Stressed by huge debt!

[Mum2Four]

Hi, I am so glad I have found these forums - I thought I was alone in all this and now realise that I am not and that there may even be some light at the end of the tunnel.

 

My situation is not unlike most others. I was aware I was in debt (credit cards, unsecured loans) but had never actually sat down and added it all up, mainly as I was 'in denial' I think, I had hoped if I ignored it then it would all go away - very stupid!

 

I was working full-time as was my husband, I think I assumed that as we were both working we should be able to do all the things we wanted to, but with four children, expensive childcare etc it was never going to be easy.

 

I found myself living on credit cards as after paying all the minimum payments there was no money left for food!

 

A few months ago it all came to a head when I realised I was up to my limit with my overdraft (the bank had increased the overdraft on our joint account two months previously

- my husband didn't even know about this, they never informed him and it was a joint account!).

 

I also realised at this time that our monthly salaries were due to be credited the next week - and would not even cover the overdraft.

 

We owed money to all my unsecured creditors as well as to the childcare provider. Nightmare!!

 

This meant I had to tell my husband what a financial mess I had got into, including the joint overdraft he knew nothing about!

 

He was furious to say the least but accepted that he was as much to blame for spending 'above our means'.

 

I had to give up work as there was no way I could work full time with no childcare (earnings were just above the amount to get help towards childcare from tax credits),

my employers could not let me work part-time and were totally inflexible.

The summer holidays were fast approaching so I was left with little choice.

 

I have now found a part-time job (evenings and weekends) that I can fit in and not have to rely on childcare (just my husband!).

 

We have only got through the past few months because we had items to sell (motorbike, laptop) which has just about tided us over.

 

Now all the phone calls are going to start again from the creditors, demanding money we don't have.

 

We went to the CAB as soon as all this happened

, they advised us to try to sell our house

(brilliant timing!!! Just as the housing market goes into freefall).

 

It has been on the market since July but nothing happening there, no great surprise things being as they are.

 

We then took their next suggestion of contacting 'Payplan', which we have.

They were very helpful but just confirmed what I already knew.

 

There is no money left at the end of the month for creditors so we have to make an offer of £1 a month!

 

I have now got these letters to send, but am scared witless as I know as soon as they go out the phone calls will all start again

- having just shut them all up with the money from the stuff we sold (enough for 3 months of minimum payments!).

 

I wrote to all of them as soon as I stopped working, explaining the situation.

Some were brilliant (M&S, Sainsburys), others were phoning 8 times a day (Virgin MBNA surprisingly!),

 

we have changed our bank current account as advised by CAB and First Direct have been sending us letters ever since, despite being told of the situation.

 

We now have to change bank accounts again as we had not realised some of the accounts are linked to the same organisation and out money is not safe!

 

I realise from reading these posts that I am at the start of a long road,

I don't know what to expect apart from having to go to court.

 

'Charges' on the house have been mentioned as being possible

- but I don't understand this as the house is technically worthless at the moment

- we can't sell it, we have tried!

 

At the end of the day I cannot pay what I do not have

, I accept that trying to has made the situation even worse.

 

Any words of wisdom greatly appreciated.

I just feel like having a bit of a rant!

 

To say this is stressful is a gross understatement,

I am currently on 'happy pills' which says it all really!

 

For the record my creditors are

Abbey (personal loan),

Egg (personal loan),

Egg credit card x 2,

Virgin MBNA credit card,

GE Money Asda Card,

GE Money Paypal Card,

Sainsburys Card,

M&S Card,

Argos Card,

Simply Be catalogue,

First Direct Visa Card,

First Direct overdraft.

Grand total £29k

 

minimum payments amount to around £800 per month.

They will be getting £1 each, from this month

Edited July 8, 2018 by dx100uk
Spacing

[PGH7447]

Hi Mum2four and welcome to the CAG, you are now amongst friends who can and will help where possible

 

 

 

 

We went to the CAB as soon as all this happened, they advised us to try to sell our house (brilliant timing!!! (Stupid suggestion in the first place) Just as the housing market goes into freefall). It has been on the market since July but nothing happening there, no great surprise things being as they are. and what are you hoping to achieve here, what with all the costs of moving etc?

