Halifax issued me notice of intended court action

[misselle]

I am looking for some advice.

 

 

I have been trying to get myself out of my Debt situation for a while now

by myself using the information on here and by using the CAB.

 

 

Now i'm doing it on my own.

My CAB are worse than useless and have given me some really bad advice

which if i hadn't checked on here I would have assumed was good advice.

 

 

I got into financial trouble last year and went to CAB

who wrote to my creditors offering them £1 a month which was all I could afford.

 

 

One of them was for a loan to Halifax.

They agreed to this amount however when I paid the £1 in Septemeber

instead of my contract payment they passed the account to Blair, Oliver and Scott

who has sent letter after letter threating me with court

dispite showing them my Income and Expenditure.

 

 

They want my contacted payment and then some to pay off the arrears but I just cant afford it.

 

 

I'm paying off my mortgage and council tax arrears until July

and then I would have free cash to pay Halifax but they wont accept this

and have now sent me a letter stating they are commencing court action against me.

 

 

I don't want to lose my home, my partner would never forgive me if I lost the house because of this.

He doesnt even know about the Debt as its all my own fault

and have been trying to pay it off.

 

 

Does anyone have any advice on what to do next.

I can't afford what they are asking

and I really dont want to have to go to court

and face being made bankrupt or lose my home.

 

 

Is there anything I can do to make them see it from my side?

[rebel11]

Thread has been moved to the correct forum.

[BankFodder]

Could you let us know the value of the debt please.

 

have you got any evidence as to the payment plan for £1 per month? How long was the agreement meant to last?

[huggys boss]

You also need to sit your partner down and explain your situation. It is better to tell them now than to wait until they accidentally open your mail or answer the door or phone.

[misselle]

The value of the debt is £9,528. I have a letter from halifax which they sent to the CAB saying

 

Having considered the information provided we are prepared, strictly without prejudice to our rights under the agreement listed below, to accept payment as set out in the schedule below which will be reviewed in 3 months time

 

Account number .......

monthly payment £1.00

Due date ....

 

This arrangement does not alter the contractual repayments due uner the terms ans conditions of the exsisting agreement and we must strees that payments must be made in the strict accordance with the above schdule. Failure to adhere to this will result in the arrangment being terminated and action being taken to recover the full balance.

 

Your account has now been passed to Blair, Oliver and Scott.

 

They never contacted me in the 3 months to review it and I kept on making the £1 a month payments. Before the due date of the first £1 payment came Blair, Oliver and Scott were sending threating letters demanding the full amount and threating to take me to court.

 

If I cut back on food or something I might be able to muddle together £30 to give them but I don't believe they will accept that.

 

Dont get me wrong I know I owe it and I am not trying to get out of paying what I owe when I am in the financial position to do so but i'm not at the moment and paying off my council tax and mortgage arrears is taking up all my surplus income

[Always Struggling]

What was the original date for the debt from? what type of debt is it misselle, CC, loan(s), bank overdraft?

 

If a loan was it an unsecured or secured loan?

 

If a CC have you checked for PPI being on it?

 

If you haven't already done so then I would suggest sending off a SAR request. This will give you some initial breathing space (40 days for them to respond with relevent info requested).

 

Allowing you time to include your other half in helping deal with it.

[BankFodder]

I think that you are going to have to be quite tough with them.

 

Read up about BCOBS and also read the FSA know your rights guide

 

Make sure that you understand what your rights are.

 

By agreeing to accept £1 per month and then a review, they are bound to carry out their promise.

They have reserved their contractual rights so in theory they could just go ahead and carry out their threat and not carry out the review.

However, all of their contractual rights are subject to the duty to treat you fairly which is contained in BCOBS.

 

Even their without prejudice reservation is subject to BCOBS.

