Any idea of chances of success?

[ismylife]

I have requested that CapOne write off my debt due to age related issues and ever decreasing finances as I'm retired on basic pension and pension credit (which gave me an increase of less than 2% this year and DLA which increased by 95p per week).

 

I've been paying this religiously since 2010, only decreasing the debt by relatively small amounts, but which is still a drain on my finances.

 

They keep banging on about me providing evidence of my "ill health" (age related conditions) and how it affects me and whether I can go back to work.

 

I have been trying to get it through to them that this is not just about my health but about the fact that my income is not increasing anything remotely like the outgoings that I cannot avoid paying,

 

how I have to save to pay other people to do things for me as I get older (eg decorating) and that I am no longer working and will not be going back to work.

 

They continued to ignore this and have only now had an explanation that they would "never" consider a write-off (even with a token payment) on the grounds of hardship and that they would look at setting up a repayment plan of £1 per month because "it's their money".

 

Whilst I can obviously agree to that, I was hoping to be able to just get all this closed so I can let go of it all and move on for what remains of my life and not leave it to my son who has an ASD to have to deal with when I pop me clogs.

(There is no money to pay a solicitor to act as executor).

 

I also believe that if we did go the £1 per month route, they'd pass the debt to a DCA (which they did do before for a short time) and I'd then be suffering all the harassment all over again from such an organisation which I really cannot cope with any more as I am just not well enough any more.

 

If I get a doctor's letter, that obviously will be another cost and yet again I had to point out to the rep (because of what she said) that the doctor's letter would not be about whether I was fit to return to work.

banging head against the wall here!

I pointed out that £12 per year, spread over 10 years which may well be the max that I last is not going to be as much as the offer I made to write it off, but that doesn't seem to have made any difference.

They simply will not write a debt off unless I can show how my "illness" impacts my life and income.

 

If I do get the doctor's letter, does anyone know what are my chances of getting the debt written off or do I face a higher risk that they'll just snigger behind their hands and tell me they still won't agree to it and that they are entitled to request continued payments?

[ismylife]

It's a very lonely and depressing way to spend the last years of ones life.

[reallymadwoman]

Perhaps if someone contacted them on your behalf, e.g. CAB, they might have more clout? Age Concern are also supposed to be very good.

 

If that's not an option and you're willing to take a bit of a risk you could write to them pointing out that since you're retired you won't ever be returning to work therefore they can have x amount and if it's not accepted, they can ask the court to decide an appropriate amount, then just stop paying.

 

They may take the pragmatic view that something is better than nothing knowing full well that a court won't order you to pay any more than you can afford,

 

more likely they'll ship it off to a debt collector to whom you send the same letter and then ignore.

 

There is always the possibility that someone will take it to court, but if they do you're unlikely to be any worse off since you'll have saved your minimal payments in the meantime.

[citizenB]

Strangely enough, you may well find you have a better chance with a DCA.

 

I do not believe even the original lender is entitled to such devastatingly personal information via a GP letter (however, do speak to Age Concern or CAB) about that.

 

I would indeed drop your repayments to £1.00 per month - how are you currently making your payments ? Online transfer, postal order ?.

 

Do you know if there are any default/penalty charges added to the balance ? If so, you could work out how much the debt would reduce by if they were to be deducted from the account.

 

I would also be inclined to write one more letter to Capone. You can use the draft in the link below as the basis of your letter..

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?387360-Ask-your-Creditor-to-Write-off-your-Debt-**Correct-as-at-October-2013**

 

If they still continue to refuse and end up assigning the debt, you would then write just once to the new owner, explaining yet again your circumstances, advise that Capone were well aware of this when they assigned the debt and that you are now prepared for them to issue a claim where a court would almost certainly look at your circumstances.

 

One question, do you own your own property ? The request to let them issue a claim would be a bit worrying if they were able to attach a charge to your property.

 

Perhaps speaking to Age concern/CAB in the first instance might well prove to be your best route.

[ismylife]

Thank you, reallymadwoman and citizenB.

