I'm collapsing under crashing debt - really need your advice

[Mallanx]

Hi there.

A friend told me about these forums. My debt problem is giving me serious sleep and health problems and I really need help. I owe about 10,000 on a Natest loan. And about 8k over various (5) credit cards plus an overdraft of 1800 (dreadful I know - I am so silly for getting into this debt when i was younger).

I end up forking out about 800-900 a month on this debt - probably more. Because of the interest rates on the cards and loan the debt is going down but very very slowly. I run out of money by about the 2nd-3rd week after pay day.

I've moved home with my parents (i'm over 30 for goodness sake) to try and cut the bills and I am still crippled by my debts. What can I do? I hardly go out. The money just runs out.

I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I really need to sort this out. Can anyone help? I was thinking of consolidating the debt but I hear this is bad.

Any help would be appreciated. I don't want to declare bancruptcy and I can't handle these interest rates and the amount that comes out of my account on debt every month.

Any advice would be appreciated.

M

x

[celtichedgewitch]

National Debtline, for FREE CONFIDENTIAL and INDEPENDENT ADVICE call 0808 808 4000

 

Take control of your situation - I know that sounds harsh but I've been there myself so I know that the more you put it off the worse it gets. Get in touch with your creditors, tell them you can't afford to pay, use the budget sheet on this link to work out what you CAN afford and make an arrangement with each of them to pay less.

 

Your local Citizens Advice Bureau can also help - if you find it difficult to write the letters, they can do it for you - and to be honest it helps with some companies if you do use an intermediary.

 

If you have service connections the Royal British legion and SSAFA have debt advisors.

 

Do not pay anyone to do this for you - help can be got for free. Even if it's only from me, here.

[gizmo111]

In addition to the above you need to make a list of all your debts and see if you can claim back any charges to reduce the amounts you owe. You must drw up a realistic budget that you can stick to. Can you tell us more about youyr self - what you earn, what is your job, total debts and why you will not consider bankruptcy.

[djgordyp]

Other people you might like to try are CCCS - Free Debt Advice from the UK's Leading Debt Charity or Free Debt Management company | Payplan both of these organisations will liase between you and your creditors and help you draw up a budget and work out how much you can afford to pay.

 

I am with the cccs and they are very helpful. Once they contact your creditors all charges should stop. You send one monthly payment to them and they forward this to your creditors. Best of all, they don't charge for their service unlike some other companies.

 

Given the amount you owe, bankruptcy may not be a bad idea. It used to be that the 'after effects' lasted for 5 years but I believe that is now down to one year. That is about all I know about bankruptcy so I suggest entering the word into Google or talking it over with an advisor.

 

Using cccs or payplan, it will probably still take a long time to clear your debts. But they will be more manageable and start going down.

Good luck.

[ukaviator]

I would'nt think about going Bankrupt at this time. You could go the IVA route if things are really bad. I believe you could sort this out with the CCCS, and recover the Credit Card charges with our help first, to knock something off the amount owing. You would need to send an S.A.R - (Subject Access Request) to all of your creditors for your data they hold on you. This includes statements. The cost is £10 for the paperwork to be sent to you. If you have Multiple accounts with a company, then it is still £10 for all of your data. Have a good read around the FAQ's section. I have left some links below to help you get around.

 

Uk

[diskmandave]

First of all, could I say hello and welcome to the Consumer Action Group, and secondly, ouch to your monthly payments!!

 

I see that you have already been given excellent advice.

 

I can just further advise that you contact the Consumer Credit Counselling Service at your earliest convenience.

 

CCCS - Free Debt Advice from the UK's Leading Debt Charity

 

I was in the same position as you when I found the CAG last December..

 

I'm the one who's in control now!!

 

Best wishes, regards, Dave.

 

[vandermerwe]

Good morning Mallanx

 

Don't even think about bankruptcy, or even IVAs.

 

You've been given the best possible advice here by several experienced advisers.

 

If you have been shelling out £800-£900 per month CCCS can agree a budget with you, take a debit order from you in the 1st of the month, pay your creditors a prorata amount on the 25th of every month, (hopefully) get them to play ball and stop charging interest, and let you get on with your life.

 

I've been with them for over a year now and am too embarrassed to say what I owe and the amount I pay each month.

 

They are a registered charity and make no charges whatsoever.

 

So - get with it - give them a call on 0800 138-1111 (best time to call is 08.00)

 

Good luck and please keep us posted - even if you get everything sorted out.

 

Regards.

 

Vandermerwe

[Laiste]

Hi Mallanx,

 

A very warm welcome to CAG, you are in absolutely the right place to find out about how to take control of your situation.

 

First of all, don't beat yourself up about the situation you find yourself in. There are a multitude of reasons why people find themselves in debt and berating yourself for it, won't help you resolve the problem any faster! I mean that in the nicest possible way!

