Please Help.

td23

Hi.

First of all, I dont expect any sympathy from anyone, as I understand the following problems I have are entirely self inflicted and I should have known better. But I didnt. I was young and stupid.

My debt problems started when I started at University at 18, and have stayed with me since.

Im now 29 years old and need desperatley to get of a grip of the situation before it sends me over the edge.

Im in approximatley £13,000 of debt to a number of differant banks, cc companies, store cards etc.

These were all taken out in between the years 2001 and 2003.

An example of one of these debts is a £3500 limit 'platinum card' Capital one gave me, even when I asked only to transfer my only existing £500 cc debt over to them, to take advantage of the 0% apr on balance transfers. They gave me this ridiculous limit even when I told them I only had a part time job earning £1500 per year.

I know it was me who took it to the limit though, they didnt force me to spend it.

Now the bad bit. I went to see the citizens advice bureau in about 2003 after I hadnt made a single payment to any of my creditors for approximatley 6 months. At the time I was unemployed and offered them all a nominal payment per month, ( All done by CAB ) All of the creditors refused my offer.

It was at this point that I hit depression, and have never been in contact with any of my creditors since. Never took a phone call, never replied to a letter, never answered the door to them.

Now although debt collecting agencies still get in touch, but very infrequently. I rarely have people at the door, if at all, and rarely get any letters or calls.

I do know that I have to sort this out, but since its been so long I dont want to stir the hornets nest. What do I do??

I want to move on with my life, and eventually get a mortgage. What are the best steps to take ??

I am currently living with my partner of 10 years, though we are not married we have a child together, in rented property.
Im self employed, but earning a realtivley poor wage sub £12000 per year.

Any advice anyone could give would be great. Really dont know where to turn.

Thank you.

wellynever

Can you let me know if you have paid anything on the debts since 2004 ?

RAS

Or written in response to a debt collection letter since early 2006?

td23

Hi,

No unfortunatley I havent, Like I say I havent replied to any of their letters, calls or knocks on the doors.

Thanks.

wellynever

Debt free, But it's up to you morally if you want to pay anything back, No one can take you to court they can ask you to pay but you can also tell them to do one.

Now go and enjoy life we have all made mistakes in life live and learn

td23

Hi Welly,

That all sounds great, If Im debt free??? Then obviously thats marvellous, but how am ever going to further myself? Ie mortgages etc.

Will all my past defaults always show on my credit ratings for the rest of my life?? If I pay all my debts off will I then have a clear slate, so to speak? Am I always goiing to have a black mark against my name?

Thanks.

wellynever

All defaults drop off after 6 years so they will not show on your credit file, You can always check and see but i doubt you will see any defaults,

Now here is the cheeky bit and no i really don't want you to do this but apply online for a Cap One credit card

fatbelly

Just to expand on that ... assuming no-one has already obtained a court judgement against you, all your debts will now be 'statute barred.' That means that no court action is now possible, and if a debt collector were to ask for payment (as they are allowed to do) you could say that you are not paying because it is statute barred and under OFT Debt Collection Guidance, they must cease collection activity.

Statute barred debts and the Limitation Acts

The companies involved should have sent default notices 3 -6 months after you stopped payment, and these defaults would have been recorded on your credit file. But six years after this, the entry is removed so you should have pretty much nothing showing on your file.

What should you do? If I were you I would look forwards, not back. Start by getting your credit files sorted so that, if you one day try for a mortgage, you'll be offered the best products.

Martin's got an article here

Are you on the electoral roll?

Have you got copies of your credit reports?

RAS

td23 wrote: »

Hi Welly,

That all sounds great, If Im debt free??? Then obviously thats marvellous, but how am ever going to further myself? Ie mortgages etc.

Will all my past defaults always show on my credit ratings for the rest of my life?? If I pay all my debts off will I then have a clear slate, so to speak? Am I always goiing to have a black mark against my name?

Thanks.

Not quite as simple as that.

1. Any debt for which you have not paid anything or made a written acknowledgment in the last 6 years is statute barred (England and Wales anyway), unless there is a CCJ outstanding.

2. The debt still exists but if a DCA ask you to pay and you tell them you are not, they have to cease collection.

3. If there is a CCJ and it is over 6 years old, the creditor has to go back to court and prove that it is reasonable to pursue at this very late stage. Unlikely to be granted.

None of the debts above will be on your credit record and have no impact on your credit rating as they fall off your record after 6 years.

Do be aware that DCAs have been known to play all sorts of tricks for up to two decades after the debt was first taken out including issuing court papers and winning cases because the debor did not defend the action. The only defence you need is the Statute of Limitations.

wellynever

If you want to check for any CCJ's not that here should be you can check here,

http://www.trustonline.org.uk/

fatbelly

wellynever wrote: »

http://www.trustonline.org.uk/

Registry Trust is a good way of checking if you have ccjs (in the past six years only, mind) without alerting creditors that you are searching.

However it will cost £4 per address and the same info will be on the standard credit reports (as long as you declare all the addresses).