 

We then took their next suggestion of contacting 'Payplan', which we have. They were very helpful but just confirmed what I already knew. There is no money left at the end of the month for creditors so we have to make an offer of £1 a month! Nothing wrong with that

 

I have now got these letters to send, but am scared witless as I know as soon as they go out the phone calls will all start again - having just shut them all up with the money from the stuff we sold (enough for 3 months of minimum payments!). stop selling all your goods to pay these debts off

 

I wrote to all of them as soon as I stopped working, explaining the situation. Some were brilliant (M&S, Sainsburys), others were phoning 8 times a day (Virgin MBNA surprisingly!), we have changed our bank current account as advised by CAB and First Direct have been sending us letters ever since, despite being told of the situation. We now have to change bank accounts again as we had not realised some of the accounts are linked to the same organisation and out money is not safe! Well done

 

I realise from reading these posts that I am at the start of a long road, I don't know what to expect apart from having to go to court. Have you received any court papers yet, if this is the start of the problems they are a fair way down the road 'Charges' on the house have been mentioned as being possible - but I don't understand this as the house is technically worthless at the moment - we can't sell it, we have tried! At the end of the day I cannot pay what I do not have, I accept that trying to has made the situation even worse. Never a truer word said, you cannot pay what you do not have remember that when these people call, however we will come to that in a minute

 

Any words of wisdom greatly appreciated. I just feel like having a bit of a rant! To say this is stressful is a gross understatement, I am currently on 'happy pills' which says it all really!

 

For the record my creditors are Abbey (personal loan), Egg (personal loan), Egg credit card x 2, Virgin MBNA credit card, GE Money Asda Card, GE Money Paypal Card, Sainsburys Card, M&S Card, Argos Card, Simply Be catalogue, First Direct Visa Card, First Direct overdraft. Grand total £29000, minimum payments amount to around £800 per month. They will be getting £1 each, from this month

 

 

Right for starters, stop talking to these people on the phone, get everything in writing.

 

if they continue to call then we will hit them with a phone harassment letter.

 

For all your credit cards and loans have you attempted to get the agreements from the original creditors yet?

 

do you know if you have any bank charges you can claim back

 

and selling your house for because you are in debt to the tune of £29k is not in my opinion a good move, especially with all the associated costs that this would incur, solicitors, estate agents, removers, somewhere else to rent / buy etc etc

[Mum2Four]

Thanks for the quick response.

I agree that we shouldn't sell the house, apart from anything else, the supposed 'equity' would now only just cover the debts plus solicitors fees etc.

 

Originally the idea was to sell the house, pay the debts, rent privately and start again. Not going to happen though as zero interest in the house anyway!

 

I haven't attempted to get the agreements from the creditors yet, I don't know whether to send the letters offering the £1 a month first?

 

I don't think I have incurred bank charges until all this happened. I had never been overdrawn until last year, in 17 years!

 

The warning bells should have started then really.

The charges are mounting up now due to late payment fees etc on the credit cards.

 

I had letters threatening the issuing of a default notice etc but that was before I paid the arrears last month.

All that has done is delayed things.

[PGH7447]

Thanks for the quick response. I agree that we shouldn't sell the house, apart from anything else, the supposed 'equity' would now only just cover the debts plus solicitors fees etc. Orginally the idea was to sell the house, pay the debts, rent privately and start again. Not going to happen though as zero interest in the house anyway! - You will probably find that you will get credit checked before you can rent, so with all these debts hanging around you it maybe harder than you think to rent - have you spoke to your mortgage company and asked about changing to an interest only mortgage for an interim period, this would free up some spare cash?

 

I haven't attempted to get the agreements from the creditors yet, I don't know whether to send the letters offering the £1 a month first? some may agree some wont full stop

 

I don't think I have incurred bank charges until all this happened. I had never been overdrawn until last year, in 17 years! The warning bells should have started then really. So you have had some charges you can start to claim back, you need to get all your statements and work out what these are The charges are mounting up now due to late payment fees etc on the credit cards. we can do the same for these as well I had letters threatening the issuing of a default notice etc standard threat-o-grams but that was before I paid the arrears last month. All that has done is delayed things.

 

OK so you need to do as stated before and either write to all the CC companies and request a payment break or reduced terms for the interim period or wait until they default you and pass the debts onto the Debt collection agencies.

 

Golden rule, always pay the main debts Mortgage; council tax; food; living expenses etc

 

whatevers left can then be used to pay of the creditors

[Mum2Four]

I sent all my letters out on 06/10/08 as advised by

- offering £1 a month token payment.

 

I have had a lot of phone calls since then, which I have ignored.

