Cooperative bank debt

StephenEJGuy

Hello all,

I owe the Co-op 5K and they have been putting it off as a no-payment for 2.5 years - they now want me to make payments. However, I currently have no income and will be starting work by October. I´m willing to start paying them. I´ve worked out my income-expenditure etc. and have found out I can pay them around 20 Euros a month.

They say, that they can´t guarantee to keep hold of the debt and might of passed it onto a third party by then.

What are my options exactly?

If I can´t pay, I can´t pay. When I have money I´m willing to.

I´m aware of these debt collectors and they are an unreasonable bunch and know full well they won´t adhere to my offer.

So, how long is it until this is wiped off as bad debt?

I´ll be working abroad as I´m an EFL teacher and will be for the foreseeable future. I utterly refuse to pass my details, e.g my address in Spain just to be hounded by them.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and advice.

Steve

fatbelly

It won't be wiped as a bad debt. What happens is it gets sold to increasingly disreputable agencies. There's very little they can do if you are in Spain and they don't know your address.

Options include the following:

1. Pay what you can afford on an instalment basis. What you propose sounds like a 250 month plan, which is a bit long.

2. Save up a lump sum and offer it in full and final settlement.

3. Continue to not make payment and not acknowledge it.

4. Look at an insolvency option.

happy_bunny_2

What's it for and when was it taken out?

You might end up with a CCJ you can't respond to if you don't get your post.

StephenEJGuy

Thanks for the info, Fatbelly - I think that saving over time and offering a settlement would be a sensible idea...

Happy bunny - It was a personal loan and an overdraft. Is that serious?

Thanks again and please keep posting if you know of anything that could assist me

Steve

happy_bunny_2

StephenEJGuy wrote: »

Thanks for the info, Fatbelly - I think that saving over time and offering a settlement would be a sensible idea...

Happy bunny - It was a personal loan and an overdraft. Is that serious?

Thanks again and please keep posting if you know of anything that could assist me

Steve

It's serious in that if you get a CCJ, that screws your credit report for 6 years and the debt never dies. If you don't pay then maybe bailiffs etc.

You can easily get them for loans and overdrafts. Especially if not defended. At least if you know, you can offer to pay x per month otherwise the creditor gets to decide what you pay as long as judge agrees.

I would make sure someone checks your mail, it gets forwarded or you change your address.

fatbelly

Options 1, 2 and 4 are unlikely to prompt them to take court action.

Even option 3 is statistically unlikely to result in a court claim. The creditor would have to be sure that it is worth spending the money (i.e. would it be a case of 'throwing good money after bad'.

Given where you are I think they would struggle to enforce it. I'd say it's less likely than for someone living in the UK - and even then not very likely.

Note I'm not saying zero likelihood...

Anyway, option 2 seems a good choice to me. You could link it to a token offer strategy if you like.

Aim for a full & final at 30%. Start offers at 20%.

StephenEJGuy

Well, thanks to you both. Food for thought!

Take care

patman99

As you build-up your skills as an EFL teacher then your income should rise (nothing stopping you offering private tuition outside the day job). You can only pay what you can afford. After all, they can't get blood out of a stone.

If your Co-Op account is still open in October, pay 10 Euros p/m into this and 10 into the loan debt. That way, if they, or a DCA, try Court, then you can at least prove you are paying something rather than nothing.