Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

StepChange_Allen

enigomo said:

Hi, i need an advise about a Barclaycard debt. Back in 2016 i was taken to court, but the case was dropped on the court date,by the debt collection company working on behalf of Barclays. I haven't heard anything from them since, we moved house and today i received a letter (not sure if this is from the same people taking me to court, but it's most likely) Can they take me to court again after they have dropped the fist case and when does actualy the Limitation Act starts. I am really confused.

Thank you!

Hi Enigomo

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

It's very unusual to hear of an application for a CCJ being cancelled on the day, do you know why it was dropped? To the best of my knowledge, if a CCJ wasn't obtained then, they could normally apply at a later date instead. But it may depend on why it was dropped.

The Limitation Act states that a debt becomes legally unenforceable (statute barred) after six years of non-payment where that has also been no written acknowledgement of the debt by you in that time. If you believe the debt to be statute barred, you can send a letter to the creditor to state this. There's a template letter on our website that you can use if applicable. Simply search 'statute barred' to find the article, and the template can be found by clicking on a link on that page.

I hope this is helpful.

Allen

enigomo

StepChange_Allen said:

enigomo said:

Hi, i need an advise about a Barclaycard debt. Back in 2016 i was taken to court, but the case was dropped on the court date,by the debt collection company working on behalf of Barclays. I haven't heard anything from them since, we moved house and today i received a letter (not sure if this is from the same people taking me to court, but it's most likely) Can they take me to court again after they have dropped the fist case and when does actualy the Limitation Act starts. I am really confused.

Thank you!

Hi Enigomo

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

It's very unusual to hear of an application for a CCJ being cancelled on the day, do you know why it was dropped? To the best of my knowledge, if a CCJ wasn't obtained then, they could normally apply at a later date instead. But it may depend on why it was dropped.

The Limitation Act states that a debt becomes legally unenforceable (statute barred) after six years of non-payment where that has also been no written acknowledgement of the debt by you in that time. If you believe the debt to be statute barred, you can send a letter to the creditor to state this. There's a template letter on our website that you can use if applicable. Simply search 'statute barred' to find the article, and the template can be found by clicking on a link on that page.

I hope this is helpful.

Allen

Hi, Allen!

The did not provide me with any documents i requested in the pre court procedure. No contract , just the usual recontituted papres. They couldn't even if they wanted, as wt the time i got it i actually applied for a Visa debit card (I had the Visa electron which was not suitable), but then received a credit card. I have never acknowledged the debt in my communications with the debt collectors, because they were not the company that issued the card for me. Plus there were at least 7 debt collencion companies claiming they own the alleged debt.The disputed account has now been removed from my credit file, so i have to check if i have any other means to find when the 6 years kick in from non payment.

Thank you for your help!

Mooeyboy

Hi,
If someone could please advise with this question, it would be much appreciated. 

I’m in the process of changing bank accounts from TSB to a basic Bank Of Scotland account. The reason for doing so was because I have an overdraft with TSB and a credit card, which I’m going to include in a DPP. I’ve just realised that Lloyds banking group own both Bank Of Scotland and MBNA. As I also have a credit card with MBNA which I’m going to include in the DPP, would you advise me to create another basic bank account with a different banking group independent of my credit card accounts which will be included in any DPP? I’m just worried that BOS might use the right of offset in the new account in relation to the MBNA account.

Any advice would be most welcome! Thanks. 

StepChange_Aidan

Mooeyboy said:

Hi,
If someone could please advise with this question, it would be much appreciated. 

I’m in the process of changing bank accounts from TSB to a basic Bank Of Scotland account. The reason for doing so was because I have an overdraft with TSB and a credit card, which I’m going to include in a DPP. I’ve just realised that Lloyds banking group own both Bank Of Scotland and MBNA. As I also have a credit card with MBNA which I’m going to include in the DPP, would you advise me to create another basic bank account with a different banking group independent of my credit card accounts which will be included in any DPP? I’m just worried that BOS might use the right of offset in the new account in relation to the MBNA account.

