MBNA/Virgin Wants my wife to pay

cts1982

Hi,

I took out a credit card before i met my partner years ago and i now find myself in financial difficulty, I have contacted the CCCS and had many of the companies I owe money to come to arrangements with me.

However, MBNA/Virgin have a different idea.... i sent all my CCCS paperwork to them showing what I could afford to pay each month and they will not accept the amount. They say that my wife can pay it for me and want to know how much my wife earns and all her ingoings and outgoings - we did not even know each other when i took the card out andd she has never signed anything/ or has anything to de with MBNA/Virgin herself. To top it all off she is Pregnant but they dont care that once she has had the child her wages will drop - they are just adimant she can pay it for me or pay the rest of my credit cards so I have free cash to pay them.

Can they ask for this information? do I have to give it them? isnt it a breach of the Data Protection Act or Something???

Your sdvice would be greatly appreciated

Simon_Preston

No

I don't believe they can. The card is in your name only and has nothing to do with her.
Not 100% sure about it tho. I'd certainly not have my wife pay it and would fight it til the end.

chattychappy

Yes

Are they really "adamant" that she must pay? Or are you taking a leap there. It seems they want further information. In this case, I think they are reasonable. If you are living as a married couple there will be a certain degree of shared expenses, shared income, shared lifestyle (and shared pregnancy)!

When people fall on hard times and apply for means tested benefits, it's perfectly normal to take into account household affairs. Nobody complains about that.

Sorry no sympathy. As you want their help, they are asking information of you. If you co-operate, perhaps they will agree that indeed you can't pay any more than what you are offering and everybody will be happy. I think it's reasonable that they want to know more about the financial relationship with your wife - afterall, they will want to be sure that you are not supporting her in preference to paying your debts at a time when she could be supporting herself.

If you don't co-operate then ultimately it could be a court that decides what you should pay.

cts1982

ChattyChappy,

Yes they are "adamant". And secondly there was no point that I asked for your "Sympathy"

St0lli

Hiya, I think you would be better off putting your post on the Debt Free Wannabee board. Much friendlier folk their who don't stand in judgement and will help you solve your current problems. Please ignore the other posters comments - you really don't need that right now. Only wish I had the correct advice to give you but please try DFW board :beer:

chattychappy

Yes

cts1982 wrote: »

And secondly there was no point that I asked for your "Sympathy"

You didn't ask for sympathy, you asked for advice albeit in somewhat emotional terms. ("To top it all off she is Pregnant" etc).

I gave advice in practical terms. I need to clarify - "Sorry no sympathy" is for the position on withholding information. Not your situation or conduct. (See the sentences immediately before and afterwards.)

chattychappy

Yes

St0lli wrote: »

Much friendlier folk their who don't stand in judgement

Yes... not that you are judging other people

St0lli wrote: »

and will help you solve your current problems. Please ignore the other posters comments - you really don't need that right now.

Exactly the purpose of my post - to answer his questions, unlike yours. If he gives the information, it could help him agree with MBNA a scheme that works - and justify his view that his wife shouldn't pay.

Or perhaps you think advice that is hard to take means the messenger is being unfriendly. Who are you to tell people to ignore other poster's posts?

cts1982

you have misunderstood the context of the post - i asked specifically for advice - there is no particular emotional context that you are trying to pin on the post - it just requires a yes or no answer.

wigglebeena

chattychappy wrote: »

In this case, I think they are reasonable. If you are living as a married couple there will be a certain degree of shared expenses, shared income, shared lifestyle (and shared pregnancy)!
. I think it's reasonable that they want to know more about the financial relationship with your wife - afterall, they will want to be sure that you are not supporting her in preference to paying your debts at a time when she could be supporting herself.

.

Reasonable? What has that got to do with it? He wants to know if it's LEGAL for them to make these demands - not an irrelevant personal value-judgement.

normanmark

If the card is in your name & your name only then they don't need to know anything about her, you're not obliged to pass on the information about her and if they still insist just highlight that they're in breach of the data protection laws.

dfh

As far as my knowledge goes,if the debt is in your name they can't.Could you try clarifying from the CAB . Or try the national debt helpline on 0808 808 4000