unpaid debt

SneakySaving

dolally wrote: »

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!!:mad::mad:

Half the threads I have read on MSE are people trying not to pay their debts. If you spend the money you should pay it back.
My OH and I have worked hard at paying back money we owed after mismanaging our finances as have many members of the forum.

Reclaiming unlawful charges or pulling banks up on other genuine problems is one thing, blatant theft is quite another.

Pay back the money you owe!

Rather harsh without knowing ALL the facts.

I am glad you worked hard to pay your debts, what if like me you cannot work due to the useless NHS?

Then try talking to MBNA who want £200 instantly otherwise they will not freeze the account. Try paying that when your on less than £70 sick pay.
The company i worked for have had to terminated my employment due to the time i have been off and little chance of returning to that type of work even if the NHS finally sort me out.

Now i have found this site i see what can be done and what i should have done but what can you do when they just get into parrot mode?
you must pay £200 before we can act...on and on...

Now the account has had nearly £2000 in charges added which has taken it well over the limit.

I would agree if someone took credit out with the intention of never paying it back would be theft, But without the facts i think you were a bit out of order.

NickX

SneakySaving wrote: »

"They can take you to court even if you do not reply to their correspondence and you will end up with CCJ's and court orders. Then you may get a visit from the bailiffs."

Can these companies do this sneakily?

Or will the court issue papers to you?

What if you do not have the means to pay them anything? Will they push for bankruptcy?
Or would it be best to file for bankruptcy before they start this action?

Final query, no communication for 6 years? If they write to you or phone you is that not communication? or do they need for you to actually reply?

No the court will issue papers so you will know that the case is going to court. If you do nothing, as Clapton has said, the court will likely issue a CCJ and send bailiffs around to collect your belongings to the amount of the debt that you owe.

The bailiffs have to leave you with certain bare essentials such as a plate, a knife and a fork so that you can eat. But they can take away virtually anything else including furniture, TVs, videos, coffee makers ....

You could file for bankruptcy but this is not necessarily the best course of action for the following reasons :

(a) you have to pay a fee to go bankrupt, I think its about £340, but if you are really skint then where are you going to get this fee from ?

(b) If you own any assets then these can be claimed by the official receiver. This includes property and cars. Bankruptcy is really only an option for people with no assets of any value, i.e. rented property, no valuable car or anything else.

(c) Once you have gone bankrupt, your Credit Rating is at rock-bottom. Realistically you will have to wait 6 years before you will get a decent line of credit again.

With regard to the 6 years until the debt becomes statute barred, if you do not reply to their correspondence then you have not acknowledged the debt so this does not count as communication. For instance if you have moved and changed your telephone number then the creditor could be contacting you at your previous address and you would be none the wiser. It is likely that they will take legal action in the meantime though.

With regard to official court documents, these are often delivered by hand so that there is evidence that you have received them. They will pass them to you by hand and once you have taken the document you are deemed to have received it. If you really want to dodge the debt, then do not accept any such documents and do not sign for anything at your front door. If you do not accept the document then you have not received it.

dolally_2

SneakySaving wrote: »

Rather harsh without knowing ALL the facts.

I am glad you worked hard to pay your debts, what if like me you cannot work due to the useless NHS?

Then try talking to MBNA who want £200 instantly otherwise they will not freeze the account. Try paying that when your on less than £70 sick pay.
The company i worked for have had to terminated my employment due to the time i have been off and little chance of returning to that type of work even if the NHS finally sort me out.

Now i have found this site i see what can be done and what i should have done but what can you do when they just get into parrot mode?
you must pay £200 before we can act...on and on...

Now the account has had nearly £2000 in charges added which has taken it well over the limit.

I would agree if someone took credit out with the intention of never paying it back would be theft, But without the facts i think you were a bit out of order.

My problem is not with people who want to pay back the debt but can't, it is with people who are looking to avoid it altogether without any reason.

