Need help with clearing debts!

LittleK1989

Hi all

When I was 16-19, I was very stupid and childish and the only thing I thought about was spending all my money on going out at the weekend, and having no money to pay off debts which I had got myself into through completely my own fault, of course I just thought at the time that all the debt would eventually magically disappear if I ignored it long enough(!)...

I took out a credit card when I was 16 with Halifax for £500.00, I moved into my own place at 18 and therefore had council tax, television licenses, gas/electric etc to pay - all of course, which i didnt.

Im 21 (almost 22) now and realised around 18 months ago that I needed to sort myself out.

I moved back in with my parents,completely paid off an old mobile phone bill which was £270 in weekly installments, agreed a payment plan with Halifax and am paying them off in monthly installments (not missing a payment) and thats about where ive got up to.

I actually couldnt remember what debts i had/didnt have, so recently I downloaded a copy of my experian report and I basically had -

Halifax overdraft - fine
Halifax CC - doesnt look too good, but shows im paying my balance off
Vanquis - To help my credit status - £0 balance
British Gas - £297

The problem I have it British Gas - Now I have had a number of phone calls from 'Wescott' who state I owe this amount, and I have simply asked for an Email with copies of my bills from the period on which they are talking (december 08 - november 09) as whilst I acknowledge the debt, I don't agree with the amount, and im unhappy to pay something without seeing it in writing. They agreed, but didnt send the email.

2 months later - same phonecall, I repeated what I told them, and they agreed they had a note to send this email but no one had and they would send one then.

This has been roughly 6 months ago and ive heard nothing - what should I do? I want to settle this but I want to come to a realistic agreement and I dont believe I owe £297, but they havent sent an email (even in junk!)

My second question is - what should I do about the outstanding utility bills on my old place? Call them up and explain the situation and make arangements to pay? I know I must have outstanding council tax/tv license etc. Solihull council showed they did a search for me in 2010, but no defaults on my report. I have a new place now, but I am under Birmingham.


The bottom line is I am keen to settle all my old debts and get myself back on track but I don't know what I owe in some cases and im not sure what to do about British Gas. Any help/advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

elaine12022

You are quite right in not paying anything until you have a breakdown of what you owe & to whom.

Instead of phoning why not write them a letter asking them for proof you owe anything & to whom, if they cannot send you anything don't pay anything!

peainapod

Never EVER deal with debt collectors on the phone. ALWAYS deal with them in writing. That was you have copies of everything you've sent along with receipts from post office as proof of postage, I usually send it 'signed for' so they cant tell me they haven't received it.
Also did you keep a record of date everytime you called them ? And the name of the person you spoke to ? Also VERY important.
I was told a bunch of rubbish once by a debt collector and almost fell for it. I had a balance on my account that needed paying, I was paying tiny amounts (as agreed) because I was skint, and they then told me right you've got (for example) 500 quid left, pay if 250 in one go and we'll call it a day, I said I'd do it if they removed the default and they said fine. I said send that to me in writing or email and you've got a deal and surprise surprise they refused to give it to me in writing.
Send them a letter and next time they call tell them that you've sent them a letter and will be dealing with this strictly in writing from now on and not to call you again.
Keep us updated, you could also call the national debtline for advice, I had some great advice on debt collectors from them
Good luck !

theoretica

Did Halifax know you were 16 when they gave you a credit card? Was it in your name? I thought people under 18 could not get credit and if they do it can't be enforced?

LittleK1989

elaine12022 wrote: »

You are quite right in not paying anything until you have a breakdown of what you owe & to whom.

Instead of phoning why not write them a letter asking them for proof you owe anything & to whom, if they cannot send you anything don't pay anything!

Thanks for the advice - The only reason why i'm asking for in email format is because I don't want them to have my new address untill I am happy I agree with the amount I owe - they only have an old address currently, is that acceptable to ask them to do that? Only email?

& the problem is I WANT to set up some sort of agreement to get the debt cleared off my credit file! but don't want to pay over the odds !

peainapod wrote: »

Never EVER deal with debt collectors on the phone. ALWAYS deal with them in writing. That was you have copies of everything you've sent along with receipts from post office as proof of postage, I usually send it 'signed for' so they cant tell me they haven't received it.
Also did you keep a record of date everytime you called them ? And the name of the person you spoke to ? Also VERY important.
I was told a bunch of rubbish once by a debt collector and almost fell for it. I had a balance on my account that needed paying, I was paying tiny amounts (as agreed) because I was skint, and they then told me right you've got (for example) 500 quid left, pay if 250 in one go and we'll call it a day, I said I'd do it if they removed the default and they said fine. I said send that to me in writing or email and you've got a deal and surprise surprise they refused to give it to me in writing.
Send them a letter and next time they call tell them that you've sent them a letter and will be dealing with this strictly in writing from now on and not to call you again.
Keep us updated, you could also call the national debtline for advice, I had some great advice on debt collectors from them
Good luck !

Thank you very much for this - I too had a similar experience with Lowell who actually found my new address so I had no where to hide(!) and had it all in writing before I agreed to ANYTHING. Well done you, I tend to get easily frustrated and trip myself up!

Again as I explained above, the only, ONLY reason I dont write to these mob is because I dont want them to have my new address untill I am satisfied I have seen all the bills and agree a sensible amount I owe because what theyre quoting is ridiculous.

They have actually stopped calling (suprise suprise) since I asked for the 3rd time to have an email from them after they went back to British Gas to get a copy of all of my "outstanding" bills, but its still left a nasty £297-shaped imprint on my credit file which I want to get rid of!

