Debt collection hell, need advice & someone to talk to...

[moonwoman]

Hi Peepo,

 

I have just read through your thread and I have got tears in my eyes. I promise you that with the advice and support you will get from this forum that your life can be normal again. I don't have the knowledge, but many others do, and they will help you to get this sorted out.

 

Remember that your debt situation doesn't make you any less of a person - you are still the loving mother of your daughter, and you have rights. Many people on this forum will help you to stand up for those rights. I cannot offer the specific advice you need, but someone else on here soon will. In the meantime I can offer you my support and my admiration for you in having got this far. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, and the people on this forum are the power source for it!

 

Keep your chin up

 

Best Wishes

 

Moonwoman

[Peepo]

I have finally managed to get an appointment with a debt advisor at the citizens advice next week. I hope the outcome can relieve some of the stress. I am dubious.

[Hopeful1]

I have finally managed to get an appointment with a debt advisor at the citizens advice next week. I hope the outcome can relieve some of the stress. I am dubious.

 

Hi Peepo.

 

I hope they help. Is there anything we can help with, like reclaiming charges or anything like that?

[Fred Bassett]

I have finally managed to get an appointment with a debt advisor at the citizens advice next week. I hope the outcome can relieve some of the stress. I am dubious.

 

Don't be dubious Peepo, CAB are, very good - they won't be interested in how you got into debt, so they won't be trying to judge you or anything like that and they can help, so look on the bright side. You've also got all of your friends on here to help.

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[Goldlady]

I dealt with CAB on the phone and they were great, and I think if you have actually managed to get to see someone you will be absolutely fine.

[mr.ton]

P.S its not that I dont want to pay the debts or want them written off, I would just like some let-up from the harassment they subject me to.

 

Peebo - i know its easier said than done, but the day you start telling these DCA's to f***k off effectivley, is the day they will leave you alone.

They dont like awkward "customers" & dont like those who answer back so to speak....

Just remember that they have no rights or authority over you whatsoever.

The only place with any power over the individual is a court & if none of them are preparred to take you to court, then tell them to sod off & dont pay them a penny anymore.

No bailiffs will call round - if they do, ask them to leave & if they dont call the police for breach of the peace.

The only bailiffs that can enter your home are those instructed by a court.

[Peepo]

Thanks guys, Ive been looking through all my stuff today to get ready for citizens advice, and I can see that with this forums help I did make some progress & managed to do alot with the advice on here.

 

I just found one debt that made me cry. A debt originally for £600 which is now £1000. I was paying money off every week to the debt collection agency, and I see they were charging me administration charges every week & charged me £70 to set up a payment arrangement which I hadnt noticed at the time.

So I managed to pay £150 off to make the debt £450 but because of what the debt collection agency were charging me its now £1000. I would never have gotten out of the vicious circle if I hadnt asked them for credit agreement thanks to the advice from this forum.

It makes me so angry that in amongst all my pain & misery I was being made a fool of by them so they could line their pockets. :evil:

[Hopeful1]

Thanks guys, Ive been looking through all my stuff today to get ready for citizens advice, and I can see that with this forums help I did make some progress & managed to do alot with the advice on here.

 

I just found one debt that made me cry. A debt originally for £600 which is now £1000. I was paying money off every week to the debt collection agency, and I see they were charging me administration charges every week & charged me £70 to set up a payment arrangement which I hadnt noticed at the time.

So I managed to pay £150 off to make the debt £450 but because of what the debt collection agency were charging me its now £1000. I would never have gotten out of the vicious circle if I hadnt asked them for credit agreement thanks to the advice from this forum.

It makes me so angry that in amongst all my pain & misery I was being made a fool of by them so they could line their pockets. :evil:

 

Peepo DO NOT be hard on yourself. So many of us allowed ourselves to be hounded and taken advantage of by DCAs and creditors. I am talking from personal experience and it is only from finding CAG that i started to see the wood for the trees.

 

Once you've been to CAB and have all your payment arrangements in place, take a breath Then, when you have re-energised you can look at all the debts you can reclaim charges from.

 

Remember only bank charges are on hold, but put any claims in anyway.

 

Credit cards, loans and catalogues can be claimed now.

 

With the charges i've reclaimed so far, i have ask for the refund to be made by cheque. I've then used the money to pay off the most important debts. My main one was mortgage arrears. I just avoided court last year, as the refund was made a week before - talk about living by the seat of my pants

 

The key is, this will start to look better once you are in control.

