depressed friend help

[maggie]

I hope someone can help please I have a friend who is at the end of her tether and I am really concerened about she is unable to eat or sleep .She is on the sick for the past two months and she has 5 credit cards debts some from years ago some later she has £375.oo per month to live on out of this she has to pay full rent and council tax.I am really very very worried about her,I am trying to help her and turned to you guys .Do we send a S.A.R firstly to her creditors or a CCA Thank s Maggie

[maroondevo52]

Hi maggie,

 

I've moved this thread to a more appropriate Forum.

 

Regards,

 

Scott.

[maggie]

Thank you Scott. I am really very concerned about her state of mind.This site helped me out of my own debt problem in 2006 so I am praying that you guys can help my friend too.

[maroondevo52]

Do you know what the position is with the credit cards at the moment, are payments up to date ect ?

[maggie]

yes ,,,at the moment they are,but she has been going without food to pay for them.

[maggie]

I have just rung my friend ,she has said that she has been borrowing from friends and family to keep up to date the payments on the cards .

[maroondevo52]

Is there any PPI on these cards, sending a SAR would let you know if there is, you can also send a CCA request.

[maggie]

She says No ,,,so do we send each of the 5 credit cards a S.A.R. first or the CCA ..?,,Thank you so much for replying to my thread ,,she is in total bits here,the payments on the cards are Monday of next week ,so does the not pay them and send the S.A.R. and CCA ?

[maggie]

Will send a SAR and a CCA request to each of them but she is absolutely terrified not to be able to pay any money off them ,so will requesting these give her a little bit of a breathing space please ?

[maroondevo52]

If poss I'd think trying to make this most recent payment due would be the thing to do, if like you say the card payments are up to date there's not really any point spending a £10 on a SAR, she could send the CCA request to all the original creditors.

 

She should then contact all her card issuer's, laying out her situation, and make an offer of payment at a level she can afford. Even if this amount is small, it at least shows she is willing to address the situation, which will further reduce the risk of court action. She must do this in writing, so that she has a written record of all communication.

 

Also, ask that her interest payments and any charges be frozen, so that a bad situation doesn't get any worse.

Remember that even if she agree's a lower repayment with your card issuer, this will adversely affect her Credit File.

[maroondevo52]

maggie,

 

There's a link' here to information concerning non-priority debts.

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/entry.php?522-Debt-Diaries-Become-Debt-Free-in-Ten-Steps-Step-Six-Non-Priority-Debts-amp-Self-Negotiation

[maggie]

Thank you maroon,,,I will pass this advice onto her.she also told me that when she spoke to one of her creditors Barclaycard,they informed her that she has two cards with them not one ,which she knew nothing about .I find this very strange .she can only offer them a very minimum amount per month ,and she is terrified of the consequences should they decide to take her to court,and I am terrified of what she may do to herself in her state odf mind She has worked for over 30 years has never been in debt until now and she is also going through a divorce so as you can imagine she is not in a very nice place at the moment .

[maggie]

Thank you for the link ,I will get back to you if I may,and keep you informed.Thanks again Maggie

[maroondevo52]

maggie,

 

Any court action will not happen if she gets to grips with this now and gets it under control, we can and will help with consumer issues as that is what the Consumer Action Group is all about.

Has she been to see her GP about the way she is feeling.

[citizenB]

As already advised, we can help your friend with draft/template letters to write to her creditors asking for some breathing space. Worrying herself into poor health over a credit card(s) is not going to her or her family any good.

 

1st step.... She needs to sort out a Budget Plan/Personal Finance Sheet/ Common financial statement

2nd step.. She needs to write to all of her creditors (using the template letters from the CAG Library) explaining her financial situation and armed with the information from the Budget sheet - make an offer of payment pro rata to the disposable income. If there is NO disposable income then she should just offer a token payment of £1.00. The draft letters request that any charges and interest are frozen so the debt doesn't increase.

 

Yes, you can send Subject Access Requests and CCA requests, however, what is the outcome that your friend wants ?

 

Borrowing money to pay credit card debt is quite simply a dead end street.

