Creditor's totally IGNORING me! & want more ££

[GingerRogers]

Hello, I'm new, so I hope I'm writing in the right place!

 

I've read a lot of posts and haven't seen anything similar to me. My debt isn't huge - Its under £15,000.

 

I was married and had a pretty nice life, till my husband left me for another woman. I managed to pay my debts (credit cards, catalogues, store cards) for 2 years, but after becoming ill and ending up on Disability income support (I also get DLA) I've just couldn't afford to keep the full payments up, so I contacted everyone, and offered them £10 a month. I followed all the guidelines and wrote all the 'correct' letters. Altogether there were 8 creditors (I've paid 2 off so now I have 6 in total), and I've paid them all £10 a month for the last 18 months and haven't missed a payment.

 

Barclays completed ignored me, so I paid them more as they kept slapping charges on me (£13 a month instead of £10).

 

Now I've had a letter off one catalogue (the debt's been sold, but its obviously that same catalogue under a different name with a slightly different address), who want more money. £36 a month, I wrote back and said I can't afford it. And of course they're completely ignoring me, they've slapped 'admin' charges of £12 a letter on the debt, and want £62.12 immediately.

I know if I write to them again, they'll ignore me. So is it really worth wasting a piece of paper on them?

 

My sister told me to bin all the letters from everyone, and don't pay anyone anything (Buy food instead she said), but God, I feel terrible even owing the amount I do.

 

I've looked at some of the money probelms some people have got on here and I have nothing to moan about! It seems such a piddling amount of money, but I'm struggling and I can't sleep at night.

 

What do I do? Continue to pay the £10 a month, ignore THEM and stop paying them? Write them a letter in Welsh? I don't know....!

 

Any advice would be gratefully received! Thanks in advance

[freakyleaky]

You are in the right place.

Someone will be along to give you some advice before long.

Don't panic and remember you are not alone.

[dx100uk]

cca everyone you are paying money too.

 

as for unlawful charges

 

you can claim them all back + int at THEIR rate.

 

dx

dx waves to the 4 guests.....

 

dx

[firstship]

Hi..Welcome.......First rule only pay what you can afford, you cannot be forced to pay more,the courts,( should any of your creditors be stupid enough to go down this route) will take a very dim view of their actions.Have you considered a DMP ???? approach CCCS for example,(its free)they can be helpful and give you advise for somebody in your situation,and stand a good chance of paying 0%,interest.Another route if your Credit Cards and other types of cards are pre 2007 you can challenge their validity by CCA 1974 s.78 template letter on site file + £1 postal order send recorded delivery.You also say one debt has been sold not to worry all same options are open to you.Finally Barclaycard are one of the most difficult companies to deal with,they feel they are above all OFT guidelines,however do not pay them more than you can afford,do not pay them extra money because they are demanding that you do.Also do not accept any phone calls should any creditor phone you tell them in writing only,Hope this gives you some options and ideas to follow............FS

[GingerRogers]

Thank you so much for your quick replies.

 

I did a debt management plan, worked out how much I should pay each creditor (it turned out amounts like -£2.30... so I thought instead of not giving them anything - I'd give them £10 each).

 

I will contact the CCCS (I had to look up what they were!) and I will also try the CCA (had no idea what that was either! - This is all a minefield isn't it?).

 

Thank you again, for what its worth, Its noce to know its not just me, and I appreciate your help!

 

I'll let you know how I get on.

[diamondgirl]

If you look on the cccs website you will find that you can actually do an I&E which will then tell you what you would have left over to pay your creditors.

Barclaycard are the worst to deal with. I know they have set their pet poodles onto me, constantly phoning on my mobile only had a couple of letters, the only good thing about their pet poodles Mercers is that since they got involved the interest has stopped piling on.

 

If you decide to go with someone like the cccs which is a free service they don't like anyone putting an account into dispute by the CCA route so if you go with them don't mention that you are going down that route as well.

