Still saving... but a couple of questions

indebtandworried

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well, it has been manic for us here over the past few weeks so have had little chance to post. Here's a quick update:

I have quit my stressful job and am now looking at some new opportunities, some working with family and hopefully none that will be affected by going BR, which is a massive weight off of both mine and OH shoulders! Tick in the box!

We have stopped paying creditors who are chasing us with letters and 20+ calls a day to home phone and mobiles, while we save to move, we have enough now for a deposit and a little left over in case of emergency, plus we have our BR fees, but our situation has thrown up a couple of questions...

Firstly, we want to write to our creditors to explain why we haven't been paying (I am out of work) and also to offer a token £1 each for the next month or so until I am back on my feet (i.e. working again). We also want to tell the creditors that we will only correspond in writing.

- Should we tell them we no longer have a home phone or mobile perhaps - would this help?

I have spoken to the CCCS who have been very helpful and have sent us out pre-written letters, with budget sheets and creditor details to send to each. We have a lot of creditors, so my next question is

- is there an easy place to check which creditors are linked with which?

We bank with Natwest but want to make sure that, while our creditor DD's are cancelled, we don't flag any issue up to a common lender and they take all of our available funds.

My next question is regarding when to open our bank account, CCCS said that we could (and should) open the Co-Op account now if we know we are going BR, and that it won't be closed once we have gone BR. I have heard differently, and wondered if anyone has any experience of this?

Finally, the question is when to go BR. We are moving into our new home at the end of November, I have checked the contract with the estate agent and there is no mention of BR. Does this mean we do not need to be concerned, once the contracts are signed? If there was an issue we have a guarantor so that should cover us anyway, but should we wait any longer? We are thinking of going BR against our current address (where we own our home and are living until the end of November), which I am sure means that this will be revealed in the local press, will it appear in the press where we are moving to (it is a different town entirely, in a different county).

Things are starting to shape up, we have our BR fees - is there any reason why we should wait or should we just bite the bullet and do it ASAP? I just want to be aware of any pitfalls!

Thanks as always for reading :beer:

maxmycardagain

indebtandworried wrote: »

Hi everyone, I hope you are all well, it has been manic for us here over the past few weeks so have had little chance to post. Here's a quick update:

I have quit my stressful job and am now looking at some new opportunities, some working with family and hopefully none that will be affected by going BR, which is a massive weight off of both mine and OH shoulders! Tick in the box!

We have stopped paying creditors who are chasing us with letters and 20+ calls a day to home phone and mobiles, while we save to move, we have enough now for a deposit and a little left over in case of emergency, plus we have our BR fees, but our situation has thrown up a couple of questions...

Firstly, we want to write to our creditors to explain why we haven't been paying (I am out of work) and also to offer a token £1 each for the next month or so until I am back on my feet (i.e. working again). We also want to tell the creditors that we will only correspond in writing.

waste of time, they wont accept and even if they do it wont defer any action they take

- Should we tell them we no longer have a home phone or mobile perhaps - would this help?

if your moving are you taking your landline number? probably not, include phone debts in your BR, and get a new sim card, though calls should cease once you go BR, send all creditors a copy of your BO to verify it

I have spoken to the CCCS who have been very helpful and have sent us out pre-written letters, with budget sheets and creditor details to send to each. We have a lot of creditors, so my next question is

- is there an easy place to check which creditors are linked with which?

you can google search and spend hours doing it but its not important, if you owe 2 subsiduaries of 1 bank its still 2 debts

We bank with Natwest but want to make sure that, while our creditor DD's are cancelled, we don't flag any issue up to a common lender and they take all of our available funds.

funds in an account come BR time are frozen anyway, you risk losing them unless withdrawn (shoebox under the bed is best)

My next question is regarding when to open our bank account, CCCS said that we could (and should) open the Co-Op account now if we know we are going BR, and that it won't be closed once we have gone BR. I have heard differently, and wondered if anyone has any experience of this?

Post-BR is best to avoid the chance it may get frozen and need unfreezing

Finally, the question is when to go BR. We are moving into our new home at the end of November, I have checked the contract with the estate agent and there is no mention of BR. Does this mean we do not need to be concerned, once the contracts are signed? If there was an issue we have a guarantor so that should cover us anyway, but should we wait any longer? We are thinking of going BR against our current address (where we own our home and are living until the end of November), which I am sure means that this will be revealed in the local press, will it appear in the press where we are moving to (it is a different town entirely, in a different county).

If you have moved and gone BR first then you may get it registered at your old adress but yes, it will go in the press, but once you have a tenancy it isnt easy to kick you out (is it private or HA?)

Things are starting to shape up, we have our BR fees - is there any reason why we should wait or should we just bite the bullet and do it ASAP? I just want to be aware of any pitfalls!

waiting only means AD is further away......
Thanks as always for reading :beer:

you sound as if doing the right thing is important to you and fair play to you for that but a lot of DCA dont abide by the same rules...

fiveyearplan

Personally I would open the Coop now and issue new direct debits to any company that you want to keep paying ie mobile contract, phone, council tax etc.

