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 , i am looking for advice regarding a debt i am being chased for. Back in 2006, i took out the together mortgage with northern rock. Part of this was an unsecured loan. To cut a long story short,by 2007, i couldn't afford it any more and i left the house and the debt behind and tried to get on with my life. I realise now that what i was actually doing was burying my head in the sand! I heard nothing more about it until today when i received a letter from "drydensfairfax solicitors" saying i was still liable for the unsecured loan element.(£20881.52) From reading through various forums and message boards I have learned that after 5 years in scotland unsecured debt becomes statute barred. However I am confused as I see that mortgages may be slightly different. There is no mention whatsoever of the rest of the mortgage in the letter. Any advice on what my next course of action should be would be of great help.

Hi Everyone, I am new to the forum and also relatively new to debt problems unlike my partner who has got a large debt problem. I am trying my best to help him, as he is tending to ignore it, and have searched for hours online and I am now asking for your help as the worry of it all is making me and my partner ill. I apologise in advance that it will be a long explanation as it has got quite complex over the years. Unbeknown to me, my partner took an unsecured loan out in 2010 with Nemo finance for what totalled up to 75,000 including a large amount for PPI (explained later), to pay off a mortgage (my partners) on a house he was left by his mum of around 43000. He used the rest for funeral expenses and put some in a pension scheme. When I found out he had done this about 2 years after, I knew it was totally the wrong thing to have done and there were many rows. Now all we want to do is get it sorted. The payments originally were £400 per month, a hefty amount on a salary of about £12000 per year. I don't think he should have been sold this loan on this basis and also that he was sold the loan to pay off a much lesser interest rate mortgage with a high street bank ( which though was a higher rate because he had had court injuntions for debts in his first marriage) was still taking out a much more expensive loan to pay off a lesser one, if that makes sense. He also accumulated a large overdraft at the bank because he couldn't make these payments and also bank charges etc for going into unauthorised overdraft. So his debts were spiralling.(He is always living in overdraft now which is about 1400. So my first question, was it missold in the first place??? Once I have a definite answer to this we can then move on to the next step of forgetting that and sort out what to do about paying it off. Thanks in advance for any help given towards this. About a year ago Nemo offered a reduction in the loan as we looked into the fact that there was a PPI on it that had been sold unfairly, they offered a reduction in the loan and gave 8% for redress etc and the loan was reduced to 37000 and payments reduced to 230 per month. I'm not trying a sob story as I know he was silly to take on this loan but I am disabled and he is on a low income and he has missed payments as he can't afford them. Consequently, he has got a letter from the company now saying that they will serve a Court Order on him to retrieve the money. They have offered him the alternative to fill out a budget form and he is now taking notice and going to fill it out. Now the second question, we have been looking into an IVA but this costs thousands, or bankruptcy, or if he could make some sort of lower payments to Nemo would this be the best way? and how would he be best approaching the company to do this and should we be able to ask them to freeze the interest payments? Or do we just have to follow whatever they say he has to do. There is not a lot of income left from his pay once bills, fuel, living expenses are paid out. I maybe should add that he lives with me, I was a widow and the house is mine fully paid off and that no loans have ever been in my name which I presume means that our home is safe but would they take my income into account? Best wishes to all for some resolution to our problems and any help offered would be gratefully appreciated. Blanko1

Hi. I am a new user and would really benefitfrom any help and advice. Thank you. My name is Ian, I am married and with my wifehave been directors of 2 limited companies for many years. Company A for 10years and company B for 5 years. Each company had its own overdrafts with thesame bank and were run simultaneously. Our personal finances are a small mortgage, (40k)a small loan (2k) and a small overdraft (2k) all fully and properly servicedwith no failings or defaults at all. Indeed, these are still being serviced, ontime and as per agreement as we speak. Company A's overdraft was in the region of20k and company B's was in the region of 10k. Both of these were secured onPG’s. During the bank’s good times, funds were often offered without beingasked for. Now with things having changed for the banks as they have, with theawful bad press they are currently receiving, the bank withdrew its support, inmy opinion, without due care and attention and without proper negotiations.This made the running of both companies impossible and company B was liquidatedat the end of January. With trading for both companies being predominantlyseasonal, the bank wanted to reduce the overdrafts at an alarming rate, at atime when historically, we have little or no income. During the last negotiations with the bank Imade it clear that the removal of support at such a critical time would dountold damage to both companies’ finances and that of our personal. Following a final phone call the bank it wasagreed that they would only take 2k and the rest later. This was never done andon 24th December the bank called in 7k from one account and wantedto take 3.5k from the other before any substantial income Despite my protestations, the bank went aheadand withdrew its support. As it stands, we are on a debt management programmewhere all personal credit cards and our personal overdraft (2k) are beingserviced by an agreed amount. Our personal mortgage (40k) and personal loan(2k) are currently serviced and in order. Without success, we have tried to makecontact with the bank to commence negotiations with a view to offering arepayment schedule for both the limited companies. It would appear the bank wouldprefer to put all accounts together in one pot whether they are in default ornot. This I am loathe to do. Indeed, I am meeting great resistance to preventthis. The fear of losing our home is making me and my immune suppressed wifereally very ill. Satisfactory arrangements have been made forthe repayment of the personal overdraft, the personal loan and the mortgage butthe bank continues to harass for payment. On the 11th January I instructedthe bank to cancel all standing orders and direct debits from all accountsuntil further notice and still they continue charge us for failed paymentshaving not cancelled them. Despite continued efforts to inform the bankof our dilemma, they continue to absorb BACS payments from customers trying topay the liquated company in error. This is not showing on the bank statementsas this account is in the hands of the receiver. The bank has continued toinsist that it takes time to close the account despite the receiver havingcharge over it. So, I am desperately seeking 3 separatepieces of advice to my issues, please. Issue 1. The bank has prevented me fromcontacting a responsible person to discuss my unsecured company debts with and,I feel this is an attempt to secure a default allowing them to follow adifferent course of action. How does a default change the status of my debt andto what end? Issue 2. If, as I believe, the reason for the bank trying to group myloans together is the fact that my good loans are secured and my bad loans arenot. How do I prevent the bank from doing this? Issue 3. In view of my belief that the bankacted irresponsibly by removing the increasing overdraft when it suited themand not the service user, I feel I have cause to consider a court actionagainst the bank for damages. How do I quantify and start such a process?

