I am 25 and in full time work in central London. My job doesn't pay a lot, I am generally left with less than £100 - £200 a month after all expenditures. I had moved out of my parents into a maisonnette with my girlfriend, but due to mould problems, we had to move out. She moved into her parents house, I couldn't find anywhere to live so had no choice but to live in my sisters box room (along with 3 kids and her husband in the same house). The room is so small, my head touches one end and my feet the other when in bed. My job had changed and I now need to drive and pay £220 to TFL for the privilege of 40c heat in packed trains. I had applied for a council house a year ago, back when my girlfriend and I both lived in another box room at my parents, we were put on the second from highest group at the time. My issue is that since she has moved with her parents, (they have two spare rooms), we're no longer a priority and wouldn't get housing for many years. I desperately need to move out, have even contemplated living in my car. I have looked high and low at renting out a room, but It's next to impossible to find a place that will accept me. The one place that I did find, was full of dodgy people and smelt like weed. I'm at a loose end, and can't figure out what I can do about it.

Hi has anyone got a link to the guide expenses plz:???:

Myself and my husband (nick) seperated in 2009. I have a daughter and together we have 2 sons. The house is in joint names and due to negative equity, we were unable to sell it. We decided to continue living together but not as a married couple. I.e no socialising, and both free to seek other relationships. I spoke to the tax credits and explained the situation and they said that I was entitled to claim as a single person. I said that i only wanted to claim for myself and my daughter, as husband was happy to continue paying for his sons, but was told that because the hold benefit for all 3 children was in my name, I must claim for all 3. They also said that child matience is disregarded when working out entitlement. They never told me to distance myself financially from husband or close any joint accounts. I recieved a letter saying that they have evidence he lives there and I should have made a joint claim. I rang them and explained that i never said he didn't live there, and was advised by the advisor that I could claim as a single person because that is what I am. I said that I could understand their confusion, but I too was confused as the information I was given when I started my claim was that I could claim as a single person and now they are saying that I can't. The reply was that after 4 years they would expect me to take steps to divorce etc. (as a Christian I don't believe in divorce anyway). He said that whilst we are not Linked romantically, we are seen as a couple in the eyes of the law and he ended my claim, stating that i could claim as a married couple, which husband has refused to do point blank. He said the overpayment team would contact me to sort out repayment. Will this be for this year or for my whole claim since 2009? I'm so worried as I now have the bare minimum to live on as i am in a low paid job. Will they take my house? I have suffered with depression over the years and now feel that I am reaching breaking point. Any advice would be gratefully recieved.

Hi all. I'm in a mess. I've been living in the US for almost 7 years now. Had debt in the UK when I left, young and careless. I have no plans to return to the UK as I'm a US citizen now and well settled here. I co-own a house in the UK with 3 siblings, the 4 of us own a quarter each. It's a family house we inherited and they have no interest in ever selling it. Obviously, my share is just a quarter, 25%. I have 3 separate debts, £2082, £8513 and £1182. The CCJs were entered on 14/02/14, 06/12/13 and 20/12/12 respectively. They have also applied for a charging order against the property I partially own. My questions are: Firstly, can I apply to have these CCJs set aside as I have been a permanent resident of the US for the past 7 years. I've only just become aware of these judgments after checking my credit report online. When I left the UK I did inform my financial institutions (Egg and HSBC) that I was moving to the US. Could they force the house to be sold, even though I only own a small share of the property? There is no mortgage on it. Two relatives live in the house that will not be moving for a very long time. I also believe that the two most recent CCJs must have been statute barred as at that point I'd been in the States over 6 & half years and have had no contact and made no payments since I've lived here. What is the best course of action. I've searched and searched and have not been able to find anyone in a similar situation, with a small share of an asset that has no hope of being sold anytime soon.

