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deep_indebt
Posts: 11 Forumite
Hi everyone I am finally taking my head out of the sand and trying to deal with my debts rather than wishing them away or pretending they don't exist.
I did a very stupid thing. I tried reclaiming bank charges using the template letters on Debtline but had no response from any of my creditors.
Then while googling I found this site called Bank-Smart advertising no win, no fee so thought what was the harm. Applied, filled in my details and signed.
I know I am owed money by my creditors for the 6 years; however what I did not know is that Bank-Smart charges a fee if the amount is below a cetain limit.
I have not got back any of the money Bank-Smart says is due however they have been sending me bills as the amount wasn't sufficient!
I have challenged them stating that they said no win no fee and while the amount may not be an exhorbitant amount all they've done is forwarded the same letters I have so why should I have to pay them for work I have already done and money I have not received.
I also informed them that I am up to my neck (burried more like!) in debt and cannot afford to pay them but when they do retrieve the 'alleged' amounts from my creditors they can keep it as their payment.
The threatened me and I ignored it. They have even resorted to sending people to my home who come every day and harrass my wife. I sent them a letter a friend gave to me (regarding harrassment etc) and this is their reply:
We have received a letter from you denying knowledge of your debt with Bank-Smart. Of course we have a signed contract from you and will be using this should we issue court proceedings against you. You will of course have to explain this to the court.
All legal fees, solicitor costs, court fees, warrant and enforcement fees, including the instruction of a bailiff will be charged where required. Where collectors are used to recover the debt from you or we pay for your finances to be investigated, including land registry searches, these costs will be passed on to you. At the very minimum, each successful judgement against you will result in further additional charges of £150 and are likely to be considerably more than this. We will notify you by email or post as further costs are incurred during the collections process.
We strongly suggest that you seek the advice of a qualified solicitor who specialises in litigation to advise you in this matter or make payment of the outstanding amounts without delay. With the evidence against you it would seem foolish to continue down this route of ‘playing dumb’.
For your information, the total amount due currently stands at £754.36 including collection fees. We will accept a repayment of £40 per month to clear this debt or a payment in full, within 14 days, of £490. These are the lowest amounts we will accept and constitutes our final response to this matter, we will not enter further negotiations on these amounts and have instructed our legal team to commence preparation of the court papers. Given the amount is greater than £750 we will be looking to issue a statutory demand for payment following a successful judgement that may ultimately lead to your bankruptcy.
You should confirm your intentions in a reply to this email within 7 days.
You may view a copy of the Bank-Smart standard terms and conditions on the Company website and should you wish to receive a full audit report of the letters sent, dates and actions carried out on your various claims you will need to make a formal Subject Access Request and include a cheque made payable to Bank-Smart for £10.
We look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Any advice welcome please.
I have also applied for a DMP through payplan however I do not have enough left over for creditors SO they sent me standard letters to send to them (which I already sent when I first ran into difficulties which made it worse).
I do not know what to do but I know I need to keep the roof over my 2 kids head. My wife cannot work due to her disability.
I may not be a man for saying this but whats the point of living?
Please please help me as I have tried every thing I could think of. I cannot get a loan, I cannot borrow on the equity of the property and my wages just cannot cut it.
I did a very stupid thing. I tried reclaiming bank charges using the template letters on Debtline but had no response from any of my creditors.
Then while googling I found this site called Bank-Smart advertising no win, no fee so thought what was the harm. Applied, filled in my details and signed.
I know I am owed money by my creditors for the 6 years; however what I did not know is that Bank-Smart charges a fee if the amount is below a cetain limit.
I have not got back any of the money Bank-Smart says is due however they have been sending me bills as the amount wasn't sufficient!
I have challenged them stating that they said no win no fee and while the amount may not be an exhorbitant amount all they've done is forwarded the same letters I have so why should I have to pay them for work I have already done and money I have not received.
I also informed them that I am up to my neck (burried more like!) in debt and cannot afford to pay them but when they do retrieve the 'alleged' amounts from my creditors they can keep it as their payment.
The threatened me and I ignored it. They have even resorted to sending people to my home who come every day and harrass my wife. I sent them a letter a friend gave to me (regarding harrassment etc) and this is their reply:
We have received a letter from you denying knowledge of your debt with Bank-Smart. Of course we have a signed contract from you and will be using this should we issue court proceedings against you. You will of course have to explain this to the court.
All legal fees, solicitor costs, court fees, warrant and enforcement fees, including the instruction of a bailiff will be charged where required. Where collectors are used to recover the debt from you or we pay for your finances to be investigated, including land registry searches, these costs will be passed on to you. At the very minimum, each successful judgement against you will result in further additional charges of £150 and are likely to be considerably more than this. We will notify you by email or post as further costs are incurred during the collections process.
