Really Need Some Help - A Terrified Member

Inamess_5

I have a 16K debt with Citi Cards - due to various reasons I have not been able to make a payment since March 08.
They have been most unhelpful thoughout all of this and I missed my deadline date to make a payment by one day (due to the death of a close family member).
However, they have now passed my debt to a debt recovery company called First. They have just telephoned me and I am in a right state. They asked if I could give them the whole amount today......of course I cant. I asked if I could arrange a monthly manageable payment of 400 per month and they told me that this will be passed to a solicitor who will not be looking for a payment plan, they will be looking to reduce the debt to zero.
They have told me now that they have held the account for 7 days to see if I can raise anything. If I can raise a lump sum it will help me and they may consider going easier on me.
But, as I am a home owner (joint) they will likely take me to court and apply to make me bankrupt for the debt as it is a large amount. They said that my house will have equity in it (it has) and why should they wait for payments when they could even put a charge on my property for this.
I am absolutely worried to death about this now - I am sat at work in tears at my desk wondering what on earth is going to happen to me. I cant lose my home and dont want to go bankrupt. I feel physically sick.
Could anybody please advise me or tell me what is likely to happen and what the next steps would be.

boredofbeingathome

Nothing like that is going to happen..

SO first steps is to get together a budget use the SOA calculator at the top of the board..be honest with yourself..and the next step is for us to help you cut that back so you can put extra money at your debt.

The other step is never negotiate anything over the phone, they are just scaremongers..you need to write them a letter to say this..and either block their calls or refuse to answer security questions, that way they cannot proceed with the call.

If it helps please contact any of the non fee paying debt advice charities..all listed at the top of the board.cccs do an online debt remedy, and you can get hold of your financial details etc through Experians free trial..sign up to quidco for cashback first though!

And finally welcome to the boards..dry your tears, get a nice cup of tea and a biccie as today you will take hold of everything and begin to sort it all out.

Here is a link to the letters you can use

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=963087
Bob x

RAS

Hi

First credit are a load of barstewards but please calm down.

ring either NDL or CCCS urgently - detals here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help

First Crudit regularly threaten people with bankruptcy or charging orders but you can fight both as long as you respond to any paperwork that they send promptly.

Once you have talked to the debt charity and understand the real situation, I suggest you come back here and we will post a link for the OFT Guidelines.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/bus...dit/oft664.pdf

boredofbeingathome

Nicely put RAS..

SiannieLaz

Hi Inamess,
just a quick note to say that there are plenty of people on here who will be able to advise you and an expert will be along in a minute. Keep your chin up, there are always solutions no matter how large the problem looks.
xxx

Inamess_5

Thank you so much for your kind words.

Could I trouble you again to ask me what can they do - are they likely to take me to court? And if so, can they force me to go bankrupt or put a charge on my property to recover the debt?

They told me that they will not accept payments from me when they know that the equity is in my property, so in court their solicitors would be trying to get it paid asap and that would involve bankruptcy or a charge on my house.

I cannot afford to pay them more than £400 per month - they also said that they could look at my salary and take money directly from that.

I have 7 days to contact them now and if i cannot raise the money it will go to their solicitor who will start court proceedings.

I know it may sound silly, but i truely am petrified.

Thank you so much for any help.

GeorgeUK

Totally agree with Bob.

If you post up your income/expenditure using the SOA calculator, we will be able to see how much you can afford and if there are other areas of your expenditure you can save in.
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

GeorgeUK

If the debt collection agency (DCA) phones again, refuse to answer any security questions and inform them that all communication should be in writing.

You are showing a willingness to pay which the courts will not ignore. IF it goes to court, they will probably get a CCJ where the judge will look at your income and expenditure and make a ruling based on how much you can afford to pay each month towards the debt - exeactly as you are doing now. They may try to put a charging order against your home, but this is a long way off and you should be able to put in a defence to stop this from happening. Even if it did happen, it would just mean that should you sell your house, they would get their money first until all the debt was paid off.

You really should talk to one of the free debt charities such as CCCS or Payplan - they will talk you through it. Many DCA's are just bullies and ignore legislation as to how they should act. Do not speak to them on the phone so that anything they want to say can be in writing and shown to a judge. You will see a very different tone in their letters compared to their calls.

boredofbeingathome

Inamess wrote: »

Thank you so much for your kind words.

