Debt following death.

[nuthatch]

My husband died suddenly a month ago at the age of 56.

We have been in a DMP with CCCS since Jan 2006.

I contacted CCCS who asked for a copy of the Death Cert.They have now removed DH's name and debts from the DMP but said the creditors will contact me about his estate.

They have suspended the DMP until September until I can sort things out and contact them for a review. I work and have a pension (I am 54)

 

Now, DH had no insurance. He had taken early retirement because of his health and only worked a few hours a week at minimum wage. His income was about £600 (including his pension).

He had no other assets apart from some new tools which he had been buying following the fire.

We had some money left from a house sale last year but not enough to get creditors to accept a F&F on our DMP so it is sitting in a high interest account which I have now transferred to my name only. Because of DH's surgery prior to his death, we had had to use some of this money towards living expenses.

 

Although I just want to crawl into a dark hole and cry, I am having to deal with this. He had made a will and I am sole executor. Everything was left to me.

We live in rented accommodation and have no assets.

 

Does anyone know what the creditors will do? I have read on a Bereavement Website that there is an order of priority for debts following death starting with Funeral Expenses and ending with loans, credit cards etc.

I have received my bereavement payment of £2000 and am waiting to hear about my application for bereavement allowance.

I am not entitled to any benefits but have got my Council Tax single adult rebate set up.

Will they expect me to sell his tools and give them the money?

 

Sorry this is loaded with questions but I have the memory of a goldfish and the brain of a gnat at the moment.

Edited August 30, 2008 by nuthatch

[PriorityOne]

I'm so sorry to hear of your husband's death.... and can remember what my Mum went through after Dad passed away years ago now....

 

Were the loans/credit cards in his name only, do you know ?

[nuthatch]

Hi PriorityOne.

We each had debts in our own name but for the purposes of the DMP, everything was put on the one plan by CCCS.

Following my own Dad's tragic death 3 yrs ago I had to get my Mum out of debt which I managed fine.

But this is a whole different ball game.

 

I cannot sleep or eat and just don't think I can go through the whole threatening letter scenario again.

 

If the creditors write off my DH's debts, I could offer a F&F settlement figure in the region of 30% of my debt. Some of my debts have just been passed to DCAs and we had each just had a settlement offer from one of them at a 30% reduction on the total amount.

[PriorityOne]

Ok.... the debts that are in your husband's name only do not become your responsibility after his passing. Send a copy of the Death Certificate to each of these companies (by rec. delivery), if CCCS haven't already done so.... outlining what's happened.

 

The debts that are your own... can you list what these are for, whether you have any CCJs.... the balance alleged to be outstanding and the amount you are currently paying ? Please also state which company is currently chasing you for payments on these accounts.

 

Threatening letters are usually quite meaningless... unfortunately most of them are dressed up to look legaly savvy; with talk of "clients", "instructions" and so on. V. cheap psychology . Don't have any dealings with these muppets on the 'phone... just hang up or refuse to go through "security".... or they will fill your head with all kinds of rubbish.

 

Debt collectors are not bailiffs .... so there is no risk of them getting you to sell anything and they have absolutely no rights to enter your home whatsoever.... so please stop worrying about that side of things.

 

Edited July 25, 2008 by PriorityOne
spelling...

[nuthatch]

Thank you again PriorityOne.

I will get the file out and post these up later as I am going to sit in the sun for a bit and try and concentrate on a book.

I have no CCJs. CCCS have sent copies of the Death Cert to all DH's creditors but I had already sent a copy to CL FInance who wrote asking for one. This has since been returned with an acknowledgement..I do send everything by Recorded Delivery.

I will be back a bit later.

[PriorityOne]

Ok Nuthatch.... enjoy the sunshine while it lasts. You need the rest. Spending time in the sunshine will give you some peace for a while.

 

[ukaviator]

Hello Nuthatch

 

Sorry to hear about your loss. Did your husband have an active credit card he used, if he did he may have been paying protection insurance on it, so the insurance would cover the amount outstanding if he did.

 

The other thing is, the companies looking for the outstanding balances will probably have added charges to the accounts, which you could claim back to his estate. We can show you how to do that when you are ready.

 

You are in good hands with Priorityone, hope things turn around quickly for you.

[nuthatch]

Can't settle.

