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StepChange_Pavan

farmeress wrote: »

Hi, I am new to this forum and hoping for advice...
I divorced my husband 3 years ago, he stayed in the family home (refused to leave) and my son didnt want to move. I left with nothing and a part time job which didnt pay well, and so I ended up in debt and I've (stupidly) been trying to ignore it. I'm depressed, but determined I need to take control.
I have lived out of suitcases for 3 years, lost my job.
My new partner convinced me we couldn't survive in the uk, and asked me to move into his home in Spain.(he's got money problems too)
It sounds so underhand, but it felt like I was drowning, and I needed some peace.

Im not sure of exact debt figures, but:
Next - £330
Barclays O/D - £1080
Barclaycard - £7000
Natwest O/D - £4000
Tesco Mobile - £400
I feel ill just writing these down.
I have not made payments to these companies or given them a forwarding address since August 2013, although I did write to them in December 2013 telling them I had no income and was unable to pay.
My ex husband has promised numerous times to buy me out of the marital home, but has not yet followed through. He has now said he wants to sort out my payment, and Im hoping he will.
So, I will hopefully receive approximately £30k, with which Im hoping to regain my independence and clear all debts. £30k isnt a great deal, so should I contact DCA's/Banks etc regarding full and final settlement?
Any advice will be gratefully received.

Hi farmeress and welcome to the forum

If your ex-husband buys you out of the home you could consider full and final settlements. In the time being you can contact your creditors to update them on your situation. You can send them a copy of your budget as proof you can’t afford the repayments and offer them token payments of £1 a month until you can afford to pay more.

If you’d like some help with putting your budget together or you’d like to chat about your options you can call our Helpline on 0800 138 1111 (free including from mobiles). We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturdays 8am – 4pm. Alternatively you can use our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp).

I hope this helps,
Pavan

farmeress

Thank you Pavan,

I appreciate your reply, and it gives me courage to start tackling my situation. I am returning to the uk shortly, so will contact Stepchange for assistance.

Thanks again

changeforbetter

Hello,

I have a specific question about the SOAs asked for if you take up a DMP. I wondered if anyone could help with this please?

How exactly does a SOA have to be produced when it refers only to one partner (of a couple living together)? i.e. Can the SOA refer only to your own expenditure, and not relate to income/expense etc for the other partner, or does it always have to be joint figures?

Just to add a couple of points, this is referring to a couple (not-married) living in the same house, and paying for things in different ways between them (e.g. she pays car bill, he pays a gas bill etc).

I've been round the houses with this and can't seem to see a clear answer, so would be really grateful for clarification. The SOA always seems to assume you pay for everything yourself, or should the other's income always be added? That does seem rather wrong of course, if the debts only belong to one partner, not the other.

Please help with any clarification from previous experience!

Woodypuddy

changeforbetter wrote: »

Hello,

I have a specific question about the SOAs asked for if you take up a DMP. I wondered if anyone could help with this please?

How exactly does a SOA have to be produced when it refers only to one partner (of a couple living together)? i.e. Can the SOA refer only to your own expenditure, and not relate to income/expense etc for the other partner, or does it always have to be joint figures?

Just to add a couple of points, this is referring to a couple (not-married) living in the same house, and paying for things in different ways between them (e.g. she pays car bill, he pays a gas bill etc).

I've been round the houses with this and can't seem to see a clear answer, so would be really grateful for clarification. The SOA always seems to assume you pay for everything yourself, or should the other's income always be added? That does seem rather wrong of course, if the debts only belong to one partner, not the other.

Please help with any clarification from previous experience!

Hi, I did an SOA in my name only as the debt was in my name and I was taking the DMP in my name only. I calculated what I paid towards bills based on my income v my partners ( I had the higher wage so I showed that I paid 65% of bills. I stated this on the comments and it was accepted. I didn't need to show my partners proof of income etc. as it was not his debt. I am now 2 months into a 13 year DMP and all 6 creditors accepted the DMP and also ceased interest. Hope this helps.

changeforbetter

Woodypuddy wrote: »

Hi, I did an SOA in my name only as the debt was in my name and I was taking the DMP in my name only. I calculated what I paid towards bills based on my income v my partners ( I had the higher wage so I showed that I paid 65% of bills. I stated this on the comments and it was accepted. I didn't need to show my partners proof of income etc. as it was not his debt. I am now 2 months into a 13 year DMP and all 6 creditors accepted the DMP and also ceased interest. Hope this helps.