Any advice would be most welcome! Thanks. 

Hi,

Thanks for your post.

The right of set off can be used in some cases to take money out of your bank account to repay a debt that you owe to the same firm. 

In theory, money could be taken from a Bank of Scotland account to repay an MBNA credit card debt, but this is unlikely. The Financial Ombudsman Service has confirmed that the right of set off should not be used between accounts under different trading names if it is not clear that they are part of the same organisation. However, I would recommend checking the T&Cs of your bank account, as some specify that the right can still be used for other trading names within the same firm.

As Allen said in his previous post, it’s up to you whether you want to change or not. In practice, it’s rare for the right of set off to be used if you’re in a Debt Payment Programme and the bank is aware that you’re in financial difficulty. But if they are unable to help or you just want to completely eliminate the risk, you could consider setting up a new account with a different organisation.

There’s some more information about the right of set off here.

I hope this helps.

Aidan

HannieR

Hi Step-change,

As a result of an end in employment due to my mental health (and misguided spending to make myself feel better) I've wracked up over £6,000 in debt through credit cards and catalogues. I'm unable to afford the repayments and I've been advised by a member of your team that a DRO is my only viable option. Although hesitant, I agree my circumstances leave me with little choice. But after reading through my personal action plan I noticed a warning about the possibility of my application being denied if I've recently taken out credit, which I have since my fridge freezer broke down at the beginning of July and I had to order one from a catalogue. I've also made purchases on my credit card, and had clothes from a catalogue in the past month. How likely is this to result in my DRO being denied? And, worse, could it be considered fraudulent? Given the choice I'd rather pay my debts, but there's just no option to enable me to do so.  
Any help or advice would be gratefully received. 
Hannah

Mooeyboy

StepChange_Aidan said:

Mooeyboy said:

Hi,
If someone could please advise with this question, it would be much appreciated. 

I’m in the process of changing bank accounts from TSB to a basic Bank Of Scotland account. The reason for doing so was because I have an overdraft with TSB and a credit card, which I’m going to include in a DPP. I’ve just realised that Lloyds banking group own both Bank Of Scotland and MBNA. As I also have a credit card with MBNA which I’m going to include in the DPP, would you advise me to create another basic bank account with a different banking group independent of my credit card accounts which will be included in any DPP? I’m just worried that BOS might use the right of offset in the new account in relation to the MBNA account.

Any advice would be most welcome! Thanks. 

Hi,

Thanks for your post.

The right of set off can be used in some cases to take money out of your bank account to repay a debt that you owe to the same firm. 

In theory, money could be taken from a Bank of Scotland account to repay an MBNA credit card debt, but this is unlikely. The Financial Ombudsman Service has confirmed that the right of set off should not be used between accounts under different trading names if it is not clear that they are part of the same organisation. However, I would recommend checking the T&Cs of your bank account, as some specify that the right can still be used for other trading names within the same firm.

As Allen said in his previous post, it’s up to you whether you want to change or not. In practice, it’s rare for the right of set off to be used if you’re in a Debt Payment Programme and the bank is aware that you’re in financial difficulty. But if they are unable to help or you just want to completely eliminate the risk, you could consider setting up a new account with a different organisation.

There’s some more information about the right of set off here.

I hope this helps.

Aidan

Hi Aidan,

Thanks for the information.

StepChange_Patience

HannieR said:

Hi Step-change,

As a result of an end in employment due to my mental health (and misguided spending to make myself feel better) I've wracked up over £6,000 in debt through credit cards and catalogues. I'm unable to afford the repayments and I've been advised by a member of your team that a DRO is my only viable option. Although hesitant, I agree my circumstances leave me with little choice. But after reading through my personal action plan I noticed a warning about the possibility of my application being denied if I've recently taken out credit, which I have since my fridge freezer broke down at the beginning of July and I had to order one from a catalogue. I've also made purchases on my credit card, and had clothes from a catalogue in the past month. How likely is this to result in my DRO being denied? And, worse, could it be considered fraudulent? Given the choice I'd rather pay my debts, but there's just no option to enable me to do so.  
Any help or advice would be gratefully received. 
Hannah

Hi Hannah

Thanks for getting in touch and sharing your situation.

