Five years to retirement - help!!

NorthernLas

Sadie - If you want to read up on enforceability, these are the posts/threads

Why would someone use unenforceability http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=33792503&postcount=47

Clarity of pre/post 2007 agreements http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=33792461&postcount=46

Unenforceability IV https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2532927 also look at unenforceability III for diagrams of the process.

Although you may decide not to use this route immediately, finding out if your CCA is enforceable is useful since you may be able to offer reduced F&F if both you and the lender know that they cannot go to court to get you to pay.

SadieM_2

To be honest I don't really care what the banks think, they have made a good living out of us over the years. I was more concerned that if we were paying a reduced amount and they didn't freeze or reduce the interest then the debt would just get bigger.

Did you have to negotiate with your creditors or did the CCCS do it?

pure_dead_dopey

a bit of both for us, we had a huge amount of creditors some accepted right away with no bother, others particularly BoS like you to phone and jump through a few hoops for their systems. I feel quite confident speaking with them and din't worry about it at all, some people get upset and can't handle it, if that is the case, then don't phone, do everything in writing. Most creditors get a bit upset when they don't know what is happening, if you keep them informed, I think it makes it all easier. No one has been rude or offensive to me apart from one very stupid woman from Amex who had a lot of trouble with my Scottish accent, reported them to the FOS and won the case because they were unreasonable and wrong.........

SadieM_2

Thanks thats really helpful. It won't bother me too much to have to speak to these people as I'm used to dealing with difficult situations but two of the debts are in my husbands name and although he is quite a strong character he is not used to dealing with people on the phone and certainly not with people who might have a go at him. Still if we go down this route he is going to have to do it, otherwise I'm going to have to phone them in a very deep voice!!

Marisco

Hi Sadie, if your oh cannot speak with his creditors, get him to write a letter of authorisation for you do do it on behalf of him. Otherwise you'll get no end of problems!!:mad: When I was sorting my oh's debts, they wouldn't speak to me (data protection act I kept being told) until he'd written a letter to them authorising them to speak to me. You could do your own DMP, it's not really difficult, just boring and time consuming:o I didn't know about CCCa at the time, (it was a while ago!!) but I think I would still prefer to do my own, it's whatever you feel most comfortable with really.

pure_dead_dopey

My OH has no patience with them, he just can't be bothered if they are are thick or reading from a script, but he's learning!!!

SadieM_2

I'd really like to know how you went about it yourself as I know there are lots of sample letters on the CCCS website. Did you contact all of your creditors including your bank by phone and then send them a written SOA. Do you think going thru the CCCS or Payplan carries any more weight?

property.advert

You need to keep the house because it is the only way you will ever have a property. If you let it go then it is game over on the property front and a retirement wondering if the landlord will ask you to move on. No, you have to keep it above all else.

You need to revisit your SOA and go through each line and work out the true position. You certainly have to put things in for stuff like lunches at work, the Sunday papers etc. as well as food and mundane stuff. Only then will the true position become clear. Do not skimp on anything, the truth is the only useful number.

SadieM_2

That's exactly how I feel about the house, my daughter lived in rented property and had to move 3 times in two years because the landlords sold the houses. I will go thru the SOA diligently before I submit it to anyone.

Marisco

I don't know about CCSA or Payplan, I'm going back a bit (about 14 years) so I don't know if they were around then. But yes, that is what I did. The debts were my oh's ex wife's, that he took on, along with the mortgage when he left. Unfortunately the CSA got involved and everything went pear shaped. They were taking nearly half his wages in maintenance, so he had to stop paying the debts - which, unfortunately, were in his name as she had a bad credit record!! Anyway the letters started, threatening all sorts, he was defaulted left right and centre, so I wrote to all of them (about 6 I think) explaining the situation and enclosing a SOA.

The debts ranged from £300 odd to £4,500 odd. I explained that we could only pay x amount (I think it was £2 for the £300 up to £15 for the £4,500 one) and I also pointed out that if they continued to charge interest they would never get paid this side of Judgement Day!!! All but 2 agreed, and they went to court for a CCJ. I wrote to the court enclosing SOA and an explaination of the situation, they agreed with us, and awarded the awkward ones £1 pm.

It took a few months of letters back and forth, along with phone calls, but it was sorted eventually. All but the 2 big ones have been paid off, and they are chuntering along. We are in a position now that we could pay them off with F & F, but after 10 years of scraping around, I prefer to have a bit of life;) I retired earlier this year as did oh, but he does a p/t summer job. My credit rating has always been good, but as neither of us have a CC or want one, we are not bothered about credit ratings. Sorry to ramble on:o But yes, its not hard to do your own, and I think you have better control over things, doing it yourself. I suppose it depends if your confident enough to write and deal with the DCA's, I have lost it a couple of times on the phone mind:o