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ConfusedMiss

Hi


I have received four letters today from a company called PRA regarding 4 debts from 2005, totalling almost 15k. All but one is joint with an ex partner who has since emmigrated and I have no address from him, having not been in touch with him in 9 years and having had no contact regarding the debts from the companies concerned in all this time I assumed they had been paid by him, but it would seem not. Having read a bit on the forum could someone advise if they think they may be statute barred?


Thanks in advance

StepChange_Allen

ConfusedMiss wrote: »

Hi


I have received four letters today from a company called PRA regarding 4 debts from 2005, totalling almost 15k. All but one is joint with an ex partner who has since emmigrated and I have no address from him, having not been in touch with him in 9 years and having had no contact regarding the debts from the companies concerned in all this time I assumed they had been paid by him, but it would seem not. Having read a bit on the forum could someone advise if they think they may be statute barred?


Thanks in advance

Hello

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

Joint debts become 'completely' statute barred when neither party has made a payment to the debt for a period of 6 years at any stage, and also when neither of you have acknowledged the debt in writing during that period either. If your ex-partner acknowledged the debt in writing before 6 years elapsed, but didn't make a payment, the debt would be statute barred to you. In other words, the creditor wouldn't be able to take legal action against you, but could against him.

So in the scenario where you've had no contact with your ex in 9 years I'm guessing you may not know if he's done anything with the debt in all that time. You can write to the creditor claiming the debt is statute barred (I'd suggest using a template letter - we can provide one if you wish) and if he had paid it to stop it becoming statute barred they'd have to show you the evidence of that.

I hope this makes sense, please let us know if we can help further.

Allen

Biffy70

Thank you for your replys, I'll contact you soon

ConfusedMiss

Thank you so much for your reply Allen, I will sent the letter straight away.

ENess

I owe the Halifax £18k on two credit cards and an overdraft. I became seriously ill some years ago and am unable to work. There is no prospect of any recovery. I am unable to work and am entirely dependent on my benefits.

One of the banks has twice hiked the minimum payments and now I can no longer afford any payments. And there is no realistic prospect of me ever clearing these debts.

The accounts are solely in my name. My partner/carer has a small mortgage outstanding on our house. This is entirely in her name, however the payments ultimately come from my benefits. I don't own the property, she does. There is nothing formal to say I have any interest in it. However now Barclays are paying hardball about a shortfall in payments amounting to about £883. The mortgage has less than 6 months to run and won't extend the term for another 12 months which would get the mortgage cleared and redeemed.

The credit card debts and the bank accounts are in my name, they are not joint debts. She has her own accounts and I am not named on them.

I am exploring my options and am trying to fill in the StepChange form. I am wondering where I would stand with a debt relief order? Would I be disqualified due to the property even though nothing is in my name and never has been?

Thanks,
ENess

craftydreamer

I have come to the end of my fixed mortgage term and the building society has asked me to choose another deal for the next "term". With the reduction in interest rates I am uncertain of what to do. I have three credit cards that are maxed out to a value of £8k total and a secured loan against my house of £10k. I do not earn a great deal of money but most of it is tied up in repaying high interest. I do not have a good credit rating and cannot borrow more money against my mortgage although my mortgage is just 31% of the cost of the house. I have recently had a pay rise and have taking a lodger to help towards these payments but I'm wondering if it's possible to reduce the interest rate that I am paying to help me pay the above back sooner. I'm happy to post an SOA if that would help? The first priority is to improve my cash flow as I have work expenses to cover each month which need to be claimed once paid - with my credit cards full I am having to use my current account to fund this. What a mess I've made of this!

StepChange_Kirsty

Hi ENess,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

As you’re living with your partner and have financially contributed towards the property (in this case the payments are coming from your benefits), then it could be deemed that you have a beneficial interest in the property. This would apply even though you’re not named on the mortgage/ deeds.

If the property has equity in it and your beneficial interest is £1,000 or more (I’m assuming this is likely if the mortgage has less than 6 months to run), then you would not be eligible for a debt relief order (DRO).

If you’ve completed the StepChange form online I would recommend you contact us so we can discuss this in more detail. If you’re not eligible for a DRO we can explore what other options might be suitable for your circumstances.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Kirsty

ENess wrote: »

I owe the Halifax £18k on two credit cards and an overdraft. I became seriously ill some years ago and am unable to work. There is no prospect of any recovery. I am unable to work and am entirely dependent on my benefits.

One of the banks has twice hiked the minimum payments and now I can no longer afford any payments. And there is no realistic prospect of me ever clearing these debts.

The accounts are solely in my name. My partner/carer has a small mortgage outstanding on our house. This is entirely in her name, however the payments ultimately come from my benefits. I don't own the property, she does. There is nothing formal to say I have any interest in it. However now Barclays are paying hardball about a shortfall in payments amounting to about £883. The mortgage has less than 6 months to run and won't extend the term for another 12 months which would get the mortgage cleared and redeemed.

The credit card debts and the bank accounts are in my name, they are not joint debts. She has her own accounts and I am not named on them.

I am exploring my options and am trying to fill in the StepChange form. I am wondering where I would stand with a debt relief order? Would I be disqualified due to the property even though nothing is in my name and never has been?

Thanks,
ENess

StepChange_Kirsty

Hi there,

Thank you for your post.

