Very large debt help

Hariba

Hi, I’m hoping someone can give a little help. I’ve recently been told I have to pay a very large debt of approx 100k. It’s classed as a non priority debt. I don’t work but my partner does. The debt is in my name only as is the house and mortgage. I’m currently looking at the best options for paying this and very concerned about losing the family home. I’ve done the budget calculations which say I could afford to pay £100 a month based on my partners salary (although she’s not happy to pay it). And I intend to try and negotiate a payment plan with the creditor but I think it’s unlikely they’ll accept £100 a month on such a huge debt as it would never get paid off. Am I able to transfer the house to my partner or even add her on to the mortgage/deeds, to avoid losing the house? I’m worried as someone mentioned a charging order to me or even a creditor forcing me to become bankrupt which I don’t want as we would lose our home. This is my only debt and I’ve never been in debt before so all this is new to me and I’m very unsure what to do. Thanks 

Hariba

I’m not unemployed, I’m raising a young family. We don’t receive benefits. There was nothing bought with 100k. The debt has come about through very unfortunate circumstances. I have asked for advice, not judgement. 

MidsHollie

Hi @Hariba
im sorry that you felt judged by the OP, I’m sure that wasn’t their intention. There are some real red flags in this post, which will need clearing up for you to get the best advice. I’m certainly very concerned for you seeing as the mortgage and the debt is in your name, but you have no income. That will surely be a problem when it comes to remortgaging? 

The best way to start these things is to do a statement of affairs. You’ll see that others have done this to show their incoming and outgoing expenses. 

It sounds quite dodgey to me that you have been “told” that you owe £100000. Are you sure you do? Surely you would have entered in to a contract and therefore have known that you were getting yourself in to a debt of that figure? It is this old with lots of charges and interest on top? 

Retireinten

First thing is to actually make sure you need to pay the debt and what options the creditor has to chase the debt. 

Are you prepared to share more information as to the type of debt and how it came about OP? You will get more targeted advice if you do.

That is a huge sum of money to owe out of the blue! 

kazwookie

Hariba said:

Hi, I’m hoping someone can give a little help. I’ve recently been told I have to pay a very large debt of approx 100k. It’s classed as a non priority debt. I don’t work but my partner does. The debt is in my name only as is the house and mortgage. I’m currently looking at the best options for paying this and very concerned about losing the family home. I’ve done the budget calculations which say I could afford to pay £100 a month based on my partners salary (although she’s not happy to pay it). And I intend to try and negotiate a payment plan with the creditor but I think it’s unlikely they’ll accept £100 a month on such a huge debt as it would never get paid off. Am I able to transfer the house to my partner or even add her on to the mortgage/deeds, to avoid losing the house? I’m worried as someone mentioned a charging order to me or even a creditor forcing me to become bankrupt which I don’t want as we would lose our home. This is my only debt and I’ve never been in debt before so all this is new to me and I’m very unsure what to do. Thanks 

Do you agree with with £100K debt owing? do you know how it got to this? do you have any paperwork / letters etc

Who ever 'told' you, are they from a reputable company ?

Sea_Shell

You say "unfortunate circumstances".

Is the debt something you think you owe (or have been told you owe) but you actually don't, like "inherited" debt from a relative?

With more information, you will get much better advice from everyone.     

pearl123

Hariba said:

There was nothing bought with 100k. The debt has come about through very unfortunate circumstances. I have asked for advice, not judgement. 

I'm perplexed. How can you owe 100k, when you say nothing was bought? To get help you're going to have to give greater detail. It's also rather perplexing how someone who's not working can run up such a large debt. Who do you  owe the money to? 
The CAB are great with advice regarding debt. They can even negotiate on your behalf. 

Hariba

I’m sorry I realise that I’ve not been clear about the debt. It’s taken a lot for me to post on here and I find it upsetting to go into detail. 

I don’t agree with the debt. But it’s not inherited and I’ve kind of accepted that I need to pay it - or at least some of it - just to get passed it all as it’s been going on for over a year now. It’s from a home insurance claim that was part settled and has now been voided. So the amount is for the reimbursement of the settlement plus costs - approximately half is for costs of things the company paid services for. I’ve disputed it with the ombudsman but they didn’t withhold my complaint. The insurance company are now seeking reimbursement of all costs and they want to know within 7 days how I intend to reimburse this. I’ve spoken to CAB who have told me to do a budget which i have done and got the figure of £100 per month. I’m sure they won’t accept this because the debt would never get paid off in full. I’ve considered telling them to take me to court to dispute it further but it’s risky because of all the court fees if I didn’t win it. And I’m very worried about being forced to sell the family home. I thought others on here may be able to offer some practical tips based on their own experiences. 

Billy_B_North

I think that you would benefit from speaking to one of the debt charities such as Stepchange. They should be able to give you good, non judgemental advice.

If the insurance company believe that their legal case is strong they are not likely to accept such a small payment, but until they get a court judgement they are not in any position to enforce anything.

On the other hand, if they do have a strong legal argument then they won’t let it drop, and if you have equity in your home they could try to make you bankrupt.

If that’s the route that they take then it’s a long way off, so please don’t panic, but please do reach out to one of the debt charities (and NOT a company who charges you money to manage your debts) as a first step.

Brenster

So i am trying to understand, am i right to assume you made a claim on your house insurance and they paid out and are now saying the payment shouldnt have been made ? If so, what reasons are they giving, as presumably at one point they accepted a payment was due. 

sourcrates

First thing you need to do is get your name off the house deeds, once you've done that, you have no assets, or income, and no way to pay the debt, the creditor cannot do anything about it, its dead in the water basically.

Sure they may take you to court, once you say you have no income, case will be dropped.

If you don`t take these actions, then a CCJ and charging order are likely, and you will find yourself in front of a judge trying to persuade them why they should not grant an order for sale to the creditor.

You can avoid all this by signing the house over to your partner.