huge debt here goes....

reggy

well here goes..... deep breath.
im afraid this is going to be long so maybe time to get a coffee.

so before we start here is my admission that i have been really stupid and immature i know i have and i would like to sort myself out.

i think i owe in the region of about £18000 (with all the charges they put on) over a 10 year period.

i have burried my head, i have hidden from knocks on the door, i hate the mail coming and my heart speeds up everytime the phone rings.


it started when i was 18 (now 29)got my 1st credit card with RBS and got a motorbike on tick, everything was fine, i was keeping up payments on both until i had a late payment with the CC, this i couldnt escape from everytime i paid it i would get another charge (for being over my limit) and eventually i was just paying charges on top of charges.

then my motorbike was stolen within the 1st few months and the insurance didnt pay out (i had left in the back yard over night not inthe garage like i said i would on the insurance document) i then didnt pay the tick out of principle i was really pi***d off.

from then, i went a bit stupid i got about 4 mobile phones over a couple of years and had every intention of paying them but i started to miss payments, they where all cut off and went to debt collectors so i moved and got a new job.

i got a loan with my bank only a small one to help with the move 300 ish i cant remember.
the loan was updated to a bigger loan to pay off an over draft which i was using to the max every month and getting charged for payments not being taken from my account.

i kept the over draft "as emergency" and eventually used it to its max (my bank kept upping the overdraft limit) again i eventually had a 2000 overdraft and refinanced my loan to pay this off, it eventually go to 9000 including my overdraft, i made payments for a few years and seemed to get back on track, until christmas one year when i didnt get paid much and used a cheque cashing service and after a few month another, eventually i was cashing over £800 in chequest to pay off the previous months cheques then they took my cheque book off me and they all bounced

i owed the cheque cashing people money my bank charged me for every cheque bouncing and so did the cheque cashing people.

i went to my bank to ask for more help but they wouldnt and due to the amount of money taken in cheques bouncing and charges i couldnt pay loan with them and my wages where eaten up, i got charged for my loan being not paid.

i oepend another bank account and left that one and again i moved, and this is where iam now it has been about 2 years with no problems at all.
but still hiding from my debts.

i have recently moved in with my girlfriend and had our 1st child, in a few years when we have saved some money we would like to buy our own house, but with my previous seriously bad debting i wont even get into the bank let alone get a mortgage.

I seriously want to try sort out my mess and and i have just had some calls from a "debt collector" which has prompted me to do something about it.
but i dont know where to start, a lot of my debts are over 6 years old, i have moved around a hell of a lot to hide from these guys.
but i know a lot of what they are wanting is made up of charges, for instance my old bank want me to pay 15000 back but i had borrowed 9000 tops,i must have been charged well over 4000 in bank charges over the 7 years i was with them.

what should i do, where should i go? please help how do i sort my mess out?

njc12

Hi Reggy - there will be other people along soon who can give better advice than me but I just wanted to let you know that you are not on your own and there will be a solution.

Take care,

njc12

sheraz2

Damn, that's bad! But, it can be solved. First of all you better get to work on the charges.

Work out who's charged you and get over to the 'reclaim bank charges' forum to get those back, I reckon with what your saying about how much they've charged you, you could make one big significant in-road to your debt.

tanith

Well done for posting Reggy and I am sure some of the good guys here will be along to help you out... I think you are confusing 'bank charges' and interest on your loan , some of that money will be legitimate 'interest' , I hope that you manage to get a plan together soon....

reggy

wow quick replies, and thankyou.

i was shaking so badly and had a huge surge of emotion whilst writing it i thought i was going to cry, but it feels like a relief to finally get it off my chest i have been hiding for years it feels better already.

my bank has closed the account and i have had a ccj registered against me would i still be able to claim money back?

scotsgirl_3

Hi

First thing to do is to contact each of these companies and find out what the actual amount owing is - exactly - on each thing. Also get a copy of your credit file so you can get an idea of how it looks.

Once you know what you owe, then you need to sit down and look at your figures and work out what you can afford to pay to each. The way companies prefer you do this is on a pro rata basis according to the size of the debt - although if there is anything with a significantly higher interest rate then prioritise them if at all possible.

Don't be afraid of making an offer to creditors. Most of them will accept a genuine offer as there is little point in them taking further action against you if you do this.

Well done for facing up to things - you've taken the first, big step. If you need help dealing with your creditors then the CCCS are very good.

sanfrancisco

hang on, hang on...If you have had NO contact with some of these companies for 6 years then they cannot legally chase you for the debt. This is no phonecalls, letters, no acknowledgment.

The first thing you need to do is get your credit file. You can do this for free, see here...http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1149605730,95768,

You then need to sit down and work out which debts are still relevent.

You then need to work out a budget (all your fixed costs etc).

Then you need to ring the CCCS, a free charity who will negotiate with your creditors. Depending on what is left they will share this out accordingly. If you have huge debts and little left over they may suggest an IVA or bankruptcy. But that is for another day.

Please don't contact creditors until you are really organized, as you may acknowledge old debts, that have effectively died. Well done for facing up to this. I know it doesn't seem like it, but things will get organized again and you will sort this out.

reggy

when i get my credit files would it be wise to be totally honest and say exactly where i have been for the last few years? or do what i did when i went to open a business account recently ( said i was somewhere for longer then i actually was) which probably woke up this sleeping debt and wont this "wake up" old debt over 6 years?

the debts i have got over 6 years will they be wiped of my file or will they still be there?

i would like to get a clean sheet and be able to get credit for a mortgage with my fiance, but if anything is on my file its only going to hurt me with any application.

scotsgirl_3

I would suggest just applyng for your file at your current address.

basically the way creditors locate people is that if you either move an existing account from one address to another, or you apply for something new listing the old address, then they link together - this may well be how the other company found you.

i would get your current one just now - it will give you an idea of what is actually registered against you just now - i.e. which companies have actually traced you and know where you are

tobedifferent

As far as I am aware if you have not acknowledged the debt for the last 6 years then its effectively wiped. So even if the debt was taken out more than 6 years ago its the contact and payments in the last six years that count.

i think you need to get a copy of your credit report with true address details, see Martins guide for doing this for free. Then write to each and every company asking them to prove the debt with a signed credit agreement, do not acknowledge it, state in the letter you are disputing the debt and also request to see proof of any contact/payments in the last 6 years reminding them that any debt with no contact in 6 years is statute barred.

Some companies will try and push you and will even lie about the law to make you pay.

It all depends on what you want to do CCJ's or whatever I think you can dispute that the amounts are reasonable what with the exorbitant charges. and you can try reducing the amount owned by offering a smaller payment if the company removes any negative info from your credit report.

I think clear and professional advice from National Debtline, Citizens Advice, PayPlan or the CCCS is your best initial course of action. Do this in conjunction with a clear picture of your credit file and advice on here and you should be able to start to sort things out and move toward a bright future without this stuff weighing on your mind.

scaredy_cat_2

Hi reggy can't help with any debt stuff really but just wanted to say welcome to the club!! lots of people will give help and advice but facing up to it is such big step (i did mine this week too) and have already had lots of advice, good luck you've come to the right place