Major problem! Help needed!

POC_UK_2

I wonder if anyone can help me,
I divorced my husband more than 3 years ago but prior to that we both had a joint account which unfortunately was never closed as my ex-husband would not sign the form for closure and it needed the consent of both parties in the form of our signatures. Under duress he took back my card when we separated so I have never had any dealings of having statements or collections notices until I investigated why I could no longer get credit.

In the meantime, I had got a mortgage & was paying a loan back on a new kitchen so I thought my credit was okay. I then went to open up a 0% credit card but was refused. Tried other lenders and the same happened. Confused as to why I was refused credit with my exceptional credit rating, I then got in touch with Experian in order to find the problem to my credit refusal. On gaining a report from Experian, it highlighted the rogue account what I shared with my ex-husband. I got some statements for the account from Santander and to my surprise in the 3 years it had been used to pay for household bills, online betting, paying golf standing orders and withdrawals from strange locations in the country I have not visited but as these were mainly withdrawals at the weekend, I cannot prove that it was not me not withdrawing it.

Both accounts are now with collections agencies and have been for some time who are now tracking me for the payments, this all since I received the statements from Santander proving they now they know where I live. As my ex-husband refuses to take calls or respond to letters, they are leaving him alone. I have managed to get his name removed from my address as this is my home and has nothing to do with him. I have sought further help through the local Council Debt Advice Bureau but they have stated that I cannot prove that it wasn't me who run up the debt. I have since had several conversations with the collectors and as I am answering letters they seem to be leaving him alone as I have become the easy target.

My nature is not to have any debt and it is having an affect on my health. I am a single parent to two children and as a result of this mess, the collections agency is asking for £60 per month which alone I cannot afford to pay. Even if I was to pay half of his debt which they are saying I am now liable for, if the balance is not paid they will come to me for the rest - in effect as he is not prepared to do anything about it I would have the full debt to pay and in the meantime my mortgage is due to end soon and this debt is going to have a detrimental effect on being able to get another mortgage.

My ex-husband has admitted to me in his own words that it is his debt but is not going to do anything about it - he is currently in £28,000 of debt through his own ways as he is a compulsive gambler, drinker and racehorse owner. He evades this debt by never answering private number calls or responding to letter so the only way to catch him is if they go to the house which they have openly said they will not do. They have, however, advised me that if I ignore payments the case will go to a County Court and they will attach an order to my earnings.

The total of the debt which Santander is chasing me for is around £3700. Again, this is having a real impact on my health as not only did I get divorced from the man who made my life a mess, I am now being forced to pay his debt of which I am livid about and this is why I am turning to you in the hope of advice to possibly solve this complex situation.

I have spoke to a solicitor who completed the divorce and asked why the issue of closing the joint account was not addressed at the time of the separation, she said there is nothing she can do now. Due to the complex nature of the divorce and child custody proceedings, it was not something that we could have sorted anyway without legal intervention.

I understand this has nothing to do with this case, I just wanted you to know what sort of person I am dealing with. I currently in an appeal with tax credits as he has lied about custody of my daughter and they have given him full payments even though I attached a court order to my application. Unfortunately this was ignored and they granted him the payments. The CSA is also chasing him as I have had no maintenance payments for 3 years for my Son. I work full time and am a single parent and have no benefits at all whilst he is working, claiming tax credits and ignoring his duty to pay his own debt.

I hope that I have given you an overview of what I am currently facing. Really hope you can help.

Kindest regards with hope in a reply,

POC_UK

Ellie2758

I think you need to contact a solicitor. This is far too complex for a lay-person to deal with. I am not surprised it is affecting your health, you must get some help to sort it out. I have a friend who had a similar thing happen to her and she had to go to a solicitor to get it sorted.

I wish you luck and strength, you have a lot to deal with atm.

chattychappy

A bit confused - there are two accounts? One is a joint current account and what was the other?

My first thought is that you may well be liable for the debts albeit with a claim on your husband. Of course if he's bust, you're a bit stuck with your claim on him.

If he you used your card then the transactions shouldn't stand. But if you gave him PINs or didn't report the card lost/stolen then it's more tricky. You might call it "duress", but duress is tough to establish.

My second thought is that you might have a claim against your solicitor for negligence. It does sound you were let down badly:

"I have spoke to a solicitor who completed the divorce and asked why the issue of closing the joint account was not addressed at the time of the separation, she said there is nothing she can do now. Due to the complex nature of the divorce and child custody proceedings, it was not something that we could have sorted anyway without legal intervention."

Legal intervention is exactly what solicitors are supposed to do (if it becomes necessary). Of course whether you do have a claim does depend on how you instructed him and how he advised you.

I'm a bit out of my depth with this - hopefully you'll get some better advice in due course.

walder

£3700 is'nt a huge amount of money, don't let it get you down, honest - it's only money. You still have your children and a roof over your head, try and look forward.

If you can't afford £60/month then pay just £20 or £10. The collection agency have to accept this - They can't get blood out of a stone.

Seek legal advice in due course but for now make small regular payments.

It could be worse, you could be in your ex husbands shoes ;o)

patman99

If your ex is claiming Working Tax Credits, he is doing nothing wrong, however, if he is obtaining Child Tax Credits for a child that doesn't actually live with him, then that is fraud and should be reported via the Benefits fraud hotline.

gizmo111

Is this account a credit card or bank account?

sivyour

My personal advice is "do not pay anything yet"

As soon as you make a payment, you admit liabilty and accept the debt is yours regardless.

The rest I cant advise you on, and can only say you should have told the bank etc that your ex stole your card at the time.

A solicitor would be best for you unless the debt has been SOLD to an agency.

Lawfully, a debt paid is a debt discharged so if an agency has bought the debt, they have paid it for you.

There is no contract between you and a DCA unless they are SPECIFICALLY named within the contract when you opened the account. (Privity of contract)

In that case you can write to them asking for a copy of the original signed contract (tpuc.org may be able to help)

As I said, If you contract with the DCA the debt will be yours.

If its still with the bank, you may be better going to court but im not sure of your chances if you dont have proof you reported the card taken/lost/stolen or asked for your name to be removed from the account, at which point they should have advised you to have a "both signature required" placed on the account to operate transactions!

Any creditor has to accept what you offer, as an offer means that you are in honour and there is no dispute to go to court over. I think this can be as little as £1 per week.

There are lots of ways to deal with it all I guess. Try not to let it get you too down.

chattychappy

sivyour wrote: »

As soon as you make a payment, you admit liabilty and accept the debt is yours regardless.
...
Lawfully, a debt paid is a debt discharged so if an agency has bought the debt, they have paid it for you.

...

There is no contract between you and a DCA unless they are SPECIFICALLY named within the contract when you opened the account. (Privity of contract)

...

As I said, If you contract with the DCA the debt will be yours.
...

Any creditor has to accept what you offer, as an offer means that you are in honour and there is no dispute to go to court over.
...

I don't think that is right.