Could I trouble you again to ask me what can they do - are they likely to take me to court? And if so, can they force me to go bankrupt or put a charge on my property to recover the debt?If you go on a DMP i doubt it..a judge would laugh them out of court,providing you have stuck to repayments religiously

They told me that they will not accept payments from me when they know that the equity is in my property, so in court their solicitors would be trying to get it paid asap and that would involve bankruptcy or a charge on my house.Errr..see the above,although many do try for a charging order on houses, again it would depend on advice fron debt charities and all it would mean is that when you well your house in the future you would pay them out of proceeds, in a way it is like a secured loan..but not the same implications as it would remain on your credit file until paid..please do not worry about this yet as your main lender would also have to agree

I cannot afford to pay them more than £400 per month - they also said that they could look at my salary and take money directly from that.
Again, scare tactics, the amount you mention is very good as a payback option, please however be true to yourself and make sure it is accurate.Even if it goes to court and a ccj is issued for it you must be able to pay it back..the attachment to earnings is also through a court order and i doubt very much if a judge would award on given that you will be doing all of the above
I have 7 days to contact them now and if i cannot raise the money it will go to their solicitor who will start court proceedings.
Do a cccs debt remedy online, get your DMP number and contact them with that..
I know it may sound silly, but i truely am petrified.

We all are at first, and that is the reason why they succeed in scaring people and why these forums are possible..It is a lot to take in at the moment we know, we have all stood in your shoes and quaked..Honestly it will get better, those companies are a bunch of halfwits..who prey on folk..it is not illegal to want to pay your debt back..and that is what you are doing..Use the debt charities for advice and we will give you support.Fully explore your options.

We seem to sing from the same hymn sheet George!LOL

stapeley

Hi , all good advice above . I would add another route you can try . Have you received a notice of assignment from the OC authorising First to act on their behalf ? If not then request one , and also request a copy of the true signed Consumer credit agreement that relates to the account . This request costs £1 , details of what it intails can be found on other posts. What this will do is at least give you some time , and if one it not produced will certainly put you in afar better position to deal with the DCA .

RAS

Hi

First things first, you need to separate out what first Crudit could possibly, possibly do in the long term from what it is sensible for them to do.

Just taking advantage of your lack of knowledge of the law is agaisnt OFt Guidelines.

They have suggest multiple actions they could take, if you fail to make an offer to pay. And they could only do one of these things, not all of them and not then only eventually.

Inamess wrote: »

Could I trouble you again to ask me what can they do - are they likely to take me to court? And if so, can they force me to go bankrupt or put a charge on my property to recover the debt?.

We cannot tell you exactly as we do not have enough information but...

They can in theory, after due legal process, if you do not defend yourself do a number of things.

We do know one person who was bankrupted by FC, because they sent the paperwork to his old address, even though they seem to have been able to provide his new address to Official Receiver. When the matter was taken back to court, the bankruptcy was over-turned, the case reheard and the bankruptcy refused and FC were given a right bowlocking.

Similiary we know that they have been threatening people with charging orders, and getting a few becuase people have not defended themselves in court. As long as you defend yourself if they apply for a CCJ, set up payments and keep to them, under current law they should not get a charging order.

Inamess wrote: »

They told me that they will not accept payments from me when they know that the equity is in my property, so in court their solicitors would be trying to get it paid asap and that would involve bankruptcy or a charge on my house..

The OFT Guidelines for debt collection are perfectly clear on this - it is agaisnt the rules to refuse a reasonable offer of payment. If this gets to court and they are still refusing to accept £x per month, the judge will not be amused.

Inamess wrote: »

I cannot afford to pay them more than £400 per month - they also said that they could look at my salary and take money directly from that..

Again they get what you can afford. It is actually against the rules to suggest debtors take on other debts to pay off the debt they want you to pay.

Inamess wrote: »

I have 7 days to contact them now and if i cannot raise the money it will go to their solicitor who will start court proceedings.

So what!!!!! If they start the legal process, you can defend yourself and the result is binding on First Crudit as well as you. That is not what they want. They are hoping to terrify you into pay the whole amount or more than you can afford

Under no circumstance are you to reply other than in writing and only after you have take proper advice

Inamess wrote: »

I know it may sound silly, but i truely am petrified.

These people are practiced bullies. it is essential that you take proper advice from NDL or CCCS and that you never speak to FC on the phone again.

All communication must be in writing.