Ccj

incorrect_2

My partner has just received court papers to say that one of the creditors are applying for a ccj he has filled them in and sent the admission back with an offer of payment. As this creditor has gone down this route would the others follow and also apply for ccj against him? Either way his credit rating is shot to bits but, we are still trying to chip away at things send pay them and getting court and solicitor fees added doesn't really help.

National_Debtline

Hi incorrect


It's impossible to say whether others will follow where this creditor has led. Unless all of your partner's debts are with the same bank or collector, the debt recovery approach may vary massively from one creditor to the next.


Knowing more about his circumstances would help us give you a better idea of what may be on the cards. Is your partner working? Is he a homeowner and/or does he have savings/other assets? These are factors that may influence creditors' decisions on whether to sue for their debts or not.


Dennis
@natdebtline

incorrect_2

Thanks for the reply. He no longer works due to ill health and will not be able to work again. He is 62 now and has multiple illnesses. We live in private rented accommodation. The debts are with different companies and are all from when he was working before getting ill. He has no savings at all and our only income us benefits, we used what we had when he first became ill to clear some of the debts. He was hounded in the beginning when he fell behind with payments but, then it settled for a while. Now this has arrived. To be honest this may sound bad but, I no longer lay awake at night worrying about the debt as the worry about his health is more important but, if the rest go down the court route it just adds more to the balance.

fatbelly

Debt Relief Order?

incorrect_2

Hi thanks for that but I have just looked at it and he has more debt than is allowed to qualify.

National_Debtline

Hi again


Exactly how much debt does your partner have? The threshold for Debt Relief Orders will rise to £20,000 in October - will that accommodate him?


If not - and let's assume for the moment that he does not have the £525 minimum required to apply for bankruptcy - then it would probably be a good idea to make all of his creditors aware of his circumstances as you describe them above. If they realise that he has no assets or disposable income, they will know that going to court will be a waste of their time and expense - one cannot get blood out of a stone.


The one creditor who has sued him may have done so speculatively - it does happen sometimes, but generally they will want to know that they will get a return on their "investment" when they take legal action.


Whatever else happens, you must not let these matters affect your well-being or his. There will always be something positive you can do, even if it is just writing to them all for now and offering £0 for the foreseeable future. There are various letter templates available on our website that you can use, including ones that ask for the debts to be written off in view of one's circumstances:


https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/sampleletters/sole-letters/Pages/default.aspx


Do please try to contact one of the free advice agencies to build on whatever information you are given here.


Dennis
@natdebtline

incorrect_2

Thank you I had no idea about debt relief orders or the fact the threshold would rise. We have no savings at all and just get by now. We did take this really badly when things first took a turn for the worse as we had never been in a position where we could not pay things. As his health got worse I had to give up work to look after him so have no income of my own other than care allowance

incorrect_2

I will definitely look at those letters on the website

fatbelly

If you can get a creditor's agreement that a debt is written off, or unenforceable because there is no signed agreement or because over 6 years has elapsed since the last payment then they do not need to be entered on the DRO and do not count to the (15k or 20k) limit. Also some debts are excluded and so do not count towards the limit:

• student loans
• CSA debts
• court fines
• social fund loans
• TV licence arrears

and council tax for the current year still payable under instalments is not a qualifying debt.

Is he still over 20k?