1st Credit Statutory Demand, no CCJ

mikkir

I have just got a statutory demand from first credit , for a debt that I do owe for an usecured loan from Citi.
A bit of background, we took this loan out 3 years ago and were paying fine for 2 years , then my wife was diagnosed with motory neurone disease and has to have time off during each month when her condition is at its worst, as a result of this we got behind on the mortgage ( now sorted ) and credit cards (dealing with) which has left no money for 1st credit.
I know I should have got in touch with Citi but I thought I would let the debt go its distance , go to court , fill in an I & E form and deliberatley get a CCJ at a level that we can afford .As 1st credit are a bunch of ~~~~### this was a deliberate move.

My question is , can a DCA raise a statutory Demand , without first of all going down the CCJ route and further to that how seriously should I take first credits threat and whats the worst that they can take from me ?

Thanks for any help.
Mik (im bernie pot in a big way ),,,,,,,,,,,,,

P.S. We are only a young couple and if anyone out there is taking on their first mortgage PLEASE take out critical illness and other insurances, You never know when you will need them. (isnt hindsight a bummer):o

Deep_In_Debt

Hi
Well done for posting.

1st Crudit are well known on this forum - just do a search and you'll find out.
They are well known for sending out SD's to scare you into paying. They send them out like confetti. Chances are, it is a scare tactic. However, it should be taken seriously as you never know what these chancers will do next.

they've threatened me with all sorts over the months and it's all been hot air so far.

Someone will be along who can help you more, sorry I can't.

Don't speak to them on the phone. It may be worth sending them a CCA request which will buy a bit more time.

tigerfeet2006

Completly agree with DID about First Crudit.

Also give National Debtline a ring and talk to them about your situation.

mikkir

Thanks for tel. numbers Tiger Feet, I have emailed first credit and not yet had a response, I will post any developments.
I just cant see that its possible (or even legal?) for a DCA to start bankrupcy proceedings before ssuing a CCJ!!!!

fermi

A CCJ is not required for a creditor to go for bankruptcy.

But it will cost the creditor £1,000 plus to follow up a statutory demand with an actual petition to the court, so most DCA's are very unlikely to go ahead. Most of the time the statutory demands are used as a scare tactic, because on their own they cost nothing.

How much is this debt for? Do you have equity?

Definitely talk to National Debtline.;)

mikkir

Hi Fermi, got about 10k in the house max due to recent price drops, and the outstanding balance on the loan is £6800. thanks Mik

newlifeahead

Hi mikkir

I don't normally post very often but when I saw your post I had to.
I had problems with 1st Credit, they were the worst debt collection company I dealt with in my own experience.

Please, please please make sure you deal with this as soon as you can. They made my life hell with all the calls and letters they sent. They will do whatever it takes to get a ccj and then a charge on your house. Which they have done recently with a friend of a friend.

As suggested send them a cca request. That is suppose to hold them off a little but in my case they still pursued the debt. Also check your credit file to see if they have given you a default.

I had a success story were my debt of £6800 was written off and the default removed because they didn't have the cca and their constant harrasment was not within the debt collection guidlines. I had to write to the owner of the company and detailed everything the company did wrong eg threats of taking my house away, asking me to borrow the money from someone.

I got so mad and frighten that they were going to sell my house that I wrote to the company founder and put in a detailed complaint. I had a response back within 24hrs of them receiving my letter with an apology and they cancelled the debt.

They just pushed me too far. They were so rude and whenever they agreed anything they would then change it later and say they never had any record of what was said previous.

Never talk to them over the phone
Send them a cca letter and also a letter advising that you only want to hear from them via mail .
Document everything that you do. You may need it.

Just read back this message. It is so scary. I really don't want to scare anyone, but please deal with this company without delay, they tend to act quickly.

mikkir

Thanks for the help everybody, but can someone tell me what the worst they can do is? I dont believe they can make me sell the house if they put a charge against it but that they can only get the money if I choose to sell.
What I want to know is the worst case scenario, I have no savings , and our car is a disability car so I have no real assets to speak of.
thanks MIK

pepe2008

Hi Mikkir,
Write or e-mail ( good because of auto-response ) detailing all your circumstances, tell them that you are doing all you can to deal with the debt. they dont like communicating by letter unless its a threat so you create your own trail with them.
Go onto National Debt Line site and oft.go.uk to check out you rights re collection methods.....if you think you have cause, complain to oft.
They wont action SD even if they issue one, as Fermi says, its expensive and they want profit,
They could go for CCJ with statutory interest (8%) then a Charging Order, but thats a problem for them as they would need to get your personal circs past a Judge. Even then a CO wouldt be worth the paper as you dont have 40% equity in your house so its worth nothing as a forced sale...sorry to be so blunt.
CCA them, dont talk on the phone, and try to stay calm. there is a lot of help out there.
Good Luck, Pepe. Take a look at 'first Credit Debt Collection' thread.

mikkir

Im going to CCA them tomorrow, thanks for the help yet again everyone.
But which address do I send the CCA request to , the PO box in Reigate or head office.
Also as I have nothing to lose Im going to let this run and see what the outcome is , I will keep you all informed.
Thanks again all of you wonderful people Mikkir:D

debtman2007

I had a success story were my debt of £6800 was written off and the default removed because they didn't have the cca and their constant harrasment was not within the debt collection guidlines. I had to write to the owner of the company and detailed everything the company did wrong eg threats of taking my house away, asking me to borrow the money from someone.

I got so mad and frighten that they were going to sell my house that I wrote to the company founder and put in a detailed complaint. I had a response back within 24hrs of them receiving my letter with an apology and they cancelled the debt.

Interesting. Name and address of founder please

I'm going to compile a full listing when things start to get nasty