 

Today a letter from Egg arrived (regarding a personal loan

- I have missed ONE payment, due on 06/10!) stating 'this is a default notice' blah blah blah and the usual if the almost £3000 is not paid by 06/11 then they 'may' take action, courts, DCA's etc.

 

I am really annoyed by this as I have only missed one payment, they have received my letter and the cheque for £1 as it has been cashed!

Is this par for the course for these people?

They have a copy of my income and expenditure, they can see I have no money left!!!

How the hell can I suddenly become able to pay the debt - I wish I could!

 

What should my next course of action be?

I think this will be the first of many as well

[supasnooper]

Hi there,

 

yep, some of them will pester you for a while, but as you were advised earlier, do NOT speak to them on the phone. Keep a note of the phone calls and the times as you will have a log of the harrssment

If it does get too much then send them the Telephone harrassment letter -

 

 

Your Street

Town

City

Postcode

 

 

DATE HERE

Company Name

Road

Town

City / County

Postcode

 

Re: Harassment by telephone

 

 

ACCOUNT NUMBER: XXXXXXX

 

Dear Sirs

 

I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing.

 

I have verbally requested that these stop, but I am still receiving calls. (Delete if necessary)

 

I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only.

 

I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

 

If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and I will report you to OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you will be liable to a substantial fine.

 

Be advised that any further telephone calls from your company will be recorded. (**Even if you don‘t yet have recording equipment!!**)

 

 

Yours faithfully,

 

 

 

[NAME HERE]

.

.

 

© Reclaim the Right Ltd.

 

 

 

You may wish to re-iterate to the companies again that you are on a debt mangement plan with Payplan and they should contact them.

 

Keep all written correspondence and the envelopes in a file as you may need to refer to them later on.

 

Please do take time to read the threads on the forum - a good place to start is the "won threads" as this will give you an idea of the journey involved.

 

Do NOT lose heart or hope and instead be inspired by what others have achieved on the forum.

 

Hope this helps.

[DuffNCustard]

I just want to offer you a bit of 'moral'

- I too have a mountain of debt to shift,

I'm on a DMP with the CCCS

- its been going for 20 months now.

 

The first 6 months were horrendous

- phone calls, letters, defaults,

I honestly felt like the word CRIMINAL was glowing from my forehead.

 

a kind soul explained to me that these Collections Managers etc weren't actually personally writing to me!

What was happening was because their databases had 'flags set' these letters were being mailed out automatically, when this sunk in I felt so relieved!

I also had it explained to me that a CCJ was in many cases a 'good thing' as no court could magic up money and would not make me pay what I didn't have.

 

In spite of all the threats of legal action and phone rants none of my creditors went for a CCJ and things are bowling along nicely for me now.

 

My husband has started a DMP with Payplan this year

- some of his creditors are meaner than snakes,

but thanks to advice in this forum and my own experience;

he's holding them at bay and refuses to be bullied by them.

 

They really hate it when a well informed debtor asserts their rights!

[Mum2Four]

Hi all, again

thanks for all the advice on these forums,

were it not for you lot I may well have gone totally mad by now.

 

It's now July 2009,

and still no different,

still paying £1 a month,

can't afford to pay more

- still receiving threat-o-grams and phone calls (I ignore the phone) on an almost daily basis,

 

just have the same routine of letters

- local post office are used to me asking for £1 postal orders made out to various DCA's now ,

anyone would think it was a regular occurance!!

 

My question really is

where do I go from here?

 

This could go on forever,

no one wants to take me to court

- despite threats that 'we may',

 

I don't think they have plans to, yet.

I have applied for loads of jobs but no luck so far so not likely to be in a position to pay more than £1 a month anytime soon.

 

Is anyone on here further along than me in this whole spiralling debt situation?

I am in no different a position now than I was a year ago.

 

My house is off the market for now,

CAB have said to just 'carry on as you are'

(the letters, £1 token payment, not answering the phone to DCA's etc).

 

My mortgage and all the other bills are not in arrears,

it is all unsecured debt (credit cards & loans),

 

we have a very basic current account with no overdraft,

and things are hard BUT I am so glad not to be able to spend money I don't have

 

, it's like a huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders.

Yes, I am on happy pills which helps..

. but no matter how bad it gets I know I cannot pay what I do not have .

That's it.

 

I don't let them get to me,

but I would like to hear from people who have actually dug themselves out of this hole, or are in the process of doing this..

