"our doorstep agents have been instructed to call"

JasonWatkins_2

I'm doing my nut at the moment because I received a letter from a debtor this morning with "our doorstep agents have now been instructed to call at your address to collect the full amount owed".

i'm trying to save up the money to declare myself bankrupt, but it's going to take me 6 months, and I doubt this agency will wait that long.

i don't own anything of value either, so my natural assumption is that if they did come round, they would look at taking the telly, my computer and anything else they might be able to get their hands on - even though the TV and computer are around 5 years old and would honestly have no re-sale value.

i can't even realistically afford token payments to the company so i really don't know what to do .. any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

smashedbooboo

Morning hun. Right. For a start door step collectors have no powers at all to come into your house and list things down. Only bailiffs can do that. And then only with a court order. To help you i need some more info from you. Who are the debt collection agency. What is the debt and how much. Also how old is this debt. You say you are saving up to go bankrupt. There are other options. And i can assure you they will not turn up at your door. Give me as much info as possible. There are a number of letters you can send to your creditors.

moonlightpjs

First of all - this is just probably scare tactics - we have loads of these letters and nobbody has turned up!!! Just write back, offer a token payment of £1 a month if you can and then wait till you have gpt your BR money saved up. Make sure that in the letter you tell them all comminication is to be done in writing.

If somebody does turn up they have no rights to enter your property, only a baliff can do this when a CCJ has been issued and you haven't paid the CCJ. Therefore they cannot take you goods etc

Somebody else will be along soon with better advice soon so hang fire but don't be worried

Edit: Smashed already answered wwhilst I was busy typing and eating my cornflakes.

JasonWatkins_2

Hi BooBoo and thanks for replying so quickly

The debt is with Debt Managers Ltd, based in Edinburgh. The amount is 283.50 and it's probably about 18 months old if memory serves me.

I'm currently on Incapacity benefit and have been for the past 6 years, and some of the debt I currently have has essentially 'followed' me from the time I used to work. I have incurred other debt along the way due to a problem with gambling, which I am dealing with well.

My total debt is around 6,000, and with the income I have currently, it's not realistically going to get paid off in my lifetime so this is why I made the decision to declare myself bankrupt and try and wipe the slate clean for a fresh start.

I hope that is enough info for you, but please let me know if you need more.

JasonWatkins_2

thanks weller . This forum is turning out to be like a nice hot cup of tea that calms my nerves

smashedbooboo

Ok hun. I will look them for you. Can you list your other creditors and amounts etc and who thet are with, ie debt collection agencies. Also who was the original creditor for the debt you are talking about now.

smashedbooboo

You are in the right place hun. And sorry forget to say. Welcome. You are in the right place so you can stop fretting now. We will get this sorted between us.

moonlightpjs

Regarding the BR - are you sure this is the route you want to take? Have a read of the sub-board for BR at the top of this page.

Perhaps you could post a SOA - see SS's Sticky for first time posters near the top of the page and see if the good people on here can help you.

Got to take son to school now so keep posting, will be checking back

smashedbooboo

i know you say that your debts wont be paid off in your lifetime, but for that amount of money and your situation then when we have more info then we can work on them. We could ask some of your creditors to write off their debts. It is possible they will do this. Also are there any extra charges that have been added on to these debts. I would imagine there would be if they have been passed to DCAs. Now these charges can be claimed back. Thus reducing your debt. You would be surprised when you start looking into them a bit more closely how much they could be reduced. Write down the actual creditor and the amounts and if they have been passed over to DCAs.

JasonWatkins_2

If i'm completely honest, I have a fair idea of how much I owe based upon debts that I know of, and letters i've had, but no specific list.

The reason for this is, like most things for me at the moment, related to the gambling. I pretty much shut off everything else relating to my financial situation while I was gambling and the debt letters basically got put into a drawer.

I know this is the wrong way to do things, but since I've stopped gambling, i've accepted responsibility for this and this is why I want to sort the situation out.

The rough breakdown of what I owe is this :

Credit Card..............3,500
Credit Card.................257
Littlewoods.................283
Mobile phone...............209
Mobile phone................54
Water bill....................257
Cable TV.....................180
Council Tax.................110
Bank Overdraft.............250

The total is 5,100, so not quite the 6,000 that I thought.

The large credit card debt has to be around 8 years old realistically - this was incurred while I was still working.

The rest of the debt was incurred over the last 6 years.

I'm sorry it's not more specific, but being honest again, my intent was to start working on the specifics the closer I came to getting the money together for bankruptcy.

smashedbooboo

ok. Have you paid anything on the large credit card over the last 8yrs. A lot of those debts a doable to get rid of. The council tax. How old is that one. If you are on benefits are getting any help with that. That is a priority debt. Of course along with your rent or mortgage. They can chase you for that one forever and a day. The rest can you work on what letters you have had and from who. ie DCAs. Then post them on here. Only the name of them. I will be in a better position to tell you what letters to send to who.