 

I have sent another letter, this time with a complaint about the way I was treated on the phone, and because I received yet another letter from them telling me to call them

 

- ain't going to happen after that really distressing phone convo.

It's all in writing now.

And I told them I am not paying (from my DLA) for a GPs letter and frankly that I am not happy for them or anyone else to have access to such personal information as I no longer trusted them to keep it confidential nor was there any guarantee that it would provide a positive outcome.

 

From what I can see, their letters take so long and are just template responses that have virtually nothing to do with my situation (I mean, how many times do I have to say that I'm retired for pete's sake?).

 

I've more or less said what you suggested RMW, and used some of that template letter, but didn't mention the court action.

 

i don't own my home - private renting - and I'm on basic pension with GPC top-up and there are no assets.

 

No default charges or interest has been added since way back (2008?) and won't be and I pay by SO, so I control the payments.

 

But, because I'm now in this dreaded PIP claim loop and stand to loose a huge amount of benefits which is vital to my mobility, I've told them they can have £1 per month and that's it.

 

They should have accepted my offer of a token payment in the beginning because now they are not even going to receive the same amount that I offered in more than 13 years of £1 per month, and in all honesty, I simply don't think I will be around for that long as my health degenerates.

 

I don't know about Age Concern helping me because I've already had a couple of poor experiences with them and I believe - and am happy to be corrected - that both they and CAB will only write to CapOne on my behalf to offer the £1 per month and in all honesty, I'd rather get the advice and support from here where it's kind of private, non-judgemental, non patronising, and has been given out for years and years.

 

 

ETA - That's very helpful to know about how to handle the situation if they do assign the debt because I'm utterly fed up of these (unmentionable word)'s who speculate on the misery and struggles of others.

 

I hope their ancestors rise up to make their 'retirement' hell, when their turn comes to snuff it and they then come back in their next lives as the slugs they are.

[citizenB]

Please keep us updated so we can advise more if required.

[SabreSheep]

One more thing.

 

If not already mentioned, refuse to talk to cap 1 or any dca on the phone. They have a habit of saying anything and not following through and denying what was said. Demand all communication be done in writing only and keep the paper trail.

[ismylife]

Definitely will do, CitizenB. They should get my letter of complaint today so I'll have to wait and see what transpires and whether they confirm that they will never agree to write off a debt on the grounds of hardship alone.

 

My guess is they'll ignore the actual content of my complaint, but I have other options too.

 

SabreSheep - not only do they do that, they then mysteriously cannot access the conversation recording for 'technical' reasons - as I've found with Cabot.

[ismylife]

I have received two letters - one just to acknowledge receipt of my letter which has been passed to the relevant dept.

 

The second says that it is going to take a little while to look into my situation and come back with a detailed response and do everything to get back within 4 weeks.

 

This is the bit I am not sure about:

 

"As your account has already gone into default, we strongly recommend you still continue to make payments to your account whilst we are carrying out our investigations".

 

Now, firstly, I have not stopped any payments, nor reduced them, even though one of their previous letters instructs me to cancel my DD or SO that I have set up to make payments. So if I had obeyed those instructions, I'd have been put at a disadvantage.

 

The Notice of Default was sent in September 2008 and since then I have received nothing else and have kept up my agreed payment plans without error since June 2009.

 

Is this a technical term that refers back to 2008 or are they trying to say that I have defaulted on my agreed payment plan?

[reallymadwoman]

It's probably a standard template letter that they don't bother personalising to suit individual circumstances.

[Old Cogger]

pay them £1.00 per month and that is it. give a few more facts ie. CCA taken when = etc just a thought is the CCA enforceable or unenforceable a s a hell of a lot of Crap ones are from earlier years/???

[ismylife]

pay them £1.00 per month and that is it. give a few more facts ie. CCA taken when = etc just a thought is the CCA enforceable or unenforceable a s a hell of a lot of Crap ones are from earlier years/???

 

I must be getting more useless than I thought.

 

I have only just realised I don't have the original agreement at all so cannot tell if it is unenforceable.

