Homeowner - Struggling to now pay minimums on unsecured debt

[SPM87]

Hi All,

 

I am just after some general wisdom for now.

 

I have been searching through the site but still unsure as a homeowner what the result and affect would be if I defaulted on my unsecured debt.

I know about Charging orders and that they can apply for one once they obtain a CCJ but once my credit file is screwed up I will be reluctant to be paying DCAs who are just trying to take advantage of the situation.

 

My question is

-  due to being a homeowner with equity in the house, how aggressive will the DCAs be toward me and how fast will they be willing to get my backside in court to slam a CCJ and charging order on me?

is it any different to someone who has no home? 

 

any help would be greatly appreciated as I am exploring my options out.

[dx100uk]

are any of your debts owned by DCA's?

if not original creditors don't do court so...

 

tell us about your debts please

 

type of credit

when taken out

original creditor

defaulted date

amount owing

has the debt been sold on - if so who too

 

is the property solely in your name or mortgaged with joint names on your deeds at land registry.?

 

[SPM87]

hi Dx100uk,

 

Thanks for the quick response. No failed payments yet so all with OC and not DCA. 

 

The property is Joint owned with my and my partner.

 

debt are loans and credit cards equating to around £90k in total debt of unsecured borrowing.

 

Are you aware of people who are homeowners being chased more harshly and potential court proceedings being issued much faster?

[AndyOrch]

Are the debts in your sole name or joint....PS Welcome to CAG

 

Andy

[SPM87]

Hi Andy,

 

thank you - only linked via the mortgage - each debt is single debt to each individual

[dx100uk]

so would only ever be a restriction k even if eventually any debt was sold to a DCA and eventually they took you to court and outside chance of winning a ccj then going for a charging order, - that would be a restriction k (single pers debt on jointly owned property) and totally useless to them. and they could never force a sale nor force you to pay anything even if you latterly sold the property on.

 

 

[AndyOrch]

Okay thanks so no joint unsecured debt ...worse case scenario if any CCJ is that it could end with a Restriction type K rather than a full Charging Order....bear in mind this is only 1 type of enforcement once judgment is in place.

 

As be a home owner their not really concerned and would have little bearing on the issuance of a court claim.

 

 

.

[SPM87]

ok thank guys,

so you do not think they will come after me any differently than a renter / someone with no asset in terms of timings and court orders?

 

My first port of call would be to avoid obtaining CCJ at all costs really but i just dont know what DCAs can enforce these days and how easily they can force them?

 

What are my chances of also being able to settle for reduced amounts? or once DCAs are involved is this a terrible idea?

sorry just trying to explore every worse case option for me

 

The charging order education regarding the restriction is such a relief I cannot thank you enough already. I am terrified of losing my home

[dx100uk]

a dca is NOT A BAILIFF

and have

ZERO legal powers on ANY debt - no matter what it's type.

 

their involvement in any of your debts is months if not years away. and most certainly you NEVER EVER entertain them whilst the debt is still owned by the original creditor.

 

and even then until or unless you ever get a letter of claim after the debt has been sold on you also never respond to them!!

 

why don't you have a look at running your own Debt management plan?

its free and easy!

 

just use our pro rata sheets already here.

 

might be best if you read a few threads in this forum you started yours in.

 

you need educating upon the right and correct things rather than unnecessarily worrying about your home and charging orders.

seems like you might have been reading a few scary stories somewhere and its panicked you.

debt is not a crime in this country.

 

dx

[SPM87]

Yep i am trying to read into a lot of things on the forum as and when I can.

 

Just getting concerned with 12 accounts being defaulted so that is 12 potential court claims to have to deal with etc...

 

it sounds as if I am in no worse or better position than a person with no assets then?

 

I just figured they maybe more aggressive by nature of common sense if they see you own a house with equity in it?

[dx100uk]

You keep asking/worrying about the question regarding equity/home owner etc, we've not answered because it is immaterial, a DCA couldn't careless neither would the original creditors.

 

All debts that don't get paid will eventually have a default notice issued,

 

and when that has reached its 6th b'day regardless to it being paid, paying or not, the debt entry is removed - the whole account. 

 

A debt being  defaulted has no bearing at all nor that it has a greater potential for litigation, although the issuance of one is required to enforce any judgement .

 

Lots to read, stop panicking, debt is not a criminal matter 

 

We will help 

 

Dx

 

 

[SPM87]

I know i am worrying about certain things. I am concerned after 6 months i am going to be dealing with 12 court letters and not being able to prevent the CCJ on me and little negotiation power, just trying to figure out what course of action i am to take

 

I guess what I am asking is not the default as such, but once a default is done if the DCA will aggressively shove a CCJ process on me within a month of default.  I know I had a family member have debts that never even went to CCJ potential and it just dropped off but he had no asset 

[dx100uk]

As said it wont be 6mts (wherever that time limit came from?) More like years if ever. You being a homeowner has no bearing upon consumer credit debt and how fleecers might deal with it.

 

Dx

 

 

 

[SPM87]

Thanks Dx, really useful 

I would have assumed I will have a huge target on my back for being a homeowner with equity. the 6 months came from 3 months to get a default then a few months of DCAs threatening legal action and then receiving a court letter. 

