Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_James

PannaMM wrote: »

I need help my partner has had a letter today regarding a loan he took out in 2004 - basically we've been paying debt off in monthly instalments we got ppi back on the loan which we paid off the loan, the bank manager contacted my partner and we had a meeting with him recently he asked that we pay double what we are currently paying we advised we could not afford to do this and worked out we could afford to up our payments to £400 maximum a month and offered him this he said he could not accept this but not to worry he would pass us to debt recovery they would get in touch with us and we could offer what we could afford to pay and we would be able to start paying new amount.

Now my partner has received a letter saying we have 21 days to come up with the full loan amount or they will start debt recovery agains the property we own! They also want to know what I earn etc why do they need to know this about me? This loan was taken out pre me.

My partner has been paying this debt off since 2004 we can't understand that we've offered to pay as much as we can afford but our bank manager has passed us to debt recovery and the loan money that my partner pays has been returned to our account

Can you please advise what we should do as I'm feeling sick with worry we haven't missed payments and we thought it would be better to pay more off to get his loan down quicker but because we can't afford to pay off more we are being penalises - I did say at the meeting sometimes we would like to pay off more than the £400 when we have it but we cold afford to definitely pay more than £400 every month. He never told us what he wanted us to pay he just said our best option was debt recovery ??

I look forward to any advice or help :-(

Hello,

Thanks for getting in touch.

If the debt is just in your partner's name then there isn't any requirement for you to give details of your income and outgoings. If it made it easier for him to explain his finances if he included your details he could but it's fine for him to insist on just giving his own details.

If your partner does say he's only willing to give details about his budget then I'd recommend he adds a brief statement that explains how the household finances are divided between the two of you. It's always good to show that your partner isn't struggling to pay his debts because he's supporting you (which I suspect is their reason for asking about your finances).

It's a fairly common debt collection tactic to demand full payment in a short timescale. I can't imagine many people actually manage to find the lump sum, but generally debt collectors are willing to listen to offers to pay debts back by installment.

£400 a month sounds like quite a large monthly payment towards a debt; obviously I don't know all the details but it may be possible to set up this agreement with the debt collector and have the interest and charges stopped (if they haven't stopped them already).

If it proves trickier to come to an agreement or you think £400 might not realistic for you to afford then we can help. If your partner uses our Debt Remedy tool - http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp - it'll help him plan a realistic budget and provide a personal action plan to deal with his debt.

It's hard to say how seriously to take their threat to begin collection activity against the property. It would be incredibly unusual for a debt collector to go straight for legal action without first trying to come to an agreement amicably (and the courts wouldn't be too happy if they did use them so quickly).

I'd expect that if your partner contacts them and shows a willingness to deal with the debt they'll more than likely be fine with him. Debt collectors tend to respond better if you contact them first rather than waiting for them to call.

I hope this helps.

James

p.s. I think your original post was deleted in between me clicking reply and posting the repsonse. If you'd like my post to be deleted aswell please send a PM to "StepChange Private Messages"

StepChange_James

ted1980 wrote: »

Hi there,

two years ago I emigrated to NZ with the full intention of servicing my LTSB Personal loan. About six months ago I lost my initial jobn and was unable to meet my loan repayments.

This week I received a letter from Apex Collections, saying that the debt had been passed to them from LTSB.

I have up until now not contacted the bank re my situation, but now have employment, and could realistically send payments of say 50 pounds per month. My debt stands at around 12k, given all the charges that have been imposed by the bank.

So what are my options, would Apex chase me in NZ for the debt, if I was to declare myself bankrupt how would it effect me over here, would Apex accept a much reduced payment terms, or would they compromise on a lesser settlement figure?

Any help, advice, guidance much appreciated.

Hi Ted,

Apex could chase you in New Zealand for this debt, or they may use a local debt collector to act on their behalf.

So theoretically they can chase you for this debt but in practice I'd expect a debt collector would be quite willing to consider a reduced settlement if you can pay them a one off lump sum, as it'll save them the bother of chasing you up on the other side of the world.

The easiest way to work that out would be to talk to them and see what they say. With time zone issues you might find it easier to email them rather than phone.

Going bankrupt in the UK while you live abroad in possible but a bit more complicated than if you're living in the UK. I'd recommend getting advice before taking any further steps. We can still provide debt advice if you live outside the UK, the contact details are here: http://www.stepchange.org/LivingoutsidetheUK.aspx.

