Feeling helpless - mental health, redundancy, physical health

Clara555

Floss said:

I wrote to the addresses I had been given when my accounts went into arrears & default. Who is it you are trying to deal with?

I have now spoken to all 3 creditors in their 'special' departments. Virgin continue to say they will not right off but refuse to provide me with a reason. They have frozen all interest and have put me on a informal voluntary agreement to pay £1 a month. I have asked them what happens next etc. I provided them with more medical evidence but they don't seem to have read it. They also send me balance transfer offers which I felt was very insensitive given the circumstances. Feels like they haven't read anyhing I have sent and are sending default responses. I am speaking to CAP next week as really need a hand hold. My mental health has dimensioned further with it all, I am seeing a counsellor. 

fatbelly

See if CAP will support you in a referral to the Financial Ombudsman.

Vikkivik77

Also when dealing with these ppl really explain your mental health situation as they have some duty of care. 

I often have very poor mental health and since I started explaining this in a detailed way (Worts and all) I have had much more support from organisations I’m dealing with 

ladyholly

The one bit of advice I  can give is do not try to fill in benefits forms yourself. There are many organisations such as CAB that will do it with you. They know the words to use to get the best result. Most forms can be downloaded and printed out reducing the need for phone calls. 
If there is a charity or similar for your physical health condition it might be worth you joining as they will understand your challenges. 
As someone said there is a lot of good advice on the benefits board.
Good luck with your journey.

Clara555

Just an update - I have appointment with CAP next week, PIP applied for with help from family and friends. PIP have agreed to do a paper assessment due to severe anxiety. ESA needs to be in asap struggling to concentrate, again a close friend is supporting, more counselling next week and GP. Stepchange have advised to write to creditors and ask for a 'Request for a payment suspension', which has confused me even more as this is the position to date as National Debtline had told me to offer £1 token. So am utterly confused and hope CAP can unpick. Prior to this - Virgin had said will freeze interest, accept token £1 and keep in-house, Halifax have not replied from December this is causing more anxiety as had text saying interest going on, I have to email through one person for it to be sent onto the special department which doesn't help at all. Barclaycard refused my £1 token gesture saying I couldn't afford it and have said they will close the account. But it is still open on my app. Which has confused me even more. They have also said the debt could be passed onto third party in the official letters they sent out. I am just so confused by where up to it with it all. I don't know whether I should send out the payment suspension request if Virgin have agreed to the £1 for example. Would really appreciate any advice. My counsellor is fully aware and supportive. 

fatbelly

If you're engaging with stepchange, National Debtline and CAP, it's not surprising that you're getting different advice.

Concentrate on getting the benefits sorted and, if you're happy with CAP, stick with them.

RAS

Well done for getting the help needed to get the PIP application in.

OK, so stop paying anything to Barclaycard.
Set up a Standing Order for £1 per month to Virgin in the short term.
Cancel any payments to Halifax.

Be aware thar consumer credit companies have a lot in common with sloths.

They will have computers that have been programmed to send out repeated messages in response to non-payment or low payment. It will often take ages for a human you've talked to intervene to change that process, or for their message to get along the chain to the person who can change anything.

 And it takes ages for anyone or anything to do something as basic as mark your credit file with a default. Anything from 6-18 months based on the recent experience of posters here.

So you will get mail, email and texts that ignore your hard to make communications with them. Not because they are ignoring you wilfully, just because they are so slow. 

EssexHebridean

It sounds very much like CAP are likely to be your best source of one-to-one help going forwards - the other organisations are excellent, but they all do things slightly differently as said, and CAP are often reckoned to be extremely good at a rather more gentle, one-step-at-a-time approach. 

It's great to hear that you're getting help to get the application for PIP etc sorted - good luck with that. 

As RAS says above re payments - and do remember that for any or every creditor, you can tell them that - for example - you only want contact via letters in the post, no phone calls or emails if those forms of contact will make you anxious,. You don't have to explain to them why, and they do have to accept that. 

Clara555

Halifax have told Stepchange I have 3 debts with them but I don't!  They really are awful. I've been with them 20 years as a good customer and now this. One is joint account with my husband (no debt), one has 50 pence in it and the other is our mortgage. I still haven't spoken to anyone in their specialist team. What are they playing at.  

stu12345_2

Clara555 said:

Halifax have told Stepchange I have 3 debts with them but I don't!  They really are awful. I've been with them 20 years as a good customer and now this. One is joint account with my husband (no debt), one has 50 pence in it and the other is our mortgage. I still haven't spoken to anyone in their specialist team. What are they playing at.  

are they mixed up confusing 3 accounts  to 
 3 debts instead? a mix up of confusion and words