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Roger_Rampant

OK, so I have heard back from the finance company in Reading, and it's not great news.


“Dear Mr Rampant


...you are obviously aware that a CCJ was granted against you back in December 2004, with a Final Charging Order subsequently being granted in September 2006. Interest was charged upon the reducing Judgment balance from 14th December 2004 up until 9th September 2011 at the reduced contractual rate of 15% pa. Interest was then suspended for a 12 month period following receipt of your letter of 7th September 2011 whilst you remitted payments of £125 per month, but recommenced on 9th September 2012, albeit at the further reduced rate of 11% pa...


… I enclose a further copy of the terms of your original Agreement, including a highlighted clause referring to interest being charged both up to and after the Judgment...


… there is still a principle Judgment debt of £9,354.99 due and owing, upon which interest is continuing to accrue. Even at the proposed increased rate of repayment, this will take in excess of 12 years to repay.


I must advise you that any application for a Time Order will be opposed by this company, given the time which has already expired since Judgment was obtained and the time that it will take to repay the outstanding balance currently due and owing.


… I enclose a copy of this company's complaint handling procedure together with a leaflet concerning the Financial Ombudsman Service should you wish to refer the complaint to them. However, I would state that as this matter has already been subject to court proceedings with both a Judgment and Final Charging Order having been obtained the same may be outside their jurisdiction in any event.


Yours etc.
Their MD”


One bonus, at least now I have a clear copy of the terms and conditions of the original Agreement, even though it doesn't say what I was hoping that it would say!

supersavershal

I started my DMP with stepchange in february. It has been going very well until this week. My car had its MOT and needs work doing on it costing £150. My small emergency fund was wiped out by winds ripping my guttering off last month.
My payment to Stepchange is due to go out on the 10th, do you think Stepchange will allow me to pay it on the 14th instead so I can get the car sorted. I need my car for work as I work 25 miles away and there is no public transport. We have DH pay going in on the 14th so paying it then wont be a problem and hopefully next year I will have a bit in my emergency fund for this type of problem.

StepChange_James

babszz wrote: »

hope someone can help
had around 4k debt around 7 years ago left the country and was under ithe impression would clear after 6 years.
I am looking to apply for a mortgage so did a credit check on equifax and not out of the blue i have received a debt letter from equifax
it is threatening, legals and baliffs what should i do there is nothing on my credit report at all re bad debt
are they just chancers or can they pursue me for this?

Hi Babzz,

Seems a little bit strange. Debts don't actually get written off after six years but they do become unenforceable (assuming they haven't obtained a county court judgment and there debt was a standard type of credit debt).

There's a template letter you could use that I posted in my last post in this thread (two comments above your original post). This can be used to establish if a debt is statute barred or not.

The thing that sounds strange is the debt collection letter coming from the credit reference agency. I'd expect a debt collector to use information from credit reference agencies but not the actual reference agency contacting you directly about a debt.

As the template letter above says, if the debt is statute barred and you've informed them of this then they won't be able to enforce the debt using the court system and further contact from them could be seen as harassment.

If they can provide proof that the debt is enforceable then I'd suggest getting in touch with us at StepChange Debt Charity (contact details are in my signature below) and we'll be able to give you advice about dealing with the debt. Though, from what you've said it sounds like there's a good chance the debt is unenforceable.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

VampBee wrote: »

I'm not THAT much in debt but am in a vicious circle of credit card debt. I have the following debt:

1500 Overdraft
2500 Personal Loan
2 high interest credit cards

The cards alone are costing me £110 per month in minimum payments. One is £850 maxed and the other is £250 maxed. I am making the repayments but it is denting my monthly allowance. In an ideal world I want to top up my bank loan to clear the cards and overdraft so it is one manageable monthly fee, however my credit score isn't very attractive and I've moved my accounts so much I'm still in a 'we need to see your account for a few months' sort of situation.

What do I do?

Hi there,

If you're credit rating isn't great then it's likely that you'll struggle to get a loan at a decent interest rate, as you suggest. We tend to advise against debt consolidation in a lot of cases anyway, as we speak to a lot of people who have found in the long run it made their situation worse.

Usually this is because they consolidate their debts but still struggle and then build up more debt (often on the cards they paid off with the new loan). So sometimes being turned down for loans can be a blessing in disguise.