Kind regards

James

craig1971_2

hi,
I acquired debt while living with my ex partner up until 2008. I owed my own flat which was repossessed after I could not pay payments or a secure loan against it. I have numerous credit cards which I never paid off as I left the flat and moved in with my girlfriend who is now my wife. We have now moved house and my girlfriend is the loan name on the mortgage. My mortgage on my flat which was repossessed was with Santander and I still have a current account with them. I have never been chased for any of this debt as no one has my address although a company did call my parents a couple of years ago but my parents told them they didn't know where I was and they have never called back. I would like to rebuild my credit rating and have my name added to mortgage so we can build an extension and get additional money from mortgage. Obviously I am not wanting to start getting chased for the old debt. Advice would be much appreciated.

AzraelXJM

I have accumulated about 5K of debt from being underemployed and long spells being unemployed. I'm unemployed right now since the beginning of July. It's been this way pretty much since university, I just never make enough even when working. It's about 4K over two credit cards and 1k in a current account.

Two things, firstly I'd like to get a loan to consolidate it all, structure my payments and have an end date in site. I tried this a bit over a year ago and couldn't get one from the two places I tried, at that point I had been in work for about 2 months after about a year out of work. I've spent about 8 of the last 12 months working, so I don't know if that puts me in a better position, but I'm wary of making lots of applications due to credit scores. Should I try this?

Also, I plan to go to University to take a Masters. I should be able to get a 10K career development loan, but I've read on the site about how after the course is done it becomes a fairly noncompetitive loan. Given my situation, how likely am I going to be able to move this to a better rate loan?

I'm presently still seeking work in case I get an offer worth not taking the course for, or for part time stuff, in case it matters? I would appreciate any suggestions on how to proceed.

StepChange_James

craig1971 wrote: »

hi,
I acquired debt while living with my ex partner up until 2008. I owed my own flat which was repossessed after I could not pay payments or a secure loan against it. I have numerous credit cards which I never paid off as I left the flat and moved in with my girlfriend who is now my wife. We have now moved house and my girlfriend is the loan name on the mortgage. My mortgage on my flat which was repossessed was with Santander and I still have a current account with them. I have never been chased for any of this debt as no one has my address although a company did call my parents a couple of years ago but my parents told them they didn't know where I was and they have never called back. I would like to rebuild my credit rating and have my name added to mortgage so we can build an extension and get additional money from mortgage. Obviously I am not wanting to start getting chased for the old debt. Advice would be much appreciated.

Hi Craig,

From your post it feels like you're hiding from the debts you’ve accrued in the past but also don't want them to impact on your credit rating. There isn't really much we can recommend that will help you.

Your credit history reports on your record with credit, so there's not a lot you can do to change things that have happened in the past. This article gives some tips on things that might make little improvements but it won't remove negative information: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score#improve.

I'd recommend getting an up to date copy of your credit report, which you can do for free here: https://www.noddle.co.uk/. Once you've got that you can then work out who's dealing with your accounts.

Once you've got up to date details of your debts we can help you work out a plan to deal with them. You can get free and impartial advice from us using our online advice tool Debt Remedy - http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp - and we'll provide you with a personal action plan to get things sorted out.

This might not be what you want to hear but we'd never recommend trying to ignore debts and hope they go away. You can read more about this here: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2012/07/debt-avoidance-truth/.

Kind regards

James

System

AzraelXJM wrote: »

I have accumulated about 5K of debt from being underemployed and long spells being unemployed. I'm unemployed right now since the beginning of July. It's been this way pretty much since university, I just never make enough even when working. It's about 4K over two credit cards and 1k in a current account.

Two things, firstly I'd like to get a loan to consolidate it all, structure my payments and have an end date in site. I tried this a bit over a year ago and couldn't get one from the two places I tried, at that point I had been in work for about 2 months after about a year out of work. I've spent about 8 of the last 12 months working, so I don't know if that puts me in a better position, but I'm wary of making lots of applications due to credit scores. Should I try this?

Also, I plan to go to University to take a Masters. I should be able to get a 10K career development loan, but I've read on the site about how after the course is done it becomes a fairly noncompetitive loan. Given my situation, how likely am I going to be able to move this to a better rate loan?

I'm presently still seeking work in case I get an offer worth not taking the course for, or for part time stuff, in case it matters? I would appreciate any suggestions on how to proceed.

Hi there,

The debt you have (credit card and overdraft) is unsecured credit debt. What this means is that they can only make you pay back the money you owe in installments you can afford. Each month they are only entitled to the money you have left once you’ve paid rent, household bills, food, travel and living costs.

If you’re on a small income or receiving benefits it’s unlikely you’ll be able to offer anything more than a goodwill gesture payment until you’re in a stronger position.

We can go through a budget with you and suggest the best way to deal with your debts. You can then prove your situation to your creditors as to why you cannot offer more.