 

If your friend feels unable to self manage a Debt Management Plan, then she should seek advice from National Debtline - they don't offer DMPs, but will help with letters and a Common Financial Statement. They will ensure that your friend has covered all her priority debts first and help work out the pro rata payments. If your friend then needs further assistance they will recommend either Step Change or PayPlan to manage the DMP as they are FREE.

 

We cannot help with your friends health issues, you must seek advice from her GP for those.

 

Just to confirm, that if your friend were to cease the contractual payments tomorrow (example) and not make any payments, then it would be perhaps 3 - 6 months before the creditor would even think of court because they have to follow the rules in the Consumer credit Act.

 

If your friend were to make token offers or request a payment plan for higher amounts, then it is unlikely that court action would be taken at all - as long as she maintained the agreed reduced payments.

[maggie]

She has been to her g.p. ...thanks guys for your input and help ,so cca requests sent first,,then breakdown of her income and expenditures ?

[citizenB]

I have attached a budget form for you.. You can have a look for yourselves to see how things would work out. However, I do strongly advise that your friend contacts Nat Debtline on Monday and have them fine tune it for you

 

 

Ellens Budget Sheet.xls

 

Let us know what type of responses you get from the creditors in response to the CCA requests.

[citizenB]

Some questions.

 

1: Does your friend own her own home?

 

2: Are her debts under £15,000 ?

 

If the answer to 1: is NO and 2: YES, then there might be other options open to your friend.

 

 

Ignore above - the first question had already been covered in first post.

Edited April 13, 2013 by citizenB

[thebaneofbanks]

Guys,

 

I'm just wondering why no-one has asked is she getting all the financial help she is entitled to. I would have thought if she is of work and I'm guessing getting SSP only as the figures look about right why is she still paying full rent and council tax. has she not applied for housing benefit and council tax benefit and if not why not. As for the possible suggestion of a DRO I would think that slightly drastic at this point without knowing a lot more information and also if this is likely to be a long term problem.

 

The person who asked if she owned her own home obviously doesn't appear to have read the thread correctly as maggie states that her friend is paying full rent. There's the clue that she doesn't own her own house.

 

Personally I would think her best bet is to see if she is getting all the benefits she is entitled to specifically Housing and council tax benefits and then to send all creditors an I&E and to make reasonable offers based on what she is able to afford.

[citizenB]

Yes, you are correct, I obviously didn't read the first post correctly.

 

As I know absolutely nothing about benefits etc, I wouldn't presume to ask about them. Best left to those that do.

[maggie]

yes ,she has applied for rent and rate rebate ,but has been told no ,as she is receiving the £375.00 per month from her employer .so she finally broke down in tears and told me what is troubling her and making her life hell,and I immediately thought of you guys as you helped me in 2006 when I was desperately feeling so low and in debt .

[maggie]

Citizen b ..I will let you know what she receives from the cca requests .thank you all so very very much for your input .Maggie

[citizenB]

Maggie, how long is your friend likely to be off sick, if it is only temporary then perhaps just writing to the creditors advising this. They may or may not allow some breathing space, if they do.. that is good. If they don't then continue with Plan A - Budget sheet - CCA request - letter advising financial situation, request payment plan. However, it is important she request that charges and interest be frozen in order not to make things worse.

[maggie]

Will do citizen and maroon ,,,I have no idea how long she will be sick for ,she has worked all her life ,,she has been ill for the past two months ,with this debt on top of her ,around £27,000,,and her divorce which is draining her finances too ,she is a total wreck .I have just rung her and she has been stunned at the quick response I have received from you guys and the help .She is coming to my home on Monday morning to begin the letters and to read this thread,Thank you on my behalf of my friend and myself I will keep you updated .

[BRIGADIER2JCS]

Citizen B is right here, the creditors need to be told the situation and they must give due regard to your friends current circumstances.

I will happily draft letters that can be sent to each creditor seeking their understanding and cooperation, these are not priority debts and borrowing

to pay them is not a good thing to do!!

I will help if needed just let me know.