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ohnonotagainagain

Hi

I am experiencing Post Natal Depression and am currently on medication and signed off work for 2 weeks as I am struggling to focus and make decisions at work.

My husband and I share an overdraft on our joint bank account but other than that our debt is in separate names. My husbands debt is affordable and due to be paid off next year. Mine is out of control - 2 loans and a car hp due to end next year, but in addition I have 6 credit cards, taken out during a period of depression following the birth of my first son and which are maxed having used them to pay for essentials. I have a spreadsheet tracking our income and expenditure and try to budget for food etc, but I'm apparently rubbish at it as something always knocks it out and we end up not having enough money to cover things. Our income is just enough to cover everything and next year when our loans finish we will be able to pay the credit cards off with no issues.

I have two problems:

1) We missed payments while I was on maternity leave on both priority and non-priority debts. We have enough to pay regular payments but not to make up the missed ones.

2) I may need to find new work, reduce my hours or leave work because of mental health issues. If I do so, we go from coping to being in well over our heads.

I'm wondering if I should disclose my mental health issues to my creditors and ask them to freeze my accounts for a couple of months to get everything back in line - is this even something they would do? I'm guessing not. Otherwise, I'm wondering if I should go to a DMP but leave my husband as is - does it make sense for us to attempt to rebuild his credit rating and accept mine is a lost cause for a few years? I know it seems silly to be thinking of this at the moment, but we have no savings and would like to provide more stability for our family by buying our own home and building savings. instead of lining someone elses pocket with our rent payments.

I know this is a bit jumbled, everything in my head is jumbled at the minute!

sunnyface

I noticed that one of my debts is down to £92 so called up to ask for a settlement.
They advised I could settle for £74 but my credit report would be marked as 'partially settled'
I'm not sure if I am better to just keep it on my DMP, reducing by £5 per month so that ultimately is is logged as fully settled, or take advantage of this discount to clear immediately.
Thanks in advance!

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks or posting.

I’m sorry to hear that you’re going through a difficult time at the moment. I know it can be frustrating when you’re trying to find the best way forward dealing with debts and aren’t sure which way to turn.

Firstly there is certainly a way forward no matter what your financial situation is to help you deal with the debts in a way that’s manageable for you.

Missed payments to your creditors will usually very quickly end up with them issuing a default notice which will have an impact on your credit file. However, these will come off after 6 years and many different things affect your credit file. You could contact them asking for a break in payments if you feel it'll be short term but I couldn't say how likely they would be to allow this. It would be up to the creditor.

Missed priority payments like household bills need to be dealt with as a priority as they have more rights of collection and have more server consequences such as risking your home if you miss rent payments etc.

It’s also important to take any changes in your financial situation into consideration when looking at a way forward when dealing with debt.

There are many arrears here to consider before being able to give accurate advice. There could be multiple options available to deal with the debts. There may also be options for you and your partner together and separate options you could consider particularly as you’ve mentioned not wanting to impact your partner’s credit file.

To be able to discuss at all the suitable options I’d suggest contacting us at StepChange debt charity for free and impartial advice.

Our advisors will take into consideration your individual situation and tailor our advice and recommendations for you and your partner. Then we can discuss the next steps with you.

To get the ball rolling you can find our contact details here.

Thanks
Rachael

ohnonotagainagain wrote: »

Hi

I am experiencing Post Natal Depression and am currently on medication and signed off work for 2 weeks as I am struggling to focus and make decisions at work.

My husband and I share an overdraft on our joint bank account but other than that our debt is in separate names. My husbands debt is affordable and due to be paid off next year. Mine is out of control - 2 loans and a car hp due to end next year, but in addition I have 6 credit cards, taken out during a period of depression following the birth of my first son and which are maxed having used them to pay for essentials. I have a spreadsheet tracking our income and expenditure and try to budget for food etc, but I'm apparently rubbish at it as something always knocks it out and we end up not having enough money to cover things. Our income is just enough to cover everything and next year when our loans finish we will be able to pay the credit cards off with no issues.

I have two problems:

1) We missed payments while I was on maternity leave on both priority and non-priority debts. We have enough to pay regular payments but not to make up the missed ones.

2) I may need to find new work, reduce my hours or leave work because of mental health issues. If I do so, we go from coping to being in well over our heads.

I'm wondering if I should disclose my mental health issues to my creditors and ask them to freeze my accounts for a couple of months to get everything back in line - is this even something they would do? I'm guessing not. Otherwise, I'm wondering if I should go to a DMP but leave my husband as is - does it make sense for us to attempt to rebuild his credit rating and accept mine is a lost cause for a few years? I know it seems silly to be thinking of this at the moment, but we have no savings and would like to provide more stability for our family by buying our own home and building savings. instead of lining someone elses pocket with our rent payments.

I know this is a bit jumbled, everything in my head is jumbled at the minute!

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for posting.

Firstly it’s less likely a creditor would look to take further action if they are being treated fairly and are receiving fair payments. If you pay one creditor back in full even if it’s a small amount compared to others the other creditors might wonder how that payment was affordable.

If you have a lump amount of money available for some reason I’d suggest including this payment in your debt management plan (DMP) so it can be split between your creditors further reducing the time of your plan.

It’s likely that a debt with a full and final settlement will be seen more favourably than a partial settlement but as many different things can affect your credit file I wouldn’t be able to say the exact impact a partial settlement would have.

It is up to you how you’d like to deal with the debt but it’s important to consider how your other creditors may view another creditor being prioritised over them as this may mean they follow the collections process possibly taking the debt to a county court judgement (CCJ).