 

Let us know how you get on with CAB

[Peepo]

Hello, I went to Citizens Advice. They said because of how ill I had become because of this I should declare myself bankrupt. They figured this was the best option for me. All I feel though is that will give society another label to belittle me with. 'Hes a 'bankrupt' he cant handle his money'etc.

 

My current bank account will be frozen though & I need my bank account, so they have advised me to open another bank account before I declare myself bankrupt so I am able to continue paying my rent & bills by direct debit.

 

Also the prospect of finding £340 to declare myself bankrupt seemed really out of reach.

 

However, I spent today applying for bank accounts & no one will have me. So I am at a loss again

[babybear39]

Contact CCCS, they may be able to help you find a charity willing to help with or pay the fee:

 

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

[palomino]

Hello, I went to Citizens Advice. They said because of how ill I had become because of this I should declare myself bankrupt. They figured this was the best option for me. All I feel though is that will give society another label to belittle me with. 'Hes a 'bankrupt' he cant handle his money'etc.

 

My current bank account will be frozen though & I need my bank account, so they have advised me to open another bank account before I declare myself bankrupt so I am able to continue paying my rent & bills by direct debit.

 

Also the prospect of finding £340 to declare myself bankrupt seemed really out of reach.

 

However, I spent today applying for bank accounts & no one will have me. So I am at a loss again

 

 

Just hold on a tic.

 

 

At the time you are declared bankrupt all your bank accounts are, as you say, frozen. In fact they immediately belong to the Official Receiver.

If you open another account now (ie. before you are bankrupt) then that is just another account that goes to the OR.

What you should do is withdraw all your cash from all your accounts before going bankrupt. You probably don't have much and most of that will go to the bankruptcy petition.

 

Afterwards you can open another account. Most banks and building societies will allow you to do this. You will only be able to open what is basically a savings account where you can make deposits and withdrawals but there are no credit facilities (such as direct debits) and you don't get a cheque book. If you need a cheque then most banks and building societies will issue a cheque instead of cash when you make a withdrawal.

This means of course that you will have to make alternative arrangements for anything you pay by direct debit at the moment.

 

[As a rule of thumb you can still open an account where the only documentation required is proof of ID (so you can't launder all those millions stashed under the mattress), and where credit references and suchlike are not required.]

 

Are you on any sort of Government benefit? If so you should be eligible for a Post Office Card Account. You use this (as you might guess) at the Post Office. You can have all your benefits credited to that account. You can get a brochure at the post Office.

The good thing about a PO Card Account is that the OR isn't interested in them

 

Lastly, forget about labels. We all have them of one sort or another but no-one here cares a fig. You're just as good as the rest of us here:).

Edited July 17, 2008 by palomino
clarity

[Hopeful1]

Here is a link for the charity group Babybear has pointed you to. It just goes straight to the info page re bankruptcy:

 

Bankruptcy Advice - Money Advice and Information - CCCS

 

Read round all the info, but ultimately it is your decision and you need to decide what feels best for you.

 

We will be here to offer support whatever choice you make

[tomterm8]

If you want to go bankrupt, I generally recommend funding it through one of those dodgy 225% APR loans.

 

It serves the b*****ds right, IMHO...

 

you don't open your bank account yet, just make preperations by removing money, and arranging another way to pay any utility bills / rents etc. If you've decided to go bankrupt, stop paying all creditors except government and utilities, and mortgage / rent.

 

As for the stigma... no one reads the bankruptcy column, and no one will know unless you tell them. Even if they did know, they wouldn't giver a *****. although you do tend to get some spam letters from dodgy IVA companies.

Edited July 17, 2008 by tomterm8

[babybear39]

I did it 'cos it was the best thing for me and my health. It was a hard choice, but the court staff, judge and Official Reciever were all very kind and non judgemental.

 

I feel much better knowing that I got the parasites off my back in a legal way and I don't feel at all bad about it. I fell on hard times because I got very ill and am now permanently disabled, whereas before, I had a very high paying managerial job.

 

There were loads of other people at the court doing the same thing as me.

 

The reason I pointed you to the CCCS is that they advised that an ex employer of mine would consider paying the fee. I applied, and they did...

[babybear39]

If you want to go bankrupt, I generally recommend funding it through one of those dodgy 225% APR loans.

 

It serves the b*****ds right, IMHO...

 

you don't open your bank account yet, just make preperations.

 

As for the stigma... no one reads the bankruptcy column, and no one will know unless you tell them. Even if they did know, they wouldn't giver a *****. although you do tend to get some spam letters from dodgy IVA companies.

 

Wouldn't the judge and OR look poorly on this

[tomterm8]

People pay for bankruptcies on credit all the time. Most do it via credit card.

