Help please!

xsezzx

Not sure if this is in the right place...

Im posting this on behalf of my partner...

He got in debt (over his overdraft) with Abbey National, only by about 100 but didnt pay it back and it got left, he wouldnt open bank statements and its escalated to around 1k.

He is being very secrective about it, and saying he is sorting it (by ignoring it!), i think he set up a direct debit to Halifax account and they either tried to take the whole lot, or he defaulted on a payment as didnt have enough money in there, im not quite sure...

He is saying the debt agency wont accept any payments now but the full amount and will just have to save up until he can pay off the whole amount - this isnt the right thing to do though surely??

But he has also said they dont seem to be putting any interest on, which i cant believe? Its been going on for well over 6 months now, possibly nearer a year (he did tell me it was all paid off so as you can understand im really really not happy!!!!)

Halifax, he said he is into his overdraft and its 150 - he isnt over that, again...apprently

So if what he is saying is right, the max he owes is 1500.... which in real terms isnt alot, its enough but its not alot.

Help!! What do i do from here?? He wont discuss it and has said he is embarassed but its really eating me up, i hate debts and such and im scared we will have bayliffs knocking at our door!

GeorgeUK

Bailiffs don't come until it's gone to court so that's a bit away yet.
You may get debt collectors calling, but you can ask them to leave as they have the same legal powers as the paperboy.

It sounds as if the bank has passed or sold the debt on to a debt collection agency (DCA) which would explain why interest is no longer being applied to the account. Has he been issued with a default notice yet? The default would stay on his credit file for 6 years.

Do you have joint accounts or any joint debts? His credit rating will be taking a hammering and if you have joint debts, your credit rating will be affected too.

He could try reclaiming the charges, but until the test-case is finished in the house of lords, there won't be much he can do other than put in his claim.

You need him to work out a budget of his income and expenditure. Not what he thinks he is spending or what he thinks he should be spending, but the actual amounts being spent. If he doesn't know, get him to keep a spending diary. The SOA calculator can help to work out what his financial position is.
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

He won't be able to get any credit for a while so make sure you don't put any of his debt in your name. Once it's in your name, you are liable - not him.

xsezzx

Thank you for your reply

He has nothing in both our names bar the council tax, but even then its in my name with his just put on it. We are renting at the moment

Yes it has been sold to a debt collecting agency... one second will copy and paste my other reply as i posted it in the wrong bit...

xsezzx

"He did say the interest has been frozen, so im hoping he has told the truth on that. He has been lying to me about it for a while which has caused us problems.

Thing is, i dont think he overspent on purpose, he just never ever checked his bank statements!!!!! GRRRRR!!

We are now living together, and his wages go into one of my bank accounts (its all seperate from my money it just means i overlook it to make sure he still has money left) and he has the card etc, he is happy with this as it means he has money and we can pay bills etc!! he isnt the best with it, bless him!

He was saying he has had lots of letters threatening him to go to court for months but nothing has been done

If what he told me was correct, he gave them his halifax bank details to take 50 / 75 out a month to pay it off but they took all the money which was there, which was just over 300, so now he is at the end of his overdraft which is only 150 so thats easily sorted, but still.... but apprently they took the 300 off and then put a litte more than that back on in interest or something (im not quite sure he knows himself or he is making this up?!) so he now still owes 900 or something or 1000 and something to them again.

Whats the best course of action from here?? He is saying as they are not doing anything, its best to save the money and pay in one lump sum but i think it would be best to sort out, i just dont know how / where to go from here??"

MrsTinks

Best action would have not to have given the DCA his new account details! Tell the bank to cancel the DD if it's a DD and monitor his account online to make sure they don't try to re-apply it! If he gave them his card details then ask the bank for a new card say the old one got damaged in the wash or something).

Now tell him to grow a pair and deal with this before they get serious about the court action!

First he needs to find all his statements and reclaim the charges from the bank - that is any that are unfair - this will probably be frozen for a while due to the courtcase still being in limbo but better now than later...
Next ask the DCA for a full breakdown of the debt and payments made. Work out what you can comfortably afford each month and send them this - their "it's all or nothing" is a load of lies! The person saying that is on commission and will be wanting to get the money as soon as possible because otherwise THEY don't make much money... they will lie and scheme to get your money!
If you are in a position to pay say half the debt off in one go then send them a letter (recorded and NEVER with your signature on it!) and make them a "Full and final offer" - you will pay 50% of the debt if they agree (IN WRITING to accept this as full and final payment - ie they will not chase for the remainder of the debt or sell the remainder on to another party to chase.

xsezzx

I just wrote out a long reply and then it didnt send! Dam!

Thank you for the reply, really appreciate your help!

So if we cancel the card and get a new one and then cancel any direct debits

Then how do we know if they are unfair charges and how do we reclaim - especially if the figure hasnt been paid back?

Also even if he has defaulted payments (if he has, im not quite sure) and ignored it, would they accept half the amount do you think?? I found a template, do i just send this??

GeorgeUK

First, find out who the money is to be paid to.

If he set up a direct debit, they shouldn't have taken more than the agreed amount. He should have contacted his bank to get the money returned. Never set up a direct debit with a DCA - do a standing order so that you are in charge of how much gets paid out and when.

He needs to find out exactly what he owes and who owns the debt. Is the debt still with the original creditor and they are using a DCA to collect? Has it been sold on to a debt collector? It may be worth phoning the original creditor to find this out - he shouldn't phone the DCA. Once they get a hold of your phone number, they have a reputation of harassing people.

He should probably send the original creditor a subject access request (SAR - cost £10). This will give him a copy of all transactions on the account for the last 6 years so he will be able to identify what he has been charged and hopefully he will also put in a claim to recover the penalty charges.

xsezzx

To be honest, id rather just send off for half the amount, get it closed and sort it out!!

I can pay it off for him, and he can pay me back - can think about charges after its sorted maybe?

How would we go about sending the letter off and asking them to consider a lesser amount? As if he has left it etc, are they likely to do this?

xsezzx

can i be annoying and bump this please?

GeorgeUK

If you are going to pay it off for him, make sure you put something in writing so that if things go wrong further down the line, you can still get it back. Standard advice on this board as there have been lots of people asking if they have any way of getting their money back - it just covers you if you need it.

Here's a decent full and final settlement letter - just amend to suit
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1200137
Or have a look at the letter on the nationaldebtline website.
http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#6

Trollfever

He is being very secrective about it,

Before doing anything I would suggest that you get a copy of his credit reference files:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score



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