So do you both suggest I just bite the bullet and write to them? Or simply wait untill they contact again and take the hit on my credit file?

LittleK1989

theoretica wrote: »

Did Halifax know you were 16 when they gave you a credit card? Was it in your name? I thought people under 18 could not get credit and if they do it can't be enforced?

Sorry theoretica, I gave false information there. I was actually 18, ive just worked the dates back. It was 2008, I think I lost two years somewhere..!

I still don't agree with giving £500 credit card to an 18 year old with my track record on my current account with Halifax, but hey ho it was ultimately down to my stupidity!

MichaelCR

LittleK1989 wrote: »

Hi all

When I was 16-19, I was very stupid and childish and the only thing I thought about was spending all my money on going out at the weekend, and having no money to pay off debts which I had got myself into through completely my own fault, of course I just thought at the time that all the debt would eventually magically disappear if I ignored it long enough(!)...

I took out a credit card when I was 16 with Halifax for £500.00, I moved into my own place at 18 and therefore had council tax, television licenses, gas/electric etc to pay - all of course, which i didnt.

Im 21 (almost 22) now and realised around 18 months ago that I needed to sort myself out.

I moved back in with my parents,completely paid off an old mobile phone bill which was £270 in weekly installments, agreed a payment plan with Halifax and am paying them off in monthly installments (not missing a payment) and thats about where ive got up to.

I actually couldnt remember what debts i had/didnt have, so recently I downloaded a copy of my experian report and I basically had -

Halifax overdraft - fine
Halifax CC - doesnt look too good, but shows im paying my balance off
Vanquis - To help my credit status - £0 balance
British Gas - £297

The problem I have it British Gas - Now I have had a number of phone calls from 'Wescott' who state I owe this amount, and I have simply asked for an Email with copies of my bills from the period on which they are talking (december 08 - november 09) as whilst I acknowledge the debt, I don't agree with the amount, and im unhappy to pay something without seeing it in writing. They agreed, but didnt send the email.

2 months later - same phonecall, I repeated what I told them, and they agreed they had a note to send this email but no one had and they would send one then.

This has been roughly 6 months ago and ive heard nothing - what should I do? I want to settle this but I want to come to a realistic agreement and I dont believe I owe £297, but they havent sent an email (even in junk!)

My second question is - what should I do about the outstanding utility bills on my old place? Call them up and explain the situation and make arangements to pay? I know I must have outstanding council tax/tv license etc. Solihull council showed they did a search for me in 2010, but no defaults on my report. I have a new place now, but I am under Birmingham.


The bottom line is I am keen to settle all my old debts and get myself back on track but I don't know what I owe in some cases and im not sure what to do about British Gas. Any help/advice would be appreciated!

Thanks

Don't Deal with british Gas through ''Wescott'' Who are a third party without a contract, Ignore there letters, Its meaningless anyways.

Contact British Gas in writing to kindly ask for itemizations/bills that prove the amount owed is 100% correct and fair, If it is then Pay them directly.

I was able to get a £300 Default wiped off my credit file, Although the alleged 'debt' was passed onto some Debt collection agency who stupidly paid my debt off for me (How Kind), I returned there letters unopened back to them using the 'No Contract, Return to Sender' Method, Which worked as i didn't receive any more letters or phone calls from them after Telling them on the phone to provide me with a signed written agreement between myself and BCW, Which obviously doesn't exist.

I phoned up the company whom i did have a contract with after taking out a a £1,000 loan, And offered to pay them 100% of the outstanding balance and charges that where on the account in full, I also mentioned how stupid i had been letting myself fall behind on the agreement, And that the default will seriously effect my future as far as rehabilitation is concerned in cleaning up my act on credit agreements. After 2 letters, They accepted my offer, And cleared the Default from my file.

As far as having no defaults on your file thats a good thing ! Because if pay all your current arrears off, Then wait 12 months and pay off everything in full on time, You'll get a second chance to build up your credit.

Best of luck.

LittleK1989

MichaelCR wrote: »

Don't Deal with british Gas through ''Wescott'' Who are a third party without a contract, Ignore there letters, Its meaningless anyways.

Contact British Gas in writing to kindly ask for itemizations/bills that prove the amount owed is 100% correct and fair, If it is then Pay them directly.

I was able to get a £300 Default wiped off my credit file, Although the alleged 'debt' was passed onto some Debt collection agency who stupidly paid my debt off for me (How Kind), I returned there letters unopened back to them using the 'No Contract, Return to Sender' Method, Which worked as i didn't receive any more letters or phone calls from them after Telling them on the phone to provide me with a signed written agreement between myself and BCW, Which obviously doesn't exist.

I phoned up the company whom i did have a contract with after taking out a a £1,000 loan, And offered to pay them 100% of the outstanding balance and charges that where on the account in full, I also mentioned how stupid i had been letting myself fall behind on the agreement, And that the default will seriously effect my future as far as rehabilitation is concerned in cleaning up my act on credit agreements. After 2 letters, They accepted my offer, And cleared the Default from my file.

As far as having no defaults on your file thats a good thing ! Because if pay all your current arrears off, Then wait 12 months and pay off everything in full on time, You'll get a second chance to build up your credit.

Best of luck.

Thank you so much Michael thats really helpful - I guess I figured British Gas would not deal with my direct now Wescott were involved, but I will try contacting British Gas direct and very very nicely explain that i'm unsure of the outstanding balance as I have no bills so could they kindly forward them to me so I can take a look and come to an agreement.

Thanks - to be honest I really thought i'd have a lot more, I am scared that one day something else is going to come out and bite me on the bum - e.g council tax/tv license etc from my old place but I guess I have no choice but to play the waiting game