It just gets worse-Debt problems are causing great stress.

[Brassed off]

NWJ I really do know where you are coming from, I've got the t shirt You have the full support of CAG behind you which really does help.

 

Things do get better with time - hang on in there - one step at a time

 

Bo xx

[cymruambyth]

Good morning, how are you feeling today? Has winter returned to Wales?

Tryto start getting all those bits of paper together and in order. At first, you'll probably feel terrible, I know I did (and often still do) but with help of CAG you will get some sort of game plan to take control of the situation. I used to hate the phone, now I almost enjoy the calls just so that I can answer, refuse to give any information and then listen to them have a temper tantrum:D

[divadeb]

NMJ

 

I have just read your thread and I know exactly how you feel.

For the last 2 weeks I have been living in another world, filled with fear, stress, lack of sleep but yesterday was my darkest day:sad:

That was until some wonderful advice from a member from this site and and a phone call to the national debt line....my day got so much brighter and the weight of the world lifted from my shoulders.

There is light at the end of the tunnel, and everyone on this site are amazing and always here for you as they have been for me.

Take care and let us know how you get on......Debbie:)

[nowayjose]

Thanks everyone for your support, its definately cheered me up knowing so many people are there for me when I need it, which I prob will over the next few weeks, Ive looked back over a few of my threads and realised that Im all fired up at the beginning but fail to follow things through. Not this time though, I just need to get organised. Ive got a day off today so its a good excuse to empty my drawers (of my cupboards:rolleyes:) and sort through the paperwork, its not going to be good reading and I will try to put them in order, I might have to start a few more threads. I couldnt really guess how much debt I am in at the moment but I will soon find out today, no more hiding....

Yes Cymru blowing a gale out there today, bloody soaked walking my son to school, (no petrol in the car:() Neva mind...

 

Best wishes

NWJx

[davey77]

You'll find it's really empowering to get organised. I remember when i sorted everything out, put files where i could find them (on and off the computer) and listed creditors, amounts and letters all in order. It really makes you feel more in control!

Originally i had most of the letters and statements in a carrier bag under the bed lol (Solicitor has told me many people keep theirs in a shoe box.)

 

I also keep a 'timescale' for my own use which is a list of what happened and when so i can quickly glance through it to see what course of action has been taken and the responses received. For instance:

 

2008: MINT

 

Experian Complaint sent 8th Jan: 9 Jan, FOS not allocated complaint yet. From Triton, 10 Jan.Considering further action, May visit. My reply: Withdrawing access to property, request licence to trade as registered Dormant. S10 Notice sent 15 Jan. 16 Jan notice of legal proceedings 'threat' from triton. So far ignored all letters.

Sent FOS update 19 Jan. Replied to Triton 22 Jan: reply to my letter of the 10th Jan (included). 31 jan from triton, dormant account ok, agreement valid, s10 not applied, pay now. My reply to Mint and Triton, court action, send original docs, BBC watchdog. 9th Feb FOS ALLOCATED complaint to adjudicator! 12th Feb, Sent all info needed to FOS/covering letter, OFT etc. From Mint, reply to my letter of the 31st Jan. we are right and you are wrong. Forwarded to FOS with letter stating does not resolve complaint, where are prescribed terms? etc. Letter to Triton and mint 21 Feb 2008: Agreement regulations, explain where prescribed terms are, matter closed as far as i am concerned (by 7 March latest). . From Triton, 23 feb, no more communication, will take further action. Rang FOS re Mint, FOS not allocating complaint 29 feb and writing to Mint to tell them it is properly executed?! Letter from FOS confirming conversation, closing file. Letter from Green&Co 5th marc. Pay in 7 days or else. Replied 14 mar, to G&C, account is dispute, court action may be taken by me. sod off. SAR Sent 10 March 2008. From Intrum Injustia 09 pay now. Mr reply, sod off as usual 18th April. Letter from Debt Investigations ltd, pay now. My reply 22 april. Sod off. From intrum justitia..2nd may, pay now or court action. My reply 19 May, Account in dispute, unlawful, Trading Standards, BBC, Previous correspondence. From Intrum 29 May. NO POSTAGE note. Letter from intrum, 7 june commenced formal debt recovery against you. Letter from Debt Managers.. same as before 18 June. From irwin mitchell 18 july: instructed by intrum, pay in 7 days or will start court action. My reply...agreement not received etc etc 5th Aug. from intum 10 sep.. pay £10 a month? my reply. not ignoring, supply docs, await ICO complaint. From Fredrickson.. for Mint, pay now.2Oct. From Intrum.. pay now 4 Oct. my reply get lost. From Fredrickson 9th oct. pay in 7 days or court action.

 

2009:

PT2537's CPR letter requesting original signed agreement. recorded delivery sent 8 Jan. (Signed for on 9th) No reply received.

9th Feb Confirmation Solicitor taking up case and will write to RBS on my behalf. 20 Feb, Signed settlement authority to get debt written off. Checked, signed and returned claim letter 21 feb. Letter sent by Solicitor around the 5th march.

That looks like a lot, but really it's not. The odd note here and there to remind me of what has happened and when.