 

I read somewhere (might even be on here) that these days they are likely to provide documents now easier and dont have to be originals so they can get debts enforced in the courts a lot easier than they used to? is this the case from your experience? or is this another theory that is really not right? sorry for the all the questions I am just really trying to get as informed as I can be before I go with whatever I decide.

 

[dx100uk]

I would go with our pro- rata letter route.

manage your own dmp.

 

type in our enhanced google search bo, pro rata letter.

or read a good few threads in this same forun.

 

100's have gone through this, and with greater debts.

 

The more you read here the stronger we become.

 

Dx

[SPM87]

thanks Dx,

 

one of the debts is a £22k loan taken out this year - should this be a concern?

[AndyOrch]

19 hours ago, SPM87 said:

 

 

debt are loans and credit cards equating to around £90k in total debt of unsecured borrowing.

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, SPM87 said:

thanks Dx,

 

one of the debts is a £22k loan taken out this year - should this be a concern?

 

And you have borrowed more ? 

[SPM87]

no this forms part of the 90k total debt - its a big one that just makes me think i am going to be hunted down on aggressively on.  

[AndyOrch]

Yes Im aware it forms part of the total but you still had 68K worth of debt and took another 22K

[SPM87]

no, sorry - the 22k was a revised offer which offered a lower monthly payment than the original loan which gave us some breathing space in terms of cash flow

 

i would rather focus on how problematic the amount is and the issues i will face if i decide to go down the dmp route

[AndyOrch]

Just to be clear I'm not be judgmental simply pointing out for the benefit others who read this topic how easy it is to let finance get out of control and take control of your life. Beit 90K or 5K you have now found out possibly after many sleepless nights how this can ruin your life and have now decided to take control.

 

The process is the same for every agreement once you have decided that you can no longer maintain this amount of debt. Fortunately yours is unsecured although that's irrelevant once a judgment has been passed because the judgment creditor will automatically enforce or secure the judgment by way of a Charging Order therefore turning an unsecured debt into a secured debt .....to a degree (see previous re Restrictions type K) .

 

The process is to create a file for each agreement/creditor ..ensure that you have current statements up to the date  before you decide to withhold payment. This creates a papertrail of before and after you default then using our templates as advised above write to each creditor using the appropriate template and file a copy within your file. Take screen shots (before and after ) of your credit reference file for each agreement and file appropriately.

 

Then you sit and wait for responses and again file accordingly to each agreement. If you do not get a response from any creditor I would send a CCA request Section 77/78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 the fee is £1 and the creditor must legally respond and provide a copy of said agreement...if they cant comply then they are legally unable to enforce the agreement through court. Any default notice's that are issued should be filed accordingly with the agreement.

 

You will then be in a position to see which agreements you have the upper hand with. After a period of being on a reduced payment plan you may find that the creditor assigns the debt to a DCA (sells the debt)...subject to which DCA assignee is appointed we will advise which are more litigious than others.

 

Once you have digested all the above and wrote your letters and got responses then you can review your position and see what transpires, there is no set formula on how each creditor will respond whether its a £5K or £ 22k credit agreement each will turn on how their bad debt collection department operates.

 

Regards

 

Andy.

 

 

.

 

 

[SPM87]

oh believe me, whoever wants to be educated on getting into debt trouble I have a PHD in it. My advice to any youngster and ill be teaching my kid this is, to forget about credit cards and loans just dont bother with them. Unfortunately society spends billions on turning people into mindless consumers.

 

thanks for the detailed response, my question regarding sending token payments is, is it really worth it? from what I am reading your file is pretty trashed for 6 years anyhow? I guess the only thing it does is delay any enforcement for a while. Which would benefit me.

 

My potential plan is to fight away any CCJ if I can and not let any judgements happen at all, I just do not know how feasible that is. I guess ill find out if I decide to pull the plug. 

 

I dont know why I am addicted to my credit file being clean. I have just signed a 5 year mortgage term so effectively I have no business with credit and credit files for at least 5 years anyhow. Just still feels crappy having to potentially screw up my file and my partners

[AndyOrch]

11 minutes ago, SPM87 said:

 

 

my question regarding sending token payments is, is it really worth it? from what I am reading your file is pretty trashed for 6 years anyhow? Correct I guess the only thing it does is delay any enforcement for a while. Which would benefit me. Delays litigation and assignment in some cases but prolongs the statute of limitations...so it depends which leap you wish to take ?

 

My potential plan is to fight away any CCJ if I can and not let any judgements happen at all, I just do not know how feasible that is. Impossible to predict  I guess ill find out if I decide to pull the plug. 

 

I dont know why I am addicted to my credit file being clean. I have just signed a 5 year mortgage term so effectively I have no business with credit and credit files for at least 5 years anyhow. That's what they naturally rely on ....so what you dont want credit and when you see their adds on TV they are psychological programming your mind to think how much you need it. because life evolves around applying for credit .Just still feels crappy having to potentially screw up my file and my partners

 

 

 

 

.

[SPM87]

Will just paying a £1 and not writing to them be much different? I assume it is to try to stall interest why you write but they dont have to accept that request anyhow

 

I think 6 months delay in statute is a price i would be willing to pay in order to get my preparations and affairs in order. 

 

I just need to finally decide what I am going to do, dunno what is up with me lately I am really struggling with biting the bullet and moving forward with something. I think the debt depression is really setting in

[dx100uk]

What about..

 

Dx