Having trouble paying Littlewoods - Advice needed please!

amandaf_3

This is my first time on the forums. I'm an absolute newbie and had to Google to learn what DMP and CCA mean!

My problem is that I'm having great troubles paying off my Littlewoods account. I need some advice about which route I should go down to put myself in a better situation.

Here's my current situation:

I'm self-employed as a web designer, and have accounts with Vanquis, Studio and Littlewoods. Until recently I was able to make payments to all three without issue, but lost some clients just before Xmas and am struggling to earn more money.

I'm still managing to pay Vanquis and Studio ok, but because of BNPL my payments suddenly increased from £50 to over £100 a month with Littlewoods (which when ordereing I assumed I would be able to pay off). There was not enough in my bank to cover, so I was also slapped with a £39 fee.

Since then I have missed one more payment (another bank charge) and am unable to catch up as the missed payments now total over £300 with the charges for missed payments and letters.

I really need a solution which will not adversely affect my credit reports as I hope to apply for the right to buy my council house if my situation improves later in the year. I know my credit report will already contain information about my missed payments, but if I can somehow get back on track then at least I could explain my temporary situation on file (and to possible mortgage lenders).

As yet I have not called Littlewoods. I prefer written discussions so I can keep records of what has been said and Littlewoods don't offer any contact details for postal mail (either on website or statements).

Should I call and ask to create a debt management plan which I can afford (until I better my situation)?

Also, I've noticed many threads discussing invalid credit agreements. I set up my account about 4 years ago (2005) and although I received an agreement to sign, I never signed and sent this back. I remember this vividly because my partner at the time also had a separate account with Littlewoods which he signed and sent back to receive cashback (which I never did).

Would it be worth the effort to dispute the initial credit agreement to try and reduce payments/pay off this debt?

Last year I did order some goods on extended terms and received lots of paperwork about this agreement. If I did go the route of disputing the credit agreement, would this be included too, or are these separate agreements (also, never signed).

Sorry to be long-winded here. I desperately need advice of what to do. I've tried so hard to remain debt-free but am now struggling to pay everything and would hate for my clean record to go to pot.

Any advice whatsoever would be very much appreciated! Thank you!

GeorgeUK

First thing i would advise is to reclaim any bank charges you have had in the last 6 years.

Littlewoods are not known for their generous nature with regards to reducing payments, but hopefully you can sort this out before they issue a default. For the CCA's, it usually comes down to a stalemate where they say you owe the debt, you say it's unenforcable and they try to get DCA's to collect every so often. There are rules they are supposed to follow and should not issue a default on your file as they don't have your permission to share your details with a 3rd party, but that's something else they just ignore.

It might be useful if you could post up a statement of affairs (SOA) and we'll see if there are any savings you can make to hopefully be able to afford the next payment.
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

rubyslipper

Hi Amanda

I can't offer any amazing gems on this one but didn't want to read and run. GeorgeUK is v wise though and the suggestion of the SOA is a good thing to do asap so the guys here might be able to help you look at options for freeing up some cash month on month.

Good luck and keep posting.

Ruby x

amandaf_3

Thank you GeorgeUK. I already made a claim against the bank charges last year, but this is still on hold- Halifax won't pay anything until the ruling delcares what charges are "fair". Considering I have a basic cardcash account (no overdraft whatsoever, despite having banked with them for over a decade!), I consider this to be very unfair. Especially when I am charged fees because a DD (which would have taken me only a couple of pounds in the red) is denied.

Anyway, that's a different matter!

Here's my statement of means for what I'm getting *now*:

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 300
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 1000
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1300

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 360
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 98
Electricity............................. 90
Gas..................................... 60
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 28
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 10
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 35
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 40
Other child related expenses............ 40
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 15
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 5
Total monthly expenses.................. 1121


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1000

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Studio.........................750.......45........35
Littlewoods....................800.......120.......0
Vanquis........................1500......65........27.5
Total unsecured debts..........3050......230.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,300
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,121
Available for debt repayments........... 179
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 230
Amount short for making debt repayments. -51

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,050
Net Assets.............................. -2,050



My earnings do fluctuate, because I'm a web designer/internet worker, and can get different values of work each month.

I have to use the term "web designer" loosely here, because this is not simply all that I do. Primarily, I'm a blogger: I run a handful of sites and almost half my earnings is from advertising on my sites. Most of my earnings come from paid designs for blogs and other web work, and I find clients mostly through referrals on my sites.

This month, I am working very hard to build up readership of my sites (and hopefully increase these referrals) as well as adding more advertising to try and increase revenue. If this works out well, I could hope to expect increased earnings in about 1-2 months, depending on which aspects of my work begin to increase most.

I have already cut payments as much as I can (cancelling PPI, cancelled my mobile contract, so now on PAYG, cut down on shopping bills) and am trying to cut down even more. Entertainment is all free (library, visiting free attractions, borrowing DVDs from family, etc.). We pay 3 for £30 for Virgin Internet (needed for work), telephone and TV channels. I could take off the TV, but then would only save about £6 a month as we'd be charged full price for the TV and internet without this deal.

I don't want to end up with defaults on my credit report from Littlewoods, so I'm going to try sending a letter asking for reduced payments and a freeze on my account.
If you can think of any other ways I could save money, please let me know. I am very grateful for your help and support!

RAS

amandaf wrote: »

I have already cut payments as much as I can (cancelling PPI,

Have you reclaimed the PPI that you had previously paid.

carlislelass

is it a catalogue account? years ago I got my payments reduced to £10 per month until cleared. ask to speak to an advisor though you may have to be persistant.

mandi

Hi Amanda,

Littlewoods are not a priority debit. I would call them, explain your situation, and offer them £10.00 a month, or less if you cant afford it, also ask them to freeze any charges.