Thanks
Rachael

sunnyface wrote: »

I noticed that one of my debts is down to £92 so called up to ask for a settlement.
They advised I could settle for £74 but my credit report would be marked as 'partially settled'
I'm not sure if I am better to just keep it on my DMP, reducing by £5 per month so that ultimately is is logged as fully settled, or take advantage of this discount to clear immediately.
Thanks in advance!

sunnyface

StepChange_Rachael wrote: »

Hi

Thanks for posting.

Firstly it’s less likely a creditor would look to take further action if they are being treated fairly and are receiving fair payments. If you pay one creditor back in full even if it’s a small amount compared to others the other creditors might wonder how that payment was affordable.

If you have a lump amount of money available for some reason I’d suggest including this payment in your debt management plan (DMP) so it can be split between your creditors further reducing the time of your plan.

It’s likely that a debt with a full and final settlement will be seen more favourably than a partial settlement but as many different things can affect your credit file I wouldn’t be able to say the exact impact a partial settlement would have.

It is up to you how you’d like to deal with the debt but it’s important to consider how your other creditors may view another creditor being prioritised over them as this may mean they follow the collections process possibly taking the debt to a county court judgement (CCJ).

Thanks
Rachael

Thank you Rachael - I didn't realise the implications. The creditor was offering to let me pay it over 3 months so it would have been affordable but your post makes sense. I will just leave my payments as they are so that the other creditors don't take any action.
Thanks!

beefor

Hello

Does shift allowance need to be declared when arranging payment plan?

Many thanks
Fiona

StepChange_Rachael

Hi Fiona

Thanks for posting.

When you’re trying to work out an affordable payment for your creditors it’s important to have an accurate picture of your financial situation. If your income can differ from month to month but the shift allowance is regular I’d suggest working out an average.

You can do this by looking at your past three pay packets adding the totals together and then dividing the total by three to get a quarterly average.

If you rarely get extra pay or it isn’t guaranteed it’s best to work from your basic pay as it’s important not to agree to too much and then be struggling to afford the payments.

If you’d like to discuss your options for dealing with the debts you can contact StepChange debt charity here for free and impartial advice that's tailored to your individual situation.

Thanks
Rachael

beefor wrote: »

Hello

Does shift allowance need to be declared when arranging payment plan?

Many thanks
Fiona

Krojan

Hi there,

Back in January I received a letter from Mortimer Clarke Solicitors dated 18/01/2016 threatening court action over a debt I didn't recognize relating to a Capital One credit card, I sent them a CCA request on 25/01/2016, they responded on 27/01/2016 saying they've received my request but until today (12/05/2016) I had no further correspondence from them.

They have sent through a signed credit card agreement, original t&c, statements from capital one dated 25/09/2004 to 25/02/2016, letter dates 14/10/2015 notifying debt had been assigned to their client and a signed statement of account on behalf of the claimant. The debt does not appear to be statute barred.

They state that the agreement is now enforceable, however as they failed to comply with the CCA by responding within 12(+2+30) days of the CCA request where do I stand regards this debt? Is it really still enforceable? What are my best options now as realistically I cannot afford the lump sum and I could only offer at best a token amount which they'll likely rebuke due to low income.

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for posting.

When it comes to debts being statute barred it can be quite difficult to know if a debt is or not.
Firstly different types of debt have different limitation periods. As you’ve mentioned the debt was for a credit card the statute of limitations time period is 6 years which begins the first time the debt was able to be enforceable through court. So the first time you missed payments and defaulted on the original agreement.

The time period can start again within the 6 year period if you make payments or acknowledge the debt.

So for this debt to be statute barred and for the creditors to be unable to take the debt through the court for a county court judgement (CCJ) you’d have had to have no acknowledgement of the debt in a 6 year period.

Acknowledgement can include making payments and written confirmation acknowledging the debt as yours and signed by you. If you’ve acknowledged the debt through any other means other than written and signed then it can be more difficult for the creditor to prove the debt isn’t statute barred.

I don’t think the creditor delaying sending the agreement would have any impact on the process.

It’s important to be sure you believe the debt is statute barred before sending a letter to this effect as it’s more likely the creditor will take it to court if they can prove it isn’t.

When a debt is statute barred it doesn’t write off the debt but it does stop the creditor being able to legally enforce it.

No matter what your financial situation there’s always a way forward to deal with your debts.
If you’d like further help and advice on your options regarding any debts you have you can contact StepChange debt charity here for free and impartial advice tailored to you.

Hope this helps.

Thanks
Rachael

Krojan wrote: »

Hi there,

Back in January I received a letter from Mortimer Clarke Solicitors dated 18/01/2016 threatening court action over a debt I didn't recognize relating to a Capital One credit card, I sent them a CCA request on 25/01/2016, they responded on 27/01/2016 saying they've received my request but until today (12/05/2016) I had no further correspondence from them.

They have sent through a signed credit card agreement, original t&c, statements from capital one dated 25/09/2004 to 25/02/2016, letter dates 14/10/2015 notifying debt had been assigned to their client and a signed statement of account on behalf of the claimant. The debt does not appear to be statute barred.

They state that the agreement is now enforceable, however as they failed to comply with the CCA by responding within 12(+2+30) days of the CCA request where do I stand regards this debt? Is it really still enforceable? What are my best options now as realistically I cannot afford the lump sum and I could only offer at best a token amount which they'll likely rebuke due to low income.

thmancm

Hi

I am in a debt management plan and have been told by my debt management company that after 5 years if I make my payments each month I will be debt free. Is this the case? The payments are what I could afford on the management plan but do not cover the amount I owe.

Thanks