A complete mess

Ellabelle

Will post each step at a time, just in case it happens again.

No worries about the court thing then if thats as low as it goes. You could send a strongly worded but polite letter with a SOA to demonstrate that it is putting you into hardship though. Its worth a try.

Step 5) Go to the website of all the credit ref. agencies, Experian, Equifax and Call Credit. You are entitled by law to a basic credit report from each of these agencies for £2 each. Only get the basic report. They are not allowed to charge more for the basic report. Put in all the past and present addreses it asks for. Yes this could alert your creditors to where you are but all this will mean is they will send you letters intially.

Ellabelle

Step 6) Write to all your non-priority creditors telling them your new address and offering a small payment. Running away from creditors does you no good in the long run. By small I mean £1 per creditor per month if that is all you can afford (which looks to be the case from your SOA). Many people say this is the minimum to send but if you can't afford this i'd say send 50p per month. What you are doing here is demonstrating to your creditors that you are willing to pay and this keeps them happy to a degree. Don't give the creditors your phone number in the letter or they will ring you all the time. -If at some stage in the future your situation improves you could increase these payments.

Send these payments by Standing Order (SO), internet banking transfer or postal order. Not Direct Debit (DD). Some of the dodgier creditors will take more than you offered if you send payment each month by Direct Debit. If you send it by SO they cannot do this.

Write, don't phone your creditors. Creditors have been known to persuade people to pay more than they can afford if you phone them. If you write you are in control and have a record of communications. Keep a copy of each letter you send.

Non-priority creditors cannot send bailiffs. This would be illegal. The only way you would get a bailiff off the back of a non-priority debt is if you were taken to court and given a CCJ (County Court Judgement) whch you then did not pay. In that case the creditor would have to re-apply to the county court for them to send a court appointed bailliff.

You should be able to pay a CCJ as technically they should be set at an ammount you can afford. If they are not you can appeal - called a redetermination.

This is not the case with council tax. This is a 'priority debt' Therefore the magistrates court could send a bailiff on application from the council. This is why you need to pay your council tax.

Ellabelle

Step 7) Shop around for cheaper car insurance, it sounds like you are paying an awful lot.

Step 8) Try to reduce your grocery bill. Go on the money saving old-style board. They are brilliant over there and will give you great tips for reducing your food bill. Even if you can get it down by £20 you can put it towards your council tax.

Step 9) Shop around regarding your internet connection. I think you could get that down by £5 - £7 per month.

Ellabelle

Step 10) Phone the Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS). They are a brilliant charity who's service is completely free! They are lovely to speak to on the phone, really non-judgmental and kind. They can advise you on further options that might be available to you such as a Debt Relief Order (DRO) [like a mini bankruptcy] or a DMP (if your income increases this might be sutible).

CCCS Tel 0800 138 1111 [Freephone from a landline]

Whatever you do don't pay for debt advise. The CCCS, Citizens Advice and National Debtline are all free.

Make sure you don't go to an imposter. For example there is one called CCS (notice one 'C' is missing) that will charge you through the nose for what the realCCCS will do for free.

Don't worry about non-priority debts, only priority ones. If you don't own your own home or any major assets they can do very little to harm your situation.

-They almost certainly won't make you bankrupt as unless you have a major assest (eg. your own home, a huge diamond ring, a Mecedes) as the money they will get back from the bankruptcy is less than it will cost them to do it. Bankrupty isn't too big a deal anyway. It is a good option to make yourself bankrupt in certain situations (ask the CCCS).

-They probably won't take you to court for a CCJ as the judge should set the CCJ repayment at a rate that you can afford. If you are paying what you can afford already then they won't get more technically. If the repayment was set to high you could appeal - called a redetermination. CCJs are usually done through forms these days so don't worry about having to actually go to a court, you probably won't.

The above does not apply to council tax (a priority debt), so please pay it if you possibly can.

Hope this has helped, let me know how you get on. If you have any questions please just ask. If you need any help drafting letters to creditors the national debtline website www.nationaldebtline.co.uk has a really fab tool that drafts the letters for you.

