Need help with c£35k debt

enthusiasticsaver

Are you married? You are leaving yourself very vulnerable by taking on all the debt and if your relationship broke down you  would be in a bad position and your partner would be debt free.  Also only putting the house in one name (the names have to be the same on the mortgage as on the deeds) again that leaves you vulnerable in the case of relationship breakdown or death.  We have seen many horror stories on here so I strongly urge you to get legal advice before taking on all the debt and allowing all assets to be in just your partners name. 

Rob5342

WhoIsJusticeBeaver said:

I just don't see a way out of this, it's awful.

When you are in that situation it can feel terrible and like there is no way out, but there is always a solution and this forum is full of people that have sorted things out and have come out of the other side.

I got into £42k of credit card debt and spent years just treading water with it, paying cards with other cards to avoid missing payments. I eventually decided to start a DMP, I was very apprehensive and it took a long time to make that decision, but it has really turned things around. 2.5 years on it's all gone very smoothly, none of the things I was worried about happened, I've paid off a large chuck of it and I can live properly without debt being o my mind all the time.

WhoIsJusticeBeaver

Thanks @Rob5342 it's such a relief to hear such positive outcomes from others in a similar situation.

WhoIsJusticeBeaver

Just wanted to ask a few quick questions to @Rob5342 who seems to have been in a similar situation and may be able to help, but anyone else who can help, great! 

I've spoken to partner and they agree that DMP is best after completing a SOA. I noticed on other threads you have had money/interest refunded by sending irresponsible lending letters. How soon once you stopped paying did you send these?

Once the account has defaulted, is it automatically sold on? And around how long do they take to default, I've read between 3 and 6 months but people on here seem to have had them take longer?

Is it rare for bailifs to come for consumer debt, even once passed on to debt collectors? My partner is worried as we look after elderly family member who lives in an annexe and they do not want them to know. 

Thank you. 

sourcrates

WhoIsJusticeBeaver said:

Is it rare for bailifs to come for consumer debt, even once passed on to debt collectors? My partner is worried as we look after elderly family member who lives in an annexe and they do not want them to know. 

Thank you. 

Forget about bailiffs, you've been watching far too much telly.

Usual course of events with defaulted  consumer credit debt.

Debt defaults, this can take a while, may be assigned prior to default, gets passed to a collector to chase up, usual selection of collection letters etc, can take up to 6/8 months.

Debt may be assigned to a series of collection companies if the first has no joy.

Debt can be sold at any point, debt purchaser will continue same process.

Its at this juncture if you continue to ignore debt purchasing companies such as Lowell or Cabot, PRA Group etc, that they may consider legal action, but even then the use of a bailiff once a CCJ was obtained would be the exception, rather than the rule.

By far the majority of CCJ`s just sit on credit files unactioned in any way at all.

Bailiffs are usually engaged by individuals, not always companies, only once a CCJ has been obtained, and then mainly for private debts or rent arrears, fines, evictions etc, or collection of council tax under a liability order.

Its great you are asking about this, but try not to fixate on the worst case scenario as it seldom comes to fruition in the real world.

WhoIsJusticeBeaver

Thanks @sourcrates. I've definitely been watching too much TV 😂  really helpful and reassuring advice.