I am assisting a young man with his claim for Disability Living Allowance. He has (adult adhd, depression & anxiety). He has been in receipt of DLA since child. His last award ended October 2013 and I helped him submit renewal/claim form. He got a quick response/decision initially, which had been to award 0 on both components. He asked for reconsideration and received new decision, which was an award of LRC & LRM. He still wasnt entirely happy with decision and managed to get assistance from a support worker, who compiled a fairly comprehensive letter, giving reasons why claimant felt entitled to LRM & MRC. The letter went into quite a bit of details and showed how these conditions affect his everyday life. The reconsideration was dated 15 November and the support worker posted letter; requesting appeal against decision etc. The letter had been posted recorded delivery, so as to ensure got to them ok and within time. Early/Mid January, there had been no response from DLA and so the claimant made contact by telephone, asking what was happening about his appeal request. He was told they had no record of having received such a request, over the next few days they made extensive searches internally - but stated they had neither received or processed anything further. We managed to get a proof of signing, for the appeal letter, establishing it had been signed for by DLA on 17 December and a name. In the meantime, a letter turned up from DLA asking claimant to sign enclosed form, which had been to consent Support Worker to act on his behalf. He quickly signed and returned to them. He contacted DLA by telephone about 1 week or so later. They said that it had not been processed as he had not filled in the form properly or given his reasons for appeal?? This was really strange, considering all reasons given in the letter by Support Worker, he told them that he had only signed and dated the form, to consent to support worker/letter acting for him. Saying he had not put any information in the small box, which asks for reasons for wanting to appeal - as not really relevant; emphasising the 'letter' in question, which adequately covered all aspects of reasoning etc. They were very adamant about him not filling the form in properley, implying it may not be able to go to appeal owing to this etc. (I think this is the GL 34 form?). Anyway, the call centre staff referred him to more senior personnel, to discuss his letter and appeal etc. At the end of the conversation, the DM? he spoke to, had agreed with the letter and content being both adequate and relevant for things to proceed. Things were left seemingly ok? 3 days later, he telephoned DLA again as feeling insecure about matters, given the length of time already wasted. When he got through, he asked about it and was told it was on DM desk; pending appeal. So all seemed relatively ok. A couple of days later, when he telephoned again - he gave his name and said he was chasing matter up and was then told 'INVALID APPEAL' This was not until after he had gone through the whole situation again explaining all from start to finish, before they could find any information. He was once again told, he had not filled in the form properly and that he must do so, ie: via GL34 and also, they said they require him to write to them requesting a late appeal owing to it submitted late. This seems to be going round in circles and is taking far longer than it should. ]To reiterate: reconsideration was dated 14 November 2013 letter/appeal request posted by claimant on 13 November 2013 Letter/appeal letter received at Benefit Centre on 17 December 2013? (rec del/signed for) Approx Jan 12, when claimant called DLA - they said no trace of request/letter? So they have had his request/letter since 17 December and it has neither been acknowledged or acted upon accordingly and to date they are just delaying things more and more, in keeping on requesting claimant to complete a form giving reasons for wanting to appeal - which he is not confident about doing and also it would not be anywhere near as professional as letter they have received. Almost 2 months this has been going on now and they expect him to write requesting late appeal??? Desperate for some guidance /advice please !! What a Drama - I cant help but feel they have messed up and now trying to cover up. If claimant were to scribble down a few reasons for appealing /applying late etc, chances are they will use as preferred evidence and it will not be accepted. Cant do right for doing wrong really???? Baffled, Ms Phillips:???:

Hello, I hope someone can give me some advice we moved to oz 2 years ago as my husband and I had hit rock bottom, no jobs and cc debt from trying to start a business for my husband to be self employed as a trade. We left behind our life and moved for a simple life to oz with our children as my health was very Badly affected we also left our home as in neg equity and arrears with no way of selling. We moved here with nothing and have slowly got back on our feet we pay cash for what we need and have a small surplus each month due to frugal budgeting, we our happy for the first time in a long time and kids our settled, we our now residents and hope to get our own home at some point. I found out that our home was sold for £80 k less so we will have a debt the company have no idea where we are as we have had no contact since we left, the cc debts are with multiple cards ranging in amount but total I think about 35 k. I have read the cc debt cannot be enforced here but unsure about the mortgage shortfall. The only reason I am anxious is the home phone has rung a few times and I called back and it is a debt collection agency, I gave no details just hung up. I've not spoke to my husband as I know he'll start to worry. I feel very ashamed about running away but had no choice and had to think of my kids and my health, I'm still on medication for anxiety but need to sort this out alone, sorry for the life story now do I file for bankruptcy and contact mortgage company? I can't even remember who we owed money too:| thanks for reading

