Help/Advice needed :-/

callyh26

Hi, Sorry for the long message :-/ But i need some advice?? I finally decided to tackle my debt last month after ignoring it since about 2006 and its built up since then. For years all debt letters etc have been stuck in drawers or the bin. But after meeting my partner and having a daughter together, we now have a son on the way and i also have a daughter from a previous relationship i decided i cant ignore it any more. I had a little debt up to about 2006 maybe a couple of thousand since then i split from my eldest child's father and slightly went off the rails. I did work till the beginning of 2009 but in this off rails period i wasnt paying any household bills only rent! I then left work and ended up taking more credit around the time all pay day loans came about (even though i wasnt working i managed to obtain over £1500 in loans ). My partner and myself cannot at the minute afford to live together (for a number of reasons) which i hate and hence why i decided to sit down and take stock of things. I was rather shocked when i started gathering up letters and today the total debt ive added up is £14,802! I was in the naive mind set of a figure around £6000. These debts varies between credit cards, overdraft, and utilities!! The highest amount is a £2500 overdraft and range down to a £70 electric bill. I haven't paid anything on many of these accounts since 2007/08 ish but how would i find exact dates of when anything was paid? As they are all with DCA's rather than the original creditor! Although when trying to get up to date letters from the DCA's for my DRO paperwork seems as soon as ive mentioned a DRO they have passed it back to original creditor! Considering these debts have been chased by more or less the same company the whole time i find it odd after emailing about DRO and hearing nothing when i rang them at least 4 so far have now said we dont have it now its gone back to original creditor! I understand i can write to each creditor and ask for a full statement etc from when the account was opened etc but is there a fee ? As the amount of different debts/creditors is about 33 separate accounts. I went to the CAB and was told the best way forward was probably a DRO, as i only have benefits to rely on and once household and general monthly bills i have nothing spare so even offering token payments of £1 per month isn't really an option as there are so many different debts. How do you think it would go if i wrote to each creditor basically saying i cannot pay the debt in full, my circumstances are unlikely to change and ask for them to write it off? (Long shot i know) Even if they agreed to reduce the figures it would be something? I want to plan for my future and although my credit ratings bad now i fear what a DRO will do? Do my circumstances have to stay exactly the same for a period of time during and after the DRO? As i almost have all the paper work i need to send to CCCS so it could possibly be sorted say by the beginning of July. I know from the point its awarded my circumstances have to stay the same for a year? But do they have to its ended a year on? Say for example the DRO was granted on the 1st July this year nothing changed for the next year but then in September next year we have discussed marriage so say we married 2 months after the year was up on the DRO could they revoke it? Or say i went back to work? I know i do want to return to work i am sick of living on benefits and want to work again but dont want a DRO if im then stuck at home for 2 years. I would in theory love to pay them all off asap! Once an accounts in default once 6 years has gone from the default day is the debt written off? Or does it simply dissapear from your credit file yet the creditor can still chase you for it? Many of the debts have defaulted but i simply dont want to sit for a year or what ever for the default to be 6 years old to then be chased for it anyway! Basically i just want some peace i hate being harassed via phone and letters for all this debt! But i cant bury my head any longer? So basically should i go for DRO? Or should i get the debts in order from smallest to largest try get full and final settlement reductions and try scrimp and save and get rid of them if i can without a DRO? How serious is it compared to say bankcrupsy? As since i applied for my credit report another debt has been added to my file that wasn't there a week or so ago so i am aware im very close to the £15,000 DRO limit anyway Thanks for reading my waffling!! Any advice/help greatly appreciated!

wants.to.be.debt.free

I would just like to say that i feel for you and hope you get your debts under control!

I am sorry that i can't help but i am sure some experienced people will be on shortly to offer advice who know what they are talking about.

Hope your pregnancy goes well :-)

Miss_Spendalot_2

If a lender doesn't contact you about the money you owe them - and you don't make any payments or contact them about it either - the debt may become unenforceable, meaning the lender is no longer allowed to do anything to try and recover the money.
If a borrower simply ignores their lender's phone calls and letters, that won't qualify. It's only possible for a debt to become unenforceable if the lender doesn't do anything about the debt and the borrower doesn't pay some of it off / contact the lender about it.
If you've taken on some kind of unsecured debt, the limit will be 6 years, but this increases to 12 years for a mortgage or secured loan.

However, that time limit will 'reset' if you make a payment towards that debt or if you acknowledge in writing that you owe the money.

I got the above information from the following website here is link it May help you understand a bit more about it.

http://www.thinkmoney.com/debt/debt-help-debt-advice/what-is-statute-barred-debt-0-5235.htm

Good Luck

fermi

Once the DRO is finished, a change in circumstances can't "revoke" it.

The debts are discharged. End of.

Debts are not written off after 6 years of no payments or acknowledgement, but they may be legally unenforceable against you.

DRO is pretty much the same as bankruptcy as far as your credit files go.

callyh26

So if i could try to pay as many off as possible? Maybe start with he smaller debts and ask for full and final settlement offers i may be in a better position?