Secret debtor cry for help

TallMatt

Hi,

First posting on here, so please be gentle - I'm in shock still.

My wife's just fessed up in tears that she went past her £500 overdraft limit over a year ago, having told me that she'd closed the account down. She's just got a letter today (and hidden it before disclosing what's in it) saying that she's owing the bank £1509 There's about £1000 in bank charges in there! She hasn't used the account since last year and all that's acrued is charges on top of the overdraft she racked up.

I've not hit the roof (too much in shock to do this) and want to be really gentle with her as she's really upset by the whole thing (as am I). We've got an appointment with the bank tomorrow morning to try and sort out the mess.

We're expecting child #3 in April, needing a larger car, the wife stays at home to bring up the children and we can't afford to pay up the £1500. I can stretch just about to covering the money that she "really" owed, but not the charges on top.

I know there's a way of reclaiming bank charges, but this isn't applicable as we've not paid them yet.

I guess I'm not the first to find myself in this mess and would really appreciate any help anyone could have with this. I'm a "out of debt out of danger" kinda guy, who has used this site many times to save money and personally manage finances very well, but this has come as a bolt out of the blue on an already tight budget.

Does anyone have any experience / advice on what I can say in the meeting tomorrow in order to try and sort out this whole mess?

Cheers,
Matt

angelflower_2

someone will be along in a sec who has been through this but just wanted to say <hugs> and well done for handling it so well.

The_ODonnell_Boy

First of all, can I commend you for not losing your rag and being understanding

She's fortunate to have an understanding parter like you and she's acknowledged the mistake she's made

So well done you for that, it will help you in the long run

As for the meeting, there's probably more experienced MSEs on here who can give you in-depth advice, but I imagine you should be able to come back to some sort of repayment arrangement per month and you should definately look at reclaiming those charges at a later date (but don't mention that part to the bank)

Good luck sir and keep us posted

silkglade

Hi and welcome.

Sorry to hear about your worries at the moment.

Well done for not losing it with your wife, especially as she is pregnant. A united front is a team. together you can get through this.

I would go to the meeting tomorrow with the latest letter in hand and if poss the orig statement that shows the Actual Amount owed.

I would remind the bank manager that you see, that bank charges are unlawful and (if your sure you can afford it) say that you can pay the orig amount owing which excludes ALL CHARGES back immediatly and that upon payment you want the account closed.

It's worth a try, take the cash or a cheque book with you so that you are seen to be willing.

And just tell them that if they do not accept those terms you will be claiming all the charges back anyway.

Good luck

bozbear

i think that i would offer them a settlement of the original 500.00 and start from there. they would rather have that back than nothing.

TallMatt

Thanks to those who replied.

I've been involved in negotiating having had some training in the field and I wondered if the following were of any use:

1) Go with the £500 offer to pay off the debt minus bank charges (best offer for me - worst for the bank)

2) See what offer they come up with in terms of bank charges (looking for approx 16% of the £1000 based on reasonable charge of £5 compared to £30 figures quoted on the site) and pay this and mention I'd be willing to sign to say I wouldn't be claiming against the charges back should the courts decide they're unlawful. This lies within my scope for agreement and I'm OK about this (just about)...

3) As the wife doesn't work and the account is entirely in her name, the only benefit she gets in her name is the child benefit. We could make the suggestion that they try to make the claim against her which, being unable to pay personally, she'd have to default on and end up with something like a CCJ, which lasting 6 years and with no intention to work until the kids are in full time education won't impact on her financial situation (as she's not going to be able to apply for credit cards etc) - worst case situation for bank as they're not going to get ANY money from that solution.

Personally I'm a little wary of option 3 as I've never been down that road before (except when attempting to get corrupt data from my credit files removed). Is this a wise thing to mention or should I keep shut of it?

I'm wanting to take a wise approach to this and keep my head without
giving in to the bank's heavy-handed approach that it may take. I do however play a mean "game of poker" when it comes to negotiating most of the time, it's just that I'd rather be sure of the scope for agreement and any "collectables" that may swing a decision towards our end.

Any other suggestions would be very welcome.

Cheers,
Matt

angelflower_2

try option 1 and take it from there. From what I understand, if the bank charges are deemed unlawful, they will be credited back automatically

Burlesque_Babe

I'm not sure they would go for option 2 to be honest without you going through the process first.

You have the right (until it is all sorted) to claim all the bank charges back. I would getthe ball rolling now - even though there is a hold on at the moment.

chrisbee_2

Yeah definetly good with option 1: pay back the money you owe less bank charges !

fletch3163

Hi there

Has your wife had any letters before? If not then you could cite ignorance about the overdraft, an oversight if you like. It would not bide well for the bank if they've allowed the overdraft to just sit there unchallenged whilst accruing charges, especially since charges are big news at the moment.

ZTD

Personally I'd try for option 1 with the understanding that the bank closes the account down.

Does she have any other accounts with this bank (even in joint names) - if so, empty them before the bank does.