My wife's spending secret - Help needed

[maz1964]

hiya boston

just seen your reply,,,, im shocked for you and the info you have been given and thus for all married people too,

im confused so it was cab in romsey area who told you all this then?

i dont understand that both in a marriage would need to go bankrupt too, i - im totally confused by that

so the law states that as a couple both are liable for each other debts even if taken out in sole names,,,

surely that could be contested whats the point of having sole accounts and sole contracts then?

i do hope others come along to help us both, but i will look into this further

no boston ive come to arrangements with all my sole credit card accounts via my own debt management plan and contacted them myself, was helped by this forum along the way and national debtline site

well would be good if you got the charges back , if we ever do in the end

keep happy ciao for now maz

[johnwalker]

I really cant see how I am liable for my wife's debts. I looked around on the net to try and clarify this and found two websites with Q's & A's that totally contradict each other:

Living together and marriage: legal differences
You are liable for any debts which are in your own name only, but not for any debts which are just in your partner's name.

Can a debt collector sue my wife or husband for my debt?

I am married but have a credit card that is in my name only, which I have recently defaulted on. Can a creditor or debt collector go after my spouse for repayment of this debt even though his name isn't listed on the credit card?

Yes, marriage is like a partnership with each of you jointly liable for any debts incurred during the marriage. It doesn't matter if your spouse is or isn't listed on the card as a joint accountholder, he or she can still be sued, have his wages garnished, etc., just as if he incurred the debt.

[johnwalker]

Originally Posted by boston3603

I certainly wouldn't be going on a holiday before having an emergency meeting with the CAB. My conscience wouldn't allow it, after all, it is money accrued from debt paying for it I assume.

The holiday is to the coast and was paid for ages ago. The CAB debt counselors are so busy she cant get to see one until after the holiday anyway! She is calling this Monday to make an appointment with them w/c 18th August.

To her 'credit' she has been in touch with all the cc companies and the bank sending token payments accompanied with letters, which explain everything. During the appointment a financial plan will be completed.

As far as the new loan is concerned, YOU may need to get onto
her online account or write a letter and make her sign it saying you are forced to cancel the d.d. Then ring up and cancel it. Don't worry about the fall out.

It now seems the loan was given a new agreement number only and continues on. A stop has now been placed on payments against it. The Asst Bank Manager more or less apologised for the screw up. Shame we don't record our calls though! My wife is thinking of complaining about the poor service to the Bank and to the Banking Ombudsman.

Income support states how much your family needs to live on comfortably BEFORE anything else is shared proportionately amongst the creditors.

I have looked at budgeting for everything we have and if this is done properly, and all things are covered i.e. car, then there's not a great deal left at the end of the month.

You could declare yourself bankrupt, either way you will still have money and the monthly payments will remain the same for one year, then the bankruptcy will automatically end. YOU CANNOT BE FORCED TO SELL YOUR HOME.

We could remortgage to settle the debts but with 10yrs of manageable mortgage payments left I don't want to do this. It will also greatly effect what we would have available to live on.

Take care of yourself.

Thank you for your post and helpful comments

[rippedoffagain]

The advice that has been give to boston by CAB is just plain wrong. There are many married people who live separate financial lives. The only account I share with my wife is the mortgage. I am not responsible for her debts and she is not responsible for mine.

The issue regarding both having to file for bankruptcy is nonsense, I have read many threads here and elsewhere, where one partner has become bankrupt.

Sorry boston , you have been misinformed, no offence intended.

[johnwalker]

Cant believe it's so long since I created this thread.

One interesting thing CAB advised - As one of my wife's creditors was the bank we both held a joint account with, CAB said we should change banks as they might take money from the joint account! How they can do this is beyond me.

The update is that the CCCS are going to manage my wife's debt.

It will take a considerable amount of time to pay the debt off.

Thanks again for all the help

[maz1964]

hiya Johnwalker

just seen your update, thanks for informing us what the latest is

glad it seems to be working itself out,

yes, ive seen that about if there is a sole or joint account at the bank and you owe other creditors of the same group they can take money out to pay the creditors debts, ie creditor being a credit card debt, and take money from a sole/joint account held

thats why i was advised and many others to find an alternative bank account where i didnt have any creditors connected ie i opened a co op account and thus none of my creditors are connected to this banking group

hope that makes sense

For the rest of your journey i do hope all gets sorted and things improve dramatically now for you and your family

keep happy its the only thing no - one can take away from us unless we allow them to

ciao laters maz

[boston3603]

Stay strong and good luck.