If they say its not acceptable, advise them this is the MAXIMUM , you can afford, and is all you will be paying , with a view to reviewing the situation , in say 3/6 months. Make sure the payments are on time, a good idea would be to set up a standing order ( not a DD, as they can alter the payments )

They would prefer a nominal payment, than no payment at all.
Dont let them bully you into commiting to pay more, and confirm everything in writing ( keep copys )

In the meantime have a look here http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=14_what_if_a_creditor_refuses_my_offer_of_payment

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/



Try not to worry too much



Mandi

bigbum_2

carlislelass wrote: »

is it a catalogue account? years ago I got my payments reduced to £10 per month until cleared. ask to speak to an advisor though you may have to be persistant.

I agree with Carlislelass. In 2007 i fell in arrears with my Littlewoods catalogue account. After deciding that burying my head in the sand wouldn't resolve anything , i called Littlewoods and they immediately agreed to a payment plan over a 6 month period that i could comfortably pay off. I found them to be understanding and helpful. They also sent a letter comfirming the t&c of the repayment plan.

Hope it works out for you.

amandaf_3

Thank you all for your advice so far.

I had called Littlewoods but didn't have much luck - it was suggested that I transfer the remaining balance to three year terms (with interest!) to reduce my payments to a more affordable rate, which I don't want to do!!

I got rather upset, so rather than get into an argument on the phone, I decided to write and formally request a revised payment plan offering to pay £10 a week (which I can barely afford, but have made cutbacks to accomodate this). I included a statement of means, and sent recorded delivery.

Since then I have made my weekly payments (as I said I would in the letter), three payments so far, all on the same day of the week on which I said I would pay.

Then on Friday I finally received a letter back - informing me that I had not met my minimum payments and an additional charge of £12 would be added for insufficient payments. No reference to my letter was made, and Royal Mail cannot confirm delivery of my letter.

Surely my letter must have got through?

I called Royal Mail and was advised to make a claim of lost mail (though technically I can only claim the postage cost as no money/valuables were sent). I'm photocopying the claim, receipt for the recorded delivery of initial letter to Littlewoods and will be posting these tomorrow along with a copy of original letter and repeated request.

@RAS - No I haven't yet reclaimed the PPI as I was anxious about doing this when my account is in arrears. Can I safely do this? Also, can I reclaim the (many) charges for late payments while attempting to arrange a revised payment scheme?

Merlinexcalibur

I had called Littlewoods but didn't have much luck - it was suggested that I transfer the remaining balance to three year terms (with interest!) to reduce my payments to a more affordable rate, which I don't want to do!!

Saw that coming and I've only just quickly glanced at the thread. This is what Littlewoods ALWAYS do on the phone BTW. I really wouldn't waste any more time on the phone with these people. It's inadvisable, and unless you agree to their terms eg you pay I am afraid they will tie you up in knots, have you believing white is pink and red is black. And then usually play the 'hey, did you know you can get another loan to cover your debt with us and pay it off (not) so easily over the next 100 years' card. And they will just play upon you not knowing what your consumer rights are eg get into arguments, make you panic. It's exactly what they want you to do to make you pay. Exactly the same as with the nasty letters that are sent.

It's also unfair debt collection practice by refinancing a debt. In some cases it will TRIPLE it for example. One other reason they try and get you to do this is when a CCA doesn't exist BTW.

i called Littlewoods and they immediately agreed to a payment plan over a 6 month period that i could comfortably pay off. I found them to be understanding and helpful. They also sent a letter comfirming the t&c of the repayment plan.

Yes, they usually are when you can afford to pay over that period at a rate set by LW. But, sensibly, that's not suitable to everyone. But they are not so 'understanding' or 'helpful' if you cannot afford it.

I called Royal Mail and was advised to make a claim of lost mail (though technically I can only claim the postage cost as no money/valuables were sent). I'm photocopying the claim, receipt for the recorded delivery of initial letter to Littlewoods and will be posting these tomorrow along with a copy of original letter and repeated request.

It is possible to obtain proof of delivery here:

[EMAIL="pod.team@royalmail.com"]pod.team@royalmail.com[/EMAIL]

All items sent RD to LW are sent to their PO box and signed for at the receiving sorting office in a batch and not individually. So it will not show up on the customer service line's systems as a result eg 'got lost' etc. What you need to ask for is a copy of the BULK DELIVERY CARD (giving your own RD slip reference, of course) showing all deliveries including yours to the LW PO box the day of receipt, including who signed for the batch. For future reference, this is what happens with all PO box deliveries before despatch to the company concerned.

There is a phone number connected with the above email, but I have mislaid it. However, you should be able to request proof - it's free - using it.

amandaf_3

Merlinexcalibur, thank you so much for your incredibly helpful advice! I'm glad I read my emails before going out this morning

I've just sent my email with all RD details to the address you gave and hope to receive a reply soon to confirm delivery of my letter. I'm very glad to hear that it's possible to obtain proof of delivery for large companies such as Littlewoods as some of the other threads I've read have had similar experiences when sending letters by RD (unable to obtain proof).

One other reason they try and get you to do this is when a CCA doesn't exist BTW.

Yes, I believe this may be the case. I opened my account about 5 years ago over the internet, and didn't sign anything. However I have purchased a couple of high cost items on longer terms and had documents sent out with regard to credit terms. It's not in my nature to deny the debt, but I do believe the charges I've incurred are unfair and plan to ask that these be refunded.

I'll let you know what happens with the proof of delivery.