Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

74mrjones

Hi. Just after a bit of advice. My wife had a mortgage with her ex husband back in 2008. She left him and about a year later he had the house repossed and that was it. She has now recieved a letter saying there was a shortfall of roughly £12000 and she is liable. This is about 9 years later, so my question is how long do they have to pursue this debt ( which she had no idea about ) thanks for any help or guidance you can give.

Jamesanthony

Hello im new to this forum. I always look and read ppls posts for help but I'm in a pickle.

Went to CAB to start a DRO

Had the call off their team after paying my £90 fee. Then the dro unit tells me they dont have all the debtors named from CAB worker in my locality. Ive called and emailed every day and they're not getting back to me. Now ive had a letter from a debtor saying i have 7 days to contact them to arrange a payment plan or theyll be passing the case to an enforcement agency this case has been to court and have a CCJ for it. Do or can the CAB stop this from escalating by them getting in touch or do i need to make a payment plan to hold them off until the DRO unit have what they need to make the application?? I feel sick

Former_StepChange_Linsi

Hi Hannah

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear about the financial difficulties you’ve been having. There’s a template letter you can use on our website to reduce the number of calls you’re receiving.

Making sure the repayments are going to be affordable when your income fluctuates is paramount, so you’ve done the right thing not to agree to a payment before making sure it’s affordable.

I’d recommend finding the most recent letter you have for each debt as this should state who you need to contact to discuss the debt.

You can also use our free online Debt Remedy tool for help working out an affordable payment to offer to each credit card. When listing your income it’s best to use an average based over the last 6 to 12 months.

At the end of Debt Remedy you’ll receive a personal action plan. This shows which debt solutions are available to help you manage your debt and what steps you should take next. Here’s the link for Debt Remedy.

I hope this helps.

Linsi

hannah___louise wrote: »

Hi,

I'm trying to sort out some credit card debt I have built up over the last 10 years or so.

The debt stands at about £13K. It is split over 3 credit cards (2 Barclays, 1 MBNA) however I am now getting calls and letters from PRA group for all three debts. I'm in an awkward financial position as I am a single parent, work part time and am also a student. My income fluctuates massively throughout the year so I'm really worried about agreeing to pay something I can't afford in a few months. At the moment I m not making any payments - I stopped about 16 months ago due to a breakdown. What is the best way to approach this? Who do I deal with, the CC companies or PRA?

I'm reading a lot of conflicting info online!

Many thanks,
Hannah

Former_StepChange_Linsi

Hi

Thanks for getting in touch.

We’d be happy to use a correspondence address if it’s easier to receive post there. I also can’t see any reason why a creditor wouldn’t be able to do the same.

We’ll need to know your home address and how long you’ve lived there but this won’t be used should we need to send you a letter.

I hope this helps.

Linsi

Slytherin wrote: »

Hello advisors

Will Stepchange and creditors have a problem with me using a correspondence address that's not my actual home address? I'm happy to declare to them where I am living but I have privacy and practicality issues with having important post sent direct.

Former_StepChange_Linsi

Hi Mr Jones

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the post.

The limitation period for mortgage lenders to recover a shortfall is 12 years for the capital and 6 years for the interest.

The start of the limitation period depends on how the property was handed back:

Repossessed by the lender – the limitation period starts from the date of default according the mortgage agreement

Voluntary surrender – the limitation period begins from the date your wife’s ex-husband handed the keys back

If either your wife or her ex-husband has made a payment or acknowledge the debt in writing before the limitation period ended, the period restarts from the date of the payment or acknowledgement.

Should the lender apply or if they have applied for a county court judgement during the limitation period the time frames mentioned above won’t apply. There’s more information about the limitation period here on our website.

If your wife is still liable for this debt she can use our online Debt Remedy tool to create a budget and find a tailored debt solution. Here’s the link.

All the best,

Linsi

74mrjones wrote: »

Hi. Just after a bit of advice. My wife had a mortgage with her ex husband back in 2008. She left him and about a year later he had the house repossed and that was it. She has now recieved a letter saying there was a shortfall of roughly £12000 and she is liable. This is about 9 years later, so my question is how long do they have to pursue this debt ( which she had no idea about ) thanks for any help or guidance you can give.

Former_StepChange_Linsi

Hi James

Welcome to the forum and thanks for getting in touch.

I’m sorry to hear your DRO application has been delayed but it’s really important to list all your debts in the application. Any debts not listed won’t be written off.

CAB can’t stop the creditor from taking any further action but you can use an N245 form to vary the judgement and set up a payment plan until your DRO is approved. If accepted this will stop the creditor from using enforcement agents. There’s more information about varying a judgement on our website, here’s the link.