 

I also have a list at the bottom of the page of creditors and amounts as well as any action to take, for instance:

£1,042.64 HALIFAX: Cabot - NO ACTION: (Await reply to last letter)

 

...or if it's urgent or pressing i will change the colour to highlight it:

 

£5,101 CAHOOT: Moorcroft: - Reply ASAP, account in dispute, no CCA etc

 

I also colour code folders (with my Mac) to show the status and/or urgency. Grey = non-urgent, Blue = active/dealing with, Orange = more pressing, Red = Very urgent/respond quickly and Green = Settled/written off:

 

 

It all really helps with your emotional state and sense of control and although a bit scary to start with when you begin adding up the total amounts etc it makes all the difference in the world believe me.

[davey77]

This is how the letters are organised/numbered within the folders making them easy to find:

 

[nowayjose]

Wow davey thanks for all that, I didnt think to make a record on my computer, not quite sure I know how to, not very good at saving to folders etc, wordpad is about my limit Im afraid, just learnt to copy and paste lol...will def list them somehow though, thanks for your time;)

[hilaryfrances]

Hello missis, glad you have found us. I was in a similar position to you lots of debts, OH with his head in the sand. This was in pre cag days so no help to be had anywhere. I have learnt a lot from this site and have got most of my charges back from credit cards, PPi etc, still on with bank charge claim which has been stayed like all the others. I did what others are suggesting, wrote a scary list of all I owed and then listed what had to be paid, including arrears. I then wrote to my creditors making realistic offers of payments, not what they wanted, what I could afford on a take it or leave it basis. I then made a list of all the peeps I owed money to so I could strike them off one by one as they were paid. This feels great. I am now down to my last debt and next week on April the first (hee hee) I make my last payment. This has taken around 5 years to get to this stage so believe me it is not going to happen overnight but take heed, once you take back control of your life, face your demons, it is not so bad. Good luck HF

[nowayjose]

Well done Hilary there must be no better feeling than to be debt free, I ve just spent the afternoon sorting through paperwork, Im 40 now and I dont think I will EVER be free from debt.

As you can see, Ive been around for quite a time, but half heartedly dealing with things, nows the time to take control me thinks. I know I couldnt be in a better place than here, thanks for the encouragement.

Much appreciated.

XX

[hilaryfrances]

:D40,you are a mere child my dear, I am 57! debt or money worries do not have an age barrier, older does not make you wiser but hopefully we can learn by our mistakes

[nowayjose]

Well here goes, its a lot worse than I thought, I feel so ashamed of the debt we are in and cant see a way out, I have listed below the debts and an outline of where I am on each one.

 

Abbey - £3127 last contact 28/1/09 passed from Debt Managers to Equidebt to Credit Security to Nelson Guest to Wescot now back with abbey after I sent all these DCAs 'account in dispute' letters.

 

Citifinancial -£8685 last contact 6/3/09 passed from 1st credit (who issued 2 SD s) to Connaught to Judge and Priestley, last letter offering me f&f settlement offer,

 

A T I - £3716 for a car reposs possibly 10 years ago, but payments were paid to DLC since then so not Statute Barred. passed from Aplins to Ruthbridge to DLC to ATI last contact 15/9/08 after sent 'account in dispute letter' no reply.

 

Cabot - £336 Providian CC last contact 6/3/08 CCA request , p/o returned, no reply

 

Cabot - £605 Providian CC last contact 17/10/08 CCA request , application form and t&c sent back. No CCA received.

 

Call Serve - £643 B&Q warehouse passed from Credit security to Peter Knipe to Credit Security to Aktiv Kapital to Call Serve last contact 13/1/09

 

Provident - £965 & £720 passed to Wisemans with a doorstep call from manager, give tresspass letter and told him to leave.last contact 27/2/09

 

Boxclever - £ 146 for a fridge freezer I hired I dont know how many years ago, asked for a cca, no reply last contact 16/07/07 passed from Bryan Carter to SRJ debt recoveries.

 

AOL - £500 debt in wrong name MR with my first name, last contact Advantis Credit 9/3/09

 

now the piddly ones

 

EBAY - £8.00 last contact 2/1/09 by Intrum Justitia - this account was cleared last year.

 

B T - £3.08 moorcroft last contact 4/3/08

B T - £18.01 S C Gray last contact 23/10/08

B T - £317 moorcroft last contact 4/3/09 - spelt name wrong

 

Sky - £104 wescot passed to credit security last contact 1/8/08 - wrong name again

 

Swinton Insurance - £125 Car insurance DD bounced and asked for full amount - last contact Face to Face 12/1/09 - wrong surname again

 

T Mobile - £170 cancelled mobile contract - midas legal services last contact 24/1/09

 

And finally the most recent which hasnt gone to collection yet, Finance U Ltd (car reposs) £6820

 

So there you have it, I make it around 27k in debt, what an idiot we have been. I told you it was bad.

[cymruambyth]

I t may seem bad, but I'm too ashamed to mention our combined debts - much bigger.

Now you've got your list you can start working your way through them; ignore the ones that aren't in contact, until you hear from them again.