 

That's the ss 77/78 letter if I want a copy, I think and the £1 PO to get it?

 

Well, heck - Cabot returned the one I sent them for that CCA request, it's not made out to anyone so I could 'recycle' it and send it to CapOne instead. No point in throwing good money after bad.

(has visions of this PO going around and around the country being reused ad nauseam)

 

Seriously, though, what would make them non-enforceable? I understand about the prescribed terms that are required for a loan, but not what is required for a credit card.

[ismylife]

It's probably a standard template letter that they don't bother personalising to suit individual circumstances.

 

The first two letters definitely were, but this last one is a specific reply as they've had to mention in detail the response to my different complaints. Maybe the last bit is some standard wording but I've not received any further Notice of Default since that first one years ago. I haven't defaulted on the agreed payment plan either, so perhaps they were hoping I would.

[ismylife]

pay them £1.00 per month and that is it. give a few more facts ie. CCA taken when = etc just a thought is the CCA enforceable or unenforceable a s a hell of a lot of Crap ones are from earlier years/???

 

I'm sorry I've just realised

I didn't fully answer your question earlier.

 

I cannot remember when I opened the account but possibly it goes back to 2006.

 

I haven't requested the CCA yet as I've simply been so unwell and tired, trying to deal with the PIP claim as a priority,

and then finding out the hospital had dropped me off the waiting list for a hip op and no-one knew anything about it

- the saga is as horrendous as the deterioration with my arthritis in so many joints now.

 

I ramble too - the pain meds are doing my brains in but sadly not managing the pain very well.

 

Well, I got the first response to my complaint about the way I had been treated and it must surely be no surprise that, along with a load of utterly fatuous claims of how disappointed they are when their customers are not happy (I'm not a customer, I'm someone who cannot pay their debts!), they will pass on my comments, advisors trained to a high standard, blah blah blah .............................

 

I'm repeatedly told to "please be advised/ mindful/ assured" and how the rep had wanted to support me as best she could - right - by having a go at me and treating me as the piece of dirt I must surely be.

 

And, no surprise, yet again they have twisted the basis of the claim to fit their demands for medical evidence - and they did try to get me to sign over the right to total access to my medical records.

 

It was nothing more than an utterly hypocritical snub and I was told another team would consider my request for write off.

 

BUT - the responder side stepped the issue about the template letters, the delays in responding, the inconsistent instructions which would have put me at a disadvantage had I followed them and has failed to answer the question of whether, as stated, it is CapOne's policy to refusing to write off debts on the grounds of hardship alone.

 

So I waited, and didn't hear another thing and then wrote again to complain that I had been left without knowing what was happening and where I stood, was expected to keep up my existing payment plan and that my questions had not been fully addressed.

 

This crossed in the post yet again with another smarmy holding template letter which should have been sent nearly two weeks earlier, and then I received the expected response today. My request does not meet their criteria for write-off.

 

They said to contact a 'free' debt management company who "should be able to offer me free advice" (well if it's free, it must be free???) and they "may then be able to reconsider my request once i have sought help for my debts.

 

I don't need help to manage my debts - I need more money which I am not going to get - indeed I've been advised I will definitely lose out on my transfer from DLA to PIP because I will no longer receive the the lower component for care as that has been wiped out and I won't have enough points to get the standard rate.

 

They then say that they will continue to support me during this difficult time within their Specialist Support Unit..................

 

WHAT Specialist Support Unit? Is that the one where I get treated as the special piece of dirt I must surely be?

 

The only thing I can see in all of this is thinly veiled bullying and I'm quite clear in my mind that even if I'd given them access to my MRs, they'd still have said 'no'.

 

So, I will request the CCA copy, for my own records if nothing else, and they will have to answer the questions I've raised.

 

Then it will be £1 per month (as the rep mentioned weeks ago) and that will be it.

 

What I cannot understand is why on earth they'd even want to entertain accepting £1 per month as it's going to cost them more to process it. What can they possibly gain from this? They would be better off writing my debt off and claiming against tax!