I don't know if you've already done this, but I'd suggest spending a bit of time working out a really detailed income and outgoings budget and seeing how your money balances out.

When you're doing this you can look for any areas where you can cut back and save a little bit of money that could be used to pay down the debts. If you're wanting some support and advice on this then putting up a post on the main debt free wannabe forum can be really useful.

If it's not possible to move your debt to cheaper forms of credit then the next best thing is to pay as much as you can off the debts where they currently are held.

If you're worried that keeping up with the minimum payments is going to be a struggle then I'd suggest you get in touch with us for some debt advice. Our online advice tool, Debt Remedy will go through your details and give you a personal action plan within about 20 minutes. Here's the link: http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

stickman wrote: »

Hi All,
Could anyone give me an average ball park figure for F+F on £30k.
Moorcroft

---

10545
Idem

---

12307
Capquest

---

7079
If old man plays ball could possibly have 8-10k to offer.

Thanks

Hello,

It's not really possible to give you figures as these things vary an awful lot depending on the situation. Broadly speaking, I'd say that it's easier to agree settlements with debt collection companies than the original bank or credit card company. So the debts being with collectors may work in your favour.

If you don't already have a budget in place then I'd suggest putting together an income and expenditure statement showing what you've got coming in and going out (our online debt advice tool can help you put one together - http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp).

This usually helps because it'll show them what they'll get if you have to pay them back by installments (so if you need most of your money for living costs it'll be clear they'll have to wait a long time to get their money back).

I'd also suggest that you make it very clear that the money is coming from a third party (your dad by the sounds of it) and will only be available if a reasonable settlement can be agreed.

There are a few different tactics you can employ to try and agree a settlement but it may be worth just giving them a call and seeing what they say. There's always room to haggle a little bit and if you can't get anything agreed then you can walk away and try again later down the line.

The most important thing to remember is to get all agreements confirmed in writing before you send any payments over. That way you've got proof the remaining debt should have been written off if ever they try and chase you for it.

Good luck.

James

StepChange_James

Roger_Rampant wrote: »

OK, so I have heard back from the finance company in Reading, and it's not great news.


“Dear Mr Rampant


...you are obviously aware that a CCJ was granted against you back in December 2004, with a Final Charging Order subsequently being granted in September 2006. Interest was charged upon the reducing Judgment balance from 14th December 2004 up until 9th September 2011 at the reduced contractual rate of 15% pa. Interest was then suspended for a 12 month period following receipt of your letter of 7th September 2011 whilst you remitted payments of £125 per month, but recommenced on 9th September 2012, albeit at the further reduced rate of 11% pa...


… I enclose a further copy of the terms of your original Agreement, including a highlighted clause referring to interest being charged both up to and after the Judgment...


… there is still a principle Judgment debt of £9,354.99 due and owing, upon which interest is continuing to accrue. Even at the proposed increased rate of repayment, this will take in excess of 12 years to repay.


I must advise you that any application for a Time Order will be opposed by this company, given the time which has already expired since Judgment was obtained and the time that it will take to repay the outstanding balance currently due and owing.


… I enclose a copy of this company's complaint handling procedure together with a leaflet concerning the Financial Ombudsman Service should you wish to refer the complaint to them. However, I would state that as this matter has already been subject to court proceedings with both a Judgment and Final Charging Order having been obtained the same may be outside their jurisdiction in any event.


Yours etc.
Their MD”


One bonus, at least now I have a clear copy of the terms and conditions of the original Agreement, even though it doesn't say what I was hoping that it would say!

Hello,

This doesn't sound like great news. It all sounds legitimate on the surface at least.

I'd suggest getting in touch with us for some more in depth advice(http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx). If you give us call we'll be able to see if there's anything that can be done with this debt.

If they were willing to stop interest last time they saw details of your finance it might be possible to get something agreed again.

Or alternatively you could pursue their complaints process to see what they say. I suspect their response to any complaint would be in a similar vein to the letter you've just had but it certainly isn't going to make things worse.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

supersavershal wrote: »

I started my DMP with stepchange in february. It has been going very well until this week. My car had its MOT and needs work doing on it costing £150. My small emergency fund was wiped out by winds ripping my guttering off last month.
My payment to Stepchange is due to go out on the 10th, do you think Stepchange will allow me to pay it on the 14th instead so I can get the car sorted. I need my car for work as I work 25 miles away and there is no public transport. We have DH pay going in on the 14th so paying it then wont be a problem and hopefully next year I will have a bit in my emergency fund for this type of problem.

