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Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

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  • amyloofoo
    amyloofoo Posts: 1,804 Forumite
    Debt-free and Proud!
    Anyone know what is the likely jail term once this goes to court
    as its fraud.

    About to sell car tomorrow as no other option to get money
    for mortgage by friday.

    (i am selling to big dealer who didn't hpi check )

    cheers

    I know you feel that it's your only option, but please think about what you're considering. Speak to your mortgage provider and try to work out a repayment plan with them or organise a payment break. Even if selling your car (committing fraud) will help you to make the mortgage payment this month, how're you going to pay in the future if you're in prison? Also, think of the impact on employment etc of having a serious criminal record.... it's really not worth it.
  • I decided to get controll of my debts, and I have read quite a few threads and even posted a query of my own (debt locations) but I still find myself a bit confused and lost on what to do....
    I have signed up to Experian for a report and to my supprise the report is missing quite a bit of my debts. I havent moved in 30+ years, and have made token payments to a few when letters have come through the post. So here are my concerns....
    Should my experian report have details of all outstanding debts?
    Should my experian report have details of my previously completed debts?
    I have asked Experian to clarify why I having missing details but I am unwilling to pay for the answer from them so when my free month runs out where can I get a report from?
    (extra info... I only have a basic bank account, I dont know how much I owe, or who I owe it too! all debts are from 5+years ago)
    Any advice on where to go would be very appriciated thanks.
  • StepChange_Pavan
    StepChange_Pavan Posts: 1,354 Forumite
    kaazza wrote: »
    Hi all,
    Not sure if anyone can help/advise me,but here goes..I
    have about 4 debts that i have defaulted in the past,but since being very lucky and fianlly going from a part-time job to a full time job,have now started to pay them....The problem now is,my previous employer messed up my final pay,still waiting for it to be rectified,and my current employer also messed up,not paying me a full months money and not processing my p45,so then put on emergancy tax..so in my stupidity,i took out pay day loans.When i get paid at the end of the month,Wonga will take £370.00(which i can pay out of the money owed to me),and Swiftsterling will take £585.00,which i really cannot afford,it will leave me with nothing again,and like everyone,i have rent,travel etc....
    I have looked into a DMP,but is it really worth it for that one loan !!
    Should i take a chance,not pay it and deal with it as it comes,and add it to my other debts or do a DMP.
    Can anyone give me advice please.
    Thankyou :sad:
    sorry if my post seems a bit flippant..it really isn't ment to...i really am concerned as to what to do,so want to get out of this cycle.and just found out that in august,could be homeless as i can't get private renting because of my poor credit rating..please,please,please can someone advice me,i am losing sleep !!!

    Hello kaazza and thank you for your post.

    It depends on your long term situation – if you have other debts that you’re struggling with you’d need to look at them all as a whole and deal with them all fairly. We can help you to do this and look at the options available to you.

    However, if it’s just a small hiccup and once you get the money owed to you you’ll be back on track, you could just explain your situation and offer whatever you can afford until you’re in a position to clear the debt.

    With regards to your housing – where are you living currently? Is there an option to stay where you are or do you need to find somewhere new? Not every landlord will credit check you and you could put down a slightly larger deposit as security. You could also show them a copy of your budget to prove that you can afford the rent payments.

    I hope this helps but if you’d like us to look at your situation as a whole to see what options are available to you, please get in touch.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • StepChange_Pavan
    StepChange_Pavan Posts: 1,354 Forumite
    Samuel_ wrote: »
    Hi, I am unemployed and receive £112/fortnight JSA, and Nationwide are requesting I ring them to manage my overdraft which is £2000, that is currently £1950 overdrawn.

    If I don't ring them they will reduce my overdraft on 20 May 2012 to £250, interest rate- 1.45% per month, Equivalent Annual Rate-18.90%.

    If my account isn't brought below or remains below the new limit before this date, i will be charged interest at their unarranged overdraft rate of 18.9% EAR, and also incur an unarranged overdraft fee.

    If I rang Nationwide would they likely accept £50/month as this is all I can afford? I registered for a basic Account at the Co-Op today which I will use for my JSA money. Thanks in advance.

