Bad with money, need to sort it out

mrmg

Hi guys, new to the forum but have often been a lurker.

I've always been bad with my money, always ending up at 0 every month and never saving anything. I've also built up lots of debts over my time. Originally I had a Natwest bank account with a 3k over draft which I built right up, I also took out a loan with them of 13k (ouch!), eventually due to losing my job and other issues I missed many payments and my bank account was a closed and I was left with a debt of around 9k I think. I got this down to around 6-7k before missing payments again. I've currently let this slip but actually haven't been chased for the money for over a year now.

This week however I've been getting phonecalls/text messages for EQL asking me to contact them urgently. Not knowing who they are I have been ignoring the messages. I have also recently received a letter from Equidebt saying that they are chasing the owed money to Bank of Scotland Group. I want to know what I should now do and if there is any way I can get out of this (I think the loan was taken out in 2005). Also what is the best way forward if I do have to repay this debt? (I also have a credit card debt of 3k and and catalog debt of 2k which I am currently only paying off minimally).

Any help or advice welcomed!

Thanks.

fivefingers

if you cant meet payments try to negotiate a lower repayment with your creditors, most would rather have some money than none. They can be morons tho so you may need to get the CAB to negotiate on your behalf.

AfterDark

You should also post an SOA, as then we can see whats coming in and going out to make it easier to see your situation. You'll also get lots of helpful advice on where you could save money ect

Thrifty_Pixie

mrmg wrote: »

Hi guys, new to the forum but have often been a lurker.

I've always been bad with my money, always ending up at 0 every month and never saving anything. I've also built up lots of debts over my time. Originally I had a Natwest bank account with a 3k over draft which I built right up, I also took out a loan with them of 13k (ouch!), eventually due to losing my job and other issues I missed many payments and my bank account was a closed and I was left with a debt of around 9k I think. I got this down to around 6-7k before missing payments again. I've currently let this slip but actually haven't been chased for the money for over a year now.

This week however I've been getting phonecalls/text messages for EQL asking me to contact them urgently. Not knowing who they are I have been ignoring the messages. I have also recently received a letter from Equidebt saying that they are chasing the owed money to Bank of Scotland Group. I want to know what I should now do and if there is any way I can get out of this (I think the loan was taken out in 2005). Also what is the best way forward if I do have to repay this debt? (I also have a credit card debt of 3k and and catalog debt of 2k which I am currently only paying off minimally).

Any help or advice welcomed!

Thanks.

Hi mrmg

It's not clear from your post, but it seems like you haven't made payments on this debt, or been chased for payments, for just the past year - before that you were paying? If so, to my understanding, it doesn't matter that the loan was taken out in 2005 - the fact that you were making payments up until last year mean that it's still enforceable. Hence probably why they're chasing you. There has to be no contact about the debt or claiming of the debt for 6 years for it to be unenforceable, and yours has only been a year (and that's if you haven't spoken to anyone on the phone in that time either, I believe).

Therefore, if I were you, I would just contact your creditors and arrange a payment plan with them to pay your debts off rather than hide in a basement somewhere watching your credit rating crumble before your eyes and worrying about answering the door or phone for the next five years.

Ok, one of the worst case scenarios, but likely.

Also, as happens so often, saying 'I've always been bad with my money' is often a very flippant way for people to avoid having to change their ways. (I was a culprit too, believe me) Bad money management isn't genetic. You can change. And from reading your short story here it sounds like you need to if you're going to be able to face your debts head-on, and avoid this from happening again.

'and if there is any way I can get out of this' - again, even if you could 'get out of' this debt that you've created, it might not necessarily be the best thing for your future unless you change your money habits.

That's the bad stuff. Now the good.

There are a lot of REALLY helpful people here who are far more knowledgeable than me (and who will probably pick me up on any inaccuracies in this essay of mine) and I'm sure they will have some great advice for you as to where to go from here.

One very helpful step is to fill out your SOA (statement of affairs) using the sticky at the top of the DFW board, post it here, and let the money monkeys see where you can save money.

I hope you take all I say in the right spirit. I AM slightly biased in that I believe that if someone runs up a debt they should deal with it themselves, but I also truly believe it's healthy to do so for a bouncy financial future

Good luck, and let us know how you get on

TPx