Court Action Imminent

bagpipersniper

Hi, forum members

Thanks for taking the time to read this post.

My wife and I are in severe financial difficulty. I have recieved a Citation from the Sherrif Court to appear at a hearing next week as I am unable to make payments on a personal loan with the Royal Bank of Scotland.
The loan has gone past the point of payment with the Royal Bank
and then on to Triton Credit services who were collecting it for them
and has now gone through to Anderson Strathern Solicitors who are
collecting it directly for the Royal Bank.
I have been unable to keep up with the payments of £200 to Anderson Strathern and the Royal Bank are now taking
court action against me.

From believe they are trying to get an Order of Decree which I belive is like a CCJ against me to prevent us from selling our house in the future without them getting the money due to them.

My wife and I both have seperate Debt Management Plans with Debt-line (not the best company but we fell behind with our Council Tax and it is being collected by Scott & Co. We would have went with the CCCS but they wouldnt take on a Council Tax debt as part of the plan.)

My wife and I are both with debtline seperately. She pays approx £105 pm
I pay £185, of which the highest amount £115 goes to our outstanding council tax debt
which has approx £1,100 to pay and several smaller debts paid at £5 each.

We have a secured loan with Welcome Finance in both our names
which my wife pays. We are just over a month behind with this. We have fallen behind with our mortgage payments
which i am repaying at an extra £105 per month as well as the monthly rate of £450.

We cant afford a solicitor to defend me and we are expecting the court to rule in favour of the Bank on this matter.

Has anyone been in the same or similar situation having to go before a Sheriff?

Whats the procedure?

I understand that wages arrestment my also be an option in this matter. If the Sheriff ruled on this can they take all my wages or just a portion?

Can we be forced to sell out house to meet this debt?

I am at my wits end with this.

Any help you guys can give would be gratefully recieved.

Thanks

coolcait

Hi bagpipersniper and welcome to the BR board,

First of all (with thanks to ifwisheswerehorses for the original) -


First step is to make a list of all your creditors, debts and assets. Secondly and most important is contact one of the following debt charities. Please try these they don't charge and are impartial. They will go through all your options with you and if they suggest bankruptcy then come back to this board and we will help you all we can. Also if your not ‘clicking’ with one of the Debt charities do try another. We advise you to try at least two for your own piece of mind. Your BR could be refused if you have not sought advice.

* Blue text on this forum usually signifies hyperlinks, click on the blue links below *


Advice on bankruptcy.

• Consumer Credit Counselling Service (Scotland) - Website: CCCS Telephone: 0800 138 3328
• National Debtline (Scotland) - Website: National Debtline Telephone: 0808 808 4000
• Citizens Advice Bureau - Website: Citizens Advice or visit your local CAB centre (find nearest)

Others:

• Business Debtline Scotland - Website: Business Debtline Telephone: 0800 197 6026
• Christians Against Poverty
• PayPlan
• TaxAid - Help with tax debts.

.
.
Accountant in Bankruptcy (equivalent of the English Insolvency Service).

Main website: www.aib.gov.uk

For general queries about insolvency (but not debt advice) you can contact: General helpline - Tel: 0845 762 6171 - Email: [EMAIL="Helpline@aib.gsi.gov.uk"]Helpline@aib.gsi.gov.uk[/EMAIL]

Bankruptcy

Low Income Low Assets.

Debt Arrangement Scheme

Trust Deeds

Bankruptcy after 1 April 2008

• DAIP - Debt Advice and Information Pack
• Debtor's Guide
• Creditor's Guide
• Bankruptcy Restriction Guide
• Trust Deeds Guide

Bankruptcy before 1 April 2008 (follow for links)


Please don’t do anything rash take your time and weigh up your options and read everything you can.

BR friendly home insurance thread.

BR Friendly bank accounts sticky.

BR Abbreviations.

If you are new/old to this board and receive/see a comment that is not helpful or insensitive please don’t let it put you off posting, often these comments are made by people who don’t normally contribute to this board and don’t speak for us.

What to do if you get an insensitive or hurtful comment.

Thread by DoshDolt you may find helpful:-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...light=doshdolt

Doshdolt has done several more threads to find them click on link :-

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....php?u=1075187

Go to Statistics and Find all threads started by DoshDolt.

And do remember we’ve all been through this and anything you don’t understand don’t be afraid to ask.


Best wishes
If...x

coolcait

I really do recommend that you have a look through the links above, and try to talk to the 'Scotland' branch of one of the debt charities.

Can you give us a bit more detail about how much you owe, and how much you are paying back each month? Are you paying a fee to the debt management company?

Depending on how much you owe, and how much you are able to pay back each month, you might want to consider the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS).

It works like a debt management plan, but your creditors can't take you to court while it's running. Also, it will protect your home - you won't be forced to sell it while you are in DAS.

Have a look at the das website - www.dasscotland.gov.uk - for more info. You can also use it to find a DAS money adviser in your area. When you contact them, make sure you tell them that you have a court hearing next week - hopefully they will be able to give you an emergency appointment.

The money adviser might suggest recording an 'intimation' on the DAS Register. This is basically a formal notification that you are looking into DAS as a way of paying back your debts.

Once the 'intimation' is recorded on the DAS Register, your creditors can't enforce payment of the debt for six weeks after the date of the intimation. It's possible that the Sheriff may award the decree, but the creditor wouldn't be able to put a wages arrestment in place, for example, during the six weeks that the intimation is 'live'.

If you can't get hold of a money adviser, you can put in the intimation yourself. You and your wife will need to do one each. Call the DAS helpline - 0300 200 2770 - to see what info they need from you, and if you can send it by email or fax.

You can only do an intimation once in a 12 month period, so normally I'd recommend that people always speak to a money adviser before they do it themselves. However, since you've got a court hearing next week, you may not have the time for that . Which day is the hearing taking place?

If you do put in an intimation, it is important to print a copy of the entry on the DAS Register (you can do that through the dasscotland website too), and take it along to the hearing with you. If you have received the DAS Administrator's acknowledgement letter in time, take that with you too.

Make sure you let the Sheriff know that you have lodged an intimation of an intention to apply for DAS, and show him/her the paperwork.

You can use the six week period of the intimation to work with your money adviser to see if DAS is right for you, and to get the process started. If you find that it's not the right option for you, don't worry - you're not forced to go on DAS just because you put in an intimation . Your options are still open.

As an afterthought, why not phone the court and see if they have an in-court money adviser? Some of them do (although I'm not quite sure of the actual job title). It's basically a money adviser who is based at the court, and can give emergency advice and support to people who are literally at the point of attending a hearing. (Apologies to all those who do this excellent job, because I'm quite sure I've just mangled your job description and job titel! )

good luck!

rossireps

ditch debtline! they did nothing to help me reduce my debts and they charge .

bagpipersniper

Thanks for the replies all of you.

I have called the CCS today I have an appointment for Monday to speak to a councilor so I will see what they say and can do.

I have never been in a situation that requires this before and am looking for some advice about what to expect in court.

My wife & I cant afford a solicitor so we are just going along ourselves. I expect that the Sheriff will rule in favour of the Bank in this case.

How long will the hearing last?

What are the outcomes of a hearing for an Order of Decree? and how serious can they be?

I have heard it would prevent us selling the house at anypoint without the bank getting the money they are due.
I have heard of wages arrestment also as a possible outcome. If this happens can the Sheriff award part of wages to the bank or can they award all of them?

Can they force us to sell our home to meet the debt?

The debt is £9.8k approx.

To Debtline I pay £190 consisting of
£30 Fee
£114.70 Scott & Co Council Tax arrears
£10.30 Anderson Strathern for this debt (taken as a token payment but not enough)
£5 to FPC for Santander store card
£5 to Wescot for Capital One C/card
£5 Payday UK
£5 Quickquid
£5 Wonga
£5 Money Shop
£5 Bank Of Scotland overdraft

The other outgoings I have cover utilities bills and mortgage, mobile phone etc.

The council tax arrears will be cleared with Scott & Co in 11 months so I will be able to have Debtline re-organise my debts to pay Anderson Stathern the extra money then.

My wife and I also have mortgage arrears of £790 which will be cleared in 7-8 months as I am paying an extra £104 per month to clear the arrears. so again Anderson Strathern will be able to get that £100 extra then, so within this year i will be able to pay them an extra £200. I am hoping that the Sheriff will accept this proposal in the court.


I have come to accept there is nothing I can do to stop it going to court unless I pay the full amount now, so I just want to know what to expect and say.

If anyone else has been in the same boat and had to go to court for one of these hearings I would be most gratefull for any info and advice.

Thanks

rossireps

dont know with your situation if you can but ditch DEBTLINE there are free dmp companies . so that could be another £30 towards debts.