Lots of questions!

[jod98]

Hi

 

I have lots of questions about my situation, so I'll give you some background info first:

98-2002 got into lots of debt while at uni - a result of banks throwing money at me and then demanding it back the second I graduated! (Breakdown -£1600 - lloyds decided i owed them this 4 years after a mistake they made put my acct in credit, £4000 - student acct, overdraft turned into loan then renewed, £1500 u/s car loan, 4 credit cards totalling around £2k)

2002-2005 - worked on paying this debt off, first through a debt management agency, and then realised how much i was paying for the privilege, so took over payments. Banks etc. got stroppy, reinstated interest charges and demanded increased payments.

2005-2007 I have moved 4 times and got married. Each time I have moved I have neglected to pass on my new details to some of the more aggressive lenders to give myself some breathing space. I had stopped all payments by early 2006 because the lenders were ignoring all of my attempts to negotiate and responding with the usual standard letters.

 

I accept responsibility for getting into debt in the first place, but the lenders were so unreasonable when I was in difficulty, the situation escalated. When i look at each dept individually, and take into account charges and interest added to my account, i feel that I have paid a reasonable amount off of each one. Therefore, if my lenders are not able to find me, we're quits. If they do find me, I will take action to deal with each one.

 

My plan is to wait until they find me, then deal with each lender as and when, using the CCA letter, and then deal with claiming back charges.

 

So now, I am in a new house with a new name, so my questions are:

-Can they / will they find me? What are they legally allowed to do to find me?

-If they do find me, can a DCA just turn up, or do they need to start the whole process of giving notice etc. at my new address?

-can i legally write 'not known at this address' on letters addressed to my old name?

 

I feel really bad about avoiding the debts in this way, but for the first time in almost 10 years I feel like I can manage the situation and have some quality of life. I could face it head on, but then I'm back where I started - dreading the postman knocking and being too scared to answer my own phone. At least this way, I can take on one at at time and feel like I have some control.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Duffers Mum]

Unfortunately I think they will find you, not sure how they do it, probably through your credit file, they found my other half even though we've never been on the voters role, and are ex directory, and then when they do find you, they still don't listen If I was you I'd change to ex directory and change phone numbers at the same time if you can, and only ever deal with these idiots in writing, I'm pretty sure somebody will come along shortly to give you more indepth advice -

[tiglet]

Dear Jod98

 

I fully appreciate what you are saying. However, hiding from the debts will nto make them go away and may rack up more interest/charges. Although you say you now have some peace of mind, you clearly don't entirely or you would not be posting. IMO, fear of the unknown is worse than dealing with what is actually true.

 

IMO, I would SAR and CCA all of the creditors you have mentioned. This will give you a guide to where you stand on what has been paid etc. It may be that there are unlawful charges on there which can be reclaimed or it may be that they don't have the oiginal credit agreement - some may even be statute barred by now, depending on when you last paid them.

 

In terms of statute barred, they can pursue you for the debt until 6 years after you last acknowledged the debt or made a payment, so that's a long time wondering whether anyone will call. Is it worth it? I would follwo the advice about becomming ex-directory and refuse to give DCA's etc your number, but I think it's worth trying to deal with these debts so taht you can start your new married life on a positive footing, rather than wondering when the letter will drop through the door.

 

You will get lots of help an advice on this site, i promise you. However, if you choose not to get in contact with your debtors, this is not the place to be judged either.

 

Good luck in whatever you decide.

[jod98]

Thanks for the advice. I have a new phone number which is ex-directory, so I won't get any calls. I'll have a think about contacting them.

[tiglet]

Let us know how you get on - if you do decide to amke the first contact, you can post on here first and get some advice on the best way of dealing with each one.

[jod98]

Will do Tiglet! One more thing is worrying me though. The two oldest debts have not been in touch for well over a year. I think I would rather contact them and agree a payment plan, but I'm a bit worried about what has happened in the mean time. If a CCJ has gone through, obviously i haven't received the papers as i am no longer at the address they have on file. Does this mean it could have gone to court without my knowledge? If so, my understanding is that a judge could order me to pay a ridiculously high amount because I wasn't there to explain my situation. I haven't been complying with any court orders because I am not aware of any. Would they need to have proof of your address to serve these papers / orders?

[tiglet]

Don't worry - if that happened, you can apply for the judgement to be set-a-side on the grounds taht you did not receive any paperwork from the court - you can prove this by showing when you moved house.

[jod98]

But would i be in serious trouble for not giving them my new address?

[tiglet]

As far as I am aware, you would not be in trouble for "forgetting" to give them your new address - it would certainly work in your favour that you were making contact now.

[jod98]

Great. Thanks again for your help!