Thanks very much for that reply - so it seems to suggest it can be done only for one partner (and ignore income etc from the other partner). So, just to confirm, they didn't ask anything about your partner's finances or role in household payments?

I would also be grateful if anyone who works in setting these up can confirm that is acceptable, thanks in advance.

I am looking at setting up a DMP, but strictly only relating to my finance and not my partners (which is ok/much better than mine!).

I was worried they might say something like 'but your partner has money so you can't have a DMP', although we are not married.

StepChange_James

changeforbetter wrote: »

Thanks very much for that reply - so it seems to suggest it can be done only for one partner (and ignore income etc from the other partner). So, just to confirm, they didn't ask anything about your partner's finances or role in household payments?

I would also be grateful if anyone who works in setting these up can confirm that is acceptable, thanks in advance.

I am looking at setting up a DMP, but strictly only relating to my finance and not my partners (which is ok/much better than mine!).

I was worried they might say something like 'but your partner has money so you can't have a DMP', although we are not married.

Hi there,

We try to put together budgets that are a fair reflection of how our clients manage their money. Because every couple has their own way of managing their bills we're pretty flexible about how we put budgets together.

The most important thing is to be able to get your SOA to reflect your actual finances. So if you and your partner keep money separate then that's fine.

I'd recommend trying to get your SOA to clearly show that your partner is contributing their fair share towards the household bills. Creditors don't need to know about your partner's money but it's best to show that you're not paying disproportionately towards household costs instead of paying your debts.

When I do budget like this I'll usually add a comment into the budget to say something like "Client's partner pays 50% of household bills" or whatever makes sense for the situation.

I hope this clears things up.

Cheers

James

changeforbetter

Thank you James, yes that is very helpful, and makes a lot of sense.

arsenalman

Hi - please help, I don't have a clue what to do!

I have just under a £3,500 balance on my barclaycard platinum - it is almost maxed. I balance transferred £1000 initially on an 18 month 0% deal which is due to expire in 5 weeks. I had all good intentions of paying it off in full before the deal expired but life changed and I got in to some difficulties meaning I had to spend on it whilst also incurring current account bank charges which have severely harmed my credit rating. Over the majority of the 18 months I have been managing to pay at least the min payment - none missed. The trouble is that in 5 weeks the APR will spike and I do not have the ability to get another 0% transfer card - I have tried but only likely one is the poor credit one that allows only 0% for a short period with £1500 limit. The repayments are going to be too high for me to manage on £3500 at full APR.

Is it at all possible that barclaycard would extend the 0% deal or reduce the APR without having to default?

Many thanks for your help.

Former_StepChange_Rachel

arsenalman wrote: »

Hi - please help, I don't have a clue what to do!

I have just under a £3,500 balance on my barclaycard platinum - it is almost maxed. I balance transferred £1000 initially on an 18 month 0% deal which is due to expire in 5 weeks. I had all good intentions of paying it off in full before the deal expired but life changed and I got in to some difficulties meaning I had to spend on it whilst also incurring current account bank charges which have severely harmed my credit rating. Over the majority of the 18 months I have been managing to pay at least the min payment - none missed. The trouble is that in 5 weeks the APR will spike and I do not have the ability to get another 0% transfer card - I have tried but only likely one is the poor credit one that allows only 0% for a short period with £1500 limit. The repayments are going to be too high for me to manage on £3500 at full APR.

Is it at all possible that barclaycard would extend the 0% deal or reduce the APR without having to default?

Many thanks for your help.

Hi there,

There’s no harm in asking Barclaycard if they’ll extend the 0% deal but just be aware that this is at their discretion.

If you find that you can’t prolong the 0% deal or switch to a 0% balance, it may be worth having a chat to one of our debt advisors and seeing if there’s a debt solution we can offer you. Our Helpline is open Mon – Fri 8am – 8pm and Sat 8am – 4pm and you can call free (inc. from mobiles) on 0800 138 1111.

Best regards

Rachel

anniecalamity

A friend has been billed £120,000 for court costs. Does this debt have a limitations period? She was charged and found guilty of a crime she didn't commit and then to top it all, she gets charged for the privilege!!!