 

One of my creditors took me to court the only advice cccs offered me was where to sign the forms. However, with the help of this forum and people who have been in this situation themselves was I able to get this case struck out, this creditor does not phone me or write to me except to send me a statement. I do still pay them although if I stopped I'm pretty sure that they wouldn't want to go that route again.

 

I'm still with the cccs and out of the many creditors I have only 2 have kept adding interest and charges Barclaycard and Sainsburys but I will go after the interest and charges at a later date.

 

A lot of creditors stop the interest and charges once you go on a DMP with someone like cccs or payplan.

 

You will get lots of help and advise from everyone.

 

DG

[firstship]

Gingerrogers,it may appear to be a minefield at first,we have all been there and had help from numerous site members,and we are now in a position to pass on our own experiences,Diamondgirl and myself are both with CCCS by our own admissions,it works for a lot of us (not all),but re-reading your first thread give CCCS a look if you like what you see go ahead,do not tell them you are making CCA challenges.....Wish you all the best..keep us posted,,,we will guide you through the points you do not understand...........FS

[The Mould]

Hello, I'm new, so I hope I'm writing in the right place!

 

I've read a lot of posts and haven't seen anything similar to me. My debt isn't huge - Its under £15,000.

 

I was married and had a pretty nice life, till my husband left me for another woman. I managed to pay my debts (credit cards, catalogues, store cards) for 2 years, but after becoming ill and ending up on Disability income support (I also get DLA) I've just couldn't afford to keep the full payments up, so I contacted everyone, and offered them £10 a month. I followed all the guidelines and wrote all the 'correct' letters. Altogether there were 8 creditors (I've paid 2 off so now I have 6 in total), and I've paid them all £10 a month for the last 18 months and haven't missed a payment.

 

Barclays completed ignored me, so I paid them more as they kept slapping charges on me (£13 a month instead of £10).

 

Now I've had a letter off one catalogue (the debt's been sold, but its obviously that same catalogue under a different name with a slightly different address), who want more money. £36 a month, I wrote back and said I can't afford it. And of course they're completely ignoring me, they've slapped 'admin' charges of £12 a letter on the debt, and want £62.12 immediately.

I know if I write to them again, they'll ignore me. So is it really worth wasting a piece of paper on them?

 

My sister told me to bin all the letters from everyone, and don't pay anyone anything (Buy food instead she said), but God, I feel terrible even owing the amount I do.

 

I've looked at some of the money probelms some people have got on here and I have nothing to moan about! It seems such a piddling amount of money, but I'm struggling and I can't sleep at night.

 

What do I do? Continue to pay the £10 a month, ignore THEM and stop paying them? Write them a letter in Welsh? I don't know....!

 

Any advice would be gratefully received! Thanks in advance

 

OK GingerRogers

 

Fred Astair would say, keep all the letters and the envelopes that they came in sugar, you never know, we might need all that paper some day.

 

Continue to pay that £10 per month if you can, but if you are going short on food and every other basic living need, then reduce the amount accordingly.

 

It does not matter (to me anyway) how much debt or how little debt you have, we are all in debt, so really Ginger, do not worry about it, nothing in this world lasts eternally, so put on your dancing shoes and release your self from this misery because in this life there really is no such thing as being debt free.

 

Don't waste any more of your paper on the robots, or you telephone bill.

 

If the robots do keep on demanding more money from you, tell them to follow the yellow brick road and discuss it with the wicked witch of the west.

 

Seriously though, have a look in at the midnight club, this will give you a good dose of the best medicine for someone in your condition to take.

 

You can find the midnight club (exclusive to CAG) in the legal issues forum under the title 'Halifax taking me to court' by 'wish me well'.

 

Kind Regards

 

The Mould

[GingerRogers]

Before I start, can I thank you all again for your help and kind words. Thank you.

