Credit card debts

Looking4silverlining

stu12345_2 said:

how did you get charges at supermarkets with van cos my Tesco just has cameras at entrance , exit for 2 hrs max. it can't tell how you park. I live near seaside and in summer it is full of big campervans taking 3 spaces etc
 but they don't go beyond 2 hrs .
as for selling van and hiring. if you default in your credit cards you may not be able to hire cos normally they ask for credit card to cover the £500 or £1000 compulsory excess. as your cards will be cut up and accounts closed by then

I have 6 defaults, cards cut up. can't hire anything.

and my mum is very ill too, Parkinson's disease, she gets carers in 3 times a day, it costs her nothing. council pays for it. 
she has a bought flat and she has no charges on it. in fact it's my inheritance she said. her speech is bad and she is housebound. she can't cook  etc
 her movement and grip is so limited. 

I was sent a parking charge in the post. It has photos and they said that I has parked not fully in a bay. Ive had this before, not new to me. There were a few big vans all up at one end of the car park which was pretty empty, so I parked there. They must have all been fined that day. What a world we live in.

I am aware that I won't be able to hire a vehicle if I default on my cards, this is my problem. Defaulting is very temping but will muck everything up for me.

Sorry to hear about your mum. My mum needs 24 hour care. I looked after her for 2 years at home (hence why my work/debt situation is so bad) but then it became obvious that I couldn't giver her the care she needed. We had to sell her house to pay as we have been told over and over by many different people that NHS won't pay for Alzheimers care. 

stu12345_2

you offer £1 a month for between 3 and 12 months until situation improves. it's part of the regulations that creditors must give you time to improve from abrupt emergencies such as a loss of a job.

you can do this before you get a debt repayment plan. and whilst on one too 
sometimes they want an income expenditure sheet filled in to prove that's all you can offer

with parking , it's council car parks that can fine you for not being in a bay, cos they have patrol vans checking.

supermarket car parks are private, and can't fine you , but charge you for breach of contract.

I fought parking  eye over a year. and got down to £30 via an negotiator after I was only 7 mins over the 2 HR limit. 
it took a fight though, had to state the car park was very empty and the car par company did not lose out any money with me overstaying 7 mins.

Looking4silverlining

stu12345_2 said:

you offer £1 a month for between 3 and 12 months until situation improves. it's part of the regulations that creditors must give you time to improve from abrupt emergencies such as a loss of a job.

you can do this before you get a debt repayment plan. and whilst on one too 
sometimes they want an income expenditure sheet filled in to prove that's all you can offer 

Hi Stu.
Someone told me to do this but I was assuming that it marked on your credit file? In which case everyone on here is saying default fast because then the 6 years starts immediately. But If I offer the token payments is the mark on your credit file less if after a while I pick up paying the cards again?

EssexHebridean

You absolutely can keep your van if you enter a DMP -the whole point of a DMP is that you make the rules, you are in charge.  what gets marked on your file are the defaults - and it is those defaults which will mean your access to credit is restricted for 6 years or so. As already said though, that's not such a bad thing. 

The steps we usually suggest where a DMP is the right thing is:
- put together an SOA which will also begin to help you build a proper monthly budget to live by and ensure that you are budgeting the right amount for all your priority bills
- stop paying all unsecured debts and allow those to default
- while no payments are being made (waiting for the defaults) use the money saved to save for an emergency fund and hopefully a bit of a "fighting fund" too which might enable Full & Final settlements in the future
- once the defaults have arrived confirm the the creditors the amount you are currently able to pay them, and start making payments.

That's very paraphrased - it's all set out more fully in the "First steps" sticky/announcement post at the top of the board. 

On the parking fine - go and check out the parking board on here, the regulars over there really know their stuff and will help you to challenge it. 

Looking4silverlining

EssexHebridean said:

You absolutely can keep your van if you enter a DMP -the whole point of a DMP is that you make the rules, you are in charge.  what gets marked on your file are the defaults - and it is those defaults which will mean your access to credit is restricted for 6 years or so. As already said though, that's not such a bad thing. 

The steps we usually suggest where a DMP is the right thing is:
- put together an SOA which will also begin to help you build a proper monthly budget to live by and ensure that you are budgeting the right amount for all your priority bills
- stop paying all unsecured debts and allow those to default
- while no payments are being made (waiting for the defaults) use the money saved to save for an emergency fund and hopefully a bit of a "fighting fund" too which might enable Full & Final settlements in the future
- once the defaults have arrived confirm the the creditors the amount you are currently able to pay them, and start making payments.