First of all I just need to let you know that I can’t comment on your mortgage or secured loan as I’m not a qualified mortgage advisor. If you do need advice about your mortgage I would recommend speaking to an experienced and qualified mortgage advisor.

What I can say is that it is probably a good thing that you have not been able to borrow more against your mortgage. At the moment your credit cards are unsecured which means they carry less risks in terms of what the creditors can do. If you were to re-mortgage in order to pay your unsecured debts and then struggled to meet repayments, this could ultimately mean your property would be at risk.

When it comes to interest on your credit cards, if you’re managing to meet payments on a monthly basis it is unlikely that your creditors will agree to reduce the interest. However, if you’re struggling with repayments I would recommend you contact us as soon as possible so we can look at your options.

Rather than posting your statement of affairs (SOA) on this thread, a better way for us to give you advice is through our online Debt Remedy tool. Using Debt Remedy you can complete details of your income, expenditure and list of debts and from this we would give you recommendations and financial advice that you would access online using a Personal Action Plan (advice booklet).

I hope this is helpful.

Kirsty

craftydreamer wrote: »

I have come to the end of my fixed mortgage term and the building society has asked me to choose another deal for the next "term". With the reduction in interest rates I am uncertain of what to do. I have three credit cards that are maxed out to a value of £8k total and a secured loan against my house of £10k. I do not earn a great deal of money but most of it is tied up in repaying high interest. I do not have a good credit rating and cannot borrow more money against my mortgage although my mortgage is just 31% of the cost of the house. I have recently had a pay rise and have taking a lodger to help towards these payments but I'm wondering if it's possible to reduce the interest rate that I am paying to help me pay the above back sooner. I'm happy to post an SOA if that would help? The first priority is to improve my cash flow as I have work expenses to cover each month which need to be claimed once paid - with my credit cards full I am having to use my current account to fund this. What a mess I've made of this!

asmsbs93

Hello.

I'm in need of some advise!

I currently have £5000 on a barclay card (which is the limit), £2900 on a very catalogue account (also the limit) and have a total debt of £4000 to family. I also pay my dad £352 a month for a loan he took out for me to get rid of some debt I have 2 years ago (I still have 2 years left paying this). Also on top of this, my partner has £800 on a barclaycard (which is the limit).

My partner lost his job in November last year and is really struggling to find a new one, despite his best efforts! We have a 4 month old and my wage isn't covering everything we need to pay out each month!

I am still receive SMP and a wage from a second job, in total bringing in around £1400 a month but our rough out goings including minimum payments on everything is £2000. That isn't including fuel (which I need to get to work as I work an hour away from home), shopping and anything our baby needs!

We really are in a pickle!

We have used up all our money while my partner has been out of work and we are behind now! Things need paying before I get paid so things are been paid late which then put us behind for paying everything else!

I have bad credit history so a loan is almost a no go unless I pay around 60% APR (hence my dad taking a loan out for me).

What should I do!?

Thanks in advance
Amy.

StepChange_Rachael

Hi Amy

Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you’re going through a difficult time at the moment, I know it can be hard to know which way to turn to take a hold and get on top of your financial situation so I’m glad you’ve found the forum.

It’s important to find a way forward especially as you’ve mentioned the credit is at its limit and there’s more money going out than coming in at the moment,

It’s really important to try and balance your budget the best you can for your income to cover your household bills and general living costs so you don’t find you’re falling behind with household bills.

Firstly if you’ve not already done this I’d suggest creating a budget to see where your income is going and to see if there are any realistic reductions that can be made. It’s also important to check to see if you’re receiving all the benefits you’re entitled to as a household. You can use a benefits calculator online through Turn2us to check this.

In terms of your credit card and other non-priority debts I’d suggest speaking with a debt advisor who can tailor the advice. To be able to give you accurate advice it’s important to know more about you’re financial situation including income, expenditure and debts.

There are many types of debt solution available to help you manage your debts and keep on top of your household bills without relying on further borrowing and with the aim of becoming debt free.

You can use our online Debt Remedy tool to create a budget and access our advice and recommendations online.

We’ll also help you go forward with any chosen solution and our support and help is free.

Take care,
Rachael

asmsbs93 wrote: »

Hello.

I'm in need of some advise!

I currently have £5000 on a barclay card (which is the limit), £2900 on a very catalogue account (also the limit) and have a total debt of £4000 to family. I also pay my dad £352 a month for a loan he took out for me to get rid of some debt I have 2 years ago (I still have 2 years left paying this). Also on top of this, my partner has £800 on a barclaycard (which is the limit).

My partner lost his job in November last year and is really struggling to find a new one, despite his best efforts! We have a 4 month old and my wage isn't covering everything we need to pay out each month!

I am still receive SMP and a wage from a second job, in total bringing in around £1400 a month but our rough out goings including minimum payments on everything is £2000. That isn't including fuel (which I need to get to work as I work an hour away from home), shopping and anything our baby needs!

We really are in a pickle!

We have used up all our money while my partner has been out of work and we are behind now! Things need paying before I get paid so things are been paid late which then put us behind for paying everything else!

I have bad credit history so a loan is almost a no go unless I pay around 60% APR (hence my dad taking a loan out for me).

What should I do!?

Thanks in advance
Amy.