What should he do?? Newbie, please help!

yodudette

My partner is in debt - I dont know how much by, with how many creditors or any history. He has buried his head in the sand for like 5 years. He doesnt have his name on any official papers, isnt on the electrol role and only has a very basic bank account (atm cash card only).... Anyway a few weeks ago he received a letter from one of the banks/loan ppl that he owes money to and he ignored it. Another came a week later, when I found out about the previous one.

I think they get his 'contact details/address' from his bank??? As I know banks/finance organisations share certain info like this.

Basically he wants to be declared bankrupt but the only prob is, we cant afford the court fees at the moment. A few more letters have been sent to him - now from a debt collection company but he has not responded to date (i.e. he hasnt confirmed he has received them or made any contact). However one has come through today saying that a 'doorstep collection' will take place if they hear nothing within 10 days. I know this is more than likely scare tactics but I am sure they will carry out these threats at some point.

Should my OH write to them and tell them he is seeking info on bankrupcy and to stop all the letters or should he do nothing until he can sort out the money to go to court?
Any advice would be so so helpful!

Also, what should we expect about him going bankrupt?

Storm

Ok, it's hard to advise without many details, which you don't appear to know yourself, so unless you can persuade him to post up an SoA I'd say the first step is to go to CAB/CCCS/Payplan with all his details and see what they advise. If he's not sure what he owes where, get him to send for a credit report (1 month free trial at experion is available, go through Pigsback for a few points!) which will show everything.

In terms of what to expect with bankrupcy - you'll probably get a better answer over on the bankrupcy board.

Unfortunately telling them he's looking into bankrupcy won't stop all the letters, as they'll keep pushing to get some kind of money out of him. However, if he's not made payments to some of these debts for 6 years or more they will have become statute barred, meaning they can't be enforced, so getting all the details asap is very important.

It sounds like you've have a LBM, but he hasn't yet, and unfortunately this is something he's going to have to face, all you can do is support him.

OberonSH

I think the first thing chick is to get him to get his head out of his..... sand bucket and sit down to get it all on paper. You can't do anything until you know what you're looking at.

On the plus side it still looks like early days, as you don;t mention any court orders etc.

Without knowing what sort of amounts we're talking about it's difficult to advise, so you really do need to work out how much, what APR's etc, then do a budget. See the 'sticky' thread at the top of this board for some help on how to do this. I'm pretty sure that if the courts see you are able to pay it off they may not allow you to go bankrupt.

Call the CCCS debt charity, or similar for some advice in the meantime, they really make you feel like there's a bit of light. Other than that, try not to worry too much. It doesn't help pay it off, and if you make yourself ill you'll not be in a position to help.

yodudette

Thank you to both of you. Just a quickie - whats LBM? (I'm new!)

OberonSH

Light Bulb Moment - the moment you think 'Crikey, I'm in DEBT!!!' The time when you realising whipping out your plastic is just not feasible any more, and it's getting out of control.

tomterm8

Um... don't phone the CCA!

Do a credit check (Experian does them free). If he has had his head burried in the sand for over 5 years, and he hasn't got CCJ's, he is almost clear anyway - the statute of limitations is for 6 years.

You might want to do the Credit Agreement Request, as by now it's almost certain the banks won't have the paperwork to back up any court claim.

i.e. send (by registered mail)

YOUR ADDRESS

Nasty DCA address

Dear X

I/we acknowledge no debt to your company or client. I require you to provide the following documentation before I can correspond further.

You must provide me with a true copy of the alleged agreement you refer to and a statement of account. This is my right under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.
I enclose a Postal Order no.xxxxxx for £1 which is the statutory fee.

As you are aware, a credit agreement that is not properly documented and signed by the customer is a complete defence to any court claim.

Please note that any legal action you may take will be vigorously defended.

As you know you are obliged to provide the documents within 12 days otherwise the alleged debt is not enforceable in law and your failure to provide the documents within a further 30 days is a criminal offence.

Yours Sincerly,

XXX.

msmicawber

Hi Yodudete,

I'm so sorry - it sounds as though he's been through a rough time avoiding all this. The fact that he's talking about bankruptcy makes me wonder whether he's (a) 'just' terrified or (b) not yet told you the whole story and there's other debts that he's expecting to be chased about.

I think you need to tell him gently that this is soluble, possibly by bankruptcy, but maybe by IVA, DMP or just good ol' MSE means, but he needs now to list all his debts and, as tomtom above says, do a credit check to see who's been posting what on his credit files.

In the meantime, until you know what you're dealing with, don't offer anything or speak to anyone except the credit check agencies and your brother.

Best of luck.