 

... and has anyone had charges etc put on their property,

as this seems to be the likely outcome, eventually, although the CAB financial lady seemed to think this unlikely as despite the total amount is large the individual amounts owed vary from £250 - £7000..

 

. lots of questions I know,

but also if anyone is at the start of all this and has just found themselves in this situation feel free to get in touch and I'll try to help with my tales of woe .

Edited July 8, 2018 by dx100uk
Spacing

[IdaInFife]

Hiya,

 

you have a few options,

 

have you received any default notices? if you have can you scan or take a picture and upload them here

 

you said:

Abbey (personal loan), Egg (personal loan), Egg credit card x 2, Virgin MBNA credit card, GE Money Asda Card, GE Money Paypal Card, Sainsburys Card, M&S Card, Argos Card, Simply Be catalogue, First Direct Visa Card, First Direct overdraft

 

Abbey, Egg x 3, Virgin, GE, Sainsburys, M & s , Argos, Simply Be,. First direct card:

 

when you have the funds send tem each:

Your Address

 

Date

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Re:− Account/Reference Number 4563210025897412

 

This letter is a formal request pursuant to s.77(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. I require you to provide me with a true copy of the credit agreement relating to the above account, together with any other documentation the Act requires you to provide.

 

I expect you to comply fully and properly with this request, within the statutory time limit. You are reminded that should you fail to comply with my request, the provisions of s.77(6) will apply.

 

(DELETE THIS BELOW IF YOU ARE SENDING THE LETTER TO THE ORIGNAL CREDITOR AS OPPOSED TO A DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY)

If it is your view that you are not the creditor, s.175 of the CCA 1974 applies in the case of a simple assignment, and places a duty upon you to pass this request to the creditor. In the case of an absolute assignment, you are a creditor as defined by s.189. If you contend that you purchased the rights but not the duties of any agreement, you are reminded that s.189 of the Act is clear that an assignment is of both rights and duties.

 

Your attention is drawn to ss.5(2), 3(b),6 and 7 of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTR).

 

I enclose a postal order in the sum of £1.00, which is the statutory fee. Note that these funds are not to be used for any other purpose.

 

If you are unable to comply fully and properly with this request, you should confirm this in writing at the earliest opportunity, and certainly within the statutory time limit for compliance, and return the fee.

 

We look forward to hearing from you.

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

print your name

 

you need to include a £1 po in each and send recorded.

 

 

this will check to see if they have all the paperowrk in order, if they have carry on as you are , any that haven't then you are under no obligation to offer payment. Whatever they send you in response just post back here,

 

overdraft, from whta you say there will probarbly be charges you can claim back that will reduce it. you coudl send them a sar to get what they have to claim back the chares (unless you still have this paperwork)

http://www.consumerforums.com/resources/templates-library/48-bank-templates/110--data-protection-act-1998-subject-access-request-

 

you need to incoude a £10 po with this one and again send recorded,

 

have a read around here about reclaiming:

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/#consumer-forums-center-bank

 

 

you can also claim charges from all you credit cards but maybe one step at a time

 

Ida x

[mkb]

Hiya

I haven't got anything to add but just offering moral support. We are in the same situation as you, only a few months behind - posted CCA'S & SAR's last week.

 

Like you, we have an awful long way to go but hey, we're a long time dead & who knows, we may all be debt free by then:-D

 

Chin up & don't let the beggars (DCA's) get you down.

[Mum2Four]

Hi

 

It's been a while since I posted,

Two years ago I found myself in a position of being unable to continue juggling my debts and had to admit to myself,

my husband and family that I could no longer cope with it all.

 

I had fallen into the trap of thinking I could afford to repay all the debt I had accumulated when really I was just moving it around and not achieving anything!

 

The crunch came when I had to stop working due to lack of childcare provision in my area

 

I was forced to look at all my outgoings and finally faced up to the fact there was a lot more going out than there was coming in!

 

I discovered these forums and it was brilliant,

to know I wasn't alone and that I could fight back and not just accept the bullying from the creditors,

 

as lets face it you do feel guilty of having borrowed so much initially so tend to accept the bullying as the way it is.

I don't now.

 

It's not my fault they were throwing money at me,

I was gullible enough to think I could repay it all

- they could see my credit history,

not just the fact that up until then everything was up to date,

 

the fact I had so much debt should have alerted them surely?!

No, they were too greedy and chose to ignore the obvious.

