We’d like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum.
This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are – or become – political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
NEWBIE Just acknowledging debts and in need of support and advice ;-)
jaldoc
Posts: 28 Forumite
I'm really excited about this thread as I've spent the past few days getting my head around all my debts which have been ignored for years, and compiling letters, accessing credit reports, researching advice online etc, and I'm now ready to post my own situation and hopefully get some solid advice on how I can become Debt-Free. :beer:
Firstly - Let me apologise in advance for the length of this and future posts. I have always had difficulties in being concise and I tend to go on a bit giving sometimes too much information. Don't hate me.
So I'm 27 years old, and have been in debt since my 18th birthday (worked in retail at the time and opened a store card on my 18th birthday, and took out a mobile contract), then within a few years I moved into banking work and had numerous overdrafts, loans etc and it all just spiralled from there.
From the age of 18 (2002 I think) to 23 (2007) I built up a scary amount of debts and through various job changes, house moves etc ended up abandoning a lot of them when things became difficult. I was incredibly stupid, and I regret it hugely now.
Now in my late 20's, I'm unable to get any credit which is fine as I don't want any now to be honest, however I would like to start dealing with the problems I created in the past and building up a good credit rating so in 7-10 years time I might be able to get a mortgage and start living as a proper grown up. I have no desire to loan more money for clothes, computers etc as I'm not that same youngster anymore.
So for the past few months I've started keeping hold of DCA letters (check me using the jargon already!), and organising them so I know which debt they belong to. And in the past week I've obtained my CallCredit credit report (have also paid £2 for Experian, due in the next few days). I now have an organised folder, with a different 'polly pocket' for each debt, and a spreadsheet tracking all the debts and the DCA's who have contacted me). I'm very shocked and disgusted to see my debts have reached such a huge amount - £13,293.
So, here we go.... this is what I have (this is meant to be a table but didn't paste correctly! The date refers to the Default Date......
CREDITOR BALANCE STATUS DEFAULT DATE
3Mobile £391 DEFAULT 06/08/2006
HBoS £3,274 DEFAULT 16/08/2006
Provident £913 CCJ (Active) 12/09/2006
Bank of Scotland £1,153 DEFAULT 10/10/2006
Capital One £580 DEFAULT 21/10/2006
T-Mobile £299 DEFAULT 10/12/2006
Welcome Finance £2,075 D. SATISFIED 17/03/2007 (However I have a letter from a DCA in April 2010 - not showing on credit report!)
Halifax £3,100 DEFAULT 03/12/2007
Lloyds TSB £668 DEFAULT 24/06/2009
Barclaycard £629.43 (not showing on CallCredit credit report, will check with Experian when I get that through... not sure why this is)
Virgin £210.29 (same as above, not showing on CallCredit!)
TOTAL £13,293
My objective is to obtain a good credit record and be able to get a mortgage when I'm in my mid 30's. Realistic?
My current situation is that I'm unemployed and on JSA, however I have had a good career and have a really strong CV so am hopeful that a new job will come along soon. I'm not currently paying anything towards these debts, but as I hope to be in a new role in the next few months I'm looking for advice on what I should pay and which are probably best left to 'drop off' my credit file (if I'm right from my research, as most of these debts defaulted 5 years or more ago they should drop off soon?)
So after a fair bit of time researching over the past week or so... I have a fair few questions and would really appreciate any advice you lovely people can give me......
QUESTIONS.
1. When I logged in to my CallCredit credit report, on the summary page it showed that I had six accounts, three defaults - HBoS, Welcome Finance, and Lloyds. I had three other accounts which were fine....two are my Natwest bank accounts which are fine (basic Step accounts, lots of green ticks), and the third was a Wonga loan I took out in March this year which was settled in one payment with no problems. However I knew myself there were more debts than this, so when I went through my linked addresses I found the others which are listed above... why is this? Surely if the HBoS (overdraft) and Lloyds (overdraft) know my current address, then the Bank of Scotland (overdraft) and Halifax (loan) accounts should also have been updated? If not then what should I do?