 

I have followed your advice - I'm a pretty organised person, so had all the letters/££/details to hand when I rang the CCCS, and basically because I'm on income support they're not interested. The guy I spoke to didn't exactly say 'Bugger off till you've got a job..'.... BUT....

 

Okay so.....

To the catalogue - Which is now RELIABLE collections, I wrote the

 

'I would like to make a complaint about your company - I listed the facts that they ignore any correspondance to them - The interest - That they had to reply in 5 business days (It took them business days) - if they didn't resolve my complaint in 4 wks They must send a letter saying why - then finally if I'm not happy, after 8 wks I'll report them to the financial ombudsman'.

 

Today I had a reply.

 

In short it says:

 

' We note the [ayment made does not match the rate previously agreed' (This amount is £36 a month, I've been paying them £10 for 18 months, never missed a payment. I've NEVER agreed to pay them any more. O and they want e to call them. Well THAT IS NoT going to happen! (thanks again for that advice!).

 

So where do I go from here?

 

Carry on paying them the £10 a month, then in 2 months send the lot to the financial ombudsman?

 

Or send them (and everyone else) CCA letters?

 

I will await your good advice!

 

Also Thank you Mould for that last post, it made me smile a lot.

I'm now on the happy pills, I still don't feel like dancing.

However, I have started to feel a little less ummmm 'guiilty' for being in this situation, and blaming the thin woman my husband run off, I may even start fantasing about the baliffs taking away her brand new car... (Bitter, moi? : )

[sillygirl1]

BEcause you are on income support you should go to the CAB and they will do the writing for you - the MOST you should pay each creditor on income support is £1 a MONTH, not £10.

 

In fact the CAB have a letter template which asks to have the debt written off due to your dire circumstances - I think we have a similar letter in the templates here.

 

Don't sacrifice yourself for this lot, they are not worth it and will always bite the hand that feeds them harder the next time.

[GingerRogers]

Hiya SG,

 

O dear I have to admit - and I don't want to sound ungrateful - that the CAB ladies weren't very good. They mean well, but there was no 'debt' person available so I saw 3 separate old ladies, the 3 times I went - who weren't any help. Bless them.

 

I know the ONLY reason I haven't offered them all £3 each is because of all the letters you have to send off, which I know they'll all ignore - leaving me worried to damn death.

Again, I know from reading posts on here, that my debt is small compared to some, but the worry, I don't know, It's my nature I suppose but I worry so much, and the depression, leads to more worry....and the poverty, and ... it goes on and on....

 

I've continued to pay because I literally can't cope with the stress. The postman comes - My hearts sinks. I feel sick, my heart races - yeah you know how that one goes! I've been on Beta blockers for months and they're not working now.

 

I just wish, I could have one day, just one, with NO letters, no worrying, terrible isn't it? Nameless people in boxes, have no idea who any of us are, and certainly don't care! And still I can't sleep or breathe most of the time! I've never been one to stick my head in the sand - But at the moment, no matter how many letters I write, NO ONE answers! Or if they do - Its got nothing to do with what you've written.

 

My friend thinks I should write in big black letters across all enevlopes I get

' GINGER HAS MOVED TO LAS VEGAS & IS NOW A STRIPPER -YEEHAW'

 

Thank that'll make em leave me alone : ) ? (nope)

[IdaInFife]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?20758-Creditors-and-DCAs-Letter-Templates-Budget-Planner

 

try again use letter b as a template and also add a paragraph that at no time have you agreed to a payment arrangement of £36

[sillygirl1]

I love your friend's style... reminds me of the time I stopped a load of loan comapnies ringing me by telling them I was a dominatrix and needed more equipment for my dungeon....

 

Stop writing to them, after a while they will stop resetting their threatomatic machines. I know exactly how you feel, its taken me three years to get to the stage where I now worry because there is NO post and NO nasty letters from DCAs! I admit I still avoid doing anything which needs me to be credit checked but life is a lot easier.