I agree with Max that its a waste of time at this stage to contact your creditors. As far as the phone calls go, I unplugged my landline until 9 pm each evening or just didn't answer unless I knew who the caller was. If it was my mobile I just didn't answer calls from any 0845, 0800 or 0870 numbers. Twice MBNA phoned me from a mobile but I just hung up once I knew it was them then saved that number in my phone!

You'll get through it and I'm sure its some relief to have your new place sorted.

peachyprice

Just to add, you have to be at an address for 6 months to go BR from it, so you'll have to do it from your old address.

indebtandworried

Thanks maxmycardagain for the reply. Here are our thoughts...

Firstly, we want to write to our creditors to explain why we haven't been paying (I am out of work) and also to offer a token £1 each for the next month or so until I am back on my feet (i.e. working again). We also want to tell the creditors that we will only correspond in writing.

waste of time, they wont accept and even if they do it wont defer any action they take

This was advice given to us by CCCS. The reason being we want the calls to stop if at all possible, and also to avert the possibility of people attempting door stop visits, I know they have no power to do anything. Are the letters a way to buy time?

- Should we tell them we no longer have a home phone or mobile perhaps - would this help?

if your moving are you taking your landline number? probably not, include phone debts in your BR, and get a new sim card, though calls should cease once you go BR, send all creditors a copy of your BO to verify it

No we are not taking our landline number, we will try for a new number (is this OK with BT)? We weren't planning on including our current landline in BR though. We were planning also to keep our existing mobile phone numbers if possible... the reason we are considering telling them we have no telephone is to stop the calls, can they verify and check this?

I have spoken to the CCCS who have been very helpful and have sent us out pre-written letters, with budget sheets and creditor details to send to each. We have a lot of creditors, so my next question is

- is there an easy place to check which creditors are linked with which?

you can google search and spend hours doing it but its not important, if you owe 2 subsiduaries of 1 bank its still 2 debts

What we were thinking is that if any creditor is related to our bank, they could take any available funds, we have been slowly withdrawing all funds anyway. but as it sounds like the letters are a waste of time, I am starting to wonder if it is relevant any more!

Also would it look better in court when we go for BR to demonstrate that we followed the advice given by CCCS?

We bank with Natwest but want to make sure that, while our creditor DD's are cancelled, we don't flag any issue up to a common lender and they take all of our available funds.

funds in an account come BR time are frozen anyway, you risk losing them unless withdrawn (shoebox under the bed is best)

Should we simply withdraw any funds (no matter how large, we were advised to do this in small amounts) as soon as they are deposited? I no longer have an income but my OH does.

My next question is regarding when to open our bank account, CCCS said that we could (and should) open the Co-Op account now if we know we are going BR, and that it won't be closed once we have gone BR. I have heard differently, and wondered if anyone has any experience of this?

Post-BR is best to avoid the chance it may get frozen and need unfreezing

Thanks

Finally, the question is when to go BR. We are moving into our new home at the end of November, I have checked the contract with the estate agent and there is no mention of BR. Does this mean we do not need to be concerned, once the contracts are signed? If there was an issue we have a guarantor so that should cover us anyway, but should we wait any longer? We are thinking of going BR against our current address (where we own our home and are living until the end of November), which I am sure means that this will be revealed in the local press, will it appear in the press where we are moving to (it is a different town entirely, in a different county).

If you have moved and gone BR first then you may get it registered at your old adress but yes, it will go in the press, but once you have a tenancy it isnt easy to kick you out (is it private or HA?)

This is private rental, in another county, so I assume we aren't going to appear in local press in our new location?

We are planning to move out, and leave our old place empty, then go BR, so that we can register at our old address (seeing as we still legally own it), is this the right way to do it? We'd rather minimse any BR ties to the new property.

Also, if there is absolutely no mention of BR in the new shorthold tenancy agreement (we have read this at length) does this mean that the landlord or estate agent cannot act should they find out we are BR once we have moved in?

Things are starting to shape up, we have our BR fees - is there any reason why we should wait or should we just bite the bullet and do it ASAP? I just want to be aware of any pitfalls!

waiting only means AD is further away......

Sorry what is AD I checked the sticky and couldn't find that one!

We are looking to do the right thing as much as possible... but we know that there are ways to make this tough time a little easier, that's what we are trying to do, so thanks for all the advice! We've only got a few more weeks to ride it out it seems...

peachyprice

indebtandworried wrote: »

Thanks maxmycardagain for the reply. Here are our thoughts...

Firstly, we want to write to our creditors to explain why we haven't been paying (I am out of work) and also to offer a token £1 each for the next month or so until I am back on my feet (i.e. working again). We also want to tell the creditors that we will only correspond in writing.

waste of time, they wont accept and even if they do it wont defer any action they take

This was advice given to us by CCCS. The reason being we want the calls to stop if at all possible, and also to avert the possibility of people attempting door stop visits, I know they have no power to do anything. Are the letters a way to buy time?

It's likley they'll still keep hassling, despite the token payments.