If you’re on a limited income then you are unlikely to be offered a consolidation loan at a low enough interest rate to benefit you. You will then have a loan repayment to make that you’re likely to struggle with.

I’m unsure if you’ll be able to change the terms of a career development loan. I understand your working situation is difficult at the moment and a Masters may help you gain employment but you should consider whether you’ll be able to repay the loan once you graduate.

I’d recommend that you go through a budget, get tailored debt advice and a personal action plan to explain how best to deal with your debt. To do this you can use our online tool Debt Remedy or contact us to speak to a debt advisor.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,
Jess

AzraelXJM

When I was previously unemployed I made arrangements with the bank to make a token payment, but when I went back to work I needed to make a new arrangement since the pay was so bad I couldn't keep on top of it. If I pay the minimum for three months then it will all go back to how it was before I had money problems and my arrears will be credited back to the account. I thought it would be bad to tell them I'm not working and aimed to finish those three months and speak to them again. That was my parent's advice anyway.

After all my work problems I think I'm about unemployable now, I'm being dismissed out of hand by people I apply for part-time work with. If I don't do the masters I'm not sure I'll ever work again.

sptaz75

I need some advice about what to do. After running a not very successful business which resulted in lots of debt I have a debt management plan in place with StepChange and I have been paying this for a few years. I have paid at least £10k with this and have another £14k to go. During this time I got married, got a new job, and had a baby. Still paying my debits off... I then I did something really stupid.

I was offered a credit card from Santander and for some reason they sent me 2 without credit checking me. My husband and I have joint bank accounts and I suppose our account looked pretty good. Anyway we had to move house urgently during the time I was on maternity leave and also as my husband is self employed we did not have the money and used the credit cards. To cut a long story short I now have £15,000 on credit cards that StepChange don't know about. I am unable to meet the repayments even though I am back at work as childcare is costing me £1100 a month and takes nearly all my wages.

I have been avoiding the phone calls and I know you shouldn't what should I do?? I feel so crap and stupid but we needed money and I used them. Is there any letter templates I can use? Should I let Stepchange know. Such a nightmare.

System

AzraelXJM wrote: »

When I was previously unemployed I made arrangements with the bank to make a token payment, but when I went back to work I needed to make a new arrangement since the pay was so bad I couldn't keep on top of it. If I pay the minimum for three months then it will all go back to how it was before I had money problems and my arrears will be credited back to the account. I thought it would be bad to tell them I'm not working and aimed to finish those three months and speak to them again. That was my parent's advice anyway.

After all my work problems I think I'm about unemployable now, I'm being dismissed out of hand by people I apply for part-time work with. If I don't do the masters I'm not sure I'll ever work again.

Hi,

You may be feeling pressured to get up to date with payments and clear arrears but you would be making a payment (the minimum for 3 months) that you cannot afford. By telling the creditor you are not working at the moment you would give them the chance to help. It is best to keep them in the loop. Even if they do ask you to pay more they cannot make you.

If you were to struggle to clear the arrears after 3 months you may still be in the position where you cannot make the min payment. I would recommend that you get either do Debt Remedy for a budget and tailored debt advice or contact us to speak to someone.

That way you can make a payment based on what you can afford until your situation improves.

If the debt is with the bank where your income is being paid you are best to set up a basic bank account with another bank and transfer any available money over. That way money cannot be taken without your permission and you are in a much stronger position. You are best to do this before you speak to the bank about the debt.

Hope this is of help,

Jess

System

sptaz75 wrote: »

I need some advice about what to do. After running a not very successful business which resulted in lots of debt I have a debt management plan in place with StepChange and I have been paying this for a few years. I have paid at least £10k with this and have another £14k to go. During this time I got married, got a new job, and had a baby. Still paying my debits off... I then I did something really stupid.

I was offered a credit card from Santander and for some reason they sent me 2 without credit checking me. My husband and I have joint bank accounts and I suppose our account looked pretty good. Anyway we had to move house urgently during the time I was on maternity leave and also as my husband is self employed we did not have the money and used the credit cards. To cut a long story short I now have £15,000 on credit cards that StepChange don't know about. I am unable to meet the repayments even though I am back at work as childcare is costing me £1100 a month and takes nearly all my wages.

I have been avoiding the phone calls and I know you shouldn't what should I do?? I feel so crap and stupid but we needed money and I used them. Is there any letter templates I can use? Should I let Stepchange know. Such a nightmare.

Hi there,

The best thing to do is to get in touch so we can discuss things.

Give us a call there’s no need for a template letter, we’ll just need to have a chat. It might not be a call you want to make but we’re here to help we just need to know more.

Kind Regards,

Jess