A long story made short--first post

[frenchman202349]

Hi There

 

My story is due to me supporting my daughter who has ended up in a bad financial situation, and I obviously want to keep her identity unknown.

 

She is 38, single mum, worked since 17 till birth of baby, never been on the dole.

 

The babies father left when baby was 3 months old, so she is now a single mum with debts that were made by a previous partner, she had none of the £18k she now owes, she gave him the money, and we have proof, but he does not work, so they pursue her.

 

I then took over and found out about national debtline/turn to us/consumer credit sounselling service/and I have received tremendous help from these people. I have agreed with 4 companies to accept £1 monthly to be paid by d/d, the last one has been a bit more drawn out, and that is Nwest, but I am nearer a solution, but they have been charging £12 per day on her 2 accounts, and I only had that charge stopped yesterday.

 

She is also using gas/electric meters which were fitted free, but now I find, they charge £2.50 a week on each one. I tried to switch to a company that does not apply this standing charge (if thats true) but she cant switch, as she owes £350 on the electric to s.power.

 

My concern is that the £1 payment gives her breathing space, but the debt remains, and I can't see how she can repay.

 

Comments welcome.

[dx100uk]

list the debts please

 

check here credit ref file too

 

dx

[frenchman202349]

Could you elaborate please

[cerberusalert]

What type of debts are they, roughly how much, whether they are in her sole name etc.

[unclebulgaria67]

I agree that more detail is required. If you don't want to list rough details of the debts and who they are owed to on CAG, then I would suggest that you and your daughter book to see someone at your local Citizens Advice asap.

 

Your daughter needs more in-depth help here, looking at each debt and what the options might be. Making token payments is only a temporary fix, as creditors will eventually pass the debts on for debt collection and more hassle can be expected. While you have a little bit of peace, now is the time to really hone in on each debt, which I think it what you are trying to do and try to resolve them to the best possible position.

[42man]

You have already had some good feedback from CCCS and the National Debtline, Have either of them suggested bankruptcy at all ? It sounds bad and I would only recommend it as a last resort.....

[frenchman202349]

AA- £10k (joint loan)

MBNA £5k

Mint £3k

Next £250

S.Power £350

Nwest £3k

 

First four have all agreed to £1 per month, and it is the "collection" people who I have been dealing with, and have been told, as long as £1 is regular and never late, it will/can continue.

 

Nwest have agreed in theory to same deal, just waiting for their process.

 

She is on benefits, is that enough to go on?

[frenchman202349]

AA- £10k (loan)

MBNA £5k

Mint £3k

Next £250

S.Power £350

Nwest £3k

 

First 4 all at £1 per month, and I am dealing already with collection agencies.

 

NW agreed same deal and their paperwork is going through, so not started paying yet.

 

Scottish Power being paid by meter

[frenchman202349]

42man

 

No, not considered bankrupcy as she has equity in her house, and that would come into play I am sure.

 

2 points to make first, when I have notification e-mail about a reply, the link to c/o does not take me to the forum, and I have to copy/paste, and second, I could not see option for PM, this forum has so much stuff on it, I find it a little confusing.

 

I have learnt so much during this "support period" for my daughter.

 

The steps I took was to first do my own spreadsheet on her circumstances.

Gain her verbal/written authority for all people I was going to deal with.

Did a Google and discovered nation Debtline, and others mentioned.

Copied the templates from CCCS, and listened to their advice, and heard how many people are in this position.

I rang all companies, spoke with confidence being an ex business man, and knowing I was dealing with some young people reading off a letter pinned to their pc.

Always spoke calmly but firmly, and demanded they listened to me when sometimes they wanted to "rabbit on" and I found most of them very nice and understanding.

Composed my own letter which I felt said all

[unclebulgaria67]

Sounds like you have done quite a lot in dealing with these.

 

Yes I don't think bankruptcy is the answer and I can't think of any of the debt relief solutions that would be suitable either.

 

In regard to the joint AA loan, I think I would just let them know of your daughters ex partners current address. Even if he is not earning, I think he should be paying something back out of any benefits he receives. Perhaps they can write to him.

 

For the other debts, if these are in your daughters name, I can't see she can do much about this. Well apart from to go after him using the child support agency, to request a contribution towards maintenance for his daughter.