- Should we tell them we no longer have a home phone or mobile perhaps - would this help?

if your moving are you taking your landline number? probably not, include phone debts in your BR, and get a new sim card, though calls should cease once you go BR, send all creditors a copy of your BO to verify it

No we are not taking our landline number, we will try for a new number (is this OK with BT)? We weren't planning on including our current landline in BR though. We were planning also to keep our existing mobile phone numbers if possible... the reason we are considering telling them we have no telephone is to stop the calls, can they verify and check this?

I wouldn't include BT in your BR, it will be much simpler to do a normal 'moving house' change of number than having them cut you off and getting the line re-installed.

Creditors won't listen if you tell them you have no phone, they'll still phone you when they realise the lines aren't dead.

I have spoken to the CCCS who have been very helpful and have sent us out pre-written letters, with budget sheets and creditor details to send to each. We have a lot of creditors, so my next question is

- is there an easy place to check which creditors are linked with which?

you can google search and spend hours doing it but its not important, if you owe 2 subsiduaries of 1 bank its still 2 debts

What we were thinking is that if any creditor is related to our bank, they could take any available funds, we have been slowly withdrawing all funds anyway. but as it sounds like the letters are a waste of time, I am starting to wonder if it is relevant any more!

Also would it look better in court when we go for BR to demonstrate that we followed the advice given by CCCS?

Won't make any difference in court.

We bank with Natwest but want to make sure that, while our creditor DD's are cancelled, we don't flag any issue up to a common lender and they take all of our available funds.

funds in an account come BR time are frozen anyway, you risk losing them unless withdrawn (shoebox under the bed is best)

Should we simply withdraw any funds (no matter how large, we were advised to do this in small amounts) as soon as they are deposited? I no longer have an income but my OH does.

As long as the amounts can be accounted for i.e your deposit for house move and money to get you through the next month or so there's no reason why you can't take it all out in one go.

My next question is regarding when to open our bank account, CCCS said that we could (and should) open the Co-Op account now if we know we are going BR, and that it won't be closed once we have gone BR. I have heard differently, and wondered if anyone has any experience of this?

Post-BR is best to avoid the chance it may get frozen and need unfreezing

Thanks

There has only ever been one member who has had a co-op account closed that was opened before BR, the majority have had nom probs what so ever.

Finally, the question is when to go BR. We are moving into our new home at the end of November, I have checked the contract with the estate agent and there is no mention of BR. Does this mean we do not need to be concerned, once the contracts are signed? If there was an issue we have a guarantor so that should cover us anyway, but should we wait any longer? We are thinking of going BR against our current address (where we own our home and are living until the end of November), which I am sure means that this will be revealed in the local press, will it appear in the press where we are moving to (it is a different town entirely, in a different county).

If you have moved and gone BR first then you may get it registered at your old adress but yes, it will go in the press, but once you have a tenancy it isnt easy to kick you out (is it private or HA?)

This is private rental, in another county, so I assume we aren't going to appear in local press in our new location? correct, mas long as you don't put the new address on your forms

We are planning to move out, and leave our old place empty, then go BR, so that we can register at our old address (seeing as we still legally own it), is this the right way to do it? We'd rather minimse any BR ties to the new property. Yes, you'll have to go BR at your old address

Also, if there is absolutely no mention of BR in the new shorthold tenancy agreement (we have read this at length) does this mean that the landlord or estate agent cannot act should they find out we are BR once we have moved in? Correct again

Things are starting to shape up, we have our BR fees - is there any reason why we should wait or should we just bite the bullet and do it ASAP? I just want to be aware of any pitfalls!

waiting only means AD is further away......

Sorry what is AD I checked the sticky and couldn't find that one! Automatic Discharge after 12 months

We are looking to do the right thing as much as possible... but we know that there are ways to make this tough time a little easier, that's what we are trying to do, so thanks for all the advice! We've only got a few more weeks to ride it out it seems...

Good luck, it sounds as if your heads are in the right place to make this happen as smoothly as possible.

indebtandworried

Peachy as always your advice is a massive relief, thanks everyone, (sorry running out of colour options here!) there have been some headaches and worry here over the past couple of weeks, but we've been able to put as much in place as possible to make this as painless as we can. We couldn't have done it without the advice on this board.

I guess we'll just have to ride out the calls and letters for a few more weeks. I have one more question:

This is private rental, in another county, so I assume we aren't going to appear in local press in our new location? correct, mas long as you don't put the new address on your forms

Do we have to advise the court that we have moved to a new address when we go BR? We are going to move in to our new place first, get settled for a week or so then go to court and file for BR. We want to be as honest as possible... what's the right way to do this?

peachyprice

indebtandworried wrote: »

Do we have to advise the court that we have moved to a new address when we go BR? We are going to move in to our new place first, get settled for a week or so then go to court and file for BR. We want to be as honest as possible... what's the right way to do this?

If it's only a week or I wouldn't bother, you'll still have access to your old house to collect post etc., just tell the OR as soon as possible after that you've moved.

If you put your new address down on the forms you'll be opening up a whole can of worms, they could make you go to the court in your new area and you'd have to wait 6 months before you can apply
(do you like the orange, or is it Peach )

indebtandworried

Peach is the new black!!