 

It's not as if I'm unemployed and may become employed and so afford to pay more. I have no assets - my small savings are for paying bills, saving for replacement household items as most are now struggling to keep going as much as their owner, and because I have to find people to do work for me know because I simply cannot do things any more, and for extra support and care after each op (I need more than one as soon as possible) as I live on my own with no family to help look after me.

 

I'm always going to be on basic state pension and the way the Govt is going, even that is likely to be hit in a cynical attempt to kill a few more of us off sooner than our allotted time-span.

 

I'm tired - in all honesty, I'm as tired and exhausted as I never wished to be in my worst nightmares. I'm not old enough to be this old and struggling.

 

One day, one day they will realise, too late, the very nasty future they've laid down for themselves when they get old and the younger generations will want to get rid of them and rob them blind.

[dx100uk]

Not sure why you simply don't stop paying

 

You've no assets and your debts can't be passed on to anyone.

 

The very worst is someone might get a ccj

And for what £1PCM

 

Take control yourself of your finance

Not be governed by creditors

[ismylife]

You don't seem to understand about people, dx100uk

 

Obviously I don't know if you live with CCJ's placed against you, but not only does the idea of having one cause me no end of distress, I have no-one to support me physically or emotionally in having to cope with the whole threat and dealing with the paperwork etc.

 

Life is not so black and white for everyone and a CCJ would cause me problems. People need advice and support to help them manage their lives, not blunt responses which do not give the full picture of the effect of what such actions would be on any individual person's life.

[citizenB]

Sadly, Capone is probably one of the worst companies to deal with. In the earlier years, their responses were.. we are a US based company and we do things differently !! The OFT at that time soon sorted that one out.

 

It is my understanding that you wouldn't really obtain much help from a Debt Management Company - I believe that you have to have a certain amount of disposable income and be able to offer your creditors more than simply £1.00.

 

If this were me, I would write one last letter. Formal Complaint to their Registered/Head office.

 

Pretty much state as you have already done, in bullet point fashion with the final paragraph to advise that you have already explained you are not in a position to maintain payments of any kind due to your health and finances. Their continued disregard of the situation is causing no end of stress and to this end you are now ceasing payments of any kind. You would be extremely sorry if they were to proceed to litigation, but you feel that you would most likely receive a fairer hearing with a Judge than you are from their "Specialist Support Unit". Whilst it might give Capital One great satisfaction to obtain a Judgment against you, it will still not produce the funds to pay them.

 

The only other advice I can give is, if your total debts are under £20,000 and with no assets, would you consider a Debt Relief Order ? You would need to speak to National Debtline who can provide more advice on this.

 

Nat Debt Fact sheet on DRO

 

https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/37%20EW%20Debt%20relief%20orders%20(DROs)/Default.aspx

 

 

Do I qualify for a DRO?

 

There are strict rules that you have to meet to qualify for a DRO. You must:

be unable to pay your debts;

have total debts of £20,000 or less at the date the application is approved by the official receiver;

have assets worth a total of £1,000 or less;

not have a car or motor bike worth £1,000 or more;

have £50 a month or less spare income after normal household expenses are taken into account;

live in England or Wales (or have lived or run a business in England or Wales in the last three years); and

not have had a DRO in the last six years.

 

 

Call us

 

Freephone: 0808 808 4000

Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm

Saturday 9.30am to 1pm

 

[intend]

Best advice I can give is - £1 per month payment - set up a SO for this then forget about them and move on and enjoy your retirement. Use your energy for something enjoyable.

 

Intend

[ismylife]

Thank you, CitizenB. Even though I'm not going to go the DRO route, and really don't want to give them any grounds for exercising the vindictiveness they seem to thrive on, I do appreciate the support.

 

You're spot on about the DMC.

 

And I can at least say that I have tried the suggestion from CapOne and contacted Step Change - have spent hours on the phone only for them to:

 

1) claim I had £19 more disposable income per month than I actually have, due to the way Housing Benefit is paid 4 weekly versus the rent I have to pay every month. Yes, it may work out at the end of the financial year, but I cannot find money that is not available every month. My reality is that I have a real negative balance every month, so something has to go and the 13th payment in April of the HB simply gets swallowed up with things that need replacing, mending, topping up etc that I haven't been able to afford during the rest of the year.