[Fred Bassett]

This means of course that you will have to make alternative arrangements for anything you pay by direct debit at the moment..

 

Palomino, even basic bank accounts allow you direct debit facilities. I've got an account with HSBC and it is only the basic one but I don't have any problems with it - you can set up direct debits, transfer between accounts - all online and it works very well.

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[Goldlady]

Peepo, you really must not look at BR as failure, rather as a victory. In an earlier post you mentioned the debt which had gone up from £600 to £1000, even though you had tried your best to pay it off. Think how good you will feel when that particular DCA gets nothing:p. Lots of very successful people have gone bankrupt and in some communities it is considered that you aren't likely to succeed in business unless you have been bankrupt at least once:p. There are lots of people on here who have done it, and lots who have come close, including me.

 

You can get round the bank account thing by having an account with a nil balance which is not included in the bankruptcy. If you do decide to go for it I am sure you will find the money from somewhere. And from everyone I know who has done it, the feeling of relief afterwards is tremendous. And the people at the OR's office are really nice and not at all judgemental.

[Fred Bassett]

Peepo, you really must not look at BR as failure, rather as a victory. In an earlier post you mentioned the debt which had gone up from £600 to £1000, even though you had tried your best to pay it off. Think how good you will feel when that particular DCA gets nothing:p. Lots of very successful people have gone bankrupt and in some communities it is considered that you aren't likely to succeed in business unless you have been bankrupt at least once:p. There are lots of people on here who have done it, and lots who have come close, including me.

 

You can get round the bank account thing by having an account with a nil balance which is not included in the bankruptcy. If you do decide to go for it I am sure you will find the money from somewhere. And from everyone I know who has done it, the feeling of relief afterwards is tremendous. And the people at the OR's office are really nice and not at all judgemental.

 

I went bankrupt once Goldlady - it was a relief in many ways and it doesn't take that long to restore things to normal afterwards. Let's face it, if you have a bad credit history then being bankrupt doesn't really affect your life in any way that is not already causing you hardship and of course there is the added bonus that you've no longer got any debts or hassle. It does mean that you can't become an MP though, but then you could argue that being tarred with becoming bankrupt is not nearly so bad for your reputation as being a member of our beloved Parliament.

 

When I went bankrupt, the woman at the court asked me for the money and I asked her if she'd take a cheque. The look on her face will be etched in my mind forever!

 

Regards

 

Fred

[Goldlady]

It does mean that you can't become an MP though

 

Well that's a relief:o

[Peepo]

Hello, thankyou for the replies. The Citizens Advice told me I can open a bank account before I declare myself bankrupt as the courts are only interested in the accounts you have that you owe money on.

 

I recieved a letter from Nat West today & its looking like they might let me have an account. I'll go down there on Monday & see what they say.

 

Thankyou Goldlady,

in some communities it is considered that you aren't likely to succeed in business unless you have been bankrupt at least once:p.

This actually made me smile for the first time in ages

Who knows, down & out today, Richard Branson tomorrow.

 

All this sorting out of bank accounts & bills feels like the last leg of a long battle. I'll have a look at the charity thing & also start saving up the fee.

Thankyou for support. It always helps to know there are people who understand.

[Fred Bassett]

Hello, thankyou for the replies. The Citizens Advice told me I can open a bank account before I declare myself bankrupt as the courts are only interested in the accounts you have that you owe money on.

 

I recieved a letter from Nat West today & its looking like they might let me have an account. I'll go down there on Monday & see what they say.

 

Thankyou Goldlady,

This actually made me smile for the first time in ages

Who knows, down & out today, Richard Branson tomorrow.

 

All this sorting out of bank accounts & bills feels like the last leg of a long battle. I'll have a look at the charity thing & also start saving up the fee.

Thankyou for support. It always helps to know there are people who understand.

 

Peepo, just one thing to be aware of. Have you live at your own address for some time or have you recently lived with relatives? If you have it could cause some problems for them if you put down their address on your bankruptcy form.

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[palomino]

You might like to read this http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/pdfs/guidanceleafletspdf/bankaccount.pdf

 

Among other things this supports my contention that all your bank accounts are frozen at the time of your bankruptcy. It also contradicts the CAB advice in post 96.

As this comes directly from the government's insolvency website I would expect it to be correct.

[babybear39]

All my accounts were frozen, even the one with my benefits and student finance, so be prepared...

[palomino]

These brochures might also be useful -

 

from the FSA http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

 

from CAB http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/nm/basic_bank_accounts.pdf