Have been on CCCS website and they have removed DH's debts so the remaining ones are mine:

 

Credit cards: Payment:(month)

Argos £xxx £ x.xx

Cabot £xxxx.xx £xx.xx

Capital One £xxx.xx £x.xx

Egg £xxxx.xx £xx.xx

Lloyds TSB £xxxx.xx £x.xx

RBS £xxxx.xx £xx.xx

Tesco(RBS) £xxxx.xx £xx.xx

Robinson Way £xxxx.xx £xx.xx

 

Egg Loan £xxxx.xx £xx.xx

 

Until mu husband's debts were removed, we were making a monthly payment to the DMP of £418. This will obviously change and I don't know what it will be until I know what my income will be.

My landlord has said I can stay in the house as long as I want (I have it in writing) even though the house was sort of "tied" and we have been here 10yrs and done a lot to it as the rent has never moved.

Edited September 20, 2008 by saintly_1
Removal of figures

[nuthatch]

Hello Nuthatch

 

Sorry to hear about your loss. Did your husband have an active credit card he used, if he did he may have been paying protection insurance on it, so the insurance would cover the amount outstanding if he did.

 

The other thing is, the companies looking for the outstanding balances will probably have added charges to the accounts, which you could claim back to his estate. We can show you how to do that when you are ready.

 

You are in good hands with Priorityone, hope things turn around quickly for you.

All of our cards were cut up when we entered the DMP and we cancelled all the PPI. Also I got the bank charges refunded from RBOS just before the stay.

[PriorityOne]

£418 is WAY too much ... don't worry about this. I have to go offlilne shortly, but will be back later.

 

[PriorityOne]

Can't settle.

Have been on CCCS website and they have removed DH's debts so the remaining ones are mine:

 

Credit cards: Payment:(month)

 

 

 

Just a quickie here... You said that your payment plan with CCCS has been suspended until September... which should give you some much needed breathing space from everyone for a while.

 

From the list you gave... Cabot and Robinson Way are debt collectors and as such, can be dealt with first. Leave the rest until the logic of dealing with these two first has been explained to you properly. My main concern is that you don't take on to much right now.... and as the rest are still with the original creditors, you can safely offer £1 a month in repayment at a later date, if that's all you can afford. If they get sh*tty with that... they may have cause to regret it later.

Edited September 20, 2008 by saintly_1
removal of editied figures

[JonCris]

assume he had credit cards & bank account or other loans. If so contact them to see if life insurance was included as some lenders include life insurance as a matter of course

[PriorityOne]

Hi again Nuthatch...

 

Right... Cabot and Robinson Way. These are the two debt collectors on your list and are either collecting on behalf of an original creditor, or have bought the account they're collecting on by Absolute Assignment.

 

Either way, we need to establish that they have the legal authority to collect anything from you at all. This may surprise you... but the debt collection industry has thrived on public ignorance of the law for years... In recent years however, their activities have been looked at much more closely .

 

Don't worry about the fact that you've already made payments to these people... all you are about to do now is make a legal request for a true copy of the documentation that you allegedly signed.... and you have every right to do so. If they don't have it, then after 12 working days from receipt of this request, you can legally stop all payments. The link to the request is here :

 

Creditors and DCAs - Letter Templates & Budget Planner

 

Letter N is the one you need. Enclose a £1 postal order with each request (per account), do not sign the request; just initial it and send by rec. delivery. Once the request has been signed for, the clock starts to tick in your favour .

 

If they send something back to you.... come back on here and tell us what it is. Sometimes, they try and fob people off with application forms and sometimes, they refer the matter to their "clients":rolleyes:... but if you're really lucky, they may just cave in straight away. The only unfortunate aspect of them defaulting on a CCA request now is that you can't re-claim any monies already paid to them. It's v. complicated to explain, so I'll leave it for now....

 

Do not have any dealings with these two companies.... or anyone else, as previously advised. Just sit and wait. If you feel the need for moral support at any time... please, please come back on here. There's loads of support on here and most of us have either been through this process already (including myself), or are currently going through it now.

 

If you have any questions, just ask...

 

[sillygirl1]

Sorry to hear of your loss.

 

As Priority one says Cabot and Robinson Way are debt collectors and are probably collecting on behalf of somebody you may already be paying. Send them the Letter N above and see what they come back with.

 

Remember DO NOT SIGN the letter, put a squiggle and see if they 'copy' it onto an agreement.

 

Just post back here if you have any questions or queries.

[nuthatch]

Thank you for your replies. I will get my head round this but having a difficult couple of days.

The £418 per month payment was the amount the CCCS came up with based on both mine and my husband's incomes last year when we had our DMP review and included payments to his debts as well.

We did not have bank current accounts. Just basic building society cash account that allows standing orders/direct debits. I also have a Visa Electron.

I have to do little things at once as it is only 3 weeks from the funeral and I cannot concentrate.

