Debt Collection Agencies

mt006

Hi

This may be the wrong forum so apologies if it is.

Some background - 5 1/2 years ago I got made redundant. Like most people I had built up personal debt. I struggled to get a job and ended up using credit cards to pay bills and other credit cards.

I eventually found a job that was substantionally lower paid than the one I had left. My debts had increased to the point where my monthly payments were no longer sustainable.

I decided after too many sleepless nights to do something about it. the CCCS survey recomended bankruptcy as I had no assets to sell but I felt obligated to pay the debt back.

I agreed to default notices to be issued for the 3 debts I had to close the accounts and freeze the interest (1 egg card, 1 egg loan and a HSBC credit card) and agreed to pay back the debts at a rate I could afford.

I put a payment plan in place and paid back every month to the 3 debts.

About three 3 years ago I was contacted by APEX credit management who had bought both Egg debts and were now chasing me for cash. they sent notification through from egg, with a copy of the signed agreements etc etc

I now get chased every 3/6 months for an updated statement of accounts (phone calls every day with a "contact us by 8pm or else" polite warning). I basicallt refuse to talk to them on the phone (their call centre is awful for a start) and deal with them by email.

Now I am in a strange situation where I have finally got my life back on track. I recently had a payrise at work but I do not wish to substantionally increase my payments to APEX (who are basically making money from my misfortune). The goal is to save the extra money for a mortgage on a house in the near future (march 2013) when the default notices will be removed from my account and the chance of a mortgage becomes more possible.

However if I declare the increase in wage and APEX demand a substantional increase in payments what options do I have? I actually don't mind increasing the payments but I am concerned that they will want all of the extra case. I am actually moving in with family so i can save money quicker (hard thing to do when your 32) but I could easily stay in rented properties and pay nothing extra to anyone.

Tixy

You are not legally obliged to disclose your salary or any other personal information to a debt collector - the only time you have to delcare that information would be to a judge in court.

That said they are not obliged to freeze interest & charges on the debts either. Have they done so?

You could choose not to provide them with a statement of account - and could quote the OFT debt collection guidelines to them if they continue to harrass you for it.

Perhaps the payrise would allow you to save enough up to consider making a reduced full & final settlment offer to them? Which would save you money in the long run?

Do you plan to have the debts paid off before applying for a mortgage? if not you'll still need to declare the outstanding debts on your mortgage application - even if they don't appear on your credit file.

mt006

Hi.

Thanks for the reply.

As far as I can tell the interest has been frozen and all I owe is the bulk of the debt.

I have considered previously making a settlement offer but I am not sure what they would actually accept. APEX sent me a letter a few months back offering a 5% discount if I settled immediately. My outstanding debt is now around 10.5k down from 18k so even at 50% reduction its basically the same as a mortgate deposit I need to save.

Long term I feel its better to attempt to get on the housing market in the next year than it is to rent at the same rate a mortgage would cost as the monthly cost of the debt is sustainable. I am looking to probably increase the money I pay so it will be settled in full in 4.5 years instead of the current 6.5 (I did some rough calculations yesterday).

I am aware I will have to declare the debt but I think it would be a lot better if my file didn't contain 3 default notices.