Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

Thaddeus_Wagstaff · 22 May 2017 at 10:08AM

Hi
My adult daughter had bailiffs from Equita chasing her at her previous address for council tax arrears. This debt remains unpaid.
She is now living with us, as she finds it impossible to cope on her own. Please could you advise how I can prevent bailiffs from removing goods owned by myself and my wife if they chase the debt up at my home? Unfortunately we don't have receipts for a lot of our things as they were bought so long ago it didn't seem worth keeping them. We never expected to find ourselves in this position.....:(

StepChange_Rachael · 22 May 2017 at 12:10PM

Hi

Thanks for getting in contact.

I’m sorry to hear that your daughter is struggling with this debt. I can see how it’d be stressful for you and your wife due to the debt being collected by enforcement agents and your daughter now living with yourselves.

Enforcement agents shouldn’t take or list items that aren’t your daughters. However as you’ve mentioned this may be difficult to verify without receipts or proof of purchase.

What enforcement agents can and can’t do does depend on what stage of collection the debt is at.

If the enforcement agents haven’t been in to the propery and made a listed goods agreement then as long as an adult doesn’t let them in your house and they can’t let themselves in by peaceful entry, such as walking through an open or unlocked door, then they can’t remove goods on their first visit.

As long as Equita haven’t made a listed goods agreement and something is being paid directly to them, even if this is a small affordable payment sent directly to them, then it’s very unlikely they’d be able to take any further action.

If you send a payment direct each month to enforcement agent’s collecting for council tax then they have to accept the payment and deduct it from the total debt. They can’t send the payment back.

With a regular payment towards the debt it’s much more likely they’ll stop trying to gain entry to the property.

If they’ve already been in to your property then it’s much more difficult. I’m assuming from this message that they’ve not been in to the property in which the above information applies.

If enforcement agents had made a listed goods agreement with items that weren’t the clients then I’d suggest negotiating with the enforcement agents and trying to find any proof of purchase including bank statements as evidence.

If Equita had made a listed goods agreement when your daughter was in her previous property and then these items had been moved to your property with her then Equita would have a legal right to take these goods and should be informed of the new address.

Usually taking goods is a last resort and they’d much rather receive payment for the debt.

Negotiating an affordable payment based on a budget that can be sent to the enforcement agents as proof is the best way to come to an agreement with them and stop any further action.

Here is a link where you can find more information about what enforcement agents can and can’t do depending on the stages of collection and your rights.

If your daughter would like help to explore her options with dealing with this debt and any others she might have then we can help her find a way forward. You can find out website and contact details here.

Take care
Rachael

Thaddeus_Wagstaff wrote: »

Hi
My adult daughter had bailiffs from Equita chasing her at her previous address for council tax arrears. This debt remains unpaid.
She is now living with us, as she finds it impossible to cope on her own. Please could you advise how I can prevent bailiffs from removing goods owned by myself and my wife if they chase the debt up at my home? Unfortunately we don't have receipts for a lot of our things as they were bought so long ago it didn't seem worth keeping them. We never expected to find ourselves in this position.....:(

Mrs24 · 25 May 2017 at 10:15AM

Hi I need some advice on Barclays Bank. I have a reserve with them (like an overdraft) but due to financial difficulty I am unable to pay it off and I went on their live chat asking if my charges can be frozen so I can start paying back a little each month to clear it, the chat advisor told me they can't do that, so I was hoping someone could tell me how to get this done. Tia for your replies

Former_StepChange_Richard · 25 May 2017 at 11:21AM

Hi

Thanks for your message and welcome to the forum.

It can be hard to pay back detbs when you are struggling to pay the interest that conitnues to build upon it. However, banks don't have to agree to freeze charges this if they don't want to (provided they were set out in your initial agreement).

We can help you with your debts and to find the best way of dealing with them. For some of our solutions we will ask creditors to freeze interest and charges. We need to take a look at your finances first though so we know the best way to help you.

