Halifax Token payments

Jairus

Hi, ive been having a good browse on the site for the past few hours trying to find an answer to my question, and although there are similar questions, none really answer what I would like to know, so would appreciate if someone can help.

Just some background info. I began caring for my nan full time in december last year and began amassing debts on my credit card due to carers allowance being my only income.

My nan passed away in february, leaving me head of the household, with all the usual bills to pay etc... And I have managed to get by this far, always paying bills on time, but at the cost of having to buy food and other essentials on my credit card.

During this time since then, I have been signed off receiving ESA due to severe depression, due to the emotional impact of caring, severely limiting my income further. My minimum payments have now reached a point where I cannot afford to continue spending on my card, and equally cannot afford to meet the minimum payments.

Today I have been advised by the CCCS, like many others to make a token payment of £1 until my financial situation improves. They have also informed me that continuing to spend on my card is considered fraud, which shocked me no end. So I have cut up my credit card, although this was my only means of buying anything I required.

I have read elsewhere that if you take this course of action, of offering token payments, that they can sell your debt off to a dca, which has concerned me no end.

My current debt is standing at £5000 with halifax.

Can somebody please advise me on what course of action to take, as I am at my witts end and can no longer see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thank you.

determined_new_ms

Hi Jairus, so sorry to hear about your situation. I'm not really the best person to answer this question but hopefully by bumping someone else with sounder knowledge will post. There are template letter's that you can write to creditor, enclosing a soa, that shows what you can afford and not what you clearly can't, which I would suggest you do. I think its probablty a good idea to get CAB or another organisation to help as I have found in my work companies listen to companies more than people. Good luck

dancingfairy

The CCCS is highly regarded on here so it would probaly be a good thing to follow their advice. Yes once you have defaulted creidtors can sell the debts on or pass to a debt collector. In some cases the debt collectors can be easier to deal with and will agree a repayment plan more easily than the original creditors. Some can of course be a complete nightmare but at the end of the day they can't have what you haven't got. You've sought advice from a free source and that's what they've recommended - whether your creditors like it or not. Read around on here about what creditors and debt collectors can and can't do and when you know your rights you're not going to let them intimidate you.
df

NorthernLas

Hi - There will be a light at the end of the tunnel, it is just you cannot see it yet ...

First off, well done for cutting up the credit card!

Just so you know there are other free charities around like National Debtline and Christians against Poverty as well as CCCS.

Also, it is more important to pay your priority debts such as rent, council tax, utilities than your halifax card. Is your card your only debt or do you have other cards or arrears?

If you have spoken to CCCS, do you have a list of your incomings and outgoings? This the first thing that people ask about (it's called a statement of affairs - SOA) because to give you good advice they need to know a bit more. They may spot things that you haven't thought about.

Just use the link http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html and then format for MSE and paste it in a reply to this thread.

Jairus

Just to say a big thank you for the informative and empowering replies so far. I have a copy of what i received from the cccs if that is what you mean?


Your Income Amount
Your take home pay
Your partner's take home pay
Rent/board received
Pension received
Any other income received
Income Support
Jobseekers Allowance
Your Income Amount
Incapacity Benefit £284
Disability Living Allowance
Working Tax Credit
Child Benefit
Child Tax Credit
Child Support
Total income £284
Housing Amount Comment
Rent
Mortgage
Secured loans/2nd mortgage
Mortgage endowment premium
Service charge/ground rent
Water £34
Council tax
Gas £20
Electricity £17
Other household fuel
Household services
Building and contents insurance
Telephone, mobile & internet £43
TV licence £24
Satellite
Repairs and maintenance
Household appliance rental
Child maintenance
Childcare
Fines, CCJs, Decrees
Life insurance/pensions
Medical/accident insurance £8
Hire purchase
Transport
Vehicle spares and servicing
Road tax
Motor insurance
Vehicle breakdown cover
Fuel & parking
Public Transport
Food & housekeeping
Food, toiletries, cleaning £100
School meals/meals at work
Pets, pet food/insurance £15
Tobacco £50 Reduced from £60
Misc. goods & services
School trips/activities
Medicines/prescriptions £7
Dentist/opticians
Hairdressing
Union/professional fees
Laundry/dry cleaning
Education fees
Personal & leisure
Clothing & footwear £20
Newspapers/magazines
Sports, hobbies, entertainment £16
Children's pocket money
Church/charity donations
Sundries/emergencies/other costs
Sundries/emergencies £10
Loan from family/friend
Other
Total expenses £364
Additional information Comment
No of adults 1
Dependants 0
Totals Amount
Total income £284
Total expenses £364
Surplus (Deficit) (£80)
The figures in this budget are those supplied by you during the preparation of your CCCS Debt Advice.

Your Creditor List

Creditor name Debt type Outstanding balance Contractual payment Ownership of debt
1 barclays plc Personal Loan £125 £65 Me
2 barclays plc Overdraft £550 £28 Me
3 Halifax Credit Card £4,500 £135 Me
TOTAL £5,175 TOTAL £228

Thank you again.

NorthernLas

The information from CCCS is helpful. It shows how tight your budget is and people may be able to suggest savings (please don't take comments as personal, they are suggestions which you can agree or disagree with)

It shows that you do not have enough to make your payments, which is why they suggested sending token payments for the moment.

Some things that you need to do ...
1. If your benefits are paid into a barclays or lloyds bank account, you need to go and open a basic account with someone like the co-op (someone who you don't have debt with). Do this tomorrow before you do anything else. This is because when you do not pay they can take money from your bank account to pay the debt.
2. Start a spending diary where you write down all you spend. It can be a notebook with different pages for food / cigs / clothes. Something so that you can work out whether you are within your budgets.
3. Get token letters ready to send recorded once your benefits are paid elsewhere (see nationaldebtline website for templates)

Jairus

ok thank you northernlas, i will take your advice and make my next step tommorrow. thanks again.

Jairus

I would just like to ask where i need to send my letter to, halifax's head office or elsewhere? And when do I need to send my first token payment? At the time of my next payment due date, which is a month today? Any help appreciated thank you.

chinawhite_2

Hi
I sent mine to
Retail Bank Collections
PO Box 718
Leeds
LS1 9GB

I used this address as it was the one on the payment reminder letters they sent me

stephy110288

My halifax debt was sent to albion debt collectors and they were much easier to deal with than halifax and were happy with me paying 10 a month until i sorted somethin out. they didnt harrass me like halifax did. once my card was back under its limit the debt was passed back to halifax so if it did go to a dca, its not the end of the world xx

Jairus

excellent, thank you for the info. I really appreciate the help, advice and support.