Some advice on debt agencies please

HamboneMalone

Hi all, thanks for reading,

So about 10 years ago I took out a loan of £7000 (I was young and silly :P ) from Santander, then Abbey National.

After a few years I ran into some money problems and couldn't afford to pay back the loan, which, in turn went to a debt agency, Moorcroft with an increase of £4000 taking the total I owed to £11,000.
I was happy to pay Moorcroft a little every month to pay off the debt but last summer I ran into money difficulty again (I'm a musician so the money situation isn't so stable) and to my surprise Moorcroft didn't contact me at all.

Now last month a new agency calling themselves Robinson Way contacted me about the debt, saying they work on behalf on Santander and that I owe them £10,000. I haven't spoke to them yet and wanted to ask a couple questions on here before proceeding.

1. What is the best way to deal with these people? I find it a bit strange that Moorcroft would of sold the debt to them. Even if I stopped making payments to Moorcroft surely I would have gotten a letter from Moorcroft about it

2. I know it's not morally right but if I didn't want to pay of the debt at all, what is the best way to go about it? Threaten to declare myself bankrupt? Ignore their letters? Actually proceed with bankruptcy?

Any information would be great.
Thank you!

Meatloaf1981

Going bankrupt is normally a last resort and, as far as I can recall, you have to pay a fee to declare yourself bankrupt and then you're pretty much blacklisted from future credit for quite a long time. If you owe the money but can't afford to repay it then you should write to the DCA and inform them of what you CAN afford to repay and then pay them a monthly amount. If you ignore it and refuse to deal with them, they will apply to the courts for a judgement and then you'll find if you continue to ignore them, the court will find in their favour and you will have bailiffs after you for anything you own.

Deciding to simply not repay your debt is irresponsible and not something you should actively consider simply because you "don't want to". Speak to National Debtline or Stepchange for some advice relevant to your circumstances.

Tixy

If a new debt collector contacts you about a debt then usually the best first option is to send the prove it letter - which asks them to prove you owe the amount they claim, and prove they have a right to collect the debt.

Letter when you know nothing about about the debt - AKA "Prove it" letter

National_Debtline

Hi Hambone and welcome to the forum.


In addition to the above suggestions, you may find it useful to speak with our colleagues at Business Debtline if your income fluctuates and you are responsible for your own tax returns etc., as they can help you work out a realistic living budget and advise you on your best options from there.


www.businessdebtline.org


Dennis
@natdebtline

fatbelly

HamboneMalone wrote: »

Hi all, thanks for reading,

So about 10 years ago I took out a loan of £7000 (I was young and silly :P ) from Santander, then Abbey National.

After a few years I ran into some money problems and couldn't afford to pay back the loan, which, in turn went to a debt agency, Moorcroft with an increase of £4000 taking the total I owed to £11,000.
I was happy to pay Moorcroft a little every month to pay off the debt but last summer I ran into money difficulty again (I'm a musician so the money situation isn't so stable) and to my surprise Moorcroft didn't contact me at all.

Now last month a new agency calling themselves Robinson Way contacted me about the debt, saying they work on behalf on Santander and that I owe them £10,000. I haven't spoke to them yet and wanted to ask a couple questions on here before proceeding.

1. What is the best way to deal with these people? I find it a bit strange that Moorcroft would of sold the debt to them. Even if I stopped making payments to Moorcroft surely I would have gotten a letter from Moorcroft about it

2. I know it's not morally right but if I didn't want to pay of the debt at all, what is the best way to go about it? Threaten to declare myself bankrupt? Ignore their letters? Actually proceed with bankruptcy?

Any information would be great.
Thank you!

Moorcroft were probably just acting as collectors for Santander but Santander may now have sold it to a company called Hoist, of which Rob Way are a part.

You should check your credit file to see what's there but if this was originally defaulted more than 6 years ago, it may not appear, and won't reappear unless they take court action.

As you seem unclear why you should still owe 10k after making payments for years on a 7k debt, I agree that a prove-it would be a good first step - see what they come back with.

Bankruptcy is maybe a sledgehammer to crack a nut but have a chat to National Debtline or their sister organisation about your options.