Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

I have a credit card debt that is now with Lewis Debt Recovery acting on behalf of C L Finance Ltd. The balance is £2274.94. I have consistently paid a nominal amount of £15 per month which was agreed 5 years ago. The debt is marked in my credit file as defaulted and is due to come off my credit file in November. Today I have received correspondence from Lewis Debt Recovery claiming they have attempted to contact me on numerous occasions highlighting they are concerned about the outstanding balance of £2274.94. They threaten to send door collectors if I do not respond within 7 days. My questions are:

1) I am worried that they will demand full payment before November as they are aware that this debt will be removed from my file.
2) Can they take me to court for this money?
3) I have read somewhere that if you are acknowledging the debt by paying a nominal fee then they can take you to court at anytime even if it is not on your credit file.
4) I was in an unfortunate position a few years back when I couldn't pay debts however this is the last one to sort out although i did have a similar issue last year and the debt collector threatened court and i was served papers just before the debt was due to be removed from my file so had to find £2000 to avoid a CCJ. I hadnt been paying anything towards this debt if this makes a difference. I don't have that money this time around and desperately do not want a CCJ by being forced into a corner.

PLEASE HELP

Unicorn78 wrote: »

I have a credit card debt that is now with Lewis Debt Recovery acting on behalf of C L Finance Ltd. The balance is £2274.94. I have consistently paid a nominal amount of £15 per month which was agreed 5 years ago. The debt is marked in my credit file as defaulted and is due to come off my credit file in November. Today I have received correspondence from Lewis Debt Recovery claiming they have attempted to contact me on numerous occasions highlighting they are concerned about the outstanding balance of £2274.94. They threaten to send door collectors if I do not respond within 7 days. My questions are:

1) I am worried that they will demand full payment before November as they are aware that this debt will be removed from my file.
2) Can they take me to court for this money?
3) I have read somewhere that if you are acknowledging the debt by paying a nominal fee then they can take you to court at anytime even if it is not on your credit file.
4) I was in an unfortunate position a few years back when I couldn't pay debts however this is the last one to sort out although i did have a similar issue last year and the debt collector threatened court and i was served papers just before the debt was due to be removed from my file so had to find £2000 to avoid a CCJ. I hadnt been paying anything towards this debt if this makes a difference. I don't have that money this time around and desperately do not want a CCJ by being forced into a corner.

PLEASE HELP

Hi Unicorn,

Thanks for getting in touch. I'll reply using the same numbers to your questions to keep things simple.

1) The creditor can ask you for the full payment, but if you don't have the money then it doesn't really matter what they ask for so this isn't too much to worry about. Rather than the actual debt being removed from your file it sounds like it will be something like a default notice that will be removed. As you're still paying the debt off I'd expect a record of it to stay on your file.

2) From what you've said it sounds like this creditor would be able to enforce this debt through the courts by getting a county court judgment (CCJ). Most creditors are willing to come to arrangements directly with you rather than go down this route though.

3) If you've made payments on a debt in the last six years then your creditors can go for a CCJ if you're not making full payments. Again, I'd expect that this debt wouldn't drop off your credit file altogether anyway, usually there'll be payment history registered on there.

4) I find that a large chunk of the people I speak to who've got CCJs had stopped paying their debts for a while in the run up to getting the CCJ. So it reduces the chances of getting one if you're making regular payments (though it's still possible).

If any doorstep collectors do arrive on your door it's usually best to tell them to go away. They don't have any particular powers and are not bailiffs. They'll ask for a payment and if you say no they have to go away.

It may be possible to get this debt sorted out before it comes to that though. I'd suggest putting together an update income and expenditure budget that shows what you can afford to offer as a payment and sending that to this debt collector. That way they'll know you're trying your best and will be able to understand your circumstances.

We can help you put this together as part of our advice process. You can do this online using out Debt Remedy tool (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) or you could give us a call and an advisor will talk you through things (http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx).

All the best.

James

StepChange_James wrote: »

Hi there,

Firstly I'd like to congratulate you on the progress you've made. Realising that you've got a problem and seeking help are huge steps to take when dealing with any addiction. It's great to hear that you're on the right path now.

I guess from your message that you know our standard direct debit collection dates are the 1st and 10th of the month, we don't have any other dates we can collect payments this way. However, under the circumstances it'll probably be worth getting in touch with us to discuss alternatives way to pay.

You could perhaps look to set up a Standing Order were you make a payment to us on your payday and it'll then sit in our account until the actual payment date rolls around. Or we accept payments via transcash (payment slips) though we try to discourage this as our clients have to pay a fee to send money to us this way.

I'd suggest giving us a call, we're a friendly bunch and should be able to talk through options to try and make the payments work for you. We always pay creditors on a calendar monthly basis but it doesn't mean we can't look to find a way for you to pay us that will reduce temptation for you.

All the best.

James

Thanks James I will give step change a call tonight

GlitterQueen wrote: »

Hello,
I have a 6 months+ arrears marker on my credit file with all 3 agencies and a 'gone away' marker on my file with just one agency. It is from a car hire purchase agreement which I last made a payment on in 2003. The car was returned to the finance company. I haven't had a permanent address for any length of time until recently since 2003 but now I am in a position to try to sort this out. I am not working at the moment and have no savings.Nevertheless, I want to begin re-building my life and I want to clear my files of these markers. Its one creditor and the amount on the file that shows as outstanding is £3400 approx. I want to know all of my options before I do anything.

Hi GlitterQueen (love your name!)

Your credit history should only have details of debts that you've made payments on in the last six years, so it's a surprise to hear that you've got one on there from ten years ago! It might be worth looking into that one and seeing if there's any reason why it's still showing up on there.

You could contact the company listed as dealing with the debt on your credit file and send them this letter: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=2607247. This basically asks them to prove that you still have a debt to repay. If you do then you could contact us and we can talk you through how to deal with it.

On the other hand it could be that the debt is showing on your credit report as a mistake.

Generally speaking it's unusual for debts to be enforced after such a long time as they are classed as statute barred if you've not made a payment or acknowledged the debt in writing in the last six years. This doesn't mean the debt doesn't exist but it does mean that they can't enforce the debt through the courts.

Hope this helps.

James