We strongly suggest that you seek the advice of a qualified solicitor who specialises in litigation to advise you in this matter or make payment of the outstanding amounts without delay. With the evidence against you it would seem foolish to continue down this route of ‘playing dumb’.
For your information, the total amount due currently stands at £754.36 including collection fees. We will accept a repayment of £40 per month to clear this debt or a payment in full, within 14 days, of £490. These are the lowest amounts we will accept and constitutes our final response to this matter, we will not enter further negotiations on these amounts and have instructed our legal team to commence preparation of the court papers. Given the amount is greater than £750 we will be looking to issue a statutory demand for payment following a successful judgement that may ultimately lead to your bankruptcy.
You should confirm your intentions in a reply to this email within 7 days.
You may view a copy of the Bank-Smart standard terms and conditions on the Company website and should you wish to receive a full audit report of the letters sent, dates and actions carried out on your various claims you will need to make a formal Subject Access Request and include a cheque made payable to Bank-Smart for £10.
We look forward to hearing from you shortly.
Any advice welcome please.
I have also applied for a DMP through payplan however I do not have enough left over for creditors SO they sent me standard letters to send to them (which I already sent when I first ran into difficulties which made it worse).
I do not know what to do but I know I need to keep the roof over my 2 kids head. My wife cannot work due to her disability.
I may not be a man for saying this but whats the point of living?
Please please help me as I have tried every thing I could think of. I cannot get a loan, I cannot borrow on the equity of the property and my wages just cannot cut it.
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Comments
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Hi and welcome to the forum, you have come to the right place.
I can't advise myself on this but some of the other regulars I'm sure can advise you about your situation.
Try not to panic - there will be a way to sort this out
...Linda xxIt's easy to give in to that negative voice that chants "cant do it" BUT we lift each other up.
We dont count all the runners ahead of us & feel intimidated.
Instead we look back proudly at our journey, our personal struggle & determination & remember that there are those that never even attempt to reach the starting line.0 -
Hang around, I've PM'd one of the regulars who I think will be able to help you
...Linda xxIt's easy to give in to that negative voice that chants "cant do it" BUT we lift each other up.
We dont count all the runners ahead of us & feel intimidated.
Instead we look back proudly at our journey, our personal struggle & determination & remember that there are those that never even attempt to reach the starting line.0 -
I don't have any advice myself but I just wanted to say welcome and as above, you are in the right place! I hope this gets sorted for you and your family asap
I know someone in the know will be along shortly. DFD 29/12/10
Oh Wait... The Mortgage :mad:0 -
Thank you both. I have been browsing and saw something about doing an SOA so here is mine:
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1600
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1800
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1047
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 109
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 24
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 17
Internet Services....................... 17
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 14
Car Insurance........................... 40
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 50
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 20
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 30
CAR HP.................................. 150
CSA..................................... 65
Total monthly expenses.................. 1920
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 300000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 10000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 310000
Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........().....0
Total secured debts........... 0.........-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mastercard Mbna................11000.....60........0
Natwest Mastercard.............4000......70........0
Lloyds.........................18000.....400.......0
Total unsecured debts..........33000.....530.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,800
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 1,920
Available for debt repayments........... -120
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 530
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -650
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 310,000
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -33,000
Net Assets.............................. 277,000
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.0 -
deep_indebt wrote: »Thank you both. I have been browsing and saw something about doing an SOA so here is mine:
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1600
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 200
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1800
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 1047 This is a very high proportion of your income!
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 109
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 35
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 24
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 30 Is this contract or pay as you go?
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 17
Internet Services....................... 17 Can you get a deal for home phone/TV and internet with 1 company?
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 14
Car Insurance........................... 40 Have you shopped around for a better deal? GO THRO QUIDCO
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 50 Does your work offer the childcare vouchers?
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15 Look through Quidco - try to get buildings & contents together on 1 policy
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 20
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 10
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 30
CAR HP.................................. 150
CSA..................................... 65
Total monthly expenses.................. 1920
Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 300000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 10000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 310000
Secured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(1047).....0
Total secured debts........... 0.........-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mastercard Mbna................11000.....60........0
Natwest Mastercard.............4000......70........0
Lloyds.........................18000.....400.......0
Total unsecured debts..........33000.....530.......-
Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,800
Expenses (including secured debts)....... 1,920
Available for debt repayments........... -120
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 530
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -650
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 310,000
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -33,000
Net Assets.............................. 277,000
Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.
I'll post up some other useful info in a minute!
...Linda xxIt's easy to give in to that negative voice that chants "cant do it" BUT we lift each other up.
We dont count all the runners ahead of us & feel intimidated.
