Need advice - what do I do next please?

adifferentname

I feel rather ashamed to be to be posting here - but I need your help please.

I'm a pensioner - who had hoped to work for another couple of years, but sadly the recession has meant that its not been possible to get additional work - and the fact that OH has been diagnosed with early Alzheimers has meant that its not been as easy to clear outstanding debts as we'd hoped.

We have two credit cards - started as Asda/then became GE Money, then Santandar - mine is £2,330, OH's is approx £3,500. I've been unable to pay anything off either of them for the last five months (been trying to clear other debts) and I'd just thought I was going to be able to start repaying back around £200 per month each from next week, when next pensions hit the bank ...but today I've received a CC Claim Form from CL Finance Ltd for against my card - so I expect we'll get one for OH in the next day or so. Obviously we can't pay the whole amount back - or would have done so by now - but do I fill in these forms and make offer to Court, or do I still try and work with Asda/Santandar????

Advice will be very welcome.

Thank you!

planning_ahead_2

Hi

I can't help but wanted to assure you that someone with more knowledge than me will be along very soon to offer advice.

So sorry to hear of your OH health problems.

niccatw

Hi Adifferentname, welcome to the forum. Please don't be ashamed - most of us here have been or are going through what you are. And I'm so sorry to hear about your job situation and OH's diagnosis; it must be a very difficult time for you, my heart goes out to you.

I'm afraid I can't offer any concrete advice, but I wanted to try and help. I think, in your position, I would be tempted to see if the original companies will deal with you when you explain things to them. I suspect they miay not and you will have to deal with the collection agency. In which case I'd suggest you contact them in writing, stating you only want contact in writing, so they don't keep calling you. Offer them only waht you can afford and set up either a direct debit or standing order, but don't let them harrass you into paying more than you caan afford!

If you feel this will be stressful to do yourself, perhaps contact the Citizen's Advice Bureau for their advice and help. Or one of the free debt charities - CCCS, Payplan or National Debtline.

Sorry I can't be of more help. I hope you manage to sort it soon.

Good luck and take care

planning_ahead_2

As I said someone will be along soon to help out, but from the little I have read and learnt on this forum (only been here three weeks) - I wonder if you could apply for a debt relief order.

I've copied the bit below from the Citizens Advice Bureau website - but there are people on here who know an awful about this stuff and they will advise you far better than I can.

What is a debt relief order

A debt relief order is an order you can apply for if you can't afford to pay off your debts. It's granted by the Insolvency Service and is a cheaper option than going bankrupt.
You must have debts of less than £15,000 and a low income.
A debt relief order usually lasts for a year and during that time, none of the people you owe money to (your creditors) will be able to take action aginst you to get their money back. At the end of the year, you'll be free of all the debts listed in the order.
You can't apply for a debt relief order if you:

• own things of value or have savings of over £300
• own a vehicle worth more than £1,000
• have a private pension fund worth over £300.

To apply for a DRO, you'll need to contact an authorised adviser who checks whether you meet the conditions and then applies for the order on your behalf. The order will cost you £90 but you can pay this in instalments over six months.
You may have other options for dealing with your debts besides applying for a debt relief order. For more information about these options, see Help with debt.
On the following pages, we will explain in more detail:

• what a debt relief order is
• who can apply for a debt relief order, including the conditions you need to meet
• who can't apply for a debt relief order
• what type of debts can be included in a debt relief order and which can't
• how to apply for a debt relief order
• what happens during a debt relief order, including what to do about your creditors
• things you should do during a debt relief order and things you won't be able to do
• what happens after a debt relief order finishes, including what happens to your debts.

adifferentname

Thank you for your advice - but I know that we are responsible for these debts, and morally, we have to repay them.

I just need to know the best way in which to go about repaying them.

GeorgeUK

You should definately fill in the forms.

Have you had charges on the cards that you may be able to reclaim?
Have you received a default notice? If not, they shouldn't be trying to start court action. Might be worth checking on your credit file to see if they just put the default on without informing you. You can do this free at experian (just cancel within 30 days - or you can order a copy of your report for £2.

I don't know how to fill in the court forms, but hopefully someone else will be able to answer than for you. There are quite a few threads here that have mentioned it before.

As well as filing in the forms, i would try to make a repayment agreement with the creditors. Put everything in writing.

fatbelly

Factsheet | Replying to a county court claim form

adifferentname

Thanks for the information so far - but should I contact CL Finance now to start to arrange payments or do I have to wait and do it through the courts?

niccatw

There's probably no harm in contacting CL Finance to see what the say. Just bear in mind that many debt collection agencies can be less than polite on the phone - as long as you are prepared for this and will remain calm and strong, then call them. If you'd rather not deal with them then CCCS could offer you advice http://www.cccs.co.uk/ or call them on 0800 138 1111, 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday. They will be able to give you free advice.

fatbelly

You can't pay the whole lot in one lump. So unless you have a defence, fill in the forms as George said, and make sure your figures justify an instalment offer that you can afford.

If you do not respond to the forms (and do not do so within 14 days) then you will get an order to pay in one lump, which you will then breach, and they will then be able to enforce the order by bailiffs or some other means.

The court will let you know how much you have to pay and when the first payment should be made.

never-in-doubt

adifferentname wrote: »

I feel rather ashamed to be to be posting here - but I need your help please.

I'm a pensioner - who had hoped to work for another couple of years, but sadly the recession has meant that its not been possible to get additional work - and the fact that OH has been diagnosed with early Alzheimers has meant that its not been as easy to clear outstanding debts as we'd hoped.

We have two credit cards - started as Asda/then became GE Money, then Santandar - mine is £2,330, OH's is approx £3,500. I've been unable to pay anything off either of them for the last five months (been trying to clear other debts) and I'd just thought I was going to be able to start repaying back around £200 per month each from next week, when next pensions hit the bank ...but today I've received a CC Claim Form from CL Finance Ltd for against my card - so I expect we'll get one for OH in the next day or so. Obviously we can't pay the whole amount back - or would have done so by now - but do I fill in these forms and make offer to Court, or do I still try and work with Asda/Santandar????

Advice will be very welcome.

Thank you!

The other alternative is to request the CCA and go for unenforceability..... have a read here, page1 - Unenforceability & Template Letters II

You'll first have to agree to some repayment method as they have started action... (do as George/Fatty suggested above)