 

I have recently checked my credit record (Experian) and found that according to that I don't owe as much as I thought.

Where has it gone?

 

I had a total of 13 creditors initially,

all were informed of my financial difficulties straightaway by me in writing along with income and expenditure form.

 

I contacted Payplan who said as I didn't have any income left with which to pay my creditors I should offer £1 a month to each of them.

This I did.

 

All have been CCA'd,

most have come back with nothing.

 

I have had debts forwarded from one DCA to another,

most are now owned by crapquest

but they don't seem to be able to realise that if I can't repay one debt then it's very unlikely I will be able to repay 5 others as well.

 

My credit record now shows 4 debts sold to DCA's (original creditor not mentioned);

CL (Lewis Group bought two GE Money accounts totalling £4000),

Hillesden Securities/DLC (bought Argos card debt £350)

only one of the crapquest debts is showing (was MBNA £3800),

two HSBC (First Direct) debts still showing (defaults) totalling £5000,

M&S Money (£6000) also showing as no payments despite saying 'arrangement' and I have been paying £1 a month.

 

I have no idea where the other 'debts' have gone.

13 orignially, now 7?

 

Surely they should show on my credit record as defaults but they have vanished!

No idea what is going on there.

 

I have sent hundereds of letters over the past two years and I am no where near as stressed as I was about it all back then.

 

I can't pay what I do not have!

I keep a good filing system of each creditor and all DCA's they then pass that debt to so I have enough info for when/ if anyone takes me to court.

 

I am still not working,

but hoping to return next year when my youngest children will no longer need childcare,

 

if I do get a job I will set up a payment plan to pay off my debts

- they are all MY debts which is one good thing as any equity in the house (none as far as I know!) is only half mine

if things do get that far I can argue my case.

 

My husband knew nothing of the extent of my debts until two years ago, and telling him was worse than dealing with any DCAs.

 

For anyone at the start of all this,

the first step is facing up to it.

 

It wont be easy but CAG has some answers,

some good letter templates and we've all been there.

 

Don't speak to any of the DCA's on the phone, there's no point.

Send the telephone harassment letter to all of them.

 

Above all don't panic!

There are lots of procedures these people must go through before you can get taken to court for unsecured debts.

 

If there's no court order there's no baliffs.

No one is allowed to turn up on your doorstep and demand money or posessions!!

 

We didn't know this until we discovered CAG.

 

I do still worry.

It wont go away and there's no quick fix.

 

I still hope of winning the Lotto but what are the chances?!!

The best thing to do is deal with the letters you receive accordingly,

don't ignore anything,

 

gather all the information you need and play the waiting game.

 

Good Luck!

[ilovecats]

Hi

Thanks for the update, glad to see you are coping with it.

I am in my 18 month of trying to sort my debts out and like you have to send letters out nearly every week to one of the DCA's.

 

You mention about not talking to the DCA's on the phone,

which as I have caller display I am able to ignore them,

 

however they do tend to send letters asking for you to call them back,

you mention the telephone harassment letter,

do you perhaps have a copy of that you can post on here so I can copy it?

 

Thanks and good luck with clearing your debts

, I am of the same mind of you,

 

I made the debts so therefore I should pay them off,

so far most seem happy that I am at least paying them something rather than trying to worm my way out of it, but things may change : )

[Mum2Four]

Hi

Yes they do try to get you to call them back - ignore those too!!

Send this letter;

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/letter-templates/131250-dca-creditor-harassment-telephone.html

 

which should do the trick,

however I have now changed my phone number after two years of having to ignore the phone, telling the children to ignore certain numbers etc.

 

I should have done it in the first place

- now no one phones, peace at last!

(ex-directory too, although it was before!).

 

I feel better about it just for the fact I am now in control, albeit still in debt.

I think most of them are happy for you to at least be paying something,

if my circumstances change then I will pay more and hopefully clear them one day,

I live in hope!!

[ilovecats]

Thank you for the letter, lots of them leave messages on my answering machine so they will now be receiving this.

[Mrs E Blackadder]

Hi mum2four,

it's so good to hear your positive outlook and how you have dealt with things.

You're right, things don't go away,

but if you find positive way of dealing with them it helps you get through life.

 

My problems started about 3 years ago and if I had only had the sense to get on the internet and find this site I could have tackled things and probably saved thousands of pounds.

 

Instead, I let the debt collectors win because I believed their threats and their bullying and harassing phone calls got to me.

