Help Needed - Capquest & Northern Rock!

[Lou7477]

Hi

 

To cut a long story short, I voluntarily surrendered my home in 2008. Northern Rock then sold the house for a fraction of it's value (someone has now got a very cheap 5 bed house!!) and I owe them the difference. To put it into figures, I owe over £120k

 

I've had no contact from Northern Rock until recently (no, not even a completion statement despite asking several times for one). now I am receiving letters from Cap Quest who are 'acting on behalf of' NR. Does this mean NR have sold on my debt or are they still involved in all of this????

 

Anyway, I sent an income and expenditure statement to Cap Quest and asked them to write off the debt. We don't have any assets now and rent a house. We both work but earn nowhere near the amount we used to. We've got 2 young children who eat us out of house and home and go through clothes faster than anything I've ever seen before.

 

Even if I could pay £100 a month, I would be dead before the debt cleared. I explained this in simple English to these people who replied and said they NR were unable to write off the debt and that Cap Quest wanted us to come to an affordable arrangement so we could clear this balance?! Am I missing something, this isn't a few grand we're on about here!

 

Maybe I'm being a bit thick but this kind of amount is not small. Do they seriously expect me to be able to clear this in this lifetime? How do I deal with this? I could go bankrupt, no worries there but would like to avoid if possible. Plus can't afford the fees involved at the moment so would need someone to 'make' me bankrupt. Disposable income is a thing of the past so I can't even offer a lump sum as they so helpfully suggested as an option

 

What should I do next?

Thanks for reading!

[debbbbsy]

Your absolutuley right, there is no point in coming to an agreed payment, you will only end up carrying this debt around with you forever. Hopefully more legal advice will come.

You could speak directly with Debtline or make an appointment with your local CAB.

Don't ignore Capquests letter. Respond, again outline your financial situation. Ask yourself, what is the worst they can do ? Make you Bankcrupt, that would be the best option for you, let them pick up the bill, or go for a CCJ, the judge will only make you pay what you can afford, you don't own a property, so they can't go for a charging order, in 6 years it disappears off your credit file.

As for Northern Rock, to get the documents you need, do a DSAR. They have to respond. As soon as court proceedings are instigated you can use CPR 31.14.

 

Good Luck & don't let this worry you. As I said, they can't force you to pay what you don't have.

 

Debsx