 

In regard to the various loans and credit cards, perhaps to look at any PPI or charges would be the next step. If there is any scope, then this may achieve a reduced balance. In dx100uk post footer above, there are links to information regarding the process.

 

The main thing at the moment is to maintain the token payments and to assist these companies with any affordability reviews, when they require this. At some stage the loan and CC companies will take the debts off their balance sheets and they will pass them on to outside debt collectors to collect payments. You will then have the same job to do, in writing to the collectors to advise them of the situation. They will be more awkward when it comes to agreeing to £1 a month.

[frenchman202349]

1) As I mentioned before, I am already dealing with outside agencies, the lenders seem to pass it on quite quickly I think, it's not worth them spending time, they want to go on and lend more, I received a text today with MY NAME, offering me a loan.

 

2) As her loan with AA is jointly/severally, the AA can chase either or both, and as she is paying (she started paying £110 when I took over, as she was working) even £1 per month, they don't chase the other person.

 

3) It is the relationship after the one mentioned above who is the father of her child, and I told her, I dont think its worth chasing him as he already had 1 child, and since leaving my daughter, has gone on to have another with another woman. So I dont see how he could afford to support 3 ( I am only being practical about it) and she would probably lose benefits if he did pay.

 

I hope this is taken in the right context, as I am a modest person, but I have learnt so much on this subject, if anyone needs help, I am available.

[twofoot]

You should cancel the DD's and set up standing orders. DCA's can up the amount on a DD and by the time you know about it the money is gone.

[sleepingdog]

Hi frenchman, glad you have set up arrangements with first 4 companies of £1 per month ,but be aware these companies especially MBNA will still default your daughter then may sell the debts on to other companies who are likely to try for CCJ and then COs.

I am not trying to scare you but hopefully by making you aware at this stage of the possible actions of these companies you will have plenty of time to research them on this site and decide what actions your daughter can take if any creditor does what I have mentioned.

good luck and I hope all turns out well

sleepingdog

[frenchman202349]

Sleeping dog

 

What do you actually mean about "defaulting" my daughter, and if/when it happened, what do you suggest.

 

I was told that if she missed a £1 payment, yes they can apply for a CCJ, then the court write asking why she can't/hasn't paid. So then you reply to the court IN 14 DAYS (important I hear) and you give them the same story and spreadsheet, and there is little they can do.

 

Dont worry about "scaring me", I appreciate any warning/advice I can gain, and it will be added to the information I have found out already.

 

I want to learn as much as I can on this site, but as I said in first post, there is that much information, and so many adverts and seperate forums, I find it a little confusing, so I dont mind being led by the hand.

 

As I was aware that banks can be late with d/d or s/o, I was aware of that possibility happening, but I hear that money transfers are instant now, any knowledge on that?

[unclebulgaria67]

I think what sleepingdog is suggesting is that MBNA will not be happy to receive £1 a month for a long period, as that would be uneconomic to them. They may therefore try to get to a position, where they can enforce the debt. I have read that MBNA and other companies who have been initially helpful by accepting token payment offers, have changed their stance after a period.

 

Personally I am in agreement with you that as long as your daughter keeps to any payment agreement and complies with any review of payment levels, then these companies should not look to take enforcement action.

[42man]

You should also be aware that MBNA can be extremely harrassing too - You might like to read this - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?296622-Harrison-vs-Link-Financial-Limited-High-Court-judgment

 

In this case I think MBNA sold the debt to Link (A debt collection agency)

 

It was reported on the BBC too - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-13199797

[url=http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?296622-Harrison-vs-Link-Financial-Limited-High-Court-judgment][/url]

[frenchman202349]

Sleeping dog/Uncle Bulgaria

 

I hear what you both say, but now it's started, I would like to pursue it so I am well covered for any eventuality, plus, my wife describes me as a Rottweileler.

 

With this in mind, where/what do you both suggest I do next, for one one my firm beliefs from business days, when you are not under pressure (and we are not, having only set up payments 2 montha ago0 that is the time to find things out, and to do any planning you have to do.

 

Ant to reiterate, not that its needed on this site from what I see, my daughter had none of this money she owes, she was conned.