Make sure the ones that should have all had CCAs, eg 1stC when they offer a f&f it often means that there are problems with the paperwork. As each one comes to the fore, start a new thread to stop confusion.

It'll take time but you are starting to regain some control but just getting it all in order.

[babybear39]

NWJ you've done the biggest and hardest thing by sorting through everything. Print off your list above so you have a hard copy to tick each one off as you deal with them. Leave some space so you can write what stage you're at with each one Do you think the credit cards and loans will have charges on? If so, SAR the original creditors to determine how much they are (the accounts may be made up mostly of charges, you never know). The provident accounts will have heavy charges as the interest rate is very high.

 

Which accounts are in dispute, and is this due to CCA requests not being furnished?

 

Do you own your house and is there equity in it?

 

And you're not an idiot, things like this happen to all sorts of people for various reasons *hugs*

[nowayjose]

Thanks both, yes I think some will have added charges to them, especially like you say Provident, Abbey is in dispute, claiming bank charges back eventually, bot Cabot accounts because no CCA to date, Call serve, not sure, Ill have to check, dont know why first credit didnt act on their SDs, thought they would.

I have a mortgage with Kensington, Ill dig out the paperwork because I have a question about that as well, sorry.

[nowayjose]

My latest mortgage statement says Current balance - £84444.06 with 22 years 8 months to run. It is a Interest only mortgage and the house value is around £95000. I had a fixed rate for 3 years up in 8 months time, my current payment is £505 per month which I am struggling to pay, almost 2 months behind,the rate is set at 7.49% I have no idea what this amount will go up to at the end of the fixed rate, does anyone have any idea.

[babybear39]

Your first priority is your mortgage. You really need to keep in contact with them at all times to let them know your situation. All other accounts come after that...

[babybear39]

Have you checked you're getting all the benefits you're entitled to?

[nowayjose]

At the moment everything is up in the air as far as income is concerned. I only work as a relief, no set hours, my income can vary from a take home pay of anything from £750- £1200 per month depending on available hours, I have child benefit for 2 children and tax credits of just over £300. My husband has a private pension of £140 per month and at the moment he has been told that he is no longer eligible for Employment Support Allowance anymore (read my other thread) so he doesnt receive anymore money, it will be difficult to find out what we are entitled to:confused:

[Hopeful1]

Hi NWJ - you've been a busy girl! Well done for writing all your debts down, it's a hard thing to do.

 

As bb said, tick off each one as you deal with it, BUT you must prioritise your mortgage. Talk to them as soon as you can. As part of dealing with your mortgage arrears, you should follow up your hardship claim for the charges. Those charges would clear the arrears.

 

Don't try to deal with everything at once. I did that when i 1st joined and got very confused!!

 

This site is useful for trying to ascertain which benefits you are entitled to: Start Calculation but because your situation is slightly complex, it would probably be a good idea to ring the national debtline: National Debtline England & Wales, for FREE CONFIDENTIAL and INDEPENDENT ADVICE call 0808 808 4000

 

[babybear39]

Are you claiming working family tax credits?

[nowayjose]

No only when hubby was working. Tax Credits seem to have a problem when you are relief, got to have regular hours.

[MARTIN3030]

Some great advice.

I second Daveys posts too-I buy packs of coloured folders from Tesco-they have 5 or 6 in a pack different cols only cheap.

On the cover I write in felt tip-the creditor etc

then underneath theres a record of letters in and out.

Remember with each letter you send recorded delivery-to staple the proof of posting to the letter when you get back from the PO-this way you should be able to reconcile it straight away.

 

Secondly-I find it a breeze to have a wallchart-the ones they have in offices-I write in red felt tip when a deadline is up on the date.

Its much easier to stagger letters if you are dealing with a few that need 14 day response etc.

stagger posting by a couple of days imbetween.

 

The wallchart I have is a Sasco wallplanner-I buy these in March because 3 months has gone and they sell (as most others for a fraction of the usual price)

The beauty of them is that you can see at a glance whats going on-and you dont need to use the pc to add or remove anything there.

 

I really believe that being organised is much of the process-you will find that rather than want to have docs out of sight under the bed or in the drawers-as you get into sorting things you will start to WANT to be in control of things.

Another tip is to put important docs that you do not want to lose-into your email folders.This way not only have you got a back up-but can access them from any PC.

 

 

Its good to see you are making tracks-no one will tell you it will be easy.Just keep us informed and dont be afraid to ask.If you are posting new threads-have a look in that forum first and ask yourself if you think you will get all the right answers there.

[babybear39]

No only when hubby was working. Tax Credits seem to have a problem when you are relief, got to have regular hours.

 

Give the tax credits helpline a call and ask them about this as I'm sure you can submit wage slips and have it calculated on a pro rata basis

[babybear39]

Just called the tax credit helpline and all you need to do is give them an AVERAGE figure of hours worked...So get a few months and average it out. You can do it over the phone if you wish

[Mr lex]

Thanks for passing on that insite BB, I'm sure that it will help several users.

 

Well done making such a good start NWJ, It won't be long before you start to feel more in control. It does take time, but it will get better. Lots of us here have been there.

 

Lex