    Hi Samuel_ and thanks for your post.

    You’ve already done the right thing by opening up a new basic bank account.

    There’s no guarantee that the Nationwide will accept your offer but I’d recommend that you write to them and explain your situation.

    Make sure that the £50 is sustainable and realistic for you by drawing up a budget. You can send them this as proof of your situation too.

    If they’re not happy with the payment they can follow the standard debt collection process (http://www.cccs.co.uk/InfoCentre/EnglandandWales/Creditoraction/Debtcollectionprocess.aspx) but you can’t pay the money that you haven’t got so it’s best to stick to your offer and pay what you can afford.

    I hope this helps.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • StepChange_Pavan
    StepChange_Pavan Posts: 1,354 Forumite
    AmyFowkes wrote: »
    Hi, I have bipolar and anxiety issues and have found myself in debt. Would it be possible to ask credit card companies, etc to contact me by letter or email as I am often too anxious to answer telephone calls or deal with them correctly and am now having panic attacks multiple times a day when I am contacted by debt collections people. If I outline my situation to them, how likely are they to listen? I am trying to settle my debts and not avoid them, but I am often unable to cope with things when they are unexpectedly thrust upon me and cope better when it's something I can read and respond to when I'm calm and well enough.

    Hi AmyFowkes and thanks for your question.

    You are well within your rights to ask your creditors to communicate with you in writing only. I would write to them explaining the situation and keep a copy of everything you send. If they don’t action your request you can report them to the Office of Fair Trading (http://www.oft.gov.uk/contactus).

    I hope this helps to put your mind at ease :)


    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • StepChange_Pavan
    StepChange_Pavan Posts: 1,354 Forumite
    cfc1963 wrote: »
    I am considering a dmp or some thing similar - but again am so scared how this will affect my husband's credit by association - I have spoken to a couple of companies who assure me that it goes on my credit rating - which will be worthless after a dmp - but wont affect him or our address - is this true?

    Hi cfc1963 and thanks for your post.

    You’re right that your credit rating shouldn’t affect your husband provided that you’re not associated in any way through joint debts.

    You can read more about how this works on page 10 of this leaflet. It also explains how you can request a disassociation: http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf.

    I hope this helps – you can also read more about how credit files work in this article: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score.

    If you are considering a DMP, make sure you go to a free provider so that you’re not spending money on fees that could be going towards clearing your debts quicker. We provide DMPs free of charge and you can find out if this is the best solution for you by using our service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu).

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • StepChange_Pavan
    StepChange_Pavan Posts: 1,354 Forumite
    ayla261 wrote: »
    Hi, i really hope you can help me out please. This morning we've received a letter from meritforce collection agents stating an authorised collector will be visiting within 10 days. They are saying we owe them £461 odd. It stems back to a camcorder we bought on hp from currys 13 years ago. We were making regular payments from bank account but sadly my partner & I split up (we had baby twins and the pressure was too much) subsequently as there was still £100 outstanding on the balance we both went in person to our local currys store and paid it off in cash. We heard no more about it for a couple of years when suddenly we started recieving debt notices. Upon receipt of the first one I contacted the agency involved who said they had no proof showing we had made payment. We contested this and asked them to check the records for the store again which would show we had been making regular payments & the total had been satisified. They came back to us saying that as the store we paid at had closed down a short time after payment they could not find any details of this. We again contested, saying how can you state we owe the money when you don't have proof of the debt. This continued for several YEARS, the debt being passed from one agency to another, each time we contacted those involved, ran through the situation and contested the fact we owed this money. All the while the amount showed owing was rising. At one point we sought legal advice and paid £150 to a solicitor to contact them on our behalf and write in legal terms what we'd been saying all along. Again, we thought that was the end to the matter and more years passed but they've obviously recently sold the debt onto yet another company. In the 13 years since we purchased my partner and I have worked out our differences, married and had another child. We have paid off every loan, credit card and debt we have ever incurred between us and have asked several times for the matter to be referred to court so our case would be heard, this they refuse to do. A letter re the debt came 3 weeks ago and hubby phoned, again to contest this debt and ask for proof of what it what owed for to be sent to us. (Each debt company involved have been unable to do this - one even told us it was for a storecard!) We were told they would put the account on hold and investigate the matter (as if we'd not heard that before) and now this morning this letter showing a collector visit. Unfortunately we don't have the original receipt for the payment, we were both only 20 at the time, not very good at keeping records and naively thought that that was it done and dusted when we paid at the store. I do still have copies of some of the letters sent to & fro that I can dig out but am really unsure what to do from here on. We're certainly in no position to offer to pay that sort of money as hubby is self employed on £280 wk our tax credits boost our income but we're still £600 overdrawn every month. We live in a housing association property & the only assets we have are an imac which is in my sons room as our twins use for school and a tv which we're still paying off on catalogue so wouldn't really have a problem with a bailiff coming to see what we've got as there's nothing to take but am truly sickened with the whole business and just want to get it sorted once and for all. If you could give me any advice that will help I would be truly grateful x

