Please Advice (Credit card debt)

Boris666 · 27 October 2005 at 12:08PM

Hello,

Im Boris and I came from Russia to do my Masters in UK last year. I had a RBS credit card when I was here and I owed them around £1000 when my Visa expired. I had to go back to Russia and it took me 9 months to renew my visa and come back. I went to the place where I was staying earlier but they have not kept any of my mails. I'm afraid to contact RBS as I dont have money to pay upfront. But I do intend to pay back. Also as I had set up a direct debit which bounced when I was not here and now I owe even the RBS bank around £700.
Does anyone have a clue of what could have happened...I mean I had a 14% APR which means I might owe them more than £2000 now, or do they close the account after 6 months. Is my interest still escallating?...or they have a CCJ against me........Im terrified.....Please advice

Galstonian · 27 October 2005 at 1:14PM

Given that you intend to repay the debt I think the only course of action is to contact the lender. If you owed £1000 at an APR of 14% you would owe £1140 after a year (assuming only interest has been added, not charges, penalties or fees).

I would send a letter explaining the circumstances, apologising and asking for details of amounts owing. Offer any suggestions you have for repayment plans but be realistic in what you can afford, they would prefer a plan which you can stick to rather than one that might pay off the debt quicker but which carries a much higher risk of you being unable to pay. Ask them to suspend any further interest charges.

The alternatives available to the bank are really quite limited. They don't want to go to court to force you to pay, there are obviously costs and there is a risk that what the court say you can afford is a lot less than what you offer to pay.

Above all, don't worry about it, if you are honest and up front with them it can all be worked out. If you need more help please post again.

Boris666 · 27 October 2005 at 4:46PM

There was a penalty if i did not make the minimum payments. Penalty if I remember correctly was very high...hence I really dont know...but I will take your advice and contact them as soon.
Thanks

Galstonian · 28 October 2005 at 2:57PM

Also remember that penalties can be disputed, they are supposed to be fees which truly reflect additional costs incurred by the lender rather than punitive action for breaking an agreement. Good luck

Boris666 · 28 October 2005 at 3:32PM

I called them up in the morning and I was told that they have handed my case to Westcot credit services and that I should contact Westcot. I called Westcot and explained them the whole story but the rep was very rude to me and has informed me that they already have a default against me (I dont know what that means) and that I have to pay the full amount that is £1980 within 10 days or they'll take action. I have not given them the current address and I dont have the money to pay that is I can only manage £200 now. What should I do and what can happen if I cant pay the whole amount now. Please advice

Galstonian · 28 October 2005 at 4:01PM

I don't know Westcot but from other peoples experiences posted about debt collectors here and on other sites I would say they are not usually pleasant people to deal with.

Perhaps you might get better help if you try asking your questions on the "Debt-Free Wannabe" board here : http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=76 they have much more experience in this area than I do.

Galstonian · 30 October 2005 at 1:00PM

I've cross posted a link here: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1055207#post1055207

file_wizzard · 30 October 2005 at 2:05PM

Firstly you are under no obligation to pay in full now or at any time in the future, there are guidelines in place by the office of fair trading that prohibit company’s from making demands for payment in full and Wescot are known for breaching these on a regular basis.

You should write back to them with a full list of your income and expenditure and offer them what you can REALISTICALLY afford, if this is £10 a month then so be it.

Wescot know that they have to accept an offer which is based on a true I&E, if they were stupid enough to take you to court, ( which they wouldn’t do anyway) they know very well that a judge will only award them what you can afford without putting yourself into hardship.

I would advise that you undertake no more phone contact with Wescot, they are rude, abusive, and will plain lie to you about your rights.

Only write to them with a true I&E and await a response, they will tell you it is to little, but providing it is a true offer of what you can afford they can do little else other than accept it

Please Advice (Credit card debt)

Comments

Categories

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free