 

2) suggest I go bankrupt with a DRO which I already know will have a significant affect on my ability to manage my finances and my life, or

 

3) allow them to set up a payment plan which they magnanimously manage for me - at a cost of the magical £19 per month, and

 

4) to tell me at the very end of all of this that Cabot never write off debts unless it's for someone who is dying!!

 

There are times, in all honesty, that I just feel that this would be a solution. I feel really ripped off by Step Change that they didn't come clean about that in the first place. I shared a lot of very personal information, only to find they wanted to push me into insolvency or their debt management plan.

 

intend - you are right and I may just go that route and tell them to go coco if they don't like it. If they want to take me to Court after that, then at least I will be able to show that I tried so very hard to come to a decent solution with them, and they just mucked me about something rotten.

 

They have also still failed to reply to my letter where I asked yet again for answers to specific questions, so perhaps it's time to get a response from the Ombudsman over whether CapOne have handled my request and then my complaint in an appropriate manner.

 

Wish I could enjoy a glass of sherry. It will have to be a toast of tea instead.

 

[citizenB]

I cant say I am a fan of Step Change..

[ismylife]

They were so plausible and yet again, I was a gullible numpty!

[citizenB]

They were so plausible and yet again, I was a gullible numpty!

 

Don't beat yourself up - I would say at least 50% of caggers have been where you are today

[dx100uk]

and the rest!!

 

 

no DMC fee paying or free ever checks any debt legalities

they simply advise blindly paying.

 

 

dx

[ismylife]

And are not what I would describe as entirely honest either.

 

In fact, given the baloney spiel they came out with, and the way they led up to the crud denouement, they are no better than the wretched finance companies.

 

It's all about fleecing people, one way or another.

 

I think I'd rather face the nasties than the weaselly word pedlars.

[ismylife]

An update here, in case it is of any help to anyone else.

 

I finally got so fed up of being bombarded with the same utterly insensitive

and totally inappropriate template demands, the threats,

the mess of broken promises

and essentially the fact that the different departments were clearly failing to communicate,

i put in a complaint to the FOS.

 

I detailed very carefully why I was complaining

- ie that the way they had handled my account,

totally confusing when one department said one thing

and another dept said another, failure to be clear in their comms etc.

 

An adjudicator contacted me eventually with what she felt was a reasonable outcome

and offer from CapOne and although this did not address the main thrust of my complaint,

I decided to accept it in the hope that it would give CO a bit of a kick up the rear end

and bring a halt to their harassment at least.

 

I sent off the acceptance and sat back expectantly for the letter of confirmation from CO and the agreed compensation.

 

And I sat back, and I waited ............................................................ and guess what happened next?

 

 

 

Nothing!

 

Nada!

 

 

to cut a long story short,

I got back in touch with the FOS and insisted that the case was re-opened

and escalated to an Ombudsman for a decision

because this was yet another example of what I had been complaining about CO,

 

 

that I wasn't prepared to be held to an agreement I accepted in good faith

but which CO had welched on, and this time I wanted a decision that was legally binding on CO.

 

 

But, instead of doing that, the adjudicator contacted CO again,

against my express wishes and what she agreed, and got a 'bit more compensation'.

 

Suffice to say I was furious and somewhat hit the roof.

Well, it was escalated to the Ombudsman then and I am not happy with her findings

as she's decided to ignore almost the whole reason and evidence of my complaint

but did find against CO on one issue of communications.

 

Apparently, the excuse that CO gave for not processing the original settlement

(it was "put in the wrong queue"!!! Eh???) was acceptable to the FOS!

 

Well, I now await the piddly enhanced settlement and the letter that CO were supposed to have sent to me

back in February and will continue to pay them £1 per month in the meantime which they have accepted.

 

But I don't imagine this arrangement will last for long before they get pushy again,

but until then, they can have their £1 per month on a debt of over £5k