Hi all, Moved to NZ at end of 2008, left behind an unsecured ( credit card debt of 3.5k sterling). Need to return/visit to U.K middle of this year for family issues . Does anyone have any answers as to what I can expect when re entering the U.K? Really need some advice .thanks

Very much hope that some of the more experienced members may be able to offer some advice. The situation concerns a UK CC debt. Unfortunately due to serious change in circumstances this account fell into arrears of around 12,000. Prior to this there was a sucessful claim for miselling of PPI. Went down the CCA route using a specialist company and the cc provider was found to be in breach and the account was deemed unenforceable. That was almost four years ago and since then no further contact has been attempted by the original cc provider. The last payment of any kind was made almost five years ago. Have recently received a letter, delivered to our old address, from a DCA asking for full payment. Suspect debt has been sold to this DCA and that they are trying it on before the six year period is up. Have read that no CCJ can be issued if not resident in the UK and if the agreement is in dispute. Would very much appreciate the thoughts and opinions of those people with more experience of these matters to know exactly what to do for the best. Have not replied to DCA's letter and have not provided new address at this time. Many thanks in advance for your comments.

Hi Basically my car has been sitting in my parents driveway for months. I received a letter with a fine due to it being uninsured, I wasn't aware that it had to be insured if its parked and not in use. Anyway I paid the fine and sent off paperwork to SORN the vehicle. The fine was taken out of my account in early August and I assumed that was the end of the matter. In September I moved abroad and I am not due to go back home until 2015. My mother called me yesterday to say that there's a letter regarding a court requisition for 15/01/14. I am unsure about what do to as I'm not living in the UK currently and the only proof I have of posting the document is the bank statement which shows fine was deducted from my account. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Ramah

Hi all, I'm having some problems with a personal loan with HSBC Malta, and after a long search I've found this site which looks the best place to get some help. Background to my problem - I lived and worked in Malta for two years, returning to the UK in 2007. I had a rather large overdraft that at the time I could afford to manage because I was earning a lot more money than I am now. When I returned to the UK I had a difficult time with work and my personal life and was eventually made redundant. I always had every intention of paying the overdraft but for several years the bank made no attempt to chase me for the outstanding amount so I had it low on my priorities. Earlier this year, HSBC Malta contacted me demanding full payment of the overdraft facility - stating that failure to do so would result in court action. This worried me and even though I realise that a Maltese court can only do so much to me now that I live in the UK, I wanted to avoid any ongoing problems and possible transfer of any court ruling to the UK. I have in the past worked in banking and plan to return to that occupation - so anything that has the potential to affect my credit rating is a worry, particularly a CCJ which would make me unemployable in any financial services role. In March I agreed to switch the overdraft into a personal loan. I did this reluctantly - HSBC Malta did not (in my opinion) consider the affordability of the loan payments (€234 per month) and didn't ask for any income/expenditure details to assess me. However I felt that I could probably afford these monthly payments if I tightened my belt elsewhere. I've since made six monthly payments. In September my wife gave birth and she is on maternity pay. The extra expense of a baby and surviving on one income now means that the monthly loan payment is impossible for me to afford and I missed my September payment. I've now received a demand for the full amount of the loan €11,564 from the bank with a warning that failure to do so will result in legal action. This situation is completely stressing me out. I've tried to call HSBC Malta Retail Risk (as suggested in the letter if I want to discuss the situation) but no-one answers the phone. I want to pay this loan off but at an amount that is affordable and realistic. And I certainly don't want to start down a legal path that might ultimately destroy my credit rating. Does anyone have any ideas or information that I should know about - I will keep trying to speak to someone at the bank and I intend to ask them to freeze the interest and allow me to pay €100 per month until the loan is cleared. But I am unsure what their attitude to such a proposal will be. Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks.

hi there new to this forum and looking for a little advice, would very much appreciate any replies. Got myself into a lot of debt in the UK. Usual story i had my own business and was doing ok until the downturn kicked in. Carried on living the same lifestyle expecting things to get better but they never did. I ended up around 45k in debt with credit cards and loans. With my income unable to cover my repaymennts i thought i would eventually get my house reposessed, so i basically sold my house, car, van and any other assets i had and have emmigrated to Thailand. I have been in Thailand for 2 months and non of my creditors know where i am and have little chance of finding me as i have no bank accounts, property etc in my name out here. My understanding is that after 7 years your debts are wrote off. My question is does the same apply to CCJs? I have no intention of returning to the UK but never say never. If i get issued with any CCJs at my old UK adress how long is it before they become unenforcable? Thanks

