No idea what to do?

willownorth

Apologies in advance that this will be long winded, I just don't want to leave anything out that might be relevant.

My marriage broke down in 2017 and the sudden drop to my income left me reliant on credit cards to stay afloat. Eventually, the minimum payments became unmanageable and the cycle of paying the min. then not having enough to cover everything else began until I stopped making repayments at all. I had a mental breakdown during all this, suffering really badly from depression following such a huge change to my life. I wrote to Barclaycard in February 2018 to advise that I was struggling financially and unable to make payments at that time. They responded by sending an income and expenditure form which I completed and I think (apologies, my memory isn't great) they said they would hold off on any other enforcement action until a repayment plan or DMP had been put in place. My mental health was really terrible at the time and I buried my head in the sand and never sorted a payment plan. 

The debt defaulted in March 2018, but since then I've had absolutely no contact from Barclaycard. They've never chased me to make payments, haven't passed the debt on to any DCA's, have never called me, absolute radio silence. The only communication I had from them was toward the end of 2018 when they offered £75 compensation and refunded some fees and interest that had been charged after they had been found to be in breach of FCA rules. 

I finally started to get myself back on track in 2020 and have been slowly but steadily making repayments on another CC which is now my only other debt. I tried to log in to my online account with them but wasn't able to, I can only assume it no longer exists because none of my details were recognised at all. I wrote to Barclaycard again in March 2020 to ask for a statement with the intention of setting up a payment plan (my financial situation hadn't massively improved by this point but I was in a position where I could have managed a monthly payment which was better than nothing). No response from Barclaycard. I wrote to them again in June 2021 to ask for statements. Again, no response from them.

A few weeks ago I was reading online trying to figure out where to go from here when I came across info on requesting CCA under S77-79, so I sent off a letter and a cheque for the £1 fee on 11th November. My online banking shows that they cashed the cheque on 19th Nov, but to date I've not had any response from them (if I use the date the cheque cleared, the 12 days ended yesterday, 7th Dec). I've posted a reminder this morning.

I'm not sure what I do next? I've read a few bits online about asking for the debt to be written off because they had already acknowledged that they hadn't treated me fairly when I initially informed them I had financial issues, but I have no idea where I would stand with this or how to go about it. I really don't want to drag this out anymore, I've ignored it for too long and want to sort myself out and would like to be in a decent position to get a mortgage in the next year or two. Am I best just waiting to see if they find the CCA and go from there? The balance of the debt is £4500 so if I do go down the route of monthly payments it's going to take a long time to chip away at. I completely accept that the debt is mine and I hope it doesn't come across like I'm just trying to get out of the responsibility, but I can't help feeling like I've had absolutely no guidance or customer service from Barclaycard at any point. 

fatbelly

Whatever you do there is a default on your file dated March 2018 and it stays there until March 2024. Paying it will result in a settled or partially settled mark. But either way you have one nearly 4-year old default and that shouldn't be a huge issue in getting a mortgage.

You have asked Barclaycard for a copy of the agreement and I suspect they will get one to you but these things often take time.

For now I would concentrate on saving for the deposit that you will need for the house purchase, and see what you get back from Barclaycard without pressurising them.

willownorth

fatbelly said:

Whatever you do there is a default on your file dated March 2018 and it stays there until March 2024. Paying it will result in a settled or partially settled mark. But either way you have one nearly 4-year old default and that shouldn't be a huge issue in getting a mortgage.

You have asked Barclaycard for a copy of the agreement and I suspect they will get one to you but these things often take time.

For now I would concentrate on saving for the deposit that you will need for the house purchase, and see what you get back from Barclaycard without pressurising them.

Thanks for the reply , am I right in thinking that the older a default gets, the less it will impact me when it comes to applying for a mortgage? Does it make any difference whether I'm making payments or not? Like you say, the default is there until March 2024 regardless but if budgeting for payments while I'm saving a deposit will look better when it comes to approaching mortgage lenders I'd like to be in the best position I can be.

fatbelly

Realistically what's your timescale here? If you're going to aim to save a deposit, maybe 20%, against the sort of property you are looking at, how long will that take?

March 2024 is only 27 months away

willownorth

Between my partner & I (with him able to save more than I am through bonuses and overtime at work) we're aiming to have a deposit together by the end of 2023. I hadn't thought ahead in terms of the default so by then, I'll only have a few months left on it - thanks for the perspective!