I may have made a massive mistake dealing with creditors

Freddys_Flat

Hoping you can help me please I am so stressed and think I have made a massive mistake with my creditors.

Firstly, I have autism and struggle with communication even when I am online, I do not know how to converse with people properly. Just saying because it’s difficult for me and It causes anguish but I need help please.

I have loads of debts about £40,000 and on ADP and LCWRA and partner a pension we are on sick but no sick pay. We own a home but cannot downsize already at smallest it can be.

We do not have any form of heating and hot water is expensive to heat up so we use a kettle for hot water.

I did matched betting which was successful for many years and helped towards buying the home years ago but then fell ill and it turned to uncontrolled risk which was ok when I had back up money several years ago but since being ill and then Covid I no longer have relevant funds to offset risk so took risk to pay the debts and it worsened everything by being volatile income each month but no one knows of this other than Gamban and Gamstop.

I have been gambling free now for 1 month and 15 days and I have no desire to go back. Something went wrong in my brain but now I am ok and just stressed about this debt.

All my debts have defaulted some from 2019, some from 2022 and one is from the 1990s and is unenforceable, it’s with Cabot and that’s confirmed so stopped paying 2022 but just wrote to them about another debt  however they added it to the email and collected all the debt references together, but they are still separate so them doing that has restarted the statute barred for that debt although I was thinking of asking them to write it off but as they’ve said no for write offs not sure now.

I have just written to all creditors by email because I cannot cope any longer ignoring them because they knocked on my door and others are threatening the same.

So, I do not care about statue barred any more and have been open with personal details (except gambling) and evidence for health, mental health, financial hardship and asked for write offs and now I think I have made a massive mistake in doing so.

I am just trying to make sure they know all the facts of me and that I am still behind with priority debts which are on plans, and it has been happening a longtime since Covid and in a spiral.

 I read that it is best to not tell them everything but also read it is best to keep them informed so not sure if I have made a mistake or not or what to do next.

I emailed them and sent psychiatrist report and other medical and financial evidence, everything, and some messaged back and some have not replied at all.

Some wanted third party forms filled in maybe because I wrote as joint from us both.

I have since gone to National Debtline and changed the budget because Cabot questioned my adult care.

A few wrote off the debt and then I have heard nothing at all, not a yes or no, just still getting the usual collection letters and emails so know they have not stopped action either. This was in end August/September.

So now I am still not at peace with myself and feeling like I have correctly informed them I should not have done it by email so in case they have not received the email and do not know the situation. I need them to know in case it goes to court so I can at least tell the judge I kept them informed about how dire our situation is and not likely to improve.

I struggle to cope in this world and need to withdraw every now and then and need to sort it urgently. I can follow a plan of action though, even for a couple of years but what I thought was a good plan may not be so.

I do not want to do anything else wrong with it, to end up still not feeling that I have it in order.

Previously I have handwritten everything by letter, including CCA letters but cannot now, so my plan is to buy a printer and redo everything and send it off officially.

That way they all know the situation and I feel I can handle that when dealing with a judge.

The reason I acted in this way is because we had a serious health scare and feared I did not have much time to do a measured approach because of our health, and I needed it sorting so asked for write offs as I want my financial things in order.

Cabot asked for more information and evidence and then just said no really flippant.

I was mad because they asked for evidence and in my mind if they wanted evidence for what I have written and I have provided it to then say no they should have just said no outright, so I must have made them not fully understand the seriousness of the situation with how I explained it to them. 

National Debtline recommended asking for the reason which I did ask in my original email, but they have not given one.

I also wrote to Cabot by letter two years ago, asking them to put things in writing only, not phone but I sometimes get two phone calls from them a day so they have ignored this. 

I am thinking that if I was to delete and block all emails then technically would that mean me emailing all this will not count as having kept them updated because I want them to keep it on record so I don’t have to keep repeating it over and over. So writing would mean I can block emails. Not sure.

So now I need to start again and draw a new line and have a few questions please:

1 Should I reply to Cabot by email asking for a reason they said no before I start afresh with a new way of doing it by way of postal writing.

2 Have I made a massive mistake and now they are all going to come after me in some way because they have too much information and take court action, I do not understand why they are ignoring me.

3 Should I write again asking for the write offs but in proper letter and should I send the original letter again that I wrote myself or the template National Debtline letter for write offs with my own words of the situation added to it, or something else.

4 My plan and please say if it’s not a good idea, is as I don’t care about statute barred is that I’m going to try and keep in touch with creditors for one year, pay what I can afford (have a deficit so not much)  and try get each one gone somehow, ask for write offs, in one year ask for a settlement then ignore from then on but please help me to know what to do and tell me that I have made a mistake here - or not, so I can worry about what I need to worry about and not be worrying about what doesn’t matter in my situation.

