Halifax Credit Card Debt

khowe

I'm trying to get advice for my dad. Since my mum died 2 years ago he has lost all control of his money! He has managed to rake up a £10,000 Halifax CC bill, a loan for £15k and a mortgage for £100k which he did not have before my mum died! He ended up being conned out of alot of money by a South African lady - long story!

Anyway - The doctor has since signed my dad off work with depression and I think he has had a breakdown.

He managed to sell his van which I paid £2k of credit card about 2 months ago but since being signed off sick he has only been able to pay £50 off the credit card each month. This does not even cover the interest but keeps the debt letters at bay! If he speaks to the Halifax is there anyway he can tell them he will never be able to pay off this debt in the near future and to agree a sum he can pay every month ? That way not incurring the high interest fees?

As a girl who has no CC's or debt apart from a mortgage this is all new to me!

Many Thanks

RAS

Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear the story.

How much is the house worth?

khowe

Dad's house is prob worth £200k now, was about £230k when he got the mortgage

RAS

Hi

Get him in touch with one of these debt charities http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help

And once things calm down, I suggest that you encourage him done the road to talk to the police. You may find that this lady has a history of similiar relationships and they may take action against her.

GeorgeUK

I suggest he contacts (or you do so on his behalf for now to see what the options are) one of the free debt charities.

(Taken from Fermi's signature)

Professional, free and impartial advice on debt problems can be obtained from several charitable and 'not for profit' organisations. They never make a penny from the advice they give, which means it will be given with only your best interests at heart. You can contact:

Your local CAB Office and ask to speak to a 'money advisor'
The Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) - Tel: 0800 138 1111
National Debtline - Tel: 0808 808 4000
Payplan - Tel: 0800 917 7823

They may be able to arrange a debt management plan, but the mortgage may be a problem. Hope the police are dealing with this?

khowe

Thanks for your advice

Unfortunatly the Police in this country can not do a thing, so I contacted the SA embassy who spoke to the SA police for me but unfortunatly it is a civil case so they can not help either. Without hiring a solicitor I don't think we can get anywhere with that. But believe me I have tried and I have vowed not to let this lady get away with it. I am hoping to maybe go to the papers as I don't want her to get away with doing this to someone else, from what I have learned it is not the first time she has done this in SA just the first time she has targeted an english man.

I have a meeting with my dads bank Friday so I might see about remortgaging to pay off the CC and Loan but it depends what the early repayment charges are for the loan. I think just having the one monthly payment would be a big weight lifted off my dads shoulders and hopefully when he gets back to work he can overpay monthly? I also need to look into claiming on the PPI's he has.

Lots of work!

RAS

Hi

Please do not secure this debt, it will make the situation worse.

Get your dad to talk to CCCS or NDL and arrange a debt managment plan in the short-term. Longer -term he may be able to return to work and sort it out but if you secure the debt, there are no options.

Have a look at the snowball on www.whatsthecost.com so you understand how much extra it will cost if you secure the debt.

It would be a very good idea if your dad's creditor were aware of the fact that he is signed off for depression as this makes him a vunerable person to whom they are supposed to be extra helpful.

GeorgeUK

Persuing her for the debt would be a civil case, but i would have though that fraud was a criminal matter.

Might be worth contacting the CAB to see if there is another way to go about persuing her with a criminal action.

Hope it works out ok.