Oops - Debt collectors fire me a letter!

toibs

Ok, Well it's my first posting in a while on here, and havent been a regular visitor, however i'm not sure what i can do, or where else to go..... (or even if it's in the right forum!!)

I wanna be debt free - however i realise that this is a fair way off - and as per the title, this has spurred me into action. However, i'm slightly annoyed about how it's come around..

Ok. Current best guestimates of outstanding debts are :

Co-op Visa (now some Debt collection agency) - 13k
Egg - 12k
"family" loan - £15k

My wife has a couple of debits also, however i'm not sure that it's relavent here - just to say that i'm the breadwinner and i pay them all.

So. Yes - i "had" a co-op Visa card. Hasnt been used for years - in fact i havent had contact from them - no letters, no calls, no statements, nothing for over 2 years - this was when i accidentally make the mistake of putting the wrong card into a cashpoint, and it being gobbled up. So basically no contact at all. I was waiting for a letter to say SOMETHING - alas nothing came. Other than a letter from the debt collectors dropping through my door yesterday, saying that i owe them 13k for a co-op bank bill. now i know they CAN ask for their money back at any time, however direct to a debt collection agency with no contact? can they do this?

Now to be honest i could hapilly try to get a loan for this amount, and settle this over 3 years - job done. However i'm not sure what Damage the 2 years of non-payment will have done to my credit history, and to be fair wether it's even worth bothering going down that line as it wouldnt be accepted anyhow. I have a mortgage with my wife on our house - no negative equity, however around 15k between "what i own" and "what i owe" - but house prices have dropped between then and now, so if i re-mortaged for the 15k then i probably wouldnt get it.I cant afford to loose the house as one of my sons is disabled and the house is set to take care of this challenge.

I wanna be debt free and rid of all this crap. I would LOVE to take my two main card debts, throw them all together, spread them over 10 years, cut the cards up (well, card) and then pay the lot legitimatetly so that in 10 years i'm completely debt free!! I really dont want to go down the lines of IVA etc if i can help it - my credit prior to this was nothing short of excellent - several successfully completed loans, no late payments, no defaults.:)

i know my first call should be cccs, however please - could someone advise me where to start and what i can do? Apparently "i have 7 days to comply" else it ends up with legal proceedings...

Thanks
P.

gargrave50

It wouldn't do any harm to contact CCCS or another non-profit debt organisation for advice. Sadly I'm not "expert" enough and only just learning to deal with my own mess! Hopefully someone better qualified than me will be along to help, but as a first stop give CCCS a call - its anonymous and might give you an idea where to start.

CCCS_Sarah

toibs wrote: »

Ok, Well it's my first posting in a while on here, and havent been a regular visitor, however i'm not sure what i can do, or where else to go..... (or even if it's in the right forum!!)

I wanna be debt free - however i realise that this is a fair way off - and as per the title, this has spurred me into action. However, i'm slightly annoyed about how it's come around..

Ok. Current best guestimates of outstanding debts are :

Co-op Visa (now some Debt collection agency) - 13k
Egg - 12k
"family" loan - £15k

My wife has a couple of debits also, however i'm not sure that it's relavent here - just to say that i'm the breadwinner and i pay them all.

So. Yes - i "had" a co-op Visa card. Hasnt been used for years - in fact i havent had contact from them - no letters, no calls, no statements, nothing for over 2 years - this was when i accidentally make the mistake of putting the wrong card into a cashpoint, and it being gobbled up. So basically no contact at all. I was waiting for a letter to say SOMETHING - alas nothing came. Other than a letter from the debt collectors dropping through my door yesterday, saying that i owe them 13k for a co-op bank bill. now i know they CAN ask for their money back at any time, however direct to a debt collection agency with no contact? can they do this?

Now to be honest i could hapilly try to get a loan for this amount, and settle this over 3 years - job done. However i'm not sure what Damage the 2 years of non-payment will have done to my credit history, and to be fair wether it's even worth bothering going down that line as it wouldnt be accepted anyhow. I have a mortgage with my wife on our house - no negative equity, however around 15k between "what i own" and "what i owe" - but house prices have dropped between then and now, so if i re-mortaged for the 15k then i probably wouldnt get it.I cant afford to loose the house as one of my sons is disabled and the house is set to take care of this challenge.

I wanna be debt free and rid of all this crap. I would LOVE to take my two main card debts, throw them all together, spread them over 10 years, cut the cards up (well, card) and then pay the lot legitimatetly so that in 10 years i'm completely debt free!! I really dont want to go down the lines of IVA etc if i can help it - my credit prior to this was nothing short of excellent - several successfully completed loans, no late payments, no defaults.:)

i know my first call should be cccs, however please - could someone advise me where to start and what i can do? Apparently "i have 7 days to comply" else it ends up with legal proceedings...

Thanks
P.

Just been having a quick read of your post, unfortunately the creditor can chase the debt anytime up to the six year period when the debt would become statute barred.

If the debt has already been passed to a collection agency, the original creditor will have issued you with a default notice. A default is a legal requirement that ends the contract between you and the creditor so they can pass the debt on to another company – it would also show on your credit file for six years.

I would recommend that you DON’T secure any money against your home, as if you were to get into difficulties then this would put your home at risk, whereas if the debt is unsecured you can offer reduced payments based on your income and expenditure.

If you would like to have an appointment with the CCCS we do have a free online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy. You would need to complete details on your income, expenditure and debts and it will advise you the best way to deal with your situation click here to go directly to Debt Remedy.

Or if you would like a telephone appointment to speak to a counsellor please call 0800 138 1111, if you have handy your income, expenditure and debts they might be able to get you straight through to a counsellor – if not they will book you an appointment.

toibs

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

Just been having a quick read of your post, unfortunately the creditor can chase the debt anytime up to the six year period when the debt would become statute barred.

If the debt has already been passed to a collection agency, the original creditor will have issued you with a default notice. A default is a legal requirement that ends the contract between you and the creditor so they can pass the debt on to another company – it would also show on your credit file for six years.

I would recommend that you DON’T secure any money against your home, as if you were to get into difficulties then this would put your home at risk, whereas if the debt is unsecured you can offer reduced payments based on your income and expenditure.

If you would like to have an appointment with the CCCS we do have a free online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy. You would need to complete details on your income, expenditure and debts and it will advise you the best way to deal with your situation click here to go directly to Debt Remedy.

Or if you would like a telephone appointment to speak to a counsellor please call 0800 138 1111, if you have handy your income, expenditure and debts they might be able to get you straight through to a counsellor – if not they will book you an appointment.

Many thanks Sarah. Have just made the call.