Hi, This sounds really silly but i took out a unsecured loan back in 2007 with Barclays and defaulted in 2009 owing just under £25k. I still bank with them as my current account is with them. What am confused about is that they are not pursuing me for it! They know where i live and know all my income and out goings. does anyone have any idea as to why its not been sold on or why they are not chasing me for it?

I have an outstanding RBS credit card debt which has been assigned on to Arrow Global. My question is if the debt has prescribed as nothing had been heard of it for ages, until a recent letter from a CCA in Scotland. The last payment made by me was in Dec 2005. The debt was assigned to Arrow Global in Feb 2011. There had been no acknowledgement by me of the debt for over 5 years, so normally the debt would prescribe. However in Dec 2008 I wrote to RBS requiring penalty credit card charges on that account to be refunded, which were credited to the account. Also in Sept 2008 I made a s77-78 request to the then CCA acting for RBS in standard template form. Both letters quoted the account number, but not the amount outstanding. Do you consider that these letters constitute "the subsistence of the obligation having been relevantly acknowledged" in terms of s.6 of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 i.e. that the debt will not prescribe until Dec 2013? Thanks for reading.

Hi all, been falling behind with my unsecured loan with Natwest. This is due to drop in work (self employed) and my daughters regular admissions into hospital due to ilness, however she is picking up now. My partner now has another job which commences in Jan increasing our income and i have a job interview on friday. I have recieved a letter this morning from natwest demanding i call and come to an agreement. I have been paying 60 pound for the last 4 month as a token payment. The total arrears is now 796.00 Thing is they are threatening default and formal demands. They will also close both my business account and current account. To be honest, this drives me mad. I have had accounts with them for 25 years, business account for 3 years. In that time, at no point has their so called business manager ever contacted me, either to give advice or to see how the business is doing.... ....no service what so ever. Still take their fees though! should i call or do all by post? thing is i need these accounts to stay open..... On another note, in the summer i sent a SAR for all my previous loans and accounts to look for PPI, but they simply refused saying all the accounts were closed and no infor is held? surely this cannot be correct cheers

My situation is that I'm shortly leaving to go and live in the US with my fiance and as such won't have a regular income until I can find a job and she will fully support me on a day to day basis financially. I have the below levels of unsecured debt with my current income I'm struggling to make payments and am in arrears to HSBC for the credit card and have been bumping along at my overdraft limit for years. HSBC Overdraft £1,000.00 HSBC Credit card £5,538.00 Santander Overdraft £248.08 CapitalOne £1,157.32 Barclaycard £1,168.09 Before I leave I've tried to discuss with PayPlan, CCCS and HSBC themselves about my options for when I don't have income but none have been able to help me as they seem to be focused on the here and now and can't help me with the future despite me knowing the exact circumstances that will arise. Basically I'm hoping for some advice/best course of action to take. I'll be able to muster together circa £2,000 from my final months salary so could I make full and final settlement offers? Would that be feasible if I explain my situation and with that level of lump sum? Or in a few months would I be eligible to enter in to a DRO or similar? Essentially I'd just like some clarifications of what my options are for when I won't have a regular income come November. Thanks in advance.

Hi All, I lost my business and job in 2009 and at that time had to stop all payments on credit. As a result I now have several debts amounting to 77k. Most of this is the shortfall on my mortgage which arose in 2009, even though I had an agreed buyer at the time to eliminate any shortfall, and has been frozen at 51k. The others are all credit cards and 1 bank overdraft. All of these debts have been sold on more than once to different debt collection agencies, and as my house was repossessed and I moved out of the area, I wasn't detected. After taking a small payday loan (which was payed back on time), some of the DCAs have sent letters to my dad's with the usual threats, all of which I have ignored. Some of them have offered reductions, and others, payment offers. My intention is to lay low and save up enough money to settle these outright (discounted of course). I don't want to become bankrupt or face the 5 years locked into an IVA. Any advice?