 

More later, dashing out, and can either of you tell me how I do a PM on this forum please

[unclebulgaria67]

I think you appear to be doing everything that you can at the moment. Sometimes, it is best to just leave it alone, if you have agreement for token payments. If you write to them, this just gives them the opportunity to review the account. I would tend to spend the time looking into your daughters finances and seeing whether she is obtaining all benefits she is entitled to, as well as being on the best utility deals available. It might be worth booking a meeting with CAB, just to gain their input on her situation.

 

In regard to sending PM's, you just click on your user name, where you will find the option. The sending of PM's is not encouraged, if it relates to the thread content, as CAG normally wants any advice to be on public view. This is so that any advice being offered, can be subject to review and comment. I personally have set my account not to accept PM's, as sometimes people start sending these, instead of posting to the normal site threads. If the posts are on the normal public forum, then there is opportunity to obtain a number of responses and not just one view.

[dx100uk]

and it helps no-one reading threads to find out how other got on

 

dx

[frenchman202349]

Hi Guys

 

I have taken in what you all say, and as expected, you always learn from others, and although I am proud about what I have sorted for my daughter, there is always more to do, and the threat that one of you spoke about, (MBNA) jarred a bone so to speak.

 

Because of this, I rang CCCS as I still have a reference of course, and they confirmed what I probably already knew, and that is, our £1 a month payment with lenders is only a temorary situation, she still has the debt.

 

What I also found through my research, there are charities out there, who will help people with some of the smaller debts, I have had some help from them.

 

The lady at CCCS confirmed, that their role is finished really, as the main thing was to suggest what to do, template letters to follow, but thats as far as they go.She also explained, that if a lender gets fed up with the continual £1, they may ask, and pursue what the equity is in her house, and through the courts, try to put a charge on the house.

 

I welcome more response to this thread, but I want your advice on house equity etc, do I need to start a new thread do you think, as I now want to explore this topic???

[unclebulgaria67]

Keep it to this thread until something actually happens. If your daughter keeps paying the token payments and provides any financial info required for any review, then I can't see the creditors/debt owners wanting to take any enforcement action. Well not for quite a while. It is possible that any judge would look at your daughters position and agree to token repayments. They are reluctant to sanction charging orders. I have only read of charging orders being agreed to, when there has been a breakdown in relations between the debtor and creditors. e.g late/missed payments or failure to cooperate with a review of income/expenditure.

 

A charging order just means that the creditor should receive the relevant amount when the house is sold. They are not normally able to force the sale of the house. But it can cause problem when the home owner wants to move and needs to realise the equity to make this happen.

 

Here is a link to a site which I find contains very useful information. http://www.bankruptcy-insolvency.co.uk/debt_factsheets/charging_orders_in_the_county_court.php

[sleepingdog]

Hi Frenchman , Defaulting the account is something that all creditors will do after a certain ( 3 I think) either missed payments or not full contractual payments, so even though your daughter is paying agreed amounts the arrears do still build up on the account. All my creditors at some stage have done this , some have been happy to carry on with the reduced payments for years even though the arrears are now the total of debt owing ,others though sold debts on to DCAs very quickly after the default took place. Baring in mind the equity in the house which a DCA can easily find out about some tend to go for a CCJ and a forthwith judgement they can then apply for a charging order. As I have said previously this all varies between one creditor and another , as well as the Judges involved who seem to differ in both judgements and interpretations of counsumer credit law. Of course creditors know that a lot of debtors are scared at the mention of courts and judgements etc so do not defend cases or do not turn up at court hearings thereby allowing charging orders to be given quickly and easily. CCJs and then charging orders just make the debt change from non secured debt to a secured one. By knowing all this you can see that things can change drastically depending on the creditor concerned and in my opinion MBNA are one of the worst creditors to have a debt with. Now you asked what do I suggest , well as far as I am concerned the more you know about these debts the better the position you would be in to respond to any change of attitude from your daugthers creditors so I would consider sending a Subject Access Request (SAR) to each of the creditors (costs £10 to each of them) this will give you much information including allowing you to see if any reclaimable charges have been added to the accounts . You may never need to use any of the information from the SARs but believe me if any court papers ever do turn up on the doormat then you would be in a far better position armed with that info.

anyway I have gone on far too much now so will finish, but will keep on eye on this thread in case you need help in the future.

sleepingdog

[dx100uk]

line breaks please?

 

dx

[sleepingdog]

No problem dx , I was going on a bit ,lol

sleepingdog