I have checked my file and the Robinson Way Debt is for HFC/Marbles CC.

The Cabot one is for Goldfish CC.

I have had a letter from CCCS today to say that they have contacted all my husband's creditors with a view to writing off his debts.

 

I do not know how long I will be off work and not sure what my income will be when I return. I am still waiting to hear whether I can get Bereavement Allowance (for a year).

I have the Bereavement Grant of £2000 already but still waiting for funeral bills to come in.

I will try and get the letters sorted to the DCAs tomorrow if I feel OK.

[saintly_1]

Just do things as and when your ready

 

Your mind is proberbly on overload at the moment which is very understandable at the moment so take things one step at a time

 

 

(((((((hugs)))))) saint

[TheChancellor]

Hi nuthatch.Sorry for your loss.I believe you mentioned sole executor - did you mean sole beneficiary?One thing to remember is that you are not obliged to accept anyting offered to you in a will.You can renounce the bequest but it must be all-or-nothing.You cant take just one part.If you do this then everything will pass to your child/children if this is to your advantage.HTH

[PriorityOne]

Hi nuthatch.Sorry for your loss.I believe you mentioned sole executor - did you mean sole beneficiary?One thing to remember is that you are not obliged to accept anyting offered to you in a will.You can renounce the bequest but it must be all-or-nothing.You cant take just one part.If you do this then everything will pass to your child/children if this is to your advantage.HTH

 

Nuthatch is not inheriting debts in a Will..... unless I've missed your point. If so, I apologise.

 

[TheChancellor]

Nuthatch is not inheriting debts in a Will..... unless I've missed your point. If so, I apologise.

 

 

No, I meant that she doesnt have to accept anything which gives her new assetts in her name for the creditors to chase.She can shelter them with her children if necessary.

[nuthatch]

Thanks for all that info.

That is interesting about passing any inheritance to my children. I am sole executor and sole beneficiary of the will. But there will be very little "inheritance".

My husband had been made redundant a few years ago so tried to go into business with his redundancy but got well and truly stuffed plus he was quite naieve and believed that business deals could be sealed with a promise. He was a very honourable man and a loyal friend but that didn't stop him being let down badly.

Then he started to work for a local employer, worked like a slave to get the man's catering business up and running and then that person did a moonlight flit owing loads (including DH's wages)

Then he got a job cooking (he was a chef) in a local hotel as he was so desperate to earn money to pay off our debts. He got the restaurant up and running and people queing to get in, then the owner cut his hours so low he decided to move to another hotel.

He improved the menu there but the owners again cut his hours so that he was only earning about £60pw plus his pension of £300ish a month. He was so depressed that I was having to work long hours to make ends meet.

In November we had a major house fire when I was in the house due to an electrical fault. (Rented house) We got our house contents claim paid in full so we decided to use it for an op for my husband.

He had major health problems because of his weight so we decided that weight loss surgery was the way. I had it last year and it had improved my life and fitness so much.

He had no sick pay while he was off....something to do with his early retirement pension but we knew it would be an investment and we used the rest of the insurance money to supplement our income.

 

I'm sorry to have gone on so much about things that are not related to my original post but I need to keep repeating things so that my head can believe that this nightmare is real.

[PriorityOne]

Please don't worry about talking on here... you can talk about whatever you like and whenever you need to.

 

We are all here for you, Nuthatch.... Your husband was a good man and you're a very brave lady.

 

Big hugs.... xx

[JonCris]

Even though you cut up your cards as you still paying it your account is still in force if there is any insurance it's still valid

[nuthatch]

Even though you cut up your cards as you still paying it your account is still in force if there is any insurance it's still valid

 

All our PPI was cancelled.

[nuthatch]

I am sorry I have not been back on but I am finding it difficult to get myself to take an interest in anything.

I have read the letters in the template library.

Can I send one off to my creditors even though I am in a DMP with the CCCS? The CCCC have suspended the payment they were due to collect on Aug 1st and said I can miss September's as well if I want.

I am going to try to get back to work at the beginning of September...if I can stop shaking long enough.

It was so hard to get ourselves sorted out 2 yrs ago and the thought of going through it all again is too much to bear.

If I could sleep and eat I might be able to concentrate. Its only a month since my husband died but there are so many things to do.

I will try and get my act together.

[JonCris]

All our PPI was cancelled.

 

I know I read your earlier post but that's not what I'm referring to. Some lenders include life insurance as a matter of course but only to cover the consumers liability with them & no other creditor & it's usually the case that the customer is unaware of it