Now I have pulled my head out of the sand....

Umagumma

I realise that I need to sort out my finances.

Trouble is, for a good while (approx November last year) I have been ignoring two of my credit cards whilst concentrating on clearing some other loans that I have first.

I have now repaid the £1900 I owed to a good friend, it took a while @£50 per week, but I have got there!

Next, I need to contact Capital One and Vanquis? bank to arrange re-payment. trouble is, both have handed my account over to debt collection agancies, do I need to deal with these? or can I all of a sudden go back to the original lander and offer payment terms?

I am also occasionally chased by HMRC for repayment of £3500 working family tax credits that went to an ex I used to live with, she arranged the payments, straight into her bank account and carried on claiming them for about 13months AFTER we split up!

Typically, as she is on benefits and not working, I am being chased for the whole ammount under "Joint & several Liability" - I think - as I work....

I am tempted to let this hang in the air until I get my chance to have my day in court over the unfairness of this, I don't hold my breath to be honest.

I wonder if i should write to HMRC at the address on the last correspondence & offer payment (reluctantly) too? or should I wait for them to write again? - its been way over 8 months since the last correspondence.

If anybody could give me some pointers toward some standard letters I could use to open discussions, I'd be grateful.

Any advice appreciated to be honest.

Yes, I have been an !!!!, but I am trying to sort myself out. Its all too easy to put your head in the sand & ignore debt, trouble is, it won't go away. Were I at least sorting my debt rather than being entirely debt free - some chance! - I'd feel happier than I do at the moment...

MFWannabe

Hi
Welcome to the board. Don't worry; i don't think anyone will judge you for previous mistakes. You have made the first step by posting on here and there's lots of people who will give you great advise.
I can't give you any advise reference letters to send to card companies; as i know nothing about this
Just wanted to make you welcome and say well done for posting and facing up to things
You might like to post an soa and then people can give you advise on how to save money to put towards debts

bottleofred

Hi and welcome to the forum,

You would probably be better dealing with the dcas as they now have the accounts, although don't let them bully you into thinking they can do everything they will threaten you with. These threats can also make people scared and pay more than they can actually afford, so only pay what you can afford after paying for all your necessities. DCAs pay a fraction of the original debt, so if you have a lump sum available (anything from 30-50% of each debt) you may be able to make a full and final settlement offer. If you want to post your statement of affairs, you'll get loads of help/advice on how to save cash which can then be paid towards the debt. Regarding the HMRC debt, someone with more knowledge than me should hopefully be along soon to advise on this. I've put the link for the SOA in case you want to post it.

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Good luck

Umagumma

Thanks for the positive comments, much appreciated.

Yes, facing up has / is my biggest problem but I am at that point where things need to change.

No particular trigger for this sudden change of view mind you, although reading a few threads here already has made me realise that my problems are not that dire compared to many others and in actual fact, I am far more fortunate than I realise.

I work and have a job that offers very long hours.....

Cheers for the link, that is going to be very handy.

Again, Thank you.

Hannah_10

The credit cards, well that's very much our thing, we do credit cards...

The HMRC though is over my head. Thankfully there is Tax Aid, a small not-for-profit organisation who can help you with this. Clicky >> http://www.taxaid.org.uk/

Consumerist

You can start the ball rolling on the tax debt here at the directgov website.

Edit
You will probably need to prepare a Statement of Affairs for HMRC to assess your situation. You can find a template and calculator here.

If you want any comments and suggestions on the MSE forum then you could use the same SoA for the purpose. Be prepared for some home truths but also lots of help and encouragement.

DVardysShadow

Umagumma wrote: »

I am also occasionally chased by HMRC for repayment of £3500 working family tax credits that went to an ex I used to live with, she arranged the payments, straight into her bank account and carried on claiming them for about 13months AFTER we split up!

You need some specialist advice on this. But a few questions might help clarify.

Was it based on your tax situation?
Did you at any time authorize or sign for or approve the application?
Did the ex use deceit to obtain or to continue these credits?

My feeling is that there is a fraud here, bu HMRC are pursuing you because they place a higher priority on recovery than on a conviction - in part because a conviction will tend to make them look bad at administration.