2. The Welcome Finance loan is showing as default satisfied in March 2010 but there's no other mention of it after that.. however I do have a letter from DCA dated a month after this, quoting the same reference number ( no mention of Welcome's name), and a different balance of £2858! However this doesn't show on my credit file... might do when i get hold of the Experian file in the next few days....but if its not on there either what should I do about this one?
3. A couple of my debts defaulted in 2006, so in 2012 it will be 6 years since many of them defaulted, am I right in thinking that the defaults will drop off my credit report overnight on their anniversary? Is it just the default that disappears or does the whole account disappear along with it too? e.g. I'm in no position to pay back all of these debts, and whilst I'm older now and learnt my lesson about money, I really just want to pay back those I really need to, so if there's a chance that the debts will disappear on the anniversary date should sit quietly and not contact those creditors considering its just a number of months away? Is there a risk that they could apply for CCJ's before the 6 years is up and then I'm stuffed for another six years? If the account does stay on my file 6 years after it defaulted, what status will it show as? If the debts do drop off, what would be my chances of e.g. opening an account with Lloyds in a few years time? Will they still have information on the debt even though it's long since disappeared from my credit report?
4. The CCJ should disappear in September 2012 right? Will this have any positive impact on my credit rating at that stage with it no longer being there?
5. In my 'linked addresses' there are 2 addresses which are around 8 years old if not more - no accounts are linked to them. Can I get these removed? Will this make any difference? (I did have store cards and an o2 mobile debt at these addresses but these must have dropped off as it's been so long! Can I forget about these now?).
6. T Mobile and 3Mobile are both small debts under £500 that are old - do you think it would be worthwhile writing and asking for these to be removed as a goodwill gesture, explaining I'm trying to sort out my finances and these are really old, or again should I be quiet and hope they will drop off?
7. The Barclaycard debt isn't showing on my credit report, but I do think this is possibly about 7-8 years old... how should I approach this as I can't see on CallCredit report when this defaulted, so I can't be sure how old it is... I have letters from DCA's and would like to be able to use Statute Barred for this and hope for the best!
8. The Virgin debt is for VirginMedia, I had a 12 month contract which (I think) ended in February 2011, I then called them to say I wanted it to continue, they sent me an agreement to sign and return, and in my laziness I never did sign it but the services continued and I paid them for 2-3 months after the initial contract ended until I lost my job...then stopped paying and services were disconnected...I have a letter from them asking for £210.29 but as I never signed and returned another years agreement, can they demand the money? That letter was April this year I think, haven't heard anything since...
9. The Lloyds TSB account defaulted in June 2009, so a long time to go until it will drop off... This is one I plan to pay and sort out. From memory this account went overdrawn slightly, and a huge amount of charges caused it to get really overdrawn, rather than sort it out I moved to Natwest (who I've been with since with no problems at all). I'm sure 95% of this Lloyds account balance is made of charges! I have no statements of this so would have to request them! It has been with a few DCA's since, but I'd like to liase directly with Lloyds and hopefully get the charges refunded so its a much smaller amount I have to deal with..... what are my chances do you think? The reason I want to deal with Lloyds and not the DCA's is that some of them look after more than one of my debts so I don't want to contact them in case they start to push for me to pay other debts which I'm hoping will 'drop off' in 2012....
10. The Halifax debt for £3100 is one which isn't linked to my current address, but I reckon I need to start paying now (or when I have a job in the new year) - advice on this one? Bearing in mind I'm hoping the other HBoS /BoS accounts 'drop off' in 2012?
END OF QUESTIONS!
I'm so sorry for the length of this message, I've tried to give as much information as possible and prepare for all the things I want to /need to know so I can make some real planning decisions for how I get out of the mess the younger me created!
Any other advice, info given will be GREATLY appreciated.