 

I hope never to be in that situation again,

I have learned a lot,

and if my experience can prevent someone else from going through what I have been through then it will be a positive outcome.

 

The strangest thing that happened was an encounter with a county court bailiff who was looking for my ex.

 

The bailiff readily accepted that my ex was no longer here and said that he would return all paperwork to the creditor and would not be back to bother me again, even if other things turned up.

 

He also asked me if I was having problems with debt collectors and after a short chat he gave me the number of the bailiffs office, plus his name and said that if anyone claiming to be a bailiff should turn up then I should call the office and they would confirm whether or not it was a county court bailiff from this area.

 

I never had to do it,

but I got the impression that they were a bit fed up with dcas pretending to be bailiffs and were trying to catch some of them out.

 

I now only have to deal with the odd dca phone call,

usually looking for my ex,

so they are pretty easy to deal with.

 

I just say that no-one of that name lives here anymore,

which is true.

 

I, too, went through that fear of the phone ringing or the door bell going because I didn't know who it was and we lived like prisoners in our own home.

 

I wouldn't let the children answer either the door or the phone and at one point was even scared to let them play in the garden incase a debt collector looked over the wall and tried to talk to them.

 

The reality is often far less scarey than the line we get fed.

Of all the debt collectors who threatened to come round,

only a couple ever turned up and were actually quite easily dealt with.

 

And I realised that I was being spoofed by the load when one debt collector told me that they could hold me responsible for my husband's debts, so it was in my interest to get him to phone them.

Even I know that one's not true!

 

I wouldn't have minded but they had already done that 'we can't discuss things with you because of data protection' thing, but obviously thought they had nothing to lose by letting it out of the bag that he had debts.

 

Like the above,

I also worry even though things are better than they were.

 

It's difficult to not worry,

it becomes a bad habit through problems with debt!

 

I have the good days and the bad days and just try to deal with everything one day at a time.

 

Some of my strength comes from knowing that I am not alone in this, and joining this site has been a bit of a lifeline.

 

But as for debt collectors... well, my theory is that they are people who are too stupid to do anything else.

 

They are the people who bullied others at school,

and who have never been taught respect for others.

 

They couldn't have been, or they would have proper jobs

[Mum2Four]

Hi

 

I realised my debts were out of hand around ten years ago.

All were unsecured loans & credit cards.

 

Since then I have been paying a token payment to all of them (13 creditors)

- I found this forum, but still continued with the token payments with the mind set of 'it keeps them off my back'

- it's pretty much worked but is not a permanent solution.

 

I CCA'd all, one eventually came back saying they wouldn't pursue me for the debt and the account would be closed.

 

1 out of 13!

I continued with the token payments as I was too afraid of what might happen, silly I know!

 

All but one of my debts have dropped off my credit file.

The one that hasn't is Simply Be,

a catalogue to who I owed the least amount of money,

but advice from pay plan was to treat them all the same and offer token payments which I did.

 

They still show on my credit file and looks like they have never 'defaulted' my account.

 

Financially my situation is not improved,

however I have recently got around to reclaiming PPI (most of my cards didn't have it, but two loans did) and now have a small lump sum.

 

I received a letter from one (creditor) saying they would uphold my PPI claim but as I had debts with them they would suggest I use this towards my debt, despite the fact they sold my debt on?!

 

My question really is

do I offer full & final offers to the 12 remaining creditors even though only one still shows on my file?

 

I owe £27K and only have £3.5K available, a drop in the ocean!

 

Is there anything I can do about the one that still shows on my file

- is this even allowed,

why did they not default me when I started the token payments in 2008?

 

I have also moved house several times,

so it does worry me that I could be taken to court and not know about it

- should I write to the DCAs (all debts are with DCAs and not the original creditor) and tell them where I am,

 

will that start a flurry of attempted 'collection activity' all over again?

It's quite nice not receiving any letters or phone calls

 

I don't know what to do really

- I just did one of those budget sheets from a free debt advice company and still have nothing left each month

 

Worryingly my credit score (with several companies) is amazing

- it really shouldn't be

- I would never lend money to me!

 

Am I worrying over nothing,

I think i've just got used to it

- I know the debts haven't gone away,

they can't provide the credit agreements so they are technically unenforceable but because I stupidly have continued to pay token payments they won't be statute barred.

 

I was hoping I might have won the lottery by now but no such luck

 

Any help/ advice would be much appreciated (sorry for the rambling post!).