You can build a budget with us, that will show us your financial situaiton, in two ways:

You can use our Debt Remedy tool on our website. This self-help tool guides you through your budget and then provides you with an advice booklet to read in your own time.

Alternatively you can call and spoeak with our advisors. They will build your budget for you and then provide you with advice on how to deal with your debts. All our contact details are here.

I hope this helps.

Richard

Mrs24 wrote: »

Hi I need some advice on Barclays Bank. I have a reserve with them (like an overdraft) but due to financial difficulty I am unable to pay it off and I went on their live chat asking if my charges can be frozen so I can start paying back a little each month to clear it, the chat advisor told me they can't do that, so I was hoping someone could tell me how to get this done. Tia for your replies

StepChange_Private_Messages · 25 May 2017 at 12:13PM

Hi

Thanks for your post.

Although you can ask creditors to stop adding charges creditors are unlikely to grant the request if an individual asks them.

Creditors will most likely want to see a financial statement like a budget to show your financial situation and to show you’re struggling.

There are debt solutions available if you‘re struggling with repaying debt, including overdrafts. You might find that creditors are more likely to stop interest and charges if you’re going through a third party.

If you’d like to explore your options going forward and create a budget showing your financial situation you can find we can help. You can find our contact details here. Our help and advice is free.

Thanks
Rachael

Mrs24 wrote: »

Hi I need some advice on Barclays Bank. I have a reserve with them (like an overdraft) but due to financial difficulty I am unable to pay it off and I went on their live chat asking if my charges can be frozen so I can start paying back a little each month to clear it, the chat advisor told me they can't do that, so I was hoping someone could tell me how to get this done. Tia for your replies

drshadrack · 25 May 2017 at 2:47PM

Apologies I've posted this twice now - once on the Gerneral forum and once on the Ask an Advisor area

I hope someone might be able to offer some advice on this.

The situation: Student house of 5 - all signed up to the joint tenancy agreement - one student has left course and is not able to pay their rent. Landlord has rejected that student's offer to pay down the debt in instalments of £25 per week.

It seems pretty straightforward that J & S liability can be used in circumstances where a tenant defaults but I am keen to understand what steps the landlord would first have to take to get to the stage where they can use the J & S agreement clause to collect from the other tenants?

To my mind if the 'defaulting' tenant has offered to pay, albeit in lower instalments, a debt has not necessarily crystallised and the landlord must first exhaust this avenue before trying to recover monies from the other tenants.

The father of one of the other tenants is concerned that a failure to resolve the issue could result in a CCJ against his son's name and is eager to accede to the landlord's demands for a quicker settlement which would involve all tenants chipping in. However, I believe that we are nowhere near that stage yet and do not want to readily hand over money unneccessarily.

Does the landlord not have to at least try to collect from the defaulting tenant, pursue them through the courts etc. before they can invoke the J & S clause?

I have also suggested that the defaulting tenant continue to pay @ £25 per week throughout this period on the basis that the landlord is tacitly accepting the payment plan if they do not hand the monies back.

Any thoughts appreciated

Former_StepChange_Linsi · 26 May 2017 at 4:17PM

Good afternoon,

Thank you for your post.

Everyone named on the tenancy agreement is jointly and severally liable for the rent. If arrears have built up, the landlord can take action against one tenant or all the tenants straight away. The landlord wouldn’t have to chase the defaulting tenant first.

The landlord isn’t obliged to accept the reduced payment which has been offered, but it is a good idea for the tenant who has left the property to pay what they can while trying to come to an arrangement.

Whilst the landlord could apply for a CCJ, this option isn’t usually used to collect rent arrears. The further action the landlord could take and the timescales involved would partly depend on what type of tenancy agreement you have. For more information about housing laws and tenancy rights I’d recommend speaking to Shelter. They’re also a charity, but specialise in providing housing advice.