Thankyou :A
Firstly - Let me apologise in advance for the length of this and future posts. I have always had difficulties in being concise and I tend to go on a bit giving sometimes too much information. Don't hate me.
So I'm 27 years old, and have been in debt since my 18th birthday (worked in retail at the time and opened a store card on my 18th birthday, and took out a mobile contract), then within a few years I moved into banking work and had numerous overdrafts, loans etc and it all just spiralled from there.
From the age of 18 (2002 I think) to 23 (2007) I built up a scary amount of debts and through various job changes, house moves etc ended up abandoning a lot of them when things became difficult. I was incredibly stupid, and I regret it hugely now.
Now in my late 20's, I'm unable to get any credit which is fine as I don't want any now to be honest, however I would like to start dealing with the problems I created in the past and building up a good credit rating so in 7-10 years time I might be able to get a mortgage and start living as a proper grown up. I have no desire to loan more money for clothes, computers etc as I'm not that same youngster anymore.
So for the past few months I've started keeping hold of DCA letters (check me using the jargon already!), and organising them so I know which debt they belong to. And in the past week I've obtained my CallCredit credit report (have also paid £2 for Experian, due in the next few days). I now have an organised folder, with a different 'polly pocket' for each debt, and a spreadsheet tracking all the debts and the DCA's who have contacted me). I'm very shocked and disgusted to see my debts have reached such a huge amount - £13,293.
So, here we go.... this is what I have (this is meant to be a table but didn't paste correctly! The date refers to the Default Date......
CREDITOR BALANCE STATUS DEFAULT DATE
3Mobile £391 DEFAULT 06/08/2006
HBoS £3,274 DEFAULT 16/08/2006
Provident £913 CCJ (Active) 12/09/2006
Bank of Scotland £1,153 DEFAULT 10/10/2006
Capital One £580 DEFAULT 21/10/2006
T-Mobile £299 DEFAULT 10/12/2006
Welcome Finance £2,075 D. SATISFIED 17/03/2007 (However I have a letter from a DCA in April 2010 - not showing on credit report!)
Halifax £3,100 DEFAULT 03/12/2007
Lloyds TSB £668 DEFAULT 24/06/2009
Barclaycard £629.43 (not showing on CallCredit credit report, will check with Experian when I get that through... not sure why this is)
Virgin £210.29 (same as above, not showing on CallCredit!)
TOTAL £13,293
My objective is to obtain a good credit record and be able to get a mortgage when I'm in my mid 30's. Realistic?
My current situation is that I'm unemployed and on JSA, however I have had a good career and have a really strong CV so am hopeful that a new job will come along soon. I'm not currently paying anything towards these debts, but as I hope to be in a new role in the next few months I'm looking for advice on what I should pay and which are probably best left to 'drop off' my credit file (if I'm right from my research, as most of these debts defaulted 5 years or more ago they should drop off soon?)
So after a fair bit of time researching over the past week or so... I have a fair few questions and would really appreciate any advice you lovely people can give me......
QUESTIONS.
1. When I logged in to my CallCredit credit report, on the summary page it showed that I had six accounts, three defaults - HBoS, Welcome Finance, and Lloyds. I had three other accounts which were fine....two are my Natwest bank accounts which are fine (basic Step accounts, lots of green ticks), and the third was a Wonga loan I took out in March this year which was settled in one payment with no problems. However I knew myself there were more debts than this, so when I went through my linked addresses I found the others which are listed above... why is this? Surely if the HBoS (overdraft) and Lloyds (overdraft) know my current address, then the Bank of Scotland (overdraft) and Halifax (loan) accounts should also have been updated? If not then what should I do?
2. The Welcome Finance loan is showing as default satisfied in March 2010 but there's no other mention of it after that.. however I do have a letter from DCA dated a month after this, quoting the same reference number ( no mention of Welcome's name), and a different balance of £2858! However this doesn't show on my credit file... might do when i get hold of the Experian file in the next few days....but if its not on there either what should I do about this one?
3. A couple of my debts defaulted in 2006, so in 2012 it will be 6 years since many of them defaulted, am I right in thinking that the defaults will drop off my credit report overnight on their anniversary? Is it just the default that disappears or does the whole account disappear along with it too? e.g. I'm in no position to pay back all of these debts, and whilst I'm older now and learnt my lesson about money, I really just want to pay back those I really need to, so if there's a chance that the debts will disappear on the anniversary date should sit quietly and not contact those creditors considering its just a number of months away? Is there a risk that they could apply for CCJ's before the 6 years is up and then I'm stuffed for another six years? If the account does stay on my file 6 years after it defaulted, what status will it show as? If the debts do drop off, what would be my chances of e.g. opening an account with Lloyds in a few years time? Will they still have information on the debt even though it's long since disappeared from my credit report?
4. The CCJ should disappear in September 2012 right? Will this have any positive impact on my credit rating at that stage with it no longer being there?
5. In my 'linked addresses' there are 2 addresses which are around 8 years old if not more - no accounts are linked to them. Can I get these removed? Will this make any difference? (I did have store cards and an o2 mobile debt at these addresses but these must have dropped off as it's been so long! Can I forget about these now?).
6. T Mobile and 3Mobile are both small debts under £500 that are old - do you think it would be worthwhile writing and asking for these to be removed as a goodwill gesture, explaining I'm trying to sort out my finances and these are really old, or again should I be quiet and hope they will drop off?
7. The Barclaycard debt isn't showing on my credit report, but I do think this is possibly about 7-8 years old... how should I approach this as I can't see on CallCredit report when this defaulted, so I can't be sure how old it is... I have letters from DCA's and would like to be able to use Statute Barred for this and hope for the best!
8. The Virgin debt is for VirginMedia, I had a 12 month contract which (I think) ended in February 2011, I then called them to say I wanted it to continue, they sent me an agreement to sign and return, and in my laziness I never did sign it but the services continued and I paid them for 2-3 months after the initial contract ended until I lost my job...then stopped paying and services were disconnected...I have a letter from them asking for £210.29 but as I never signed and returned another years agreement, can they demand the money? That letter was April this year I think, haven't heard anything since...
9. The Lloyds TSB account defaulted in June 2009, so a long time to go until it will drop off... This is one I plan to pay and sort out. From memory this account went overdrawn slightly, and a huge amount of charges caused it to get really overdrawn, rather than sort it out I moved to Natwest (who I've been with since with no problems at all). I'm sure 95% of this Lloyds account balance is made of charges! I have no statements of this so would have to request them! It has been with a few DCA's since, but I'd like to liase directly with Lloyds and hopefully get the charges refunded so its a much smaller amount I have to deal with..... what are my chances do you think? The reason I want to deal with Lloyds and not the DCA's is that some of them look after more than one of my debts so I don't want to contact them in case they start to push for me to pay other debts which I'm hoping will 'drop off' in 2012....
10. The Halifax debt for £3100 is one which isn't linked to my current address, but I reckon I need to start paying now (or when I have a job in the new year) - advice on this one? Bearing in mind I'm hoping the other HBoS /BoS accounts 'drop off' in 2012?
END OF QUESTIONS!
I'm so sorry for the length of this message, I've tried to give as much information as possible and prepare for all the things I want to /need to know so I can make some real planning decisions for how I get out of the mess the younger me created!
Any other advice, info given will be GREATLY appreciated.
Thankyou :A
Started Acknowledging in December 2011 - Starting with Debts of £14,078
Debt now stands at £6355 (October 2012) thanks to the advice on here. :beer:
Debt now stands at £6355 (October 2012) thanks to the advice on here. :beer:
0
Comments
-
Hello, and welcome.
You're certainly in the right place for support and advice here. I'm afraid I'm not savvy enough to be able to offer you advice on your questions - they're beyond anything I know about - but there will be plenty people on here who can help you.Ninja Saving Turtle0 -
wannabee_in_credit wrote: »Hello, and welcome.