Hi, I wonder if anyone could offer me some clarity on our situation, I have read through various posts but am now totally confused and not sure what to do. We moved to NZ 6 months ago, we left the UK with £50k of unsecured debts split between 8 different dcas. We have been running a dmp via step change for the last 3 yrs and paid on time every month, in the uk we did have property which we were fortunate enough to sell with equity before leaving. We used the equity to move to NZ and also paid back money friends and parents had lent us in the past. Now we are struggling to keep up payments in the UK and step change is advising we go bankrupt - which we dont want to do because the receiver will want a breakdown of how we spent the equity from our house sale. We are concerned if we tried to declare bankruptcy the receiver will find us fraudulant due to spending the proceeds of the sale. We followed the advice on here and advised all DCAs of a po box address in NZ in writing and in fact have received the usual default notices here in the po box. All the while we continued to honour the dmp agreement. However we are now considering stopping payments - due to not having any remaining assets or disposable income. We know we do not have any CCJs and assume from advice here they cannot issue CCJs now we are non resident in the UK. Can the UK DCAS sell these debts to NZ dcas and if so can the NZ dca enforce them? Also can the UK dcas enforce bankruptcy as we have only been out of the UK for 6 months? Any advice would be appreciated, this is starting to really concern us as we have a young family. Thanks

Hi, this is my first post, just got an office copy of a secured loan deed from the Land Registry and found that I was mis-sold PPI. I'm currently doing a load of research before I claim, but I now live over the Channel in continental Europe, has anyone had any experience of making a claim from abroad? I realise that there will be some postal delay, but have any lenders tried to make things difficult because of this?

I have woken up today feeling awful, no energy at all, sore throat, achy and just feeling terrible, can hardly walk around the house. The thing is i'm due to go to a Work Programme appointment on Tuesday and a job fair Thursday and i'm worried because if i'm not better for those things then I won't be able to attend and I'm worried because I know the Work Programme has a habit of sanctioning people, I have only ever been sanctioned once (unfairly) and I won that appeal so technically never had a sanction. Need some advice on this, thank you.

I had a flat in Edinburgh with two flatmates, those two moved out and I gave a lease to a girl so she could sign up to the lease and move in. I gave her a set of keys as I was going away for a couple of weeks. I came back to the girl moved in, was paying the rent and bills into my account and so I assumed everything was fine. It was then in the last month that I found out she had not signed up to the lease and was therefore living illegally in my flat for the past 6 months. She then went on to move out without paying the remainder of what I was owed and so I have been left out of pocket. I realise I probably cannot get the money from her as I was not careful, but would I be able to report her to the council to show she had been living with me illegally? As she had been dodging tax as well and I do not wish to help her. Thanks for any reply.

Dear All, Thanks in advance for your help! I have been through the threads but cannot find any relating to Singapore. I have an outstanding HSBC UK debt approx 12K pounds. I am a Commonwealth Citizen but not a UK citizen. The debt was with Metropolitan now it has been transferred to Central Debt Recovery UK. I was paying the loan back when it was with HSBC UK but fell behind and now cannot afford to do so. Can they come after me in Singapore? HSBC is operating in Singapore. They have my Singapore address from HSBC UK, I have been getting letters from Central Debt Recovery but have not responded. If you could please help me with advice, I cannot afford a solicitor. thanks