Should you need it, CAB will be able to help you fill this out this form and suggest an affordable offer of repayment.

I hope this help,

Linsi

Jamesanthony wrote: »

Hello im new to this forum. I always look and read ppls posts for help but I'm in a pickle.

Went to CAB to start a DRO

Had the call off their team after paying my £90 fee. Then the dro unit tells me they dont have all the debtors named from CAB worker in my locality. Ive called and emailed every day and they're not getting back to me. Now ive had a letter from a debtor saying i have 7 days to contact them to arrange a payment plan or theyll be passing the case to an enforcement agency this case has been to court and have a CCJ for it. Do or can the CAB stop this from escalating by them getting in touch or do i need to make a payment plan to hold them off until the DRO unit have what they need to make the application?? I feel sick

74mrjones

Thank you for your help. Much appreciated

Henri000

Hi, as with many my Debt seems to have come to a head in my life! Reckless or irresponsible spending over the past 10 years (I’m 29)
I’ve spent on credit cards and taken loans, consolidated debts not prioritised paying off what I owed and spent beyond my means.
Various life stresses including relationship break ups and moving multiple times, family members passing away, I have spent money irresponsibly during these times or ignored debts.
I would say I have an addictive personality and buying unnecessary things thy I don’t need / gambling or buying on eBay and spending on others to make them happy.

As it stands I have,
£7,400 loan with 29 months remaining (monthly repayment £300.30)
£11,000 on a interest free CC (28 months)
£2,632 on CC 4.9% interest rate
-£1031 Into my over draft

This debt is now taking over my life, It’s affecting my mental health, I have struggled with anxiety and depression before and is affecting my relationship and it’s all o think about now, I’ve been trying to deal with it behind the scenes but I am struggling .
My income is usually £2200 basic
Monthly -
I have a mortgage/property expenses and commit to paying £800 into joint account.

Any advise on starting the long road to debt free or managing this -
My life is on hold the whole time I have this debt.

StepChange_Allen

Henri000 wrote: »

Hi, as with many my Debt seems to have come to a head in my life! Reckless or irresponsible spending over the past 10 years (I’m 29)
I’ve spent on credit cards and taken loans, consolidated debts not prioritised paying off what I owed and spent beyond my means.
Various life stresses including relationship break ups and moving multiple times, family members passing away, I have spent money irresponsibly during these times or ignored debts.
I would say I have an addictive personality and buying unnecessary things thy I don’t need / gambling or buying on eBay and spending on others to make them happy.

As it stands I have,
£7,400 loan with 29 months remaining (monthly repayment £300.30)
£11,000 on a interest free CC (28 months)
£2,632 on CC 4.9% interest rate
-£1031 Into my over draft

This debt is now taking over my life, It’s affecting my mental health, I have struggled with anxiety and depression before and is affecting my relationship and it’s all o think about now, I’ve been trying to deal with it behind the scenes but I am struggling .
My income is usually £2200 basic
Monthly -
I have a mortgage/property expenses and commit to paying £800 into joint account.

Any advise on starting the long road to debt free or managing this -
My life is on hold the whole time I have this debt.

Hi Henri

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

I'm sorry to hear that this debt is affecting your personal life and mental health, and that you've lost family members as well. If you need any more support for how the situation is affecting your health we'd recommend speaking with your GP in the first instance. With regards to the gambling and addictive behaviour, you could contact SMART Recovery; they can help with all kinds of addictions including spending as they look at the cause of the behaviours. This is their website: www.smartrecovery.org/

We can definitely help you with your debts, so the best first step to take is to ring our telephone Helpline on 0800 138 1111. A debt advisor will build a budget with you to assess your income, expenditure and debts, and then give you advice on the back of that.

I hope this helps and we look forward to speaking with you soon.

Allen

amy12

Hi,

I am in a bit of a sticky situation, racked up quite a bit of debt in my name while on maternity leave, this will all be paid off within 2 years so all short temp debt but all high interest. I have now returned to work and paying high nursery fees and I have separated from my babies Dad, and I get nothing from him (agreed to this as he has just lost his job). Anyway, I have applied for universal credit and waiting for my first payment towards childcare costs (already had an advance payment too) this month I am going to struggle to pay everything, I bring home £720 a month, child care is £465 and I pay atleast £600 a month out in debt bills if not more, previously this was not a problem as I was getting quite a lot on mat leave and partner was paying half of it. I have rang one company up today and see if they can help me out and they are not entertaining it. What can I do?