I found a job, I want to repay my debt, but how much should I repay Lowell and co.?

[prophet.sakrestia]

Hi all,

 

I lost my job in 2010,

run up debts with Barclays and Barclaycard and

now they've sold my debt to Lowell and others.

It is a lot of money, but I would like to repay them and get rid of all debts as I have a job now.

 

I owe Lowell £2,415; this was a debt from my Visa Debit,

the overdraft was £1,800, so I guess they added some charges.

 

The other debt is for a Barclaycard, £4,581, sold to MKDP LLP,

original debt was just below £4,000.

 

Originally I had less credit, £1,500 I think,

then as I was in the middle of my job problems Barclaycard sent me letter,

I did not ask for it, saying they had increased my credit to £4,000.

I had no money and I spent it all.

 

I'm paying my student loan as well and lots of other stuff,

I thought I could set up a direct debit with Lowell and MKDP for £25 a month for each,

but will they be ok with that?

 

Will they charge interest on the debt if I start paying?

 

Also should I pay all the charges as well or just what I owe?

 

I checked my credit rating on Experian, and it says "Fair", how's that possible? I'm not even registered on Electoral Roll!

 

If anyone can help me out a little with info or directions/links I'd be very grateful.

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Hi welcome to CAG, One thing never use direct debits to pay DCAs.

Forget the mythical credit ''score/rating and look at the actual account

entries on the file, how many defaulted accounts are showing?

You need to do an income and expenditure sheet take all your priority

debts and living/travel costs and set it against your net income to give

an indication as to the amount you can reasonably afford to pay.

[citizenB]

You might want to consider looking to reclaim any charges that might have been added to your accounts. These can be reclaimed and might reduce your debts considerably.

 

You will need to send a SAR to each creditor, there is a template letter in the CAG library. This is a request for all financial data that the creditor holds on you. You will be requesting statements amongst other things... listed on the template letter It will need to send £10.00 with each request and they have 40 calendar days to respond.

 

Meanwhile you need to complete a budget sheet. This will let you see how much disposable income you have for your unsecured creditors/non priority debts.

 

You will then be able to work out how much you have to spare for each creditor based on a percentage .. there is a way of working that out and I am sure someone will be able to advise.

 

What you should not do is put yourself in a position where the creditor who shouts the loudest gets the most. The idea is to treat each creditor fairly.

 

I have posted a budget sheet below for you. It is one that is used by the repossession forums and is accepted by the courts. So your creditors should find it acceptable as well.

 

When you do eventually write to your creditors - you need to make it quite clear that you will only communicate in writing and that you would like them to accept your reduced payment offer and freeze interest rates for at least a period of 6 months in order for you to get back on your feet again, financially.

 

Ellens Budget Sheet.xls

[prophet.sakrestia]

Thanks for the quick reply!

 

No direct debit ok, how should I pay then? Single payments on their website?

On the report I have the following red entries (Barclays entry is neither red nor green, just blank)

 

Status Balance

MDKP Default, £4,581

Lowell Default £2,415

Barclays [blank] £0

Barclay Card Default Satisfied

 

Others are green, I don't quite understand why Barlays is blank and £0 (sold to Lowell) and Barclayard is still Default (since 10/04/2011) and satisfied (sold to MDKP), shouldn't it be deleted like Barclays?

 

Thanks also for the budget sheet, do I need to send supporting evidence with it - bank statements, bills etc.?

 

If I should ask to freeze interest that means they do charge it, so those debts I have, as soon as I start repaying them they'll keep growing? It has been the same amount for over a year now, how do I find out the interest rate they'll charge?

[citizenB]

You do NOT send the budget sheet or any statements/bills etc to ANYONE, least of all a debt collector.

 

The budget sheet is for your information only.

 

If they are not adding interest then that it is good. If they are, then you ask them to freeze it else the debt will continue to grow.. then ask them to accept £x amount for say a period of 6 months, when you will be able to resume normal payments (you will have to work out whatever amount of time you need according to your budget).

 

You might find it easier to have a read of the following and then perhaps telephone one of the agencies mentioned.. they are free debt counselling services and will talk you through everything so that you understand what it is you need to do.

 

If you are experiencing difficulty in repaying your debts, CASHflow is a way for you to negotiate affordable repayments with your creditors. Before you can use CASHflow, you must have spoken to one of the free advice agencies licensed to offer CASHflow to their clients. The advice agency will start by talking to you about all of the options available, and can help you to decide if CASHflow is the right one for you.

 

If you decide to use CASHflow, you will be provided with all of the tools you need to be able to complete your own financial statement and negotiate offers of repayment with creditors yourself. This will enable you to stay in control of your situation, but still have support from an adviser at any stage if you need it.

 

You can contact a local advice agency to check if they offer CASHflow. You can find a list of free advice agencies that are near to you by searching for a money adviser in England or Wales, Scotland, or Northern Ireland.

Alternatively, you can call National Debtline on 0808 808 4000

CASHflow: http://www.cashflow.uk.net/

National Debtline: http://www.nationaldebtline.co.u k/

https://www.mymoneysteps.org/

Also as highlighted in the CAG newsletter...

There is the new CAB system that might also be worth a look, this system saves all your details, has guidance allowance figures to work with if you wish and you do not need to be invited / signed off etc with this system, just log in and away you go (see below)

 

(Also, there are a number of other self help tools and systems around so might be worth a little exploration if this is what you eventually decide on.)

 

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/

 

http://mymoney.nedcab.org.uk/moneyadvice/ (example of completed dmp)

[dx100uk]

)

 

Status Balance

MDKP Default, £4,581

Lowell Default £2,415

Barclays [blank] £0

Barclay Card Default Satisfied

 

woe horsey slow down a bit.

 

cca

mdkp

& lowlife

before you do ANYTHING ELSE.

 

there is a very good reason these debts have ben sold

 

prob PENALTY charges or PPI.

 

dx

[prophet.sakrestia]

Thanks again,

 

I do not think I have PPI, I don't remember paying for it ever.

But I think Penalty charges might have something to do with the fact that I owed 1,800 and 3,900 and now it's 2,415 and 4,581.

So if I do that cca to them I should at least go back to the original amounts?

 

Right, I will not send the info to anyone,

I thought I had to cos you said "your creditors should find it acceptable as well".

 

I worked out £25 pounds a month (each) because that's all I can pay, now and in the future.

It'll take forever, but if they charge interest then I'll never finish paying them.

 

I'm really worried about that and I don't know how to find out (about interests).

 

It would be very helpful if I could find out without contacting them.

 

In the letter from Lowell it says £2,415, it doesn't say anything about interest.

I just want to pay them back what I can afford and forget about them, just like another utility bill.

 

I'll try to send them the CCA and the SAR and I'll call National Debt line see what happens.

 

Thanks for your help, much appreciated!

[prophet.sakrestia]

Also MDKP still have my old address, Lowell has my new address, I never contacted them in anyway, so I have no idea how they managed to find this address!

 

Thanks

[dx100uk]

CRA file no doubt

 

dx

[brokebutnotbeatn]

What you pay should be proportional to what you owe - i.e. not £25 each. I don't understand why you are not on the electoral role as that would not be legal? National Debtline will be the best place to start with.