what is the way forward - pls help

[PriorityOne]

Are you able to itemise the debts that they have ?

 

How old are they ?

What kind of debts are they.... is there more than one credit card ?

If so, how much is outstanding on each ?

Are they with the original creditor or a Debt Collection Agency (DCA)

Do they have any County Court Judgements (CCJs) ?

Are any of them secured on the property ?

 

You need to post up a bit more info. before we can help.

 

[PriorityOne]

the credit card they pay 200 a month on and only pay 20 tactually off as all the rest is interest, the bal on that is 12 thousand, i know they have other cards but am not sure what the balance is.

 

 

Your parents cannot continue leaving this situation as it is.... the interest is making the problem worse. They need to itemise how much is owed on which accounts and go from there....

 

It sounds to me as if £200 a month is way above the amount they can genuinely afford to pay on the card you mention.... so I would suggest contacting this particular creditor with an Income/Expenditure breakdown, stating that they can no longer afford to maintain payments as they are at the moment, offer token payments of no more than £10 a month and request that interest be frozen on the account.

 

This is the softly, softly approach... which may suit your parents better than going down the route of a CCA request. However, if the creditor gets sh*tty and refuses to accept the proposal, they will need to send the CCA request in order to protect their own interests... ie, stop the creditor from possibly going for a CCJ on the full amount they allege is owed.

 

I suspect that the reason your parents are reluctant to discuss these issues with outsiders is due to a sense of shame. Debt tends to be seen differently across the generations and the older members of our society tend to carry the stigma of shame around with them far more than they should.

 

As for an IVA, I personally wouldn't touch these with a barge pole, but that view may not be shared by others on here....

[PriorityOne]

 

Maybe they should also do what alex did and move to rented accomidation and sell the house. I know this might sound bad but they could then use the money they get for the house to pay off some of there debts and they then wont be risking losing there house anyway.

 

I wouldn't recommend going down this road.... this is usually part of the ('phone) bowlarks they try and tell you in order to get increased payments. I had that little gem said to me countless times (during the days when I spoke to them on the 'phone) in an attempt to get me to admit I owned property.... which I always denied, of course.... They don't have the right to say such things... it's bullying, plain and simple.

 

The only time your parents would be at risk of losing their house is if the creditor went for a CCJ, followed by a property charge, followed by an Order of Sale.... all of which can be challenged anyway. If they were to go for a CCJ for example, this could be challenged on the grounds of unlawful charges being applied to the account..... assuming they have a CCA in the first place ! Without a CCA, they can't enforce the debt at all. If they do have a valid CCA, then your parents can re-claim charges and make regular payments based on what they can afford.... which would challenge any "right" to go ahead with a property charge anyway.