Urgent please help. Debt collectors

peanuts1313

Please help. I don't know what.to do

Right we (very stupidly I know!) relied on a credit card for about 8 weeks or so whilst husband was out of work and the benefits hadn't started coming in. Then he got a monthly paid job but no pay for 4 weeks so that was another 4 weeks of no income... Used a capital one credit card and spent about £1000-1200 on it for food, petrol, bills and rent etc.
Struggling to pay minimum payment, plus interest, plus late payments meant that when husbands temporary job ended we hadn't paid much/any of it off. We had told them about change in employment and struggling to pay. We'd sent them a letter from cccs (or something) with our finances laid out asking for a payment plan And filled in their own version of that and sent it back to them, twice. Both times they said the minimum monthly payment acceptable was £200, which we really couldn't afford (£200 was about our left over cash after bills but excluding food and petrol) But we kept in contacted, kept paying off any amount we could. We didn't ignore them, we really tried to arrange a payment plan that was realistic. Cccs people said they don't have to accept it though...which they didn't.

About a month ago the amount stood at £1550, £150 over our limited. It hasn't been used since March/April so that is all interest and fees. They phoned us up and say if we don't pay £150 today the debit will transfered to their collection department who will need the full amount in one go. So we pay £150 (meaning we can't pay gas/electric that month).
About a week later another phone calling saying we need to pay another large amount (can't remember exact figure) otherwise it will be transfered to debt collection etc. My husband explained we had only just paid to stop it being transfer, we had no money at all to pay them and were still trying to arrange a payment plan. The guy says he'll speak to his manager about giving us longer to pay before it's transfered and will ring back Tuesday (it was a Friday). No phone call and a few days later a letter comes from cougar finances saying they're collecting our debt from capital one, now standing at £1600 odd :-o
My husband rings them the next day to arrange a payment plan. Minimum was £80 a month he says we can't afford that, £50 at a stretch is all we can afford. They said they would take a token payment that day (£20) to hold the account whilst we send them a cccs letter. Sent that off and my husband rings them to check they received it, which they have but makes no difference as capital one have set the minimum repayment at £80 a month and they can't lower it. So they say we can just phone up every 7 days and pay a token amount (£5-10 here and there) to keep the account on hold?
That last conversation was at the start of the week.

We've just received a letter from a completely different collection agency saying they will be coming to our house to collect the full amount of £1600+ on behalf of capital one. And that it's come to this because of us not keeping in contact and phoning capital one?

I can't ring them it's all in my husbands name and he's out.

Why are there two collection agencies working for capital one? We have been paying! Just not enough by their calculations we can't pay them both!

I can't believe it's come to this, I am now petrified that any minute now we'll have baliffs at the door and take all our belongings
We have nothing to sell. We've already had everything on ebay to pay this months rent. Our tv is still listed atm and is ending Sunday but the money from that has to go on rent, we're behind as it is. We've sold our Xbox, dvd player, 60 odd dvds. The only thing left to sell is a wardrobe and changing unit so not worth to pay £1600.

Please, does anyone know what we can do? Husband can't get to the CAB offices until Monday now

JustinCredibleGillespie

First of all please don't panic. You will have more scope if it goes to a DCA. That way you can negotiate. You could also send them token payments of £1 with the CCCS letter until you get back on your feet.

You have priorty debt such as gas/electric/rent which needs to be taken care of before Capital One. There won;t be any baliffs coming to your door anytime soon. There is a long period in between that happening.

You sound very distressed at the moment and you need to stop worrying. No one can come and lift your belongings. Personally, I would sort out all my other priorities and deal with Capital One when you feel ready. Let it go to the DCA and then negotiate.

JCG

xx

robsmum_2

Hi Peanuts,
Firstly, don't panic anymore help from here will be along shortly I am sure.
You mention CCCS - are you on a debt managment with them? If you are you shouldn't be using any credit. If you aren't but are thinking of doing so, complete a full budget and contact them. It was the best move I made.
Also try and complile a SOA (statement of affairs) there is a link here but I can't do them. Post it here and people will be able to help you.
Credit card debt is not a priority debt - your rent, electricity etc are the credit card company can not have money you haven't got.

sickasachip13

Hi There

Like JCG says don't panic. What might have happened is that one debt collector was actually working in-house for Capital One and the the debt has been sold on.