 

Sometimes writing back to them spurs them into further action.

 

I also know what you mean about CAB, sounds like the ladies in one area I lived, very genteel they were and had no idea of how nasty the letters could be...

 

You could try your local MP, about time the new lot voted in did something, (my new target now is getting the MPs involved in as many cases as possible, seeing as the regulatory bodies are useless chocolate teapots).

[GingerRogers]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?20758-Creditors-and-DCAs-Letter-Templates-Budget-Planner

 

try again use letter b as a template and also add a paragraph that at no time have you agreed to a payment arrangement of £36

All the recent letters I've written have all included a 'At no point have have I agreed to pay you £36'.

 

So, should I just STOP writing letters back? I mean - no one actually pays any attention to what I write to them....

[GingerRogers]

I've now had a another letter off them, this one's a bit longer - saying My minimum payment is £36.07 and I haven't paid them this amount.

 

So again - they're totally ignorning me and banging out different versions of the same letter.

 

What do I do?

 

Ignore them?

Write to the financial ombudsman saying they're ignorning me?

 

I really don't know what to do.

[Sea Gull]

Ginger reading this what I would do is the following

you have agreed to 10 a month and that is final - contact Barclays Head Office saying you want the interest stopped, also drop a line to the FOS stating that the behaviour of these companies is disgusting and you want them to look into it.

Write to all of the other companies saying that 10 a mth is what was agreed and the fact its been taken for 18 mths with no issues - that is what you are paying!

Dont open any letters that arrive on a Friday or Sat that way your weekend wont be ruined.

Bear in mind a lot of these companies play on vunerability, and the fact you will go without to clear your bills

(been there and done it)

This is where you conquer your own fear and put your foot down - This is all I have take it or leave it!

Have a read of all the stuff you can find on here, one thing i learned was the big rule everything in writing, and no speak on the phone!

If they are ignoring you then so be it - assume your offer is accepted.

It will give you space and time to gain knowledge - the more you read on here the more you learn! Re Read what First Ship has said

Have a Great Day

[sillygirl1]

I agree with Sea Gull's post above, don't open post at the weekends, they usually send those letters out second class.

 

Don't write back to the morons, just report them to the OFT/FSA and Trading Standards via Consumer Direct and copy them into the letters....

 

They cannot have what you haven't got and again if any ask for Income and Expenditure forms don't fill them in. They seem to think our circumstances change every couple of months for the better... well they need to belong to the real world and realise that it doesn't happen.

 

Keep on letting us know who is bothering you the most and we will advise accordingly.

[firstship]

Hi....... you are getting lots of good advice............when you next write to try and get these unfeeling idiots of your back, " say" I have made every effort to come to a a financial affordable payment solution,I must stress affordable based on my ability to pay rather than based on any commercial requirements of (Barclaycard or whoever).I have complied with the BBA guidelines and yet you continue to threaten and harass me which I regard to say the least inherently unfair and detrimental to my interests" as this is not the standard reply from us I find it slows things down some times,remind them you have (even if you havent) passed all of the info to OFT and TS as you continue to ignore my letters.................I repeat from my earlier thread that your payments are what you can afford to pay and not the demands made by your creditors.....................all the very best....FS

[Hardupnotfedup]

Have you sent off the CCA requests as DX advised on the 20th of July to see if this vermin are even entitled to collect theses alleged debts.

[GingerRogers]

Thanks again everyone! I compiled everything and have now sent it off to the Financial Ombudsman - to complain (though after reading the threads in here - I wonder if its worth it!).

 

I have to wait till next week to do the CCA thing, yes money is THAT tight.

 

But on a good note, reading the threads in here has made me feel so much better -which sounds terrible - but you know what I mean.

[Sea Gull]

Excellent - The aim of it now is not to worry!

This site is a Godsend and the more you read the more you will realise that you

have little to worry about - Good Luck