You're certainly in the right place for support and advice here. I'm afraid I'm not savvy enough to be able to offer you advice on your questions - they're beyond anything I know about - but there will be plenty people on here who can help you.
Thankyou ;-)Started Acknowledging in December 2011 - Starting with Debts of £14,078
Debt now stands at £6355 (October 2012) thanks to the advice on here. :beer:0 -
bump
;-)Started Acknowledging in December 2011 - Starting with Debts of £14,078
Debt now stands at £6355 (October 2012) thanks to the advice on here. :beer:0 -
Might be worth posting up a SOA as it may help explain your current situation etc.0
-
My current situation is that I can pay nothing , I'm on JSA and housing benefit doesn't even cover all my rent, so having to contribute some of my JSA towards my rent, so im not in a position to pay a penny.
I'm more looking for advice on how to manage the debts, knowing which I should focus on when I do get a job in the next few months etc...Started Acknowledging in December 2011 - Starting with Debts of £14,078
Debt now stands at £6355 (October 2012) thanks to the advice on here. :beer:0 -
My current situation is that I can pay nothing , I'm on JSA and housing benefit doesn't even cover all my rent, so having to contribute some of my JSA towards my rent, so im not in a position to pay a penny.
I'm more looking for advice on how to manage the debts, knowing which I should focus on when I do get a job in the next few months etc...
The questions aren't my area but someone will help.. .just digging for some more information to help.
What do you have left over at the end of each month? is it £1, £10 or -£1, -£10?0 -
I'm not in a position to pay anything just now.
All of these debts have gone with no payment for a number of years, they are all old debts, and I'm certainly not going to start paying now that I'm unemployed...however once I have a job sorted i will be paying. I just need advice on which ones I have to pay, which will disappear automatically themselves etc, and then answers to other questions above...
Sorry i may not have made that clear enough amongst all my babbling in the first post!
ThanksStarted Acknowledging in December 2011 - Starting with Debts of £14,078
Debt now stands at £6355 (October 2012) thanks to the advice on here. :beer:0 -
Oh just had a thought.....
The Capital One debt was one of the first debts I took out back in 2002/2003 I think....so it should now be 'statute barred' if I'm right?
However it's showing on my credit report but under the name of the DCA, and the start date is August 2004 which I know isn't right. That must have been when Capital One sold it on.... so does the 'statute barred' begin from then, or earlier?
I do not think I used this card for more than a few months when I was 18....
What would the advice be on this one? Surely it should have dropped off my account by now if it had been left as Capital One taken out in 2002, and not transferred to another account with Lowell in 2004....Started Acknowledging in December 2011 - Starting with Debts of £14,078
Debt now stands at £6355 (October 2012) thanks to the advice on here. :beer:0 -
bump ;-) Someone help please!Started Acknowledging in December 2011 - Starting with Debts of £14,078
Debt now stands at £6355 (October 2012) thanks to the advice on here. :beer:0 -
Hi, i've recently paid off my loans I had over £600 a month going out on these, and owed 30k it took me about 4.5 years to pay all this off, and all of it was stupid spending on CC to fund holidays, clothes, going out, house bits etc etc. Through all this though I did still manage to buy a flat with my now husband and have child during this time all on a tight budget.
I had spread sheets coming out of my ears to budget plan, took on extra training and promotions at work to make more money. Cut up all of my credit cards, food planned etc. You will get there and it will be really really hard, GET A JOB ASAP, until then you won't know how to manage as you've no idea what your income will be.Received £2,626.00 in PPI -2013:j
Received £1400 charges - 2006:j0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply
Categories
- All Categories
- 352.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.7K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 454.4K Spending & Discounts
- 245.3K Work, Benefits & Business
- 601.1K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.6K Life & Family
- 259.2K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.7K Read-Only Boards