A little help starting to be a DFW

sillydebtperson

Hi guys, this is my first post here and I'm looking for some advice. I have had bad debt for a good few years now and through a combination of unemployment, low paying jobs and depression I have largely ignored my debts to the point where I have no idea how much I owe and who I even have debts with. I have moved about a lot over the past few years so have not received much in the way of letters or demands but I know they're out there.

So now I'm in a better position in my life in most ways and I want to get rid of this debt as it is hanging over my head as a barrier to happiness.

I know I have been stupid so far and I expect some snark from some of the members here and I guess in a lot of ways I deserve it.

Firstly I wanted to know what is the best way of finding out how much I owe and who to? I guess this is important as it will determine what course of action I may need to take.

I imagine that the amount I would owe would be over £10,000, originally it may not have been that high but owing to interest and probable charges I imagine that's probably a minimum but it's still hard to say.

On my current wage taking into account interest I doubt I would be able to make a dent so I think the only real ways for me to get rid of it is to go through some kind of IVA or trust deed (I live in Scotland)...

Can anyone give any experience how how these actually work and what I would be expected to give up in these, or any suggestions of more appropriate solutions would also be welcome.

Thankyou for any help you can give, it is very appreciated.

Tixy

Hi and welcome to the forum

As a starting point - roughly how long have you been ignoring the debts/not paying anything?
The reason for the question is to consider whether they may already statute barred, or be close to being statute barred.

Are you aware of any of your creditors ever having taken court action?

sillydebtperson

Thanks for the reply.

As far as I'm aware there has been no court action.

Some of the debts are going on over 7 years and some maybe 5 years.

I had a quick Google but can you explain a little more about statute barring.

Thanks again.

Tixy

Did you also live in Scotland when the debts were taken out?

In Scotland a debt becomes statute barred if there is a period of 5 years where you make no payments to the debt and do not write to the creditors/debt collector to acknowledge/admit the debt, and if the creditor does not take court action against you in that time.

In Scotland after that 5 year period the debt is legally extinguished i.e. it does not exist anymore.

This is a useful factsheet http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/scotland/factsheet.php?page=23_prescription_and_limitation_act

sillydebtperson

All of the debts were taken out in England. I moved to Scotland a few years ago.