A couple of debt help tips

lee3276

I think the law has now changed to 6 years without contact but please do check https://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk

digp

a debt is statute barred after 6 years so long as the debt has not been acknowledged; if i recall correctly, time runs [all over] again from acknowledgment!!!! -see further https://www.debthelpuk.co.uk or https://www.debthelpuk.co.uk/forum/

harassment of a debtor is a criminal offence: s.40 Administration of Justice Act 1970

harassment per se is also a criminal offence: Protection from Harassment Act 1998

see also generally http://www.oft.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/66BD8ACC-9DA8-472D-B7B0-8B0B6A3D0DBB/0/oft298.pdf

the important thing is not to bury your head in the sand; deal with matters sooner rather than later, but ensure to make informed decisions

Sofa_Sogood

dazedhorizon wrote:

Any more info on this at all ?

Thanks

I can't justify what's been quoted, but I think it's frowned on if a debt hasn't been collected after a certain time. It makes the company chasing the debt look bad.

But that's just an opinion gained from debt collectors we've been forced to use.

shopaholic_ebayaddict

A quick few debt tips a friend of mine (an IFA) gave us:
NEVER borrow money from the bank you hold your current accounts with - they know WHEN you are paid (and take your loan payment out the day after this day, so they get their money before you've paid your living costs), HOW MUCH you get paid (and what you have left over each month so make the repayment amount slightly less than that!) and, more importantly WHEN you need the money (how many times have you been called in for an "account review" when you have a few problems?)

We had this problem with Lloyds bank - they offered us loans, overdrafts, more loans and we were paying out nearly £700 a month to them. i know we were irresponsible to take out a lan we couldn't afford but we thought that surely our bank would help us!! WRONG!! After 21yrs with Lloyds bank we both shut out accounts and have happily been with Natwest for 4 yrs.

beastoid_2

Going back to what was mentioned earlier in the thread, i was in the fortunate position of paying of my debts about 3 years ago with credit card companies and loans, i owed £13,000 but got the settlement figures down to £8,000, I haggled like hell if they told me £2,500 i would insist that all i could afford was £1,000 and go from there, maybe up it a 100 or 2, just to see how low they will go, It will effect your credit rating obviously but your in the mire anyway, so really, as i saw it, i/you had/have nothing to lose, but money to gain.

Good luck if you do this, and good luck in the future it does get better.

100mel

Assuming that a full and final offer has been made to a debt collection agency - in writing - what happens if they fail to respond or respond in any meaningful way but merely continue the usual trail of standard threatening letters

cjbaps

Hi, I have several debts which require paying off, and believe it or not some of the debt collection agencies have written saying if I paid half the amount owed, that would clear the debt (however, i don't have the money to do that at the moment). My story though - my parents were financially stuck just before Xmas, so remortgaged their house. I acted on their behalf with their debt companies, telling them over the phone that I was going to lend them some money to clear the debt. I said how much I could afford (I generally said about half of what they were owe), and managed to save my parents over £1000 in full settlement!!! They are now debt free, and their mortgage repayments didn't actually increase much more than they were paying! Just a word of advice though - if you do make a final settlement, insist on getting a letter saying that this is the debt clear, and that they will contact the credit reference agency/ies.

crooner

jason.lawrie wrote:

Depends on how the company was meeting its KPI's and targets for the client. If money was short you would have to call people already on a payment plan and offer settlement straight off 20% if paid by debit/credit card (instant funds which would appear on report). Also would check who paid by credit card as possibility they would have spare credit to pay settlement. Some staff went for installments and some went straight for settlement. End of day the targets for collectors were huge - getting a settlement in racked up the money. Also incentives were placed for highest settlement - ie dvd players and gift vouchers. So in fairness yes, settlements were given out ad hoc - not just catalogue but mail order companies, banks and credit card comnpanies.

This very helpful thanks.

BungleGirl

Just to give you a bit of hope...

I had my flat reposessed in 2000, very long story but I only had arrears of £500 but was single, pregnant and I could not claim any benefit to pay my £124pcm mortgage (interest only) but they stupidly would pay £300pcm for me to rent a flat - I still can't beleive the stupidity of the benefit sytem and this is my only experience of it!

After the reposession including associated costs I owed Abbey National £10,748.15. The dept was passed on to solicitors and after negotiations with them I got a letter from them on 7th December 2001 accepting £1,345 in full and final settlement of the debt! I still have the letter - one of the best days of my life!

I offered them either £1 a week as I was on Income Support or that a relative would give me £1,000 to settle the debt in full - after several phone calls and letters we ended up at £1,345.

I'm sure that such a redction is not normal - but it is evidence that it is worth a try. I was very polite in all the letters and telephone calls and stressed that I really wanted to resolve the issue at a level that was mutually agreeable. They were very helpful and never rude or threatening. I think if you can be nice to people it makes a huge difference.

I tried this with a car finance company and they wouldn't let me off a penny - but I guess you win some - you lose some. I have paid that of (just over £5k) and am now debt free.

Three years on I have a lovely house with a very small mortgage, no credit cards, a man I expect to spend the rest of my life with and between us three lovely children. I never buy anything I can't afford to pay for in full, and spend far too many hours on this website making sure I don't spend a penny more than I have to.

Sometimes we get ourselves into a financial mess, none of us are perfect and we all make mistakes, but if we can see the light at the end of the tunnel and learn from our mistakes we can come out of it having learned a great deal and hopefully be better people.

Good luck everyone!

europa16

I've just been reading through this thread, and noticed the bit about catalogues and signed agreements. I'm currently in a DMP with Payplan, but am still getting harassed by creditors, including LX Direct. I'm sure I never signed an agreement with them, so I'm going to write to them asking for a copy of my agreement.
Has anybody else requested a copy, and do they charge you to hand over a copy?