BIG Catalogue debts

Alice_in_Welfareland

FireWyrm wrote: »

With respect, £13,000 on catalogues at approximately 34% is just ludicrous. It also represents far more than some clothes, so what else is there that you could potentially sell to finance the debt?

The catelogue companies are unlikely to just let this rest, so you need to formulate a plan asap. They will almost certainly go for a CCJ, so unless you want to continue acruing the debt at 34%, I suggest you attempt to consolidate it into a cheaper APR loan. Normally, consolidation isnt a wise choice, but Kays are not known for being nice about freezing interest and this could quickly baloon into something unmanageable.

In any case, they are about to trash your credit file, so I would also be making plans to live long term without any form of credit for the forseeable future. Brace yourself, this could get worse before it gets better as your bank might decide to call in your overdraft for instance.

Please dont be complacent here because neither catelogue is going to be nice about this. StepChange can certainly help you, but there is no 'getting out' of this. The presence of a 'signed agreement' is misleading as of the Communications Act of (I think) 2004 which means that by simply ticking the Ts&Cs box on the website, it counts as a signature. They dont need a paper copy to enforce their claim and you make the mistake of relying on that as a defence.

The truth is that a charging order is unlikely, but for debts of this size, not impossible under certain circumstances.

Do you think a consolidation loan at the low interest rates will be available to some body on income support with missed payments and one debt passed to a debt collection company? This is not helpful.

Alice_in_Welfareland

smi85 wrote: »

3 grand! That's a lot of nice clothes. Sell them.

This too is not helpful and the numbers are wrong also.

FireWyrm

Alice_in_Welfareland wrote: »

Do you think a consolidation loan at the low interest rates will be available to some body on income support with missed payments and one debt passed to a debt collection company? This is not helpful.

Perhaps. It depends on whether they have a good relationship with their bank and whether they act fast enough before the CCJ hits the doorstep. It is a possibility to explore. The alternative is a debt of £13K at a compounding interest of 34% which could spiral into double that easily before this is finished as the catelogue company is under no obligation to freeze interest.

Alice_in_Welfareland

FireWyrm wrote: »

Perhaps. It depends on whether they have a good relationship with their bank and whether they act fast enough before the CCJ hits the doorstep. It is a possibility to explore. The alternative is a debt of £13K at a compounding interest of 34% which could spiral into double that easily before this is finished as the catelogue company is under no obligation to freeze interest.

This must be the bank from heaven as people can not get loans with a good credit and the high salary today and where does the money come from to pay back the loan? I do not think income support is so generous. This person needs to deal with this situation urgently and not to waste the time trying to get impossible bank loan deal.

Alice_in_Welfareland

1tar wrote: »

Hi can someone please give me some advice as I'm going out of my mind with worry.. I owe £10'000 to kays catalogue and £3'000 to simply be catalogue. My husband left me just before xmas and I cannot afford to pay these debts. I have 3 children and am now in receipt of income support. I and my children are still in the marital home of which me and my husband share a mortgage. I have just written to the companies offering token payments but they say its ot enough!! I have just read somewhere that they could apply for some sort of order that could make me sell my house to pay the debt. I'm really scared now. I read on another money forum site that catalogue companies and other non priority debtors could do very little in order to get the money apart from a ccj. Where do i go from here I dont want to lose my house. many thanks.:(

Do you have a local Citizens Advice Bureau? You need help to deal with this as quickly as possible and if the CAB has a financial advisor they will assist you but you will have to make the appointment. If not because I know many have closed including my own can you look at Christians Against Poverty on Google and see if they have local people who can help you. You may also call National Debtline for help too.

1tar

Thanks for the advice I will try the CAP this week. not all the debt went on clothing a lot of it was household items, a lot of which i bought at different times on buy now pay in 12 months to space the payments out, and having a good income coming in I could afford it. I could never of imagined in my wildest dreams that my husband was going to leave me for a younger model ( I'm only 38 so you can imagine). I have started to sell some clothing on eBay and various other items but unfortunately no one wants to pay much for second hand goods and as I wont be able to afford to buy any more for a long long time I feel I had better hang on to most of them. could someone tell me what the process is with a ccj please, will I have to physically go to court??. Isn't my credit trashed now anyway and if I get a ccj is it wiped off your credit file after 6 years???? thanks

1tar

cheekylu wrote: »

Hi

Yes mine are similar to yours I owe £4000 on very and £1000 on littlewoods and other smaller amounts on other catalogues. Because the CCS did me a budget and worked out what I had left to spend on debts I think the catalogues had no choice but to accept what I offered. Definitely give them a call they will help you x

Hi did the CCS do that over the phone or did you go and see them? many thanks.