Hi Hal,

Sounds like you've had a bit of bad luck lately. These things do happen on DMPs, so it's nothing we aren't used to dealing with.

It's probably easiest to give us a call and explain what's going on. I'd be worried that paying this month's payment on the 14th might make it hard to make the 10th of July payment, but we can talk to you about that and work out the best way to move forward.

One way or another we'll be able to work something out. I'd try to call fairly soon, just so we've got plenty of time to amend Direct Debits before the 10th.

Kind regards

James

stickman

StepChange_James wrote: »

Hello,

It's not really possible to give you figures as these things vary an awful lot depending on the situation. Broadly speaking, I'd say that it's easier to agree settlements with debt collection companies than the original bank or credit card company. So the debts being with collectors may work in your favour.

If you don't already have a budget in place then I'd suggest putting together an income and expenditure statement showing what you've got coming in and going out (our online debt advice tool can help you put one together - http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp).

This usually helps because it'll show them what they'll get if you have to pay them back by installments (so if you need most of your money for living costs it'll be clear they'll have to wait a long time to get their money back).

I'd also suggest that you make it very clear that the money is coming from a third party (your dad by the sounds of it) and will only be available if a reasonable settlement can be agreed.

There are a few different tactics you can employ to try and agree a settlement but it may be worth just giving them a call and seeing what they say. There's always room to haggle a little bit and if you can't get anything agreed then you can walk away and try again later down the line.

The most important thing to remember is to get all agreements confirmed in writing before you send any payments over. That way you've got proof the remaining debt should have been written off if ever they try and chase you for it.

Good luck.

James

Thanks James,
Already on DMP with SC who have been brilliant for the past 3-4 yrs. When I contacted them re F+F and fig of 8k mentioned was told that the ammount just would'nt trigger any involvement from them. No probs with that, just thinking if I could get old man to go to 10k it might make a difference.

photographer1953

I need some advice for my Sister who is at the end of her tether. She was made redundant a long time ago and after a year managed to get a temp job for 11 .months and then managed to find herself a permanent position elsewhere. The money was nowhere near as good as the job she was made redundant from but was far better than the JSA that would have been on offer had she of signed unemployed.
Anyway, she found that her new wage would not cover her repayments on loans etc etc. so she got a financial statement form online that the CAB supply.

She filled it in honestly and with everything being very transparent and checkable should anyone of these companies wanted to.
ALL of these companies, (including Lloyds TSB whom she owe's 17k to and accepted £39.00 per month without quibble ) accepted her repayment offer...............except one, "Over 50+" catalogue, She offered them what she literally had left, £3.00 a month, not a lot I know but all she had left. She sent them 4 financial statements as they claimed they had not received any and also spoke to one of the people on the telephone (she rang them). They sent her a letter saying they agree to the £30.00 per month repayment plan.........which is NOT what she offered and can not pay as she has not got anywhere near that left once she has paid the others out. They in turn have carried on adding interest and a "unpaid" fee on top. In a telephone call my Sister made to them yet again today they have said that they will not stop the interest or fees being added next month as the offer of £3.00 per month woukld take a long time to pay the balance off (approx'1k). My Sister argued that if that is all she has then that is all she can pay and that if they were going to carry on adding fees and interest the the balance would never get paid off as they were increasing it with their fees.
They then told her that they would stop it of she went o the CAB and they dealt with it. Even though the financial statement form showing her income/expenditure is supplied by the CAB online they say this is not good enough (it was good enough for all her other creditors). CAB will do it but they want to handle ALL the debts she owes but she is against this as she has sorted it all out with all the other creditors who have, fair play, bent over backwards to help her. It is just this one company. I have told her to send them a letter asking for a true copy of the agreement (she has been with them since 2006) and to stop payment until they comply a paying the £3 per month is sensless if they are going to continue to pile on the fees.

She is at her wits end with worry. What can she do? is there a standard template letter she can send them as they are also refusing to stop the fees.

Sorry for the long winded post but needed to give some background and details.

Thanks in advance.

Keith

Roger_Rampant

I don't really want to go to the expense of a Time Order application which the Reading finance company have said that they will contest.

Is there any point asking the Ombudsman in a case that already has a CCJ and Charging Order made?