 

Mum2Four

Edited July 8, 2018 by dx100uk
Spacing

[dx100uk]

STOP paying all of them

You should have done that 10yrs ago!!

 

Write to each dca from your present address

Tell them that until they supply an enforceable agreement you will cease payment

 

Go use that money for a holiday!!

Not give it to a DCA to have a freeone on you!!! With your money!!

[Mum2Four]

Thank you for the response

- I swear I started a new post so not sure how my old posts found their way here.

 

The old posts are not particularly relevant as my question related to full and final offers,

not the situation I was in ten years ago

although the debts remain the same

 

I am sure people are quite capable of finding old posts from my profile should they so wish?

 

Sorry, it's made it quite hard to find your reply

- and people probably think I am nuts for regurgitating a ten year old post! (which I didn't!)

 

Also what do I do about the catalogue debt that was never

- although they have accepted reduced payments for ten years (now stopped) they had never placed a default on my credit file?

 

Thank you, any help appreciated

Edited July 10, 2018 by dx100uk
spacing

[dx100uk]

sorry M24

I merged the old thread

and sadly I had an outage shortly after and didn't remember to post when it came back that i'd merged things...

 

anyhow..

what do you mean the cat debt that never was?

 

so its still on your file

what are they marking it as in the monthly payment calendar section?

 

as for the rest follow post 17

[Mum2Four]

No problem - yes I have followed your advice - letters sent

 

The Catalogue debt - Simply Be (JD Williams) was around £300 back in 2008, they have never registered a default on my credit file, they have recorded that I have paid £1 a month but my account says 'up to date'. If they had recorded the account as defaulted when everyone else did it would have disappeared from my file 4 years ago

 

Is there anything I can do (apart from pay the balance - which would not be fair to the others?)?

[dx100uk]

you can write to JDW pointing out that you've been paying £1PCM from XX date and ideally they should have marked it default follow your third missed or short payment.

there were ICO rules in place at the time that they should have abided by.

 

you can either threaten them with a complaint to the ICO if they don't do that within 14 days

or ask them nicely if they would

choice is yours.

 

pers I wouldn't go paying it off no

that wont improve your file any sadly

and ofcourse leave it there for another 6yrs with its history visible for any credit checks.

[Mum2Four]

Hi

 

I have been sorting through all of my paperwork as a lot of DCAs are contacting me frantically since I stopped paying token payments in 2018 (I ignore them). They have stepped things up since Christmas so I decided to at least collate everything in order of debt, it's taken a while.

 

All of my debts are old, relating to 2008/9. I was advised by my local CAB in 2008 to pay token payments, which I did. I lost track of who had which debt, and it all got very confusing, I was suffering with stress and on anti-depressants, my head was all over the place.

 

I moved house and last year decided to try to sort things. I was advised on here to let the DCAs know my current address and to stop paying them!

 

I must have missed one somehow as while sorting out the mountain of paperwork relating to debts,

I have found long lost Egg Loan paperwork (last correspondence in 2010),

at that time it had been passed from Egg to Mackenzie Hall.

 

I have not paid anything on this debt since around 2010.

They never produced a credit agreement, or rather they did but it related to a previous (repaid) egg loan!

 

I have moved house twice since 2010.

Obviously they did not have my change of address as I had totally forgotten about that one.

I regularly check my credit file and no CCJs have appeared (yet).

My question is, what do I do?

 

It could be that it was passed on again but I've not received any letters.

It must by now be statute barred but how do I find out who has this debt without the clock restarting?

I am suddenly in a panic, I literally have every bit of paperwork for everything except that. 

 

If anyone can advise what, if anything I should do it would be greatly appreciated/

 

Thanks and sorry for long-winded post.

 

Mum2Four

[BankFodder]

If it is statute barred – then there is no question about the clock restarting. A statute barred debt cannot be reactivated.

Do you happen to know if you received a default notice?

@dx100uk

[Mum2Four]

Thank you for replying. Yes I did receive a default notice from Egg in October 2008.

 

I think at some point in time I got this debt confused with one that was passed to Apex, but that related to a different Egg account, this one just slipped through the net.

[dx100uk]

I've moved a couple of posts in your other thread to here

now go read from post 1 again.

 

you did know about this debt

but i'm unsure why you continued to pay all of them until 2018??

when all but one failed your CCA requests + 10yrs ago?

 

dx