I'm sorry to hear that your mental health has caused an end to your employment, I hope you're getting support at the moment but if you do need any extra help your GP and Mind are also a great sources of support.

It's difficult to say for sure whether these recent purchases could result in a creditor objecting to the debt relief order (DRO), it could potentially be taken into consideration but the Insolvency Service would make a decision on a case by case basis. 

I would highly recommend you speak to us so we can give you the support you need with your concerns, try to also keep proof of the purchases made to show that they were for essential goods (replacing your fridge freezer) during a time of hardship. 

When you feel up to getting in touch, we'll gladly discuss your next steps. 

I hope this helps a little.

Patience

Seriously19

Hi,
Just looking for some advice regarding my debt.
I've never spoke to anybody about this before so I hope I'm not asking silly or stupid questions that may seem daft. Please, no judgement also.
My husband & I have around £20,000 in debt (Around £10,000 is from our local credit union & £7000 is car payments). We currently pay out roughly £1239.73 each month (around what I earn each month) and although we aren't behind on payments, we do find ourselves struggling to make ends meet.
My question is, would it be financially helpful for us if we got 1 loan, paid off everything & made 1 payment? My credit score is very good but as we near Christmas, I'm concerned we will find it difficult to save anything substantial for the holidays and birthdays.

If we shouldn't get a loan to pay everything off, is there something else we could do?
I'd really appreciate any help or advice as I'm not sure where to turn.

StepChange_Aidan

Seriously19 said:

Hi,
Just looking for some advice regarding my debt.
I've never spoke to anybody about this before so I hope I'm not asking silly or stupid questions that may seem daft. Please, no judgement also.
My husband & I have around £20,000 in debt (Around £10,000 is from our local credit union & £7000 is car payments). We currently pay out roughly £1239.73 each month (around what I earn each month) and although we aren't behind on payments, we do find ourselves struggling to make ends meet.
My question is, would it be financially helpful for us if we got 1 loan, paid off everything & made 1 payment? My credit score is very good but as we near Christmas, I'm concerned we will find it difficult to save anything substantial for the holidays and birthdays.

If we shouldn't get a loan to pay everything off, is there something else we could do?
I'd really appreciate any help or advice as I'm not sure where to turn.

Hi,

Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

Your questions aren’t silly at all, but before we can recommend anything we’ll need some more details about your incomes, expenses and debts to fully understand your finances.

It’s rarely a good idea to take out further credit to repay existing debts, as you’re likely to end up paying more in the long run. If you’re struggling to cover your living expenses and debt repayments, one option could be to set up a Debt Management Plan, to make one reduced monthly payment which is then shared out amongst your creditors. There could also be other debt solutions available to you depending on your situation.

StepChange can certainly help you and we can give free and non-judgemental advice on the best way to deal with your debts. You can put together a budget and get help using our online tool, or call if you’d prefer to speak with an advisor.

I hope this helps.

Aidan

Abbafan1972

Hi there,

I have a DMP with Stepchange which includes 2 x credit cards (both with the Halifax).

Both credit cards are not currently charging any interest.  A letter has arrived today regarding one of the cards (I expect one for the other will be arriving soon), saying that in 2 months time they will start adding interest again as we are keeping up with the payments. 

What can I do?  I don't want to start paying interest again really, as the balance will take longer to reduce and the estimated date for our debts to be cleared we have with Stepchange will be extended.  Do I have to call the bank and discuss this with them, or will Stepchange do this on our behalf?

Thanks in advance.