Help needed - 21yr old given very bad advice

shebrett

Hi All

Daughter of a friend of mine is 21yrs old with about £9,000 of debt, she is in a low paid job (about £1000 a month) and doesn't have much left after rent, bills and debt repayment. Friend's ex-husband and his family who are rubbish with money and not the most reliable of people have stupidly encouraged her to just run from the debt, change jobs and not pay. They tell her it will all be cleared in 5 years and no hassle.

Friend is trying to make her see sense and pay the bill but is getting nowhere fast. Anyone have any advice on what will happen if her daughter does this? Scare tactics welcome.

Also, friend aware that I am posting on here, she came to me as I have a step son with similar debt problems and she knows I use this site so thought I could help but I have no idea what happens if someone runs from a debt so any and all advice welcome. Feel free to rant but friend and I both agree with you, daughter should pay the debt.

S

fermi

shebrett wrote: »

Friend is trying to make her see sense and pay the bill but is getting nowhere fast. Anyone have any advice on what will happen if her daughter does this? Scare tactics welcome.

Chased by debt collectors?

Perhaps taken to court for the money?

Hard to say really. Some times they will go to court. Sometimes they seems to make a 'commercial' decision that even that would just be wasted effort.

After 6 years (5 in Scotland) of her not acknowledging or paying the debt, AND as long as she hasn't been taken to court, then the debt would become unenforceable through the courts. And after 6 years or slightly more it my well not be on her credit records any more.

The above ^^^^^ is not a wise thing to plan for though. As said, there would be a lot of hassle and if they do go to court before the 6 years was up then it would never become time barred.

shebrett

Thanks for responding, much appreciated.

I was wondering what you mean by never becomes time barred? Does that mean that if they do take it to court before 6 years are up then the court would decide if she qualified for BR and if not would force her to pay? Also, if by some chance she did qualify for BR, am assuming it would start from the court date rather than run away date?

Also, if they do decide to take her to court, do they need to get her to recognise the debt or just find her and then send her a notice of court proceedings?

Sorry, am sure these are probably very dim questions, but I really have no clue about how it works.:o

dojoman

It means if they take legal action, ie a CCJ, then the debt would not fall under the 6 year limit and she would never be free from it. (I think:o)



Please get her to contact one of the charities below, they will offer free and impartial advice.

https://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
https://www.cccs.co.uk/



Below is a link you may found helpful about going BR?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1056083

Also this link to the Insolvency Service is useful!

http://www.insolvency.gov.uk/

fermi

shebrett wrote: »

Thanks for responding, much appreciated.

I was wondering what you mean by never becomes time barred? Does that mean that if they do take it to court before 6 years are up then the court would decide if she qualified for BR and if not would force her to pay? Also, if by some chance she did qualify for BR, am assuming it would start from the court date rather than run away date?

Also, if they do decide to take her to court, do they need to get her to recognise the debt or just find her and then send her a notice of court proceedings?

Sorry, am sure these are probably very dim questions, but I really have no clue about how it works.:o

NO. She would be ordered to pay the debt.

Once there is a CCJ, the 6 years rule no longer applies.

Most unlikely that she would be made bankrupt unless she does it herself.

Bankruptcy would on the date she did it at court, rather than an earlier date.

If she only has a debt of £9,000, no assets and little surplus income, then it's possible that a Debt Relief Order might be possible?

See this link: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1385275

But regardless, as said, she needs to get some free impartial advice on the way forward.

dancingfairy

shebrett wrote: »

Friend's ex-husband and his family have stupidly encouraged her to just run from the debt, change jobs and not pay. They tell her it will all be cleared in 5 years and no hassle.


S

Yeah great advice if you want to spend the next 5 years hiding from debt collectors. :eek:
Also if she ends up with CCJs or having to go bankrupt it could affect her career prospects - ie in banking,law etc. O.K she may not think she wants a job in these fields but even working back office in a bank (eg in IT) can be problematic or an administrator in some places for example.
Where does she live - I mean alone or with family/friends? I'm not sure they'll be too pleased about the phone calls/letters and possible visits?
Does she plan on moving ever? Rentals require credit checks in the main etc...
It might be less hassle to face up to the debt and deal with in a responsible way.
df

shebrett

Hi All - Thanks for this, my friend is going to speak to her and explain about the possible legal action and also the rental credit checks. Will also suggest the debt lines to her again but she turned down that option previously.

Friend and I agree with you dancingfairy, it would be much better for her to deal with it responsibly.

Ghostrider

dancingfairy wrote: »

Also if she ends up with CCJs or having to go bankrupt it could affect her career prospects - ie in banking,law etc. O.K she may not think she wants a job in these fields but even working back office in a bank (eg in IT) can be problematic or an administrator in some places for example.
Where does she live - I mean alone or with family/friends? I'm not sure they'll be too pleased about the phone calls/letters and possible visits?
Does she plan on moving ever? Rentals require credit checks in the main etc...
It might be less hassle to face up to the debt and deal with in a responsible way.
df

This is very good advice.

At the age of 21, if it seems easy to "run away from" or "write off" your debts then where is the lesson learnt?

Thinking of the future is important as noted above.

Are there other alternatives available to her, like moving back home for a while to ease the burden of rent or something like that? Another part time job to help pay the debts back?