Congratulations about your little one on the way! :T

Eb. xx.

Ellabelle

P.S - Some of the information I have given is only relevent to England and Wales. The court system is slightly different in Scotland and Northern Ireland. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland check with National Debtline or CCCS.

xx.

Ellabelle

Oh and finally - The creditors will send you letters saying they could or they may or they might take you to court, make you bankrupt etc. They use these ambiguous words because largely they are just making idles threats. Unless they say they will take action or are going to do something definitely, then don't worry about it.

They might send you a default notice. This is formal notification of the end of the contract between yourself and the creditor. It still means you owe the money. File it - you might need it in the future. You don't really need to do anything about it except keep to your offers of payment (no more than you can afford).

If the creditors send a letter saying your offer of payment is unacceptable or has been rejected just keep on paying the little amount that you have offered. Whether they accept it or they don't they will get the amount you can afford and no more. You should write explaining you will keep up with the amount you can afford as you can afford no more than that at this time. Don't stop the payment as it looks good that you are trying to repay the debt if the matter did ever end end up in the civil court.

Lastly - If you have any debts with a bank you also have a bank account with, make sure you empty this account and open a new one with a bank that you don't have debts with. There is a dodgy bit of legislation called the 'right of set-off' that says if you do have a debt with a bank that you also have an account with, they can rinse this account to pay the debt, if the debt is in arrears at the same bank, leaving you with no money for essentials. This cannot happen with entirely seperate banking groups. -

Don't swap from Santander to Alliance and Leicester for example as its the same banking group and the right of off set would apply.

Sometimes the right of set off doesn't apply between a banking groups banks as its something to do with bank licences. However just go for an entirely seperate banking group as its safer and less complicated.

Right, I think i'm done! I know this is complicated so if there is anything you don't understand please just ask.

Eb. xx.

iregretitall

OK, I went to post office in my lunch break and got 2 seperate Postal Orders for £2 each.

I have printed the online application forms from experian, equifax and call credit.

On the forms it is asking me the dates I have moved in and out of each address, I can remember ANY of them apart fromt he new flat I just moved into.

I have moved 3 or 4 times in the apst 6 years and as I have been living with family I didnt really pay attention to the dates i moved in/out.

What shall I put ?

Ellabelle

Mmmmmm? Do you know the dates approximately? When I did this I only new the month I moved in and out not the actual day so I put the 1st of the month.

If you don't know the month could you ask your family you were living with to see if they remember?

Do you keep all your bank statements? If you do you could go through them and see when it is the addresses changed.

Failing that I would call Experian, Equifax etc. and see what they say. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Great to see your already on the case.

Oh also do you remember the time of year you moved? eg. If you remember moving out near your birthday and your birthday is in May you know its May. If you remember moving when you got back from holiday do you know the month you went on holiday etc.

Lady_A_4

as you have an "iphone tariff" that means you have an iphone, right?
go on mazuma or other similar websites and sell your iphone - I sold mine for £172

Then use your simcard and buy a £20 phone from tescos. Then go on to pay as you go as soon as possible.

Use the money from the sale of the phone to make a payment on your debt.

Each month, keep a spreadsheet and note down everything you spend each month....once you get a grip of what you spend- you can start paying back what you owe - its amazing the little things that mount up.

iregretitall

Hi,

Correct me if I am wrong.

But if I stop paying my contract which is £45 a month

£45 x 12 months (remaining) = £600 (will go unpaid to a debt collector) and will make things worse.

Then purchase a Phone £20, and then top up with £20 a month

£260 over a year.

So I will save money straight away but in the long run it will cost me £860.

Where if I stay for the next 12 months on the iPhone I get 1200 minutes that I just about use up every month as my partner uses the phone aswell it will cost me £600.

As the £600 remaining on the contract for the next year will have to be paid eventually.

I would just see that as being another default on my file. and there is no way I would get the same tarrif on pay as you go. so if i run out of credit after 2 weeks ill have to put another £20 on so it will cost me £40 anyway . .