You may also want to provide our details to the tenant who has left the property; so that we can give them more specific advice about dealing with their debts.

I hope this helps.

Linsi

drshadrack wrote: »

Apologies I've posted this twice now - once on the Gerneral forum and once on the Ask an Advisor area

I hope someone might be able to offer some advice on this.

The situation: Student house of 5 - all signed up to the joint tenancy agreement - one student has left course and is not able to pay their rent. Landlord has rejected that student's offer to pay down the debt in instalments of £25 per week.

It seems pretty straightforward that J & S liability can be used in circumstances where a tenant defaults but I am keen to understand what steps the landlord would first have to take to get to the stage where they can use the J & S agreement clause to collect from the other tenants?

To my mind if the 'defaulting' tenant has offered to pay, albeit in lower instalments, a debt has not necessarily crystallised and the landlord must first exhaust this avenue before trying to recover monies from the other tenants.

The father of one of the other tenants is concerned that a failure to resolve the issue could result in a CCJ against his son's name and is eager to accede to the landlord's demands for a quicker settlement which would involve all tenants chipping in. However, I believe that we are nowhere near that stage yet and do not want to readily hand over money unneccessarily.

Does the landlord not have to at least try to collect from the defaulting tenant, pursue them through the courts etc. before they can invoke the J & S clause?

I have also suggested that the defaulting tenant continue to pay @ £25 per week throughout this period on the basis that the landlord is tacitly accepting the payment plan if they do not hand the monies back.

Any thoughts appreciated

LeaPea · 29 May 2017 at 12:59PM

Hi,

I have approx 7K worth of debt on credit cards, I'm meeting the payments every month and do not miss but I'm making little progress. I'm a new Mum on statutory maternity leave pay which means my income has severely reduced so making the payments is a lot harder and clearing the debt seems seems impossible. I don't miss payments on the cards but I am constantly in my overdraft as a result which I'm worried about affecting my credit rating.

What is my best option?

Thank you,

Leanne.

Akd1961 · 30 May 2017 at 1:44PM

Hi

After some advice my daughter has got herself in debt through gambling the debts at the minute are circa 15k (without counting what she owes us) I have spone to NAtional Debtline, they said her only options are Self negotiation or something called cash flow, she is not very good at these sort of things. SHe is curretnly getting help for the gabling and also drugs and mental health issues. She has a joint mortgage with her partner and if at all possble does not want to affect this. She is not in defaul yet but is struggling with all the added interest and I am fearful of her mental state. Any help appreciated.

Former_StepChange_Linsi · 30 May 2017 at 3:36PM

Hi Leanne

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on becoming a mum.

It’s understandable why making payments has become harder now that your income has reduced. It’s important to remember that debts like credit card are only entitled to a fair share of your disposable income after you’ve covered your living costs.

There are different options available when it comes to dealing with debt. So we can help you work out which option will be best for you we’ll need to know a bit more about your situation.

I’d recommend creating a budget online using our Debt Remedy tool. To do this you’ll need to have the details of your income, living costs and debts to hand. Once you’ve created a budget you’ll to able to download a personal action plan. This contains our tailored advice for you along with a recommended debt solution. Here’s the link to our Debt Remedy tool.

Debt solutions and relying on your overdraft can affect your credit file. This is never permanent so your credit file will repair over time. When we recommend a debt solution we’ll always explain what impacts this will have, so that you can make an informed decision about the best way to deal with your debts.

I hope this helps.

Linsi

LeaPea wrote: »

Hi,

I have approx 7K worth of debt on credit cards, I'm meeting the payments every month and do not miss but I'm making little progress. I'm a new Mum on statutory maternity leave pay which means my income has severely reduced so making the payments is a lot harder and clearing the debt seems seems impossible. I don't miss payments on the cards but I am constantly in my overdraft as a result which I'm worried about affecting my credit rating.

What is my best option?

Thank you,

Leanne.

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