    Hi ayla261 and thanks for your post.

    It’s likely that the threat of a debt collector is exactly that – just a threat. It’s unlikely that they’ll send anyone to your house and if they do they won’t be bailiffs just a debt collector with no enforcement authority or power.

    You’ve done the right thing by sticking to your guns when you know that you cleared the debt all those years ago. As you haven’t made a payment in such a long time (over 6 years) and they haven’t already tried to take court action, even if the debt did exist it would be legally unenforceable (or statue barred).

    I’d recommend that you continue to do what you have and write to them explaining the situation and that you don’t admit liability for the debt. Even if they did take it to court it would be unenforceable and you can argue that the debt doesn’t exist – it’s just really unfortunate that you didn’t keep the proof.

    You could ask the Financial Ombudsman for help although without the proof needed I’m not sure what else they could do.

    I hope this helps.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • StepChange_Pavan
    StepChange_Pavan Posts: 1,354 Forumite
    Anyone know what is the likely jail term once this goes to court
    as its fraud.

    About to sell car tomorrow as no other option to get money
    for mortgage by friday.

    (i am selling to big dealer who didn't hpi check )

    cheers

    Hi nopottopisin and thanks for your post.

    I’d strongly advise you not to sell the car if you haven’t already, as it’s not yours to sell.

    Please give us a call so that we can talk you through your options. Selling the car if it goes ahead will only make your situation worse in the long term.

    You can call us free on 0800 138 1111 and we’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturdays 9am – 3pm.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • StepChange_Pavan
    StepChange_Pavan Posts: 1,354 Forumite
    I decided to get controll of my debts, and I have read quite a few threads and even posted a query of my own (debt locations) but I still find myself a bit confused and lost on what to do....
    I have signed up to Experian for a report and to my supprise the report is missing quite a bit of my debts. I havent moved in 30+ years, and have made token payments to a few when letters have come through the post. So here are my concerns....
    Should my experian report have details of all outstanding debts?
    Should my experian report have details of my previously completed debts?
    I have asked Experian to clarify why I having missing details but I am unwilling to pay for the answer from them so when my free month runs out where can I get a report from?
    (extra info... I only have a basic bank account, I dont know how much I owe, or who I owe it too! all debts are from 5+years ago)
    Any advice on where to go would be very appriciated thanks.

    Hi LukeGrayland and thanks for your post.

    Credit files only list information that dates back 6 years so anything from before this timeframe is unlikely to be on there.

    There are also 2 other credit reference agencies which you’d need to check to see if there is other information held with them. The other companies are Call Credit and Equifax.

    Here’s a link to a really useful article which explains how credit files work. This should give more information if you need it: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score.

    I hope this helps.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • macky11
    macky11 Posts: 2 Newbie
    I took out a loan in 2006 with a well known company for £4000. I lost my job in 2007 and had to survive on benefits, therefore my repayments stopped.
    I have recently obtained my credit report and noticed that this company defaulted my loan in 2011 with a closing balance of almost £22,000. Can they legally do this and can they default an agreement 4 years after the last payment was made if they havent recieved any correspondence from me either?
    I want to improve my credit score and this debt is making it virtually impossible so any advice would be appreciated. Thanks
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