Hi there, I was advised to post here by a tenant who had issues with the landlord before and got advise here and hopefully I can have some guidance. I owe the landlord 5 months rent and have explained to him that I lost my job and cannot afford the rent. Since then he has issued an S21 and S8 and the notice ends in July. I know this is entirely my fault but the landlord has been aggressive, trying to break into my room, forcing the key out of the door and trying to open it so I have to call the police just to get him to leave. In fact I applied for JSA and Housing Benefit but failed to attend the appointment a few months ago due to him harassing me and trying to get in. Simply put I know I owe him rent, he wants it but I barely leave my room in fear he will remove my items, evict me illegally or get violent towards me. He has police reports against him several times for this and the private tenancy officer contacted which he stopped for awhile and now is starting again being a few hours ago trying to gain access and threatening me he will come back in 2 days with men to remove my things. I cannot even go to the bathroom without fearing he will come in at that moment and try to enter my room. I have missed doctors appointments for my health issues because of this too. I emailed again today asking him not to try to gain entry as it is illegal and he replied being aggressive that he WILL receive his money next week and that he 'knows I work because I get stuff ordered to the house' which is true somewhat but that is because friends have been kind enough to buy me food and send me it. I am trying to find work and do bits and odds just to give him some money with no luck and I just do not know what to do as he will not stop harassing me and the police will not help and he lies to the private tenant officer (so he has said in an email that I lied to them when I have proof of the food orders and nothing else). He is also telling my housemates the situation and they make me feel like rubbish looking down on me and again just making me stay locked in my room. I have sold my possessions other than my computer to look for work just to get some food too. I owe the landlord £1600 and the S21 end date seeking possession AFTER 20/7/13. Sorry for the long post and I am not looking for sympathy, I know I am at fault here but I am becoming more depressed and feel highly threatened and he just doesn't seem to care. Edit: Forgot to mention that he has been putting bills in tenants names when all bills are included in the rent. One tenant who moved out 14 months ago knocked a few weeks back as landlord had put a £900 electric bill in his name then pretended to be an estate agent saying he cannot get hold of the landlord so when I gave the old tenant the landlords number it turned out the estate agent was the same guy and it has escalated to court. I am worried he will also try this.

Hi, hope someone can clarify this for me. A DCA has made a claim against me in the County Court that was served to my last UK address (and then forwarded via Royal Mail to my USA address). At this point, no CCJ has been issued, but the claim was served at my last UK address. I opted to return to the court, via Email, the acknowledgement and defence forms, contesting jurisdiction. I supplied with this evidence of my having moved to the USA (in the form of my immigration stamp from my passport, my US home lease agreement and a recent USA utility bill at the same address). Does anyone think this was the best course of action to take, or should I have waited for a CCJ to have been issued, and then applied for it to be set aside? As I see it, by contesting the initial claim with proof that I am not UK resident, they cannot issue a judgement at all as I am not UK resident. Many thanks in advance!

Hello, I hope someone will be able to help with my situation. I have always had a good credit history , a business and had a very good relationship with several banks until a few months ago. I have been living in another non EU country and my income stopped meaning I couldnt pay the Uk debts back. I know that they have passed the files to collection and I believe they are at early stages of tracking me. The banks have connections in the country I am in. Please could someone who has experience advise me what the best course of action is.I always have and believe in negotiating things but right now I am unable to pay anything back until I make some money. I have also heard some of the collectors selling on debts to foreign companies. I have always paid loans back but this situation is very difficult indeed. Please can somebody kindly advise me. Thanks ST

Okay, firstly thanks in advance for any help with this, I'm in a pickle and it's much appreciated. So, basically I have UK graduate account overdrafts with HSBC and Natwest, I left the UK a year ago and have no plans to return for the foreseeable future, I am currently living in China. Natwest is £900 overdrawn HSBC is £1500 overdrawn HSBC is fine, its reduced by £500 a year, I can manage that (just about) However, Natwest are now saying that they have changed policies and will now be charging me £90 in INTEREST alone until its the overdraft is repaid. Firstly, £90 a month is sheer madness. I only earn around £3-400 a month out here, so the interest alone is impossible as its almost a third of my entire monthly income, let alone repaying the actual amount owed from the overdraft. The Natwest account is registered at my elderly parents house from 5 years ago before I went to University, I haven't lived there for 5 years now. I'm worried they are going to start having bailiffs turning up and debt collectors calling them day and night. So, what do I do? I am willing to try and pay this amount back but cannot do so if I am being charged ludicrous interest rates like this. I need maybe another 12 months to pay it all back. So far Natwest are refusing to budge and saying it is what it is. Do I run from the debt and just try and forget about it as they cant do anything to me whilst in Asia, or do I try and kill myself by paying these insane interest rates. If I do I literally cannot afford to live anymore as I am only just scraping by each month at the moment. Having a third less money each month is pretty much the decision between eating or paying rent. So stressed about all this at the moment, its mainly my parents I am worried about as I dont want them to have to pay for my mistakes. Thanks

