Considering letting everything default to retake control. Opinions

[JAYDOUBLEU]

Hi everyone.

After 10 years in relatively good finances in the last 6 months I ended up giving up my rented flat and moving in with brother due to things really hitting the fan. Below is a basic idea of my finances.

 

I'm self employed with no dependants or mortgage etc.

 

Priority debts

Rent, c tax, bills, food etc paid direct to brother, has been flexible till now but thats sort of part of the issue. £400 a month so can't argue it but its been a bit £50 here and there and tbh I want to be giving him solid payments.

 

Council tax arrears from last year with Bristol and sutor. Only £280 remaining and they are accepting £15 a week while Cv19 going on. 

 

Roughly £1200 income tax arrears from a few years back, have heard nothing in a while but am aware that will be going up.

£600 owed to accountant from last year.

 

No national insurance paid for a good while.

 

Car currently off the road as needs money spending for mot etc but still paying £18pm insurance 

 

 

unsecured debts

I have about 7 totalling roughly £3500

owed to various creditors,

all but 1 are 2-3 months+ in arrears.

 

Jacamo will default on the 16th of April unless I pay £160 which I can't see me managing.

I'm seriously considering letting these all default, maybe keep the Capital one card with £400 limit.

 

I'd say in the last 12 months I've had 15 default notices and on each occasion I've found the cash at the 11th hour yet all are still maxed out.

The record must be Aqua with 4 notices yet it sits £300 over its limit despite not being used.

 

I just wondered what peoples views are on me just letting these unsecured debts default asap so to hopefully freeze the balances and repay them as a set amount rather than chasing the balance constantly?. Maybe keep the Capital one as it has the best rate. 

 

I want to be paying off the priority stuff and get paying my brother on time + get my car back on the road and put some money back into the business.

I just can't see any way out of the unsecured debts.

 

I think it would cost maybe £600 to get them all up to date which is honestly out of the question.

I fully intend on repaying them and from past experience debt collectors will be more flexible.

 

I think also from a psychological point it would be good for me but I just want some opinions on this.

I realise my credit report will be thrashed for 6 years and I can live with that, I can't see me getting through 6 years anyway without defaulting atleast 1 so figure best do them all now.

[unclebulgaria67]

Yes cancel any payments for non priority debts such as credit cards.

 

BUT, personally I think you should write to the companies you cannot pay, advising of your hardship at the current time and ask them for help.  Let them write back to you with details of the help they can offer, as there are rules they have to follow, when a customer raises hardship issues.

 

It is important to have this in writing, as it may prove useful later, if you wish to raise any complaints later or raise issues if they did take you to court.

 

What credit card companies and when did you originally take these out approx ?

 

Are you paying any Debt Collection Agencies ? If so what debts ?

[JAYDOUBLEU]

30 minutes ago, unclebulgaria67 said:

BUT, personally I think you should write to the companies you cannot pay, advising of your hardship at the current time and ask them for help.  Let them write back to you with details of the help they can offer, as there are rules they have to follow, when a customer raises hardship issues.

They all know I've been struggling and all have been in agreements but tbh its not really helped. I think I'm really looking at needing at least 6 months of paying them next to nothing. I will write to them though as so far its been by phone or just agreeing to a plan on phone app.

30 minutes ago, unclebulgaria67 said:

It is important to have this in writing, as it may prove useful later, if you wish to raise any complaints later or raise issues if they did take you to court.

Yes makes sense.

30 minutes ago, unclebulgaria67 said:

What credit card companies and when did you originally take these out approx ?

Aqua, Vanquis, Capital one, Argos, Next, Jacamo. Upon checking there are only 6. Jacamo is actually 6 months in arrears and they've only just sent a default notice.

All taken out in the last 5 years.

30 minutes ago, unclebulgaria67 said:

Are you paying any Debt Collection Agencies ? If so what debts ?

Only Bristol and Sutor which is the council tax arrears.

[dx100uk]

send all your non priority creditors our pro-rata letter from the debt collection section of our library offering <5PCM.

you need to write to everyone inc priority anyway inc the DVLA re V5C/Driving licence anyway , so the above kills 50% in one go.

 

I concur the quicker you get each debt defaulted the better the future looks...

I would from today STOP all phone calls in/out, writing only now, you need a papertrail.

 

a bailiff is not a debt collector, please don't ever confuse the 2.

DCA's are NOT BAILIFFS

and have

ZERO legal powers on ANY debt.

 

 

[JAYDOUBLEU]

16 minutes ago, dx100uk said:

send all your non priority creditors our pro-rata letter from the debt collection section of our library offering <5PCM.

Thanks

16 minutes ago, dx100uk said:

you need to write to everyone inc priority anyway inc the DVLA re V5C/Driving licence anyway , so the above kills 50% in one go.

Is that just regarding address change?, I think I've done all these.

16 minutes ago, dx100uk said:

 

I concur the quicker you get each debt defaulted the better the future looks...

I would from today STOP all phone calls in/out, writing only now, you need a papertrail.

This was sort of my thinking. I did unfortunately have issues in my early 20s and defaulted a load of stuff, regretted defaulting them over a few years so were defaults on my credit report for 11 years in total due to stagger, I should have learned but I guess easier said than done. There were some with unenforceable agreements so I spent a lot of time reading and started to understand a bit about how they work. I just wish they'd all defaulted at once rather than struggling to pay a few of them for a few years.

Are they required to default me straight away even if they accept my £5 a month?, what I don't want is to be paying them and 3 or 4 years down the line them default, would rather get all 6 within a couple of months. 

16 minutes ago, dx100uk said:

 

a bailiff is not a debt collector, please don't ever confuse the 2.

DCA's are NOT BAILIFFS

and have

ZERO legal powers on ANY debt.

I believe Bristol and sutor are bailiffs?.

16 minutes ago, dx100uk said:

 

 

 

[dx100uk]

35 minutes ago, JAYDOUBLEU said:

Quote

Are you paying any Debt Collection Agencies ? If so what debts ?

Only Bristol and Sutor which is the council tax arrears.

I replied in relation to the above. yes B&S are bailiffs.

 

I will gather your debt issues of a time ago are not linked to the debts today, in otherwords, todays debts are new takeouts since that time?

 

the goal here is to get all your debts subject to credit reporting defaulted ASAP,

 

I have been toying with, in these circumstances, slightly adapting the pro-rata letter to state...

I will not be making any PCM payment until (date 4 mths away) and will commence payment once you have issued a default notice AND defaulted me on all Credit File Providers....this will give me a suitable period of time to access my situation, manage my priority debts and build a financial buffer to service all non-priority creditors effectively and the same.

[JAYDOUBLEU]

16 minutes ago, dx100uk said:

I will gather your debt issues of a time ago are not linked to the debts today, in otherwords, todays debts are new takeouts since that time?

Yes, they were defaulted between 06-2011 I think. Was a considerably larger amount: over 20k and they were all unenforceable agreements where they even existed. These are what I consider my second wave of credit. Never again....

[dx100uk]