The trouble with BOS - who are in reality Bank Of Scotland (Halifax) - I hope you know that - is that they carry the Halifax culsture of unfair treatment which is evidenced by regular harassment of clients, court cases for harassment, injunction and even a conviction for contempt of court - as well as - in the Pets and Vets forum, a reputaion for breaking their promise to insure clients pets. You may as well be clear as to who and what you are dealing with.

Unfair treatment seems to be first and second nature to this company - and they are handing the same out to you.

 

If you see the FSA rules, you will see that they are obliged to discuss with you and that they are unfair if they try and force you to pay more than you can afford.

If they try and sue you then they open themselves up to an counter-claim for unfair treatment and a challenge to the entire debt under s.140A and 140B Consumer Credit Act - (find it and read it.)

 

I suggest that you write to them with an income/expenditure schedule. Tell them that they are treating you unfairly under BCOBS because apart from anything else they promised to review the situation and they haven't. Remind them that all of their contractual rights are subject to fairness under BCOBS and that they are in breach of BCOBS and that if they hassle you on this point or for more than you can afford, and if they bring an action then you will counter-claim under BCOBS and that if they hassle you without a court action then you may begin your own action yourself. Remind them that the small claims limits are about to go up beyond the value of your debt.

Tell them to calm down and stop being unfair and they will get their money in a civilised and lawful way.

 

I really would write in those kinds of terms. Halifax are bullies and they need a robust response.

[BASFORDLAD2]

Blair Oliver Scott are Bank of Scotland

[BankFodder]

Blair Oliver Scott are Bank of Scotland

Yes, thanks. That's what I meant.

 

FSA know your rights - link

[Always Struggling]

Or there's always doing what Bankfodder has stated he is definately more 'clued up' than I am

[misselle]

Thanks for the advice, I have been reading up alot on HBOS, its certainly been an eye opener for me.

 

Its an unsecured personal loan, I double checked and there isnt any PPI on the loan. I do remeber telling them at the time I didnt want it and they haven't aplied it.

 

Do I write to Blair, Oliver and Scott or to Halifax? I will SAR them and try get the 40 days breathing space. I think a letter along the lines of what you have written BankFodder to Halifax or Blair, Oliver and Scott.

 

I'm willing to play hardball with them if I need to.

 

Talking to my partner at the moment isnt really an option, his mother passed away suddenly two weeks ago yesterday and i'm doing all I can to hold him together at the moment, I fear telling him this now might be the thing to break him at the moment.

 

I've got alot of reading to do over the next few days.

 

I honestly never thought I would be in this situation, I managed my credit and life well until I took a wage drop last year and since then although my income has gotten better its not the level it was and trying to pay off arrears has been near impossible

[misselle]

also I dont think its probably relevant but I took the loan out in early 2010

[Fred Bassett]

Hi misselle,

 

I's worth reading this thread from another board relating to charging orders etc. - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=1839539 - it might put your mind at rest a little.

 

I know it's difficult, but you must tell your partner as soon as you think you can because not doing so will make things far worse in the long run - trust me on this - I know.

 

It might not feel this way at the moment, but it's not the end of the world. Ultimately, If you can only pay so much, nobody can or will force you to pay more, certainly not a court, as long as you can demonstrate that you are doing your best.

 

Halifax are one of the worst to deal with and they are very aggressive, but there is plenty of practical advice on this forum to help you get to grips and to take control. If nothing else, remember the golden rule - don't talk to them on the 'phone, insist on everything being in writing.

 

Regards.

 

Fred

[BankFodder]

Sorry, but the idea that asking for an SAR will cause some delay is quite wrong. An SAR is independent of anything else. It creates no duty to suspend any other action.

Only bother to send an SAR if you think that you need information which they are holding. Otherwise, don't bother

[misselle]

Thank you everyone for the advice. I've spent my lunch break at work today and my free time reading all the information I can find.

 

I've looked out all of the letters and documents I have recieved from Halifax and I dont believe they have ever sent me a default notice for the loan. I dont know if this is relevant or not.

