Do larger companies really write off debt?

[cp1980]

Hi Guys, this is my first post so apologies if i do not get the ettiquette correct!

 

I have been hiding from my debt for a while now due to falling behind after my dad passed away and i slipped into a depression. I am now starting to get my life back on track and have decided to tackle my debt problem following the excellent advice on this site!

 

I stopped paying my debts 18 months ago and estimate that I owe about £4k in total over about 9 accounts the largest single sum being £1200, the rest are mostly all under £500 with a couple even being under £200. The thing that I find odd is that although to begin with I was being inundated with debt collection letters now the amount I recieve is much less (I have actually moved but my friends still live at my old address so pass my post on to me). My friend told me that if the debt is under a certain amount of money that some companies simply write off the debt as it is not worth their time/money trying to chase it when they have insurance that covers things like that. The companies I owe are Orange, Capital One, barclaycard, JD Williams, Next, Kays and Littlewoods with the largest debt of £1200 being owed to Littlewoods. It only seems to be Orange, JD Williams and barclaycard who are still sending letters through DCA's not any of the others which I find odd.

 

I am not suggesting that I am going to avoid them just because they are not writing to me (part of my recovery process with my counsellor involves tackling all this) but I was just curious as to whether my friend was right or not. I couldn't find anything on the internet that answered this.

 

Thanks for all your help!

[huggy41]

hello cp1980 and welcome to the world of CAG you are right in saying that you want to tackle your debt problem as do everyone else on this site but at an amount WE can afford not what they tell us they want.your friend was right in saying some companys do rite of there debt and claim on there insurance but waite there is a catch they then sell it to a DCA for a fracton of the cost.if you do start getting letters from DCA'S come back here and we can addvise you on your best coarse of action they will say NO THEY WONT THEY WILL SHOUT we want it all now in 7 days, don't worry chill come back in here tell us what has happened and when and we can then advise you on what letters to send them.

there is of coarse 1 golden rule DO NOT SPEAK TO THE IDIOTS ON THE PHONE EVERYTHING NEEDS TO BE IN WRITTING.

once again welcome to the site of sanity.

[unclebulgaria67]

There are billions of pounds worth of debts in the system and some companies are better than others in chasing them up. They are not often written off, but once they are statute barred they cannot be enforced in court.

 

The advice about how to deal with each of them will vary depending on when you took out the Consumer Credit Agreement or contract for the accounts you mentioned.

 

Suggest that you start a new thread for each, with details of what the debt is for, when the Consumer Credit Agreement was taken out, when the last payment was made or the date you last acknowledged the debt in writing and what correspondence you have had. As much details as you have got, without revealing any personal information that could identify you.

 

There are many people on CAG who will chip in with advice on each, if you do this.

 

You could go to Citizens Advice or other debt advice body, but all they will do is suggest making affordable payments towards each of the debts. Once you do that, they will get their claws into you and will make demands for increased payments.