Help Needed - NFA and ongoing debt

tangomegadeath

Hi all,

I'm after some advice about my situation and how best to deal with a few things.

To give you a bit of background, I've been in a spiral of debt for 8+ years and having (finally!) managed to get a handle on it all, everything went wrong a couple of years ago.
My wife and I seperated and I've been unable to make repayments on my debts since.

I rented from March '15 to Oct '15 but had to give that up because I was still paying the mortgage until the house sold.
Since then I've been without a home and have been in the car which is not as bad as it first sounds.

The problem is that I used a friends house to re-register the car (when the ex decided I could have it) and my bank account (needed a new card) and now the debt collection agencies have been writing to me (via her).

The majority of my old debt will be registered with my old rented accomodation but some seems to have traced it's way to her.

At the moment I'm trying to save to get a new home but it's a slow process as the car keeps going wrong and other random expenses seem to come from nowhere.
I also have to rent a hotel room so I can have the kids once a fortnight and avoid having to tell the ex, family etc that I'm not actually living anywhere.

I think I'm about 4 months off getting somewhere and taking the debts back to my address (if that makes sense?).

How can I avoid any further contact being made at her address?

At the moment I can afford to repay my debts but won't be able to save to get a deposit.
Once I'm actually in somewhere I will again not be able to repay my debts.

I'm really not sure what to do.

Smodlet

Hi, it sounds as if, perhaps, you should consider either a DMP (Debt Management Plan), DRO (Debt Recovery Order) or an IVA (Individual Voluntary Agreement) You can find information on all of these options on this forum or elsewhere on the web. I cannot advise you but am sure someone with the requisite knowledge will be along in a while.

HTH.

National_Debtline

Hi there,


This does sound like a very difficult situation. If you have mainly credit debts and your friend is receiving letters from debt collectors, tell her not to worry. They will normally only ring, write and pester for the money, they cannot enter her home or touch anything - they are not a bailiff. You will struggle to stop them writing to her at the moment without another address to offer them for correspondence, but there isn't much they can do.


As far as dealing with the debts are concerned we really need to know more. How much is owed to start with? If you are struggling to get enough money together to stay in the hotel long term, and save for a deposit, then it is very unlikely an IVA will be suitable. A DRO (Debt Relief Order) or a DMP may be an option when things settle down and are more predictable day to day.

Have you spoke to Shelter or your local council about help with emergency housing? I would suggest that you stop paying the debts immediately, send them a Hold Action letter and save your money as quick as you can so you have somewhere safe and warm to go. Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline