Where do I start?

Bewildering_2

Hi All

I would like to know where I start in clearing my debts and actually finding out how much debt I am in.
I suffer and have suffered from a mental illness for several years and as a result I am very disorganised and become confused very quickly when dealing with things of this nature.

I know I have a few outstanding debts with various companies and suppliers i.e. old credit cards, energy companies, rent etc etc but I am afraid I have just ignored many of these over the years so I am not sure who what or how much I owe.

I receive incapacity benefit and have done so for the last few years and I am currently paying off rent arrears and gas arrears, although I am not sure how much I owe on either and how much I am paying. Since incapacity benefit is my only income I am obviously limited to how much I can pay out each week.

I know that I owe Thames water over £500 and have not payed a water bill for sometime and have not contacted them as of yet. I feel ashamed writing this as it brings home just how much I have ignored my responsibilities.

I also have two letters here from debt collectors both of which I think are from old credit cards as it states the client is Royal Bank Of Scotland and is for £1,402.49 and the other is from Cabot Financial limited and is for £871.34. I find these amounts high because I have never had a great credit rating and cannot remember having a credit limit over £500 on any credit card.

I currently have no credit cards and do not intend on getting any, neither do I have a bank account and think I actually have debt collectors chasing me for a debt for Abbey National which arose from bank charges.

I am sorry for rambling on and I know this must all seem a huge mess but I want to face up to these debts and work towards being debt free.

First of all how do I find out exactly how much debt I am in and who I actually owe money too?

leanne82duke

your first step would probably be to go onto experian and see your credit report that will give you a good idea of what you owe and to who x

Numpty_Monkey

Hi Bewildering:hello:
you've made the first step:T

As leanne says the first thing to do is to get your credit reports
and see what they say, you can get them for £2 each (statutary)
use this link to get the details http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score.
and get together all letters you have sort them out intolittle piles of the what company which debt, it might sound daunting but it is good if you are doing it at a pace that doesn't stress you .

As for he letters from debt collectors, can you remember the last time you paid anything to the Credit Card companies?

Hope that helps:A

Bewildering_2

Thank you I have just applied to Experian for a credit report. They were offering a report for free? Does the free one contain what I need or will I only get all the relevant information in a paid for report?


I do not remember the last time I paid anything to the credit card companies although I do know I haven't had a credit card for at least 5 years. I think I did contact one of the debt collecting agencies in the past to work something out, but nothing came of it as they would not accept any payment under £5 per week. At the time I was also paying of Electricity arrears as well as Rent and Gas and just could not afford anywhere near £5 per week. I think I offered to pay £3 per week and they refused that. The experience put me off contacting them again as they were rather bullish and intimidating.

leanne82duke

the free report is exactly the same as the full report x

i know what you mean about speaking to dca they can be horrible people to deal with i only deal with them via letter now.

there is a letter on here somewhere that you can send to demand that they only contact you by letter, let me know if you want it and i will find it out for you x

Numpty_Monkey

The free report should have everything you need
if it is the free trail , make sure you cancel it, when you get the report:D

The fact that you think its over 5 years, makes what the credit report says is fairly important:o
Did you try to sort the repayaments out over the phone to the debt collectors?
Who are/ were the debt collectors?

I know it seems i'm asking a lot of questions:o , but they couild be important :shhh:
It does change how we all go about helping you:A
When you get the credit report you'll see and hopefully let us know whats on it.

:cool:

Bewildering_2

Thank you leanne82duke, to be fair I don;t think i have ever been contacted by phone by any dca...it was me who contacted them to arrange a payment deal on one of the debts. I will wait for my passcode from Experian and get some idea of what I owe and then come back to here and take it from there.

I also tried to sign up for the free Equifax trial too, but it seems they are having system problems at the minute, so I will try again later.

Thank you both for pointing me in the right direction.
I will start keeping and opening any ominous looking letters I get from now on rather than putting them straight in the shredder without opening them.

I also need to contact Thames Water and sort out some sort of payment plan...I guess it goes without saying that utilities hold priority when dealing with debts?

Did you try to sort the repayaments out over the phone to the debt collectors?
Who are/ were the debt collectors?

Yes I did, It was around 3 years ago and I honestly cannot remember who it was with or what card it was for. I was very ill for a while and quite a few years are no more than a blur which is the main reason I ended up in debt with things like rent, gas, water and electiricity. Sorry I am unable to be more specific right now.

dancingfairy

Hi - it might be worth having a chat with National Debtline or CCCS or your local CAB. Normally I think utitlities is a priority bill like you said. The thing is though you obviously have rent arrears and gas arrears as well so I'm not sure which would have greatest priority or whether they are all equal. Before you go about getting in touch with the water people and making a payment you need to get proper advice I would say as you don't want to overstretch yourself.
Also it might be worth checking whether you are entitled to any other benefits ie DLA or council tax benefit, housing benefit etc. I think the website to do this is called entitled to . Or maybe get in contact with your local council and see if they can help re the benefit situation.
Best of Luck
df

Bewildering_2

Thank you dancingfairy. I already receive council tax and housing benefit. I was refused DLA but have told since that most people are refused on their first application and that I should have appealed.

I have got access to my credit report at equifax and the first shocking thing on it is that I am linked with an address I have never lived at in Sheffield. The guys name there is the same as mine except he has a different middle initial. It seems he has several loans he has defaulted on and each of those loans is greater than what I appear to owe altogether. How do I go about having this address and person removed from being associated with me? I'd imagine it is going to be a lot of hassle right?

pania

Hiya bewildering welldone for looking to get this all sorted out.

We'll take you through it one step at a time. Firstly, please do not contact anyone with regards to your debts until you have managed to see how long it has been since you last had contact with the company. reason being that after 6 years your debt is what i sknown as "statute barred" and although they will try, you cannot be chased for it!
Regarding this issue with your credit report, you are able to place what is known as a "notice of correction" on your file to state that youa re not that person. Experian should have a help line that you can callt o find out how to do that. i'll try to come back with the number in a sec.

What debts does it state that are attributable to you and how long have they been defaulted for?

Kind wishes, feel free to PM me if you want to
P xxx

Bewildering_2

Thank you Pani,I have sent you a pm.

My equifax report doesn't actually read to bad considering, and I have just contacted them regarding the other address and person appearing on my report so hopefully that will be sorted soon.

I have 4 debts attributed to me on the report, although 2 appear to be for the same debt.

Lowell Portfolio 1 Ltd; Default Date 18/02/2007; Amount: £ 133; Debt: £133

Santander Current Account; Default Date 18/01/2007; Amount: £ 133; Debt: £133

Cabot Financial (Uk)ltd; Default Date 07/04/2005; Amount: £ 668; Debt: £937

Hutchison 3g Uk Ltd; Default Date 19/09/2006; Amount: £ 275; Debt: 275

That is all under my name and address on the file, although has stated I do have a letter from a DCA asking for the sum of £1402.49
for the Royal Bank Of Scotland, although I believe that maybe for a debt more than 6 years old. I really do wish I could remember.
Maybe that debt will show up on the experian report?

Also the debt for Lowell and Santander are actually bank charges I refused to pay and resulted in me closing my account with Abbey.