 

It is not uncommon for people when they get into debt, to start picturing all manner of horrendous things that they believe are going to happen to them; which is, I imagine, why you are having sleepless nights and you're health is suffering. Unpleasant things only happen when these situations are neglected, leaving a creditor to pursue whatever course of action they deem appropriate.

 

You have been given advice regarding your options and I want to add my views also for you to consider. Under no circumstances whatsoever consider IVA's or Bankruptcy, these are extreme options, which are wholly unnecessary, please disregard both.

 

Regarding CCCS and other agencies that negotiate lower payments with your creditors; these organisations have their place, but they should not be your first choice in terms of dealing with your creditors.

 

To begin with, you need to establish if your creditors hold valid credit agreements in respect of the debts you have. As many people here will tell you, you may be paying for credit cards/loans that are not legally enforceable because the Company in question, either doesn't hold any agreement at all, or produces a document that is not an agreement. This will probably not make much sense at the moment, and you may be thinking, I've had the loan/use of the card, so I must have to pay it back...? The bank/credit card company would like you to think that, but unless they have a legally valid agreement in place, the debt cannot be enforced against you, which means you are not liable for the debt.

 

You must find out first before you consider any other options what the position is in respect of agreements held (or not, as the case may be) by your creditors, before you do anything else. In my experience, the chances of all your creditors producing valid agreements is highly unlikely.

 

I have yet to see anyone who has 8 creditors for example, be liable for even 50% of the total amount of the debt. I am of course basing my statement upon the people I've helped, who have found themselves in exactly the same situation you are in. There are no guarantees what proportion of your debts will/won't be enforceable, but I've found something wrong with every single agreement I've seen so far, so there's every reason to believe that your situation will be similar!

 

You will find plenty of information on here about CCA requests, which are what you send to get the ball rolling to ask for copies of agreements. This should be done as soon as possible, but take enough time so that you don't make mistakes! Ignore anyone who says to send such requests by recorded delivery. The service is entirely unreliable and these letters must be sent by guaranteed next day delivery, yes it's more expensive but absolutely essential. Also, if you have to make more than one request to a Company, say for example, you have a loan and credit card, send them separately, do not put them in the same envelope and send them together!

 

I am a bit short of time, so what I haven't given reasons for, I'm sure others will explain, or you will find out as you read around the forums!

 

Above all, don't panic, we are here to help you to resolve your problems and if you have any questions, just ask!

 

I wish you well!

 

Kind regards,

 

Laiste.

[payingonlyencouragesthem]

Hi there.

A friend told me about these forums. My debt problem is giving me serious sleep and health problems and I really need help. I owe about 10,000 on a Natest loan. And about 8k over various (5) credit cards plus an overdraft of 1800 (dreadful I know - I am so silly for getting into this debt when i was younger).

 

£20k isn't that much;). Many of us here have dealt with far larger problems than this, probably on a lower income than you. Whether you do or whether you don't want to pay the money back It's absolutely essential that you go down the CCA route first. If none of your debts are enforceable then you are totally in the driving seat. How successful you are with the CCA's will depend how long ago you signed for the debts. Send out the letter template N from this forum to each of your creditors. Stop paying money now and don't resume until or unless they supply an agreement. BTW if anyone sends you an application form that doesn't comply and means they can't enforce.

[PriorityOne]

Are any of these accounts with Debt Collection Agencies or are they still with the original creditors ?

[trixter444]

Hi guys this may sound a bit thick but how do you know if it is a valid ir invalid agreement?

[rory32]

TRIXTER THIS MAY GIVE YOU AN INSIGHT http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/debt-collectors-debt-collection/105315-my-agreement-enforceable-useful.html

[Goldlady]

I was in a similar position to you about 2 years ago - debts of 80K:D (business related not luxury cruises) which I had been paying but then our income dropped. Initially (as I was on the verge of a breakdown with all the harassment) my OH got all of the creditors to accept lower payments (we got the payments down from £2500 a month to £250) and then more recently with the help of the CAB we reduced the payments again to £1 for a short period. All but one of them froze the interest and refunded charges we had incurred when we first got into trouble.

 

Several of them kicked off when we tried to reduce the payments to £1 - interestingly this was mostly the smaller ones - and with the excellent guidance on this site I sent these people CCA letters. Three of these people have not been able to find any agreement at all and the rest have supplied application forms and I am still trying to decide on their enforceability.

 

I have wrestled with the morality of this, but decided that most of them are guilty of irresponsible lending as they kept upping my credit limit when I was only managing to make the minimum payment - one of the cards increased my limit by £2k at a time!