That's very paraphrased - it's all set out more fully in the "First steps" sticky/announcement post at the top of the board. 

On the parking fine - go and check out the parking board on here, the regulars over there really know their stuff and will help you to challenge it. 

Thanks for the feedback.
So you think I can keep my van? Even though it was purchased using the credit cards? Could you tell me a bit more about what exactly they will look into if I do a DMP? I mean someone told me that they look at what you have been spending on the cards and can refuse the DMP if you have used the cards unwisely (ie buying the van) also I've helped friends buying things with my card (as they didn't have a bank acct etc) and they gave me the cash for it which I used for shopping. Its all quite messy to be honest. 

stu12345_2

 a dmp is so informal. all you need to do is work out your income, then all your expenses. then work out what you got left for creditors 

it isn't a legal or formal thing. it's basically a deal with creditors so you repay something to them , even if it takes years 

what you bought on credit card makes no difference. I bought plane tickets, rent, clothes, food , car repairs on my cards
 I do dmp and defaults and paying debts off slowly.

I've avoided a dro, iva or bankruptcy 

EssexHebridean

Yep - when I racked up CC debt years ago it was used for all sorts of things - it's not like Hire Purchase for example where the thing you've bought isn't yours until the final payment. 

If the items you'd bought on the card were luxury goods, we'd suggest that seeing if you can sell some of them to repay some of the debt. In your case though, you have a van which you have bought which is vital for you in order to earn money - keeping that while going into  DMP is absolutely not an issue.

As for what creditors will look into if you do a DMP? Nothing really - they *might* ask you to provide them with an Income and Expenditure - but then again they might not, it really does vary. And no - they won't have a clue in real terms whether you have "used the card unwisely" - I'd suggest in the future when the "someone" who told you that offers "help" you nod, smile and ignore them completely... 

enthusiasticsaver

Have a look on the DMP thread as it gives lots of information.  

As others have said a DMP is an informal arrangement and although you need to default you do not need to sell your van and I would not advise that if you rely on that for work.  There is no advantage to anyone if you are unable to work moving forward. That way you do not need to worry about hiring vehicles and  you can set affordable repayments and the interest stops. I would advise you save for emergencies though as if the van needs to be repaired you will not have access to credit. 

kimwp

Even if they ask to see your statements or what you spent the money on, you don't have to show them. Just offer what you can afford. To get more, they would need to take you to court and the judge won't ask that you pay more than you can afford, so it's not worth them doing that. All they can do (for unsecured credit card debt and loans) is keep asking.

hoverFrog1

Credit cares are unsecured. The worst they can do is take you to court and ask the court to order you to pay. Civil court litigants are now waiting an average of 78 weeks for their day in court. A court will only order you to pay what you can afford, there's no point in ordering you to pay more because you won't be able to do so. Therefore the credit card company will accept offers to repay the debts at around this level. They may make threatening noises but those threats are empty.

I suggest sending each of them your SOA with a polite letter asking that they suspend interest and accept the offer that you are making them. You have £143.95 expendable income according to your SOA. They might argue that this is too low but that's what you're telling them so they don't have a lot of wriggle room. Halifax is 16% of your unsecured credit so offer them 16% of £143.95 or £23.09 a month (round down), etc. Ask for a three month payment break so you can clear priority debts like the overdraft.

Then stop paying anything back at all, except your overdraft. They'll all respond at different rates and will probably continue to charge interest for a while. If there are old debts then write to them with a ProveIt letter. Actually, do it for all of the credit cards, it won't hurt and it will delay things. Don't give them a penny until they respond.

Yes, this will !!!!!! up your credit rating but, not to put too fine a point on it, unless you win the lottery, your credit rating is buggered anyway. What's important now is clearing those debts and getting your finances under control.

They'll drag their feet and ring you up demanding money. Other than going to court or accepting your offer, this is their only option. Until they respond with the evidence that you actually owe them money, they can whistle. When they do respond with the reasonable offer you first wrote to them with. Stick to it. You'll need to review that offer every year or so. That's fine. Just don't borrow any more and keep up your payments. Keep them informed if there's a reason you can't pay. This is all a debt management plan does. Yes, it will take you 17 years and 4 months to get out of debt at this rate, assuming you never earn more and interest rates are 0%. That isn't the case though. £24k in 2018 is worth £30k today just from inflation so get interest suspended and start paying it back.