I would seriously recommend that you go back to CCCS and explain the situation. It might be that a Debt Management Plan would be a good option for you - this would give the creditors an amount deemed to be fair by CCCS based on all your income and outgoings and might be more likely to be accepted than just a letter.

Please don't panic. You do have options open to you. Ring CCCS and tell them you need help.

SAAC

vax2002

The bailiffs can not come to your house without a court order and you will have chance to present your circumstances to the court first and make a payment plan.
Anyone else who comes is a debt collector and you can ask them to leave ONCE, if they refuse, call the police and ask them to send an officer to prevent a disturbance of the peace by observing whilst you remove trespassers.
The debt collectors will soon be gone.
Then look at a DCA plan with the cab

peanuts1313

Thank you so much all of you for taking the time to reply.
Sorry my first post on the forum was so rushed and panicky!
I've calmed down slightly, I'm no longer shaking!

Showing how stupid I am wit money now....when we've used the online letter services from cccs, they can do more? I didn't realise :embarassed: do we ring them to go on a debt management thing? Does it cost?

Should we go to the CAB or cccs? Or both?

Sorry for all the questions!
Thank you I'll look for the SOA thing too

sickasachip13

Hi CCCS is a charity. They have really nice, non-judgemental people who are experts and can advise you.

We went on a DMP last year with them - no, it doesn't cost anything. It might not be the right solution for you, but by getting in touch with them they can talk through the options open to you.

You can do a debt remedy thing online with them here: http://www.cccs.co.uk/ but I'd recommend that you ring them - they might help put your mind at ease.

Remember there's an awful lot of people having difficulties, you're not alone in this.

BTW, after my experiences CCCS asked me to do a blog for them about going on a DMP - it can be found here:

http://moneyaware.co.uk/2011/09/my-debt-hell/
http://moneyaware.co.uk/2011/09/my-debt-help-2/

Honestly, it's not as bad as it seems right now.

happy_bunny_2

And for the sake of making you feel better, I would register a formal complaint with Capital one about the way they have handled the collection activities on your account when you told them that you were having difficulties, asking them how they were being sympathetic as recommended by OFT guidelines.

i.e. using 2 collection agencies

Bullying you into paying to avoid sending to DCA then doing so anyhow.

Paying to keep the account on hold? What does that even mean?

Good luck

send in writing, signed for. Also, no longer talk to them, as you have discovered, they lie. Send everything in writing.

HB

MrsTinks

Above all else remember: THEY CANNOT HAVE FROM YOU WHAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO GIVE

Secondly - all these people are on commission - that means the more they squeeze out of you the more THEY get paid... some will use some pretty nasty tactics to screw money from you that you cannot afford.

From now on you do NOT pay them anything until you have spoken to CCCS - If anything send them a monthly cheque for £1 (oh yes... £1 - NO MORE).
They are not a priority - your rent, counciltax and utilities ARE.... you also have to live off something
Make sure you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to too, this is what benefits are for...

Now - get your SOA together and stick it up here and we'll advise you on where to start - stop speaking to them if they call, at most tell them you are seeking the services of CCCS and have reported their behaviour to the ombudsman, might just shut them up. If you really want them to be worried tell them you will record all future conversations

Yum

Defo make a complaint to Capital One about their collection policy - say that despite making regular token payments to them as requested they have failed to keep to their promises of calling you back and being proactive to resolve this issue. Make sure you detail the dates paid and the amounts and your plan of action going forward.

Sounds to me like they have looked at the information you have provided and taing the figure of £200 as your disposable income. When really taking into consideration food & petrol your disposable income is more like £50 per month. Make them aware of this and explain you are keen to sort this out but the situation is not being helped by them moving the goal posts every week. I would also ask them to justify any charges you hav incurred.

The worst thing you can do is agree to pay an amount then not pay it. If they want you to pay £200 and you say yes then dont do it, it looks much worse than saying you can pay £50 then sticking to it. If for any reason you cannot pay the agreed amount ring them in advance, and keep a record of your calls. There are two sorts of debtors - cant pay and wont pay. Part of their job is to force the wont pay start paying, the cant pay will turn into can pays in the future, until then stay in control, keep them informed and dont ignore it.

Good luck