I am sorry you have not been well and are struggling but I take it that you will now have realised that there are companies that help people in your situation.
If you haven't spoken to them yet try:
Citizens advice
CCCS
National Debtline.

These people are there to help and do not charge a fee. Also make sure you get the £2k charges back.

I am not against people who owe money, I myself was on a DMP with CCCS for several years. My issue with the OP was that no desire to repay was expressed.

Hope that clears things up

hook

my husband did not take out a loan with the intentions of not paying it back in fact we thought the debt was with barclays which was nearly 4 years ago and he did go into the bank where he got the loan and tried to pay it back but was told they had no knowledge of this loan and also the bank manager who gave him the loan no longer worked there.. we recieved another letter yesterday saying the debt was with cahoot we never had credit with them at all..we have decided to call them next week but are concerned as to how to prove its not our debt as we wont pay a debt thats not ours

NickX

hook wrote: »

concerned as to how to prove its not our debt as we wont pay a debt thats not ours

Its not for you to prove that it is not your debt. It is for them to prove that it is your debt.

If they cannot produce a CCA (Consumer Credit Agreement) with your name on it then the debt is unenforceable.

PROLIANT

NickX wrote: »

If you do nothing, as Clapton has said, the court will likely issue a CCJ and send bailiffs around to collect your belongings to the amount of the debt that you owe.

Hi Nick, not entirely true, the debt is unsecured credit card debt etc they can't take goods to the value of the debt as the debt was not secured on any asset to begin with, I had a situation about 7 years back where I lost my job and I bumped everything, Credit Cards, Catalogues, Mobile Phones etc, not that I am proud of what I did but it was either that or lose the house and starve, we were given £36 per week to live off, that was me and my pregnant partner at the time, that was £36 between us, it took me about 6 months to find work, anyway they tried that one with me but got help from a solicitor who told me the word of the law, "unless the debt is secured they can not remove any of your positions", I think I still have the letter filed away in my archives somewhere, I will dig it out and post it on here.

NickX

PROLIANT wrote: »

"unless the debt is secured they can not remove any of your positions"

Firstly, sorry to hear that you had such a difficult time Proliant.

I agree that the debt is unsecured and the creditor has no right to remove your possessions. It always annoys me when I hear of Debt Collection Agencies threatening to visit and remove belongings when they have no right to do so whatsoever.

However, if the court issues a CCJ which remains unpaid, then they can send bailiffs to your door who do have a right to remove your belongings.

In addition the court has the power to place a charge on your house, or even issue a court order for the property to be sold and the proceeds used to pay off the debts.

PROLIANT

NickX wrote: »

Firstly, sorry to hear that you had such a difficult time Proliant.

I agree that the debt is unsecured and the creditor has no right to remove your possessions. It always annoys me when I hear of Debt Collection Agencies threatening to visit and remove belongings when they have no right to do so whatsoever.

However, if the court issues a CCJ which remains unpaid, then they can send bailiffs to your door who do have a right to remove your belongings.

In addition the court has the power to place a charge on your house, or even issue a court order for the property to be sold and the proceeds used to pay off the debts.

I don't think I was ever issued a ccj, though I was "off the radar" so to speak for a while and despite all my preaching on other threads about paying back debt etc, there was a substantial amount that went unpaid, but that was back then and I have changed, if I could have repaid it all back I would have but clean slate now.

NickX

PROLIANT wrote: »

I don't think I was ever issued a ccj, though I was "off the radar" so to speak for a while and despite all my preaching on other threads about paying back debt etc, there was a substantial amount that went unpaid, but that was back then and I have changed, if I could have repaid it all back I would have but clean slate now.

Unfortunately life isn't always straight forward. Things do not always work out as you expect, and people do get into financial difficulties. Its not a pleasant situation to be in I do sympathise with posters who are struggling to repay, the Debt Collection Agencies can be so aggressive in their attempts to get repayment.

Glad that you got things back on track anyway :beer:

chuckley

i no sum1 that did this this and will probs continue to do so throughout their life... due do how easy it is to get away with.