, please report this to the site or to a site team member.
CAG depends on donations. Please consider making a donation - however big or small.
I phoned HBOS earlier regarding the 10 individual charges on my account over the recent days and they kindly refunded £70. The nice chap then proceeded to tell me that I would be better upgrading my current account and getting a loan to pay off the overdraft. I have no idea what planet this guy was from.
Another question for those that can help. We financed a new kitchen over 2 years ago through GE Money. A section on the agreement which relates to settlement figures was filled in after we had signed the agreement and at a later date. I am wrong to think this is completely unacceptable ?
Can anyone help me with a contact number or postal address(reduced payment letter) for Virgin Credit Card. I have tried about 7 or 8 times to phone and each time I have been on hold for a minimum of about 30mins and eventually I get cut off. All my other credit cards have agreed manageable reduced payments and have froze the interest. However I can't get a hold of virgin and with the payment date approaching I want to get this sorted.
Virgin Money
Discovery House
Whiting Road
Norwich
NR4 6EJ
ida x
Cag is a free self-help site. If you are contacted by any other user recommending or offering no win no fee or paid for service, please report this to the site or to a site team member.
CAG depends on donations. Please consider making a donation - however big or small.
Another question, can you get your payments reduced on a loan ? I have a Northern Rock Loan but they say I have to use CCCS if I wan't to enter into a reduced payment plan.
Next Step advice needed.
of £3500 which is getting higher by the week. At the moment we have been making minimum payments on the CC's and all other loans and mortgages etc are being paid in full. So our credit rating is still good however we can't continue to maintain the payments as the overdraft is max'd out with no chance of the bank extending.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Dazo
The nice chap then proceeded to tell me that I would be better upgrading my current account and getting a loan to pay off the 
I have no idea what planet this guy was from. 