Debt making me very very depressed

debtfree12000

Hello all

Very first post on this site.

So I have taken steps to control my debt (post relationship break up), by contacting Step change who advised me because of having 4 creditors and debts of £18500 to go on a DMP.

All seemed to be going well (appears 3 of my creditors have accepted) apart from HBOS refusing the payment of a £7k cc debt, even though its only £20 short of what I originally paid per month. I have had default notices, telephone calls 3/4 times per day and I am really starting to worry about this now.

Stepchange have told me not to worry, to not answer the phone to them but its difficult when these calls and letters keep rolling in. I spent all of last night getting really upset, imagining court or even prison (how dramatic :-0) I have no experience in this field so my mind is in overdrive, will they send the bailiffs round? I live in rented accommodation and have no goods really?

Also, I felt that Schange were a bit vague, I asked them if the other creditors were ok and they just said "yip seems so?" :-0

Anyways any advice/guidance would be greatly received.

Thanks

Sinhanada

Hi

I use Step Change and they could not have been more helpful. I would call them again and explain the angst which this is placing on you.

A couple of questions first though which probably need answering before more advice can be give:

When did you first contact SC and when did they accept you onto their DMP?

I will assume at this point you went through your income and expenditure. While this was going on did you send token payments to each creditor?

Lastly, although the creditors may reject the payment plan (But they would be foolish to do so. They can take you to court but in my experience they are more likely to sell the debt on at which point a new debt collector will contact you.

One thing to bear in mind is that the OFT have specific guidelines which they sounds like HBOS are refusing to obey. It would be worth reminding them of this and giving them your SC reference number. They should accept that you are with them, but it does not stop them from writing to you.

Hope this helps?

debtfree12000

Thanks for your reply.

My first payment is due out on 1october by dd. I made token payments to each creditor, as promised. HBOS seem to be the only ones refusing the plan, i just dont think I could handle going to court. I would prefer if they sold the debt to an agency instead.

From looking at these forums it looks like the initial stages are the worst, hopefully it will get better

Thanks again for your reply

Sinhanada

I would advise then that you notify HBOS next time they phone that your first payment to them will likely be the 25th -28th October. Also remind them again of your ref number and then call SC again to confirm the call you have had with them.

Honestly I could not recommend them enough - they do genuinely care about the people they help

debtfree12000

Ok, I will do that. Thanks again for your help. I feel a bit relieved. x

Miss_Marple_2

HBOS are notorious for ignoring the guidelines on harrassment and have been warned / fined. On several occaisions they called me 13 times in one day.

I would write to them (sent signed for) explaining that you feel harrassed and listing the times & frequency of their calls in a particular day and ask them not to telephone you again.

Sometimes it takes a long while for the message to get through to one department from another. I remember having their letter of acceptance of my DMP in my hand and their collections still continued to call and hound me.

I can promise you that things do get easier- the calls do stop and you will begin to feel a great sense of relief that things are improving.

Please don't let them get you down - it gets better.

debtfree12000

Thanks again for the replies

Spoke to SC and met a lovely lady who assures me all will be ok, and I will follow your advice about the calls and letter.

Feel a lot more relieved now.

Thank you so much

X

cocoloco

Hi!

I Feel your pain re- countinious phonecalls. My advise is:

1. answer call and TELL them to remove your phone number from their records and from now on only write to you.

2. any problems give them you Reference number and HANG UP!

I only had problems with them in the first 2 weeks, no phonecalls and nowedays hardly even any letters - and we have 18 (!!!) creditors.
We started our DMP in April with Stepchange and found all the creditors understanding ( they deal with this every day) and even if HBOS draging its heel - DO NOT WORRY- they will come on board once they realise that its either DMP or (if I was you) a token payment of £1 (LOL).
Keep reading the Debt-free wannabe boards- great help and support out there, evberybody been in a simular situation.
Believe me - IT WILL GET BETTER!!!

Good luck and keep us up to date.- cocolco

HOK3Y

All I can say is to remember that debt can be managed. It is never a situation that you cannot get some relief from. Stand strong and keep putting one foot in front of the other - and lean on all of us here if you need to. It will work out if you keep going forward. Hugs to you. We all know how it feels and most of us live for the moments when we feel we have beaten the creditors in some way - whether that's paying something off and being free of them or having a payment plan set up. You will get there and don't let them get to you - that's exactly what they are trying to do. If worry and stress could fix ANYTHING, just think what a wonderful world this would be! No-one would have even heard of Prozac!!!

Stewart_78

Hold on in there, it does get much better. In the beginning you will be bombarded by calls and letters, some of which will contradict others. At the end of the day they can't have what you haven't got and if you haven't got anything there is no point in them taking you to court. No judge is going to put you in prison for not being able to pay a few debts.

At the end of the day you are taking responsibility and doing something positive to change your life. It's going to a tough and long road probably but you are at least moving in the right direction.

Don't let the banks scare you. They are pretty much full of hot air.

debtfree12000

I will sleep a bit sounder tonight. Thank you all so so much xxxxxxx