Hi Guys i have 1 slc loan and an honors student loan from 97,98,99. I am in Ozzy and am now an Australian Citizen. no UK family, income , address or bank I have always filled in my deferment paperwork and been deferred every year until now . Hence my user name USELESS PIECE OF PAPER - never used it and ended up earning similar money to before i had a 'degree'. I own a home here due to a partner who has high earnings and we have totally separate finances . I already pay a large amount of my salary to a mortgage and credit card debt. So they refused my referral , what i would like to know is can i just walk away , they have my address , phone number and employer but realistically what can they do . Ive read most of the forums on here and it looks as though ignoring them but via the proper medium is a possibility. I just don't have the money to pay them . Are they chasing Greek students or Cypriots where the economy has failed. How far can they legally chase me . Any information would be gratefully received. I have said i would pay what i could but they quite rudely told me it wasn't enough. Interesting they take exchange rate into account on deferring but in repayments they do not take into account cost of living in another country. Any information would be helpful. perhaps even the name of a professional i can seek advise from as well

Hi Everyone, Im hoping that someone on here will be able to provide me with some insight. I left the UK in 2009 with 3 credit card debts of approximately 3,000 gbp each. Since leaving, I have been making minimum payments and have not missed a single payment to date. However, finances are becoming extremely tight and I can no longer afford to make my minimum payments. I am a Canadian, I live in Canada and as far as I know, only 1 of the 3 credit card companies knows of an address I had just after returning to Canada. I no longer have that address though. If I stop making my minimum payments, what will happen? After how long? I dont believe I can declare bankruptcy in the UK because it has been more than 3 years. I do not plan on returning to the UK ever. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

Hello there, I bring to you today a rather complicated question (I assume). I currently have Bipolar type 2 and Anxiety disorder, and I am receiving ESA. My mother is a widow and receives her widows pension among other complicated stuff I don't know about. I have this dream of one day moving to Spain as I'm sure it will help my head and my family who have a range of "issues". However, money is naturally short, and after bringing up the subject of moving again I was asked by my mother whether the help we both receive financially goes if we were to move to a new country. I assume it does, but does it get replaced with anything? If we were to move to Spain tomorrow, what sort of things would we have to do to make sure we are able to live? Apologies if this is a really daft question; I try to stay away from complicated financial worries like this. Thanks, -Jasper

Hi, Many thanks in advance to anyone who can throw some light on this please. I have a house in UK which was bought before the financial meltdown. It is now in negative equity of about 40,000. I moved to USA permanently in May 2010. I do not have any other property or savings in either US or UK and my US salary is just enough to meet my expenses here. I cannot afford to pay the mortgage on my house in UK any more and I don't have the money to pay the shortfall. Right now I am considering giving the keys back to the bank and filing for bankruptcy in UK. Before taking this desperate measure, I want to know whether UK bankruptcy will affect my credit rating in US? Also, when you file for bankruptcy in UK, will they (the receiver or the court) inform my US bank or employer about the bankruptcy? I have enough trouble in my personal life as it is and I dont want this to cost my job in US. Once again, many thanks in advance.

Hello New to this site and I am looking to get help regarding a MBNA Credit Card Debt. I owe about £20,000 on a MBNA card in the UK and recently have run into financial difficulties here in France. The card is registered to me at my French address although was first applied for whilst in the UK. I have just paid the latest min payment but I fear this will be the last I can manage. I called them today to explain my difficulties. They took details of my current income and expenditure which highlighted why I could no longer pay. They said they would freeze the interest but if no payments were made after 6 or 7 months then they would sell the debt. My main concerns are what happens after that. Who will pick up the debt and what can they do? I rent in France and own no property anywhere. My income is lower than my current essential expenditure. Will eventually someone march into my rented property and take what things I have left? Can my van and tools that I use to make a self employed living be taken? I have no hidden assets or wealth. Through ill health my business suffered and the debt went up. I've written to the tax people here in France who have agreed I can pay my owed taxes over the next 2 years which is difficult enough along with the rent, rates, cost of raising children etc etc. My business is currently improving so I hope to at least be breaking even regarding my essential costs but I fear I will never be in the situation to service or pay back the UK debt. I have no other UK or French Debt and it is the first time I've found myself in this situation. All very worrying. Thanks