 

I tend to keep everything I recieve from Halifax or Blair, Oliver and Scott in the one folder in order of when I recieve it and I most certainly can't find the default notice. Its also confirmed what I thought, Blair, Oliver and Scott from the start have ignored the agreement that Halifax made with me and have demanded the full amount to be paid.

 

I will be spending tonight drafting a strongly worded letter to Halifax now that I feel more confident to take them on.

[rebel11]

Hi miss

 

Have they increased the interest rate on the loan at anytime since the loan was set up?

[misselle]

Hi RebelMy Interest rates have always stayed the same as I got a fixed rate deal for the full term of the loan.

[Always Struggling]

Sorry, but the idea that asking for an SAR will cause some delay is quite wrong. An SAR is independent of anything else. It creates no duty to suspend any other action.

Only bother to send an SAR if you think that you need information which they are holding. Otherwise, don't bother

 

Sorry BF my error.

 

I like to get hold of what they have. Call me cynical but I like to know exactly what their paperwork trail is showing.

e.g. if there is correspondence in their possession that actually confirms the £1 agreement (which there should be obviously)

 

I like to do a SAR request as my feeling on the subject is that some junior in an office is just told to collect as much info as possible that's been requested and send.

 

Usually 90%+ of the info is useless, however, it can show inconsistancies by a bank.

 

Apologies for the error though misselle, in relation to the breathing space.

[misselle]

Morning all, I'm trying to get my debt sorted out now I'm in a better financial position so you might see a lot of me over the coming weeks.

 

I have a query regarding an old HBOS loan that I took out in 2010 and defaulted in 2012, my last correspondence and payment to them was in March 2012 when I made an offer of repayment and asked for their payment details but they failed to respond and my last payment was at the end of 2011.

 

I've heard nothing from them since then not a single word, the default is on my credit file but they've never been in contact asking for payment for threatening court or such. with being in Scotland I believe it would go SB in March 2017 so almost a year from now.

 

How likely is it that they will leave it and it goes SB? Do I contact them now and try to make some form of repayment arrangement?

 

If they do get in contact or start court proceedings is trying to make some sort of arrangement to repay likely to avoid court and a ccj? Its around £10,000 so not a small amount.

 

Any words of wisdom?

Edited February 26, 2016 by maroondevo52
formatting

[misselle]

sorry I've tried to put para's in but the computer keeps saying no and changing to one big block of text

[unclebulgaria67]

Surprised they have not been in contact, but given the state of most Banks perhaps it is on some long list of debts which they are in the process of selling to debt buyers to chase.

 

If your current address is on credit reference records, just wait until you are contacted. You might get lucky and it becomes statute barred before they have any chance of enforcement. If you are contacted, come back for more advice. Yes you would be given chance to make affordable repayments before any court actions.

[maroondevo52]

Hi,

 

I've sorted out your post, as long as your at the same address or at an address they know about you would know about any court action they were going to take.

Whether you leave it or decide you wish to pay this debt off is entirely up to you.

 

In March 2017 this debt would no longer exist if you hear nothing.

[misselle]

Thanks uncle, I haven't changed address since I took out the loan so they have all my details. I did have a feeling that it's been lost in translation somewhere with the splitting up of Halifax, Lloyds and Bank of Scotland. Perhaps I'll get lucky. It's going to be a long year waiting to see if they contact me. i'll sit tight

[JoeyJoeC]

I'm actually in the same situation, a £12,000 debt that I got out stupidly when I was 18 for someone else from Natwest. No contact since 2011, I have access to the address they have on record but nothing has come through since 2011. I'm hoping nothing happens!

[unclebulgaria67]

I think some Banks are going to go bust again within a few years, so it will all go into a big hole. The various stress tests are a con, as they are just trying to reassure people. Why do you think people are buying all the gold they can get their hands on ? This happened before the last Banking crash.