Advice and guidance please..

patman99

You have checked for outstanding debts and discovered that you have a few.

Next step is to work out when you last paid any of them. If it is over 6 years ago, send each creditor the prove it letter as mentioned earlier on.

As for getting a credit card. Isn't this what got you in the mess in the first place?.

Forget all about a credit card and work on running a proper budget.

Andy222

I still have several which are within the six year period. A couple which are around four years old, and one which is 5 1/2 years old.

Is it not the case that any which are over 6 years old would not show on my report anyway? Or does it take longer for them to disappear?

Also, should I not send 'prove it' letters for debts that are less than 6 years old?

Andy222

Regarding the credit card situation..the Clearscore site has a section 'recommended offers for you', based on your score.

On the day I asked whether I should apply for one on this thread, nobody replied. I was all fired up to start rebuilding my credit score and fixing my situation, so ended up using their 'soft search' eligibility check. It showed I had a reasonably high chance of being accepted for a popular Virgin 'all round' credit card. So I jumped in and applied. Perhaps I should have been more patient. I just wanted to get the ball rolling that's all.

Anyway, much to my surprise, a day later I received an email saying I have been accepted. And my credit limit will be £2600.

Now I know this may go against some people's ideals as to the best course of action here..but it's happened now..and with your guidance, I could you this to my advantage I'm sure.

Looking at the defaults I have listed across my 3 reports, I'm guessing the total for everything is going to be somewhere between £1k-£1.5k. Initially I anticipated it being more, but since I last checked my report 4 years ago a rather large debt from around 14 years ago no longer appears anywhere. So that makes the whole ordeal a LOT more manageable.

So what I will do is write down exactly how many debts I have listed, what dates apply, and the exact figures for each. Then I will post the information on this thread and maybe somebody can help me decide how to proceed from there.

I will need a day or two to sit down and make sure I have everything worked out perfectly though..

kink_bosslady

Hey Andy!

Just to clarify for you sweetie you are looking for the notice of default dates. It will be:
6 years from that date that the default will stay on your credit file

The other thing to remember is:
This is when the clock starts for them to take legal action... HOWEVER if any payments or acknowledgement of debt have been made during that time then the clock resets again.

The credit card... does it have 0% offer on it? Also as well be careful with credit cards and debt collection agencies they catch wind you using it to clear debt off you might struggle. Since the regulations came in in regards to debt collection they are a lot more cautious with people using more potential debt to get rid of debt if that makes sense?

Andy222

Hey, thanks for that. Not sure if it's 0% tbh. I just looked at how many positive reviews it had, and chose it on that basis. Classed as a good 'all round' credit card..whatever that means.

Wasn't going to use it to clear the debts..was thinking more about selling my car. But hypothetically, what would be the issue with that exactly? Does it go against your credit rating using credit cards to clear pre existing debts?

middleclassbutpoor

Andy, please take this in the way it is meant.

If you can't tell us whether your card has any 0% and you are happy with the card because it had good reviews, I don't think you are ready for a credit card yet. You should spend time now dealing with the old debt and getting yourself into a position where you are not waiting for a knock on the door.

You can always close the card back down by calling virgin saying that you have changed your mind.

Andy222

This is the credit card I have got:

https://uk.virginmoney.com/virgin/credit-cards/pre-apply/?agg=LOV&product=all-round-card&utm_campaign=creditcards&dclid=CIeS3YmmjtUCFYioUQodMpQJUg&utm_medium=aggregators&source=LOV-ALR-NA-NA-02001&utm_content=listings&utm_source=knowyourmoney

uphillstruggler

Hi Andy,

Pleased to hear you are making headway with your debt. I've been there - it's so hard to get your head out of the sand.

Please don't take offence at this but I'm going to be blatantly honest. Only because I've been there and when I was up to my eyeballs in debt I make mistakes and I wish someone had been honest and straight down the line with me.

First off, forget the credit report right now. It really doesn't matter. When you get credit lenders will look at your borrowing and your money coming in and make their own choice based on their own criteria, not your "score". From what you say, your report is likely to have gaps and inconsistencies. It also takes a while for changes to register. I've logged on to agency sites before and leapt for joy at my score, only to find defaults and accounts were not linked. When you change addresses or add old addresses it often takes a while for your accounts to link up and show.

Do what middleclassbutpoor says and close the Virgin account. Having another line of credit likely won't help in any respect. It will bring your "score" down. You need to get serious about paying your existing debts off. It surprises me that you got credit when you have defaults - are they listed with credit agencies as defaults? Have they been defaulted for over 6 years?

I found the snowballing calculator really helpful for organising repayments. It works on the principle of paying the debt with the highest rate of interest off first. Could be worth a look.

Please post an SOA if you can - that usually sparks off really good ideas for moneysaving from the folks on here and certainly helped me loads.

I found StepChange really supportive and non-judgemental.

My only regret in my situation is struggling too hard to keep up repayments and nearly driving myself into the ground when I should have fessed up much much earlier to CC companies and banks and organised a much more affordable plan for repayment.

Well done for facing up to what is a very tough situation.

Good luck,
US

Andy222

What's an SOA?

uphillstruggler

Hi Andy,

It's a statement of affairs - you can find a template on the site under the Debt Free Wannabe Sticky in the forum list. It shouldn't take too long but you can fill out your expenditure and your income. It's a useful tool.

US