Instead we look back proudly at our journey, our personal struggle & determination & remember that there are those that never even attempt to reach the starting line.0 -
You may or may not want to check the following out:
1) Join Freecycle
If and when you need stuff for the house or garden or kids it's amazing what's offered for free on there!
https://www.freecycle.org
2) Join https://www.seefilmfirst.com
then check each day on the Freebies -no spend required thread
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=606589
for codes to see great new films for free! often before they are released! E.G. I got free tickets for me, hubby & 2 kids to see WALL-E and many other films for free before it was even released.
Also - flick through the same thread for free samples of products.
This could help to reduce that entertainment cost per month and not feel like you're missing out!
3) Mystery shopping?
Sign up with Retaileyes https://secure.retaileyes.co.uk/uk/h...es_aboutus.php
they often have little missions that involve eating out and you can get paid for it!
4) Join all the baby clubs for money off vouchers etc
Tesco, Boots etc do baby clubs, check out their websites for details!
5) Do paid surveys!
join Yougov, Toluna and Valued Opinions to do little surveys and get paid for doing them, I have had a few products sent by Toluna for testing too.
http://uk.toluna.com
http://www.valuedopinions.co.uk
http://www.yougov.com/uk/panel
6) Join Quidco or another cashback site
If you purchase things or switch suppliers over the internet, by going through a cashback site you can get exactly that - cash! (read Martin's advice on the good ones)
https://www.quidco.com
7) Check out the Money saving old style thread
Everything on there including reducing grocery bills, great recipe ideas
8) comping
You could look on the competitions board, there are lots on there!
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...play.html?f=72
9) Holiday/misc savings
I save £2 coins in a jar and it's amazing how quickly they mount up!
Just been saving since our last Center Parcs jaunt in June and we're back up to £90 for our next Center Parcs jaunt in October!
10) Christmas saving
I know that there are better ways of saving for Christmas if you have the discipline but we find it very helpful to buy 2 or 3 saver stamps each week with our groceries to save up for the big Christmas shop. We're already up to £99 with over 3 months still to go and will use some of this to buy presents from the supermarket as well as everything to eat and drink over the holiday period
I hope you find some of the things I've mentioned on here useful, I know I have!
There are SO MANY tips that you pick up from Martin's site!
...Linda xxIt's easy to give in to that negative voice that chants "cant do it" BUT we lift each other up.
We dont count all the runners ahead of us & feel intimidated.
Instead we look back proudly at our journey, our personal struggle & determination & remember that there are those that never even attempt to reach the starting line.0 -
Thank you Linda. I will go through each recommendation.
As for the mortgage it was based on both myself and my wifes incomes but when she damaged her back she stopped working and sorting out DLA has been a nightmare because my wages are looked and she was refused because of it.
My mobile is contract. Trying to switch to something cheaper but the cheapest is 20 for less minutes. Still in contract for another 18months.. Very stupid to take such a long contract term :eek:
Makes sense on the building and contents will check. Stupid mortgage adviser got us this one.
Will search for package deals, never thought of that
Thank you again for taking the time to respond to me. At least I have a wee bit of hope.
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I found this which may be relevent depending on what they have put on their site and documentation.
http://www.asa.org.uk/NR/rdonlyres/712555F5-7744-400B-9D43-CF3AAEB54547/0/No_Win_No_Fee.pdf
http://www.claimsregulation.gov.uk/conduct.aspx
The ministry of justice seem to regulate these companies now so possibly you can find out a little more about them on the net.
Have you checked through the statements to see if the amount they say they reclaimed is in fact correct and is not just that amount because it keeps you under the limit and therefore liable for the fee?
It might actually be worthwhile sending the SAR to see what they have done. If they have not requested the correct charges back from the bank then you may have a better case for not paying.
For this particular problem (bank-smart) it may also be worthwhile posting on the consumeractiongroup forum. They are a little more clued up on the legalities and may be able to advise you as to your rights and if they have come across this group or similar before.
http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general-consumer-issues/After falling off the gambling wagon (twice): £33,600 (24,000+ 9,600) - Original CC Debt: £7,885.91
Dad Gift 6k ¦ Savings & Inv Tst: £2,500
Loan 10k: £0 ¦ Dad 5.5k: £2,270 ¦ LTSB: £0 ¦ RBS: £0 ¦ Virgin £0 ¦ Egg £0
Total Owed: £2,270 (+6k) 11/08/20110 -
deep - i wil pm someone who can offer you somemore practical advice
you are in the right place, from here on it may be a bit bumpy but listen to people on here and they will help you get it sorted
best wishes
there you go, i was just about to PM georgeuk, and hes here already
youre in good hands already0 -
deep, George has offered some excellent advice above, do check it out!
As for the contract phone, some people on here have contacted the company they are with and even when tied into a contract have still managed to re-negotiate!
...Linda xxIt's easy to give in to that negative voice that chants "cant do it" BUT we lift each other up.
We dont count all the runners ahead of us & feel intimidated.
Instead we look back proudly at our journey, our personal struggle & determination & remember that there are those that never even attempt to reach the starting line.0
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