Let myself get into a right mess, need advice/help.

[Mr_Dubs]

Hi all,

 

For the last few months i've had my head buried in the sand towards all my debts, having just moved house and not any of them prbably isn't going to help the matter either.

 

At the moment i have the following

 

M&S Money Credit Card £4700 - no payments made in the last 3 months now.

 

Lloyds TSB Loan (1 year left) £2200 left to pay payments upto date so far but struggling.

 

Moneyway 0% Loan for a Mountain bike in a attempt to get fit and save money:roll: £690 approx.

 

Water Bill from last house that i thought the other half was sorting out monthly £343 so only half of this is mine.

 

To top it all of im in a never ending circle with bank charges, every im struggling to cope and stay within the limits and every month im getting charged between £150 to £180.

 

I've recieved a letter from M&S with regards to default and sending the ballifs round (to old house as they dont have new address), haven't told the other half how bad things are, the landlords of this new house are her parents whichis going to cause no end of problems, just really stuck not sure what to do, have ventured through the cccs websire and they have recommended bankcruptcy.

 

Any advice would be very gratefullly received

 

C.

[rebel11]

Hi Mr. Dubs

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will advise as soon as they are available.

 

If you've got any Penalty Charges on your credit cards over the last 6 years, you should be able to claim them back with contractual interest.

[alfwithhair]

Hi,

Welcome to CAG

 

I would suggest you sit down and make a list of all your priority debts

Rent/Morgage

Utility Bills

Food/Household up keep

Insurance

Council Tax

Secured Loans

 

These debts take priority from your income

 

After all these have been taken from your income what is left is your disposable income. That is all that can be offered to the rest of your creditors.

How old is the M&S money card? Was it taken out prior to 2007?

 

Take what they say about bailiffs with a pinch of salt, it is their pre emptive strike to get you to cough up.

There will be no bailiffs turning up with out them first going to court and obtaining a judgement against you for the debt and only then if you fail to keep up the repayments ordered in the judgement, so don't worry about that.

 

Have M&S issued a Default Notice or Terminated Notice ?

 

Does the LTSB Loan have any PPI on it? Do you have a current or savings account with LTSB? Have you informed them you are having difficulty making the required payments?

 

Are you employed or on benefits?

 

Bankcruptcy is the very very very last resort, so don't rush in thinking that is the best option. You need to consider the implications of Bankcruptcy very seriously. If you have no money its not realy an option as it will cost you hundreds of pounds to file for it.

 

A Debt Relief Order might be an option if your total debt is less than £15.000 and you have no assest of any value.

 

The more info we have the more acurate the advice you receive will be

[Mr_Dubs]

Hi thanks for the reply,

 

M&S card was taken out prior to 2007, possible around 2005/2006, they have issued default notice.

 

No PPI on the loan, have bank account with Lloyds aswell.

 

Full time employment, will post more detailswhen iget back from work.

 

C.

[silverfox1961]

Hi,

I would suggest you move your bank account first. Once that is done, you have control over your money. You can then negotiate with the first bank to either stop further charges and agree a repayment schedule that you can maintain or reclaim them if you qualify under hardship rules.

 

I would also contact ALL the creditors and let them know of your situation. They are supposed to help but if they don't know about it, they can't. Have a look HERE for some letters that may help.

The creditors are likely to send you an Income and Expenditure form to fill in. I would suggest you don't fill in theirs but to use the budget planner at the bottom of the link I posted.

Make sure all communication is in writing only. Unless you regularly record your phone calls, how can you prove what was said/not said.

Send all letters by Recorded Delivery and make sure you print off the proof of delivery. If you cannot afford RD, get a certificate of posting from the post office.

 

Bankruptcy no longer has the stigma attached to it that it used to BUT you need to make sure that is the route to follow first. Why not have a chat with National Debtline?

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/

 

Well done for getting a grip on this. Onwards and upwards

[buzby]

Bear in mind you will be credit checked at your new bank, so your application may be declined because of the default - so don;lt close any account before you have something to replace it with.

[Mr_Dubs]

Hi, could anyone recommend a bank that isn't connected to either Lloyds or HSBC?

 

Will be phoning National Debt Helpline tomorrow, they seem to close over christmas?!?! you'd think it would be there busiest period?!

[Bazooka Boo]

Have you thought about the Post Office?

[buzby]

Santander (not a recommendation, just not connected with the others. RBS/Natwest.

[alfwithhair]

Try the Co-op, but they are getting picky there, so do it sooner than later before your credit rating gets worse

[alfwithhair]

Santander (not a recommendation, just not connected with the others. RBS/Natwest.

 

Santander has bought all the NatWest branches in Scotland and all the RBS branches in England and Wales.

[Bazooka Boo]

Jeez, it's getting worse!

Try your mattress?

[Mr_Dubs]

After a bit of research on the bank account front, it seems coop and barclays are the only 2 that actively do basic bank accounts with no strings, though after the post above maybe the co-op is starting to think again about that, have an appointment with the bank on thursday morning so will see how that goes.

 

as for the national debt helpline seem to be on hold for ages before getting anywhere, will keep trying.

 

C

[sillygirl1]

Halifax do a no strings bank account online, and you have online banking and payment facilities with them as well. You can even pay directly into other peoples bank accounts should you need to.

[silverfox1961]

This may help:

 

http://www.moneymadeclear.org.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf