Should I pay? or should I fail?

Annie_Nameless

Hi, sorry to be a nuisance!

I've been reading these threads for a couple of weeks, and I'm not sure what to do

I have a credit card debt of £6000 which is interest-free until next month (it was a balance transfer which I did last year)

I finally got around to calling the credit card company today, and they agreed to cancel the interest (and any charges etc) because I have now stopped work due to health problems and living on the state pension. They also said that I could start paying a reduced monthly sum

Now that the interest etc is cancelled, and the monthly payment reduced, I can in fact afford to keep paying off this debt, but it will take many years

Reading some of the posts on here, it seems that if I were to decide to get a bit confrontational, I could probably get out of most of this debt quite easily, but I need to be convinced

On the other hand, I have problems with the morality issues

Any advice will be appreciated, thanks in advance

Tixy

If you don't pay anything its not always as easy as some posts would indicate to get out of the debt. Its quite possible that your creditor could go court to obtain a CCJ. They may not they may just keep writing and harrassing you to pay and get a debt collector to do the same. Or they may go to court.

Do you have any assets? are you a homeowner? If you are a homeowner they could attempt a CCJ with a view to following up with a charging order. MBNA for example are using this a lot at the moment, even for debts as little as £3k odd.

If you don't have assets and are not a homeowner you may decide not to pay and to hope either that they don't go for a CCJ or that it they do you can either ask the court to allow you to pay in low installments or to ignore the CCJ and try to avoid it being enforced.

Ultimately its a decision to be made about whether you make the reduced payments, make no payments until forced by a court or try to avoid repaying altogether. Some on here might say you must repay it, others may say definitely don't repay.
Some may even say they can guarantee your creditor won't take you to court - that is definitely a guarantee that nobody can acurately state.

arby

they're going further than required to help you. If you can make the payments, make them. Then in future if you did ever need credit you can get it. I wouldn't risk what you're suggesting over a few grand that you state you can afford to pay.

Annie_Nameless

arby wrote: »

they're going further than required to help you. If you can make the payments, make them. Then in future if you did ever need credit you can get it. I wouldn't risk what you're suggesting over a few grand that you state you can afford to pay.

Thanks tixy and arby for some useful replies

I have to say I was very surprised by the speed with which the credit card company decided to cancel the interest etc. I was expecting them to make things difficult for me, but the person I spoke to seemed to be willing to agree to almost anything

That's what made me start to think that maybe the impression I am getting from many of the threads on here is correct - ie, the credit card companies don't actually bother to work very hard to force people to pay up, once they have hit hard times

The person on the phone was pretty vague about how long the reduced payment arrangement would be allowed to continue - he seemed to suggest that the situation would be reviewed in a few months time

It's not really in my nature to ignore my responsibilities, but if it is normal practice for somebody in my position to be able to write off my debt, then I would have one less thing to worry about if my health continues to deteriorate

It is unlikely that I will ever again be applying for credit - this is the only debt I have ever had, and it stems from a family breakup and a negative equity mortgage - I have no assets, apart from a few hundred pounds to cover next month's bills, and I live in privately-rented accommodation

Annie_Nameless

Sorry to bring this back to the top.

I have been mulling things over quite a lot, and I have been reading about 'unenforceability', which seems to be a very hard case to win.

In my case, although the current debt is recent, the card itself was issued at some point in the 1990s by a financial institution which then passed its credit card business over to a competitor quite a few years ago.

It seems possible that the current lender would find it difficult to produce a satisfactory original agreement.

Am I right in understanding that if the lender cannot produce a satisfactory credit agreement, then the debt will be regarded as being 'in dispute', and that therefore the lender would not be allowed to pass the debt on to collectors or a DCA?

I intend to continue to pay off this debt, but it is going to take years, and, more than anything, I would like to avoid having to deal with debt collectors - if I write to the lender and ask for a copy of the original agreement, and they are unable to produce it, then at least I might have strengthened my bargaining position, even if there is no real prospect of having the debt itself ruled as unenforceable.

Annie_Nameless

elaine12022 wrote: »

They have not produced any valid evidence at all of any debt owing, just lots of threats.

Many thanks for your reply, but I have to say that years of threats from debt collectors is precisely what I am trying to avoid

I am lucky enough to have survived a lifetime of financial brinkmanship without mishap - until now

The weakness is physical rather than spiritual - until recently I would have enjoyed the contest, but now my health has failed - I think I would find it less stressful to live on boiled rice, than to be scared to open my mailbox every day

I feel a lot of sympathy for those who have been less lucky than me, but I also think that there is, and will always be, a large chunk of humanity which is bound to fail

In the era of medical science and a welfare state, material well-being is probably a better measure of Darwinian success than physical well-being

sgtbush

Annie_Nameless wrote: »

Sorry to bring this back to the top.

I have been mulling things over quite a lot, and I have been reading about 'unenforceability', which seems to be a very hard case to win.

In my case, although the current debt is recent, the card itself was issued at some point in the 1990s by a financial institution which then passed its credit card business over to a competitor quite a few years ago.

It seems possible that the current lender would find it difficult to produce a satisfactory original agreement.

Am I right in understanding that if the lender cannot produce a satisfactory credit agreement, then the debt will be regarded as being 'in dispute', and that therefore the lender would not be allowed to pass the debt on to collectors or a DCA?

I intend to continue to pay off this debt, but it is going to take years, and, more than anything, I would like to avoid having to deal with debt collectors - if I write to the lender and ask for a copy of the original agreement, and they are unable to produce it, then at least I might have strengthened my bargaining position, even if there is no real prospect of having the debt itself ruled as unenforceable.

im sorry-- i thought this forum was to help people manage their debts and ways to resolve problems-- not looking for ways to avoid paying--

Annie_Nameless

I think you need to re-read the last paragraph of the post which you used as a quotation

FireWyrm

Sgtbush, your post was less than helpful. Please keep in mind that this forum is not for judgement.

Annie, I would normally not recommend avoiding debts as this often leads to precisely the situation you are afraid of, but in this case, if there genuinely is no hope of improving your situation, then the shorter path might be the right one. Most people in debt are there of their own accord and none of us dispute that, but occasionally it comes to the end of the line where quality of life trumps moral responsibility. You know what morally is right, but as you say you are in ill health, am I right in thinking that there is probably no hope of improving your income?

If this is indeed the case, then there is an argument for telling your lender this and negotiating a full and final settlement. That settlement doesn't have to be a lump sum as such, simply an arrangement with a definitive end date to which both parties can adhere. If this is your only debt and you are in provable ill health, then you are classed as vulnerable and they must listen to you. It's worth fighting your corner in my opinion.

Annie_Nameless

FireWyrm wrote: »

If this is your only debt and you are in provable ill health, then you are classed as vulnerable and they must listen to you

Hi FireWyrm, thanks for your reply - I had not realised that health issues presented a particular set of rules for a creditor to consider, but maybe that is why I received such a helpful response to my initial contact with the credit card company

It is a coincidence that I recently sent a letter to the credit card company suggesting a repayment plan over the next 8 years or so, dependent upon their willingness to cancel all interest and charges etc etc

I really cannot face the prospect of having to deal with all the crap which so many debtors on MSE have to endure - I guess I am (yet again) lucky enough to be able to tell them all to get lost