In to the eyeballs and over

tightass_2

My other half has run up debts on creditcards, storecards, and loans to pay them off. She owes in and around £40K. She has went to the cccs.co.uk and they have given her advice on what to do. I am worried incase the debts are put up against our house and simply dont know where to turn. Please advise.

hypno06

Hi there, assuming that you own your house and the cccs have not advised an IVA, bankruptcy or consolidation to a secured loan, then the debts will remain unsecured.

What have the CCCS advised and is the loan that your OH has secured already or unsecured?

Storm

Is there any equity in the house?
Are any of the debts secured on the house?
Is it a joint mortgage?

Sorry for all the questions, but need a little bit more info

tightass_2

Still in the early stages with cccs - so far they have advised her to clear current account, and set a basic one up with another bank. The loan that she got to pay some of the debt off with is unsecured and is for £15k.

tightass_2

Storm

We bought the house for 70k and its worth 290k does that answer the equity question.
None of the debts are secured on it.
The mortgage is in joint names.

Hope this helps

tomterm8

tightass wrote: »

Storm

We bought the house for 70k and its worth 290k does that answer the equity question.
None of the debts are secured on it.
The mortgage is in joint names.

Hope this helps

Then it seems very likely that there would be a charging order at some point, but that it would only be charged to your partners interest in the house AND if you have any children etc it is very unlikely they could force you to sell the house.

This advice assumes you can't make at least the minimum payments.

tightass_2

what is a charging order and how does it work? Can the house be signed over to me?

I thought that they could only do this if you had secured loans etc.

tomterm8

A charging order is an order made by the court that effectively makes an unsecured debt into a secured debt. It is not automatic; a creditor can apply for one if you fail to pay a CCJ on time. See http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/infoabout/enforcement/charging/index.htm

It is fair to say that if you hand over an asset as valuable as a part interest in your house to escape paying debts, questions would be asked. It would be likely to result in a creditor applying for bankruptcy, reposessing the house, and getting the money back anyway. It might even result in a BRO (Bankruptcy Restriction Order) which you don't want.

fatbelly

Tightass

The vast majority of debts to most creditors in a dmp do not end up with CCJs, and there cannot be a charging order until you've defauted on a CCJ.

So take things one stage at a time and don't worry too much!

tightass_2

Feeling really stressed out today and am starting to feel as if I am loosing the plot. Still waiting to hear from the Co-op to confirm my new bank account details before CCCs start contacting my creditors - any advice on how to deal with these people when they contact me by telephone? Also feel really stupid that I have found myself in this situation - can't believe I have been so dumb. Thanks for your advice - makes me feel a little better about this dreadful situation.

tomterm8

Have you sent all your creditors this letter yet >>> http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=4945059&postcount=21

If they phone up, you say that you are taking professional advice, and that you will send them a proposal for payment within 28 days.

... Don't be too stressed out. You're not the first one in debt, and if you have CCCS behind you almost all the credit card companies feel obliged to go with whatever DMP they suggest. At that point, they won't take further action because it will cost them more than they'd recover.

Edit: if you are worried about calls you can try http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=4941900&postcount=4 or you can use BT's "chose to refuse" service.