Confused by credit report

thebishopp

Hi,

first post so apologies if I make a mess of anything.

I'm a 30-something male, relatively recently told by an expert on ADHD that I have ADD, which explains quite a lot throughout my life (I come from a family for whom that sort of thing doesn't exist and is all made up)! I've always had something of a problem grasping the very concept of money, but in particular how for some people it is more important than actual people (Ripley said it best in Aliens - "at least they don't f*ck each other over for a percentage!"). All the ADD really means is I find it hard to learn new things without seeing it done a few times. Once I've got it though, I've got it for ever.

Anyway, I know I have debts, from some years ago (credit card and hire purchase stuff which was all fine til I was injured and out of work for almost a year). I've pulled up my credit report from both Experian and another one (also begins with 'E' I think), and I have no debt showing at all... I took my history back around 8 years, and there is nothing showing whatsoever.

I had a call maybe a month ago from some debt collector who I refused to deal with over the phone - I insisted they write to me before hanging up, as they insisted they have written to me and became quite threatening. They haven't, and after doing a bit of research I have found they are a very nasty firm of scumbags with numerous complaints about them and pretty much extorting people. Until or unless they *do* write to me, I won't have any dealings with them (they haven't called back either).

Now, I struggle on a monthly basis as I find it incredibly difficult to budget properly (DD takes care of rent and pretty much all bills, so I'm not incurring more debt, I just run out of money halfway through every month), or rather, at all. I would like to change this, but could really do with someone... not quite standing over me, but at least having regular contact for advice and encouragement, and occasionally a kick up the 4rs3, for the first while until I get the hang of things.

I know from a bit of lurking and skimming these forums, that the very first thing to do is to find out how much debt I have and who to, but as I say, my credit reports were both clear. Is there anything else I can do to check or am I actually debt free now?

Any and all advice is warmly appreciated.