 

You are getting some excellent help from the good people on here - as I have and continue to do. I just wanted to say that it is possible to do it all yourself (well I am good with the letters and OH has an excellent telephone manner:D) . You will look back in a year or less and not necessarily laugh, but the stress will go down and you might actually begin to enjoy the battle.

[NitrousOxide]

Are any of these accounts with Debt Collection Agencies or are they still with the original creditors ?

SNAP!!

Was going to ask this.

[vandermerwe]

What an excellent and well written response Laiste.

 

As I am not like pd, pete and the others I turn into a pumpkin around this hour and intend posting on my own thread tomorrow to which I might guide you for needed advice.

 

I am curious about one point on this thread, however.

 

Why do you advocate the 'next day special delivery service'? Surely if something is sent by 'recorded signed for delivery' - and of course signed for = it achieves the same objective?

 

Best wishes.

 

Vandermerwe

[noomill060]

In answer to you question, vandermerwe- Recorded Delivery goes along with all the othe mail and you are NOT gauranteed a signature, despite what the PO say.

 

The only way you are guaranteed delivery with a sig is to use Special Delivery.

 

Worth the extra couple of quid for the peace of mind and extra hassle you are saved.

[joe1965]

Recorded isn't always signed for on delivery, if they have a six page list of items only the first page will be signed across and that's it.

Goldlady, I read your post with interest regarding the morality of whether to pay a debt or not. This time last year we were over 15K in debt and now it is down to 4K. The 11K is all unenforcable debt and I have no guilt about not paying it back as when I sat down and did the sums the companies had been paid back all the money I had borrowed and it was just the accrued interest and charges they had added on which made up the total owing.

[Brassed off]

In answer to you question, vandermerwe- Recorded Delivery goes along with all the othe mail and you are NOT gauranteed a signature, despite what the PO say.

 

The only way you are guaranteed delivery with a sig is to use Special Delivery.

 

Worth the extra couple of quid for the peace of mind and extra hassle you are saved.

 

Good info Noomill060, however, in my experience, if you get a response to your correspondence, then you know that they have received it regardless of POD on RM's website;)

[Goldlady]

Joe you are so right - that is exactly the conclusion I came to after doing a few spreadsheets!!! The only ones who we do owe money to are four GE storecards and GE owe us £4k on a secured loan so I think I can justify that one too - perhaps not to a judge but in my own head;) I don't think it is right to use the CCA route to get out of debt free just to be spiteful. I still have a dilemma with the ones who have been reasonable and accepted my reduced payments - OH thinks I should CCA them as well but I am hesitant to do it. On the other hand, have they accepted my reduced payments (£1 per month) because they have no CCA? Decisions, decisions. But at least I feel like I am in control now:D

[NitrousOxide]

Hi there.

A friend told me about these forums. My debt problem is giving me serious sleep and health problems and I really need help. I owe about 10,000 on a Natest loan. And about 8k over various (5) credit cards plus an overdraft of 1800 (dreadful I know - I am so silly for getting into this debt when i was younger).

I end up forking out about 800-900 a month on this debt - probably more. Because of the interest rates on the cards and loan the debt is going down but very very slowly. I run out of money by about the 2nd-3rd week after pay day.

I've moved home with my parents (i'm over 30 for goodness sake) to try and cut the bills and I am still crippled by my debts. What can I do? I hardly go out. The money just runs out.

I'm not sure how much more of this I can take. I really need to sort this out. Can anyone help? I was thinking of consolidating the debt but I hear this is bad.

Any help would be appreciated. I don't want to declare bancruptcy and I can't handle these interest rates and the amount that comes out of my account on debt every month.

Any advice would be appreciated.

M

x

Ok..

Don't borrow further, it's a mistake in the long run.

If you are in trouble, then I guess you have a fair few fees that you can claim back. Even check that PPI isn't on your cards and loan as this can be reclaimed if mis-sold or not requested.

"Just in case" I would CCA them all as well. I did this to a credit card company and found I was better off asking for the agreement as I had very few charges. DCA wrote the debt off.

[gizmo111]

Hi Goldlady (thanks for the earlier comments)

 

I see what you are saying, but just a word of caution you must pay the full amount to the ge secured loan whatever you are owed from them, otherwise your home is at risk.

[payingonlyencouragesthem]

I don't think it is right to use the CCA route to get out of debt free just to be spiteful. I still have a dilemma with the ones who have been reasonable and accepted my reduced payments - OH thinks I should CCA them as well but I am hesitant to do it. On the other hand, have they accepted my reduced payments (£1 per month) because they have no CCA? Decisions, decisions. But at least I feel like I am in control now:D

 

You should still CCA them as you may find they get bored of their £1 a month and start asking for more. Above all, if they have no agreement then you are in complete control and you can pay them back as and when, if you feel that's the right thing to do.