I would appreciate any help please.

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

LateStageCrapitalism

Hi Freddy's flat,

I'm in a very similar position to you. I think the first thing you need to do is take a step back and breath. Its totally understandable to panic about large debts, but its important not to make any rash decisions while you're in that state.

National debtline have a follow-up letter for when your write-off request is rejected 

The debt camel site is also a great resource for all kinds of debt advice. 

(edit: I originally posted links to these but apparently I'm too much of a newbie and so its not allowed)

Also, there's a thread somewhere on this site detailing how someone gradually got their debts written off by being persistent. It seems to be fairly common for a first or second write-off request to be refused, but for the debt to eventually be written off if you have a good case, e.g., a medical condition and little prospect of your income improving.

I would ask for the reason why they refused your request and then get specific advice on how to reply in your case from national debtline, etc. I don't think it matters whether you use email or a letter as long as you retain a copy. I got a write-off from a high-street bank via email. The important details are you don't have enough money to pay off the debts, you never will because..., others have already written off your debt based on the same info, and its in their interest to stop chasing you because... 
 
I would also ask each of your creditors if they have a department for dealing with vulnerable customers/those with communication difficulties and get your account transferred there if they do. I have done this with most of my creditors, and the people in these departments are much easier to deal with and will often agree to your requests, e.g., to only communicate with you through certain methods. There is a good chance they could stop any further doorstep activity. If no such department exists, look up harrassment from creditors on national debtline, etc., and write a complaint letter about the constant calls/doorstep collection. Make it clear that you are a vulnerable individual, and that if they don't comply you'll be complaining to the FCA. 


I get the impression that while most debt collectors are total cowboys, they are wary about harrassing people with disabilities, etc., as they know they could get sued, and will back off if you show you know your rights.

As you own property, have you considered an IVA as a plan B?

Also, have you asked for the CCA for your remaining debts? Some of them may be unenforceable.

If you were gambling via the same banks that were lending you money, an irresponsible lending complaint to the FCA might be worthwhile depending on whether you would actually receive the compensation.  

 Hope this helps to give you some options to explore. 

P.S. There's little danger of them using the information you supplied against you-they would have already known that you own property by searching the land registry. In the worst-case scenario, if they took you to court to get a CCJ and won you would just end up being put on a payment plan. They ignore you because they have tens of thousands of cases and not enough staff. The debt game is a slow one-I made two write off requests in July and haven't heard a peep yet. However, since my accounts are with the departments for vulnerable customers I'm not getting any collections activity either. If you can get your creditors to stop harassing you, the whole problem will be much easier to deal with.

Best of luck

fatbelly

You seem to have a mix of strategies.

I think you should concentrate on write-offs, with evidence, and support from someone. Maybe a CAB specialist or Community Money Advice depending on what you have locally. You will need to be persistant.

If you are able to save a lump sum on the side then that becomes an emergency/fighting fund if any of them turn nasty. Just make sure it is held somewhere unconnected to your debts.

sourcrates

I`m with fatbelly on this one, the write off strategy can be a useful tool if you have little income and other issues to contend with.

Just one thing to note, once a debt becomes statute barred, it cannot be un-barred, by payment or actions on your behalf, it stays unenforceable forever, nothing can change its status once it becomes statute barred.

Freddys_Flat

Thank you to all for your help.

I am now working through the advice and appreciate it.

I received a letter today and another debt has been written off, so I’m very thankful for that.

I haven’t considered an IVA (I believe where I am a Trust Deed). National Debtline haven’t recommended one at the moment.

I did CCA three debts but not those with the original creditor. One is unenforceable and two creditors have written saying they are enforceable but I can see that the paperwork they sent does have incorrect details about the debt.

I also haven’t CCA’d two of the Cabot debts because these are new. These happened when the Covid second lockdown happened unexpectedly and we lost our income for the whole period and we never recovered from it with the cost of living following on and deterioration of health.

I was totally confused yesterday and fear I was making mistakes because of it, so taking a breath and to continue with write offs sounds good. I will try to build an emergency/fighting fund too.

Thank you all once again and I will take on board every word.

EssexHebridean

Bear in mind that if you find dealing with things in hard copy easier then you are perfectly entitled to tell your creditors that you will only communicate  with them by means of hard copy letters via the post. Obviously these days though that does mean an increased cost for sending letters - even second class isn’t a cheap option these days is it! The advantage of a hard copy letter for you is that it removes the risk of a “knee jerk” reaction to an email you have received- perhaps making a process of stop, think, write, check, rewrite and send easier. 

Thr advice to stop and remember to breathe is solid. There is nothing that’s not fixable one way or another here. 

Freddys_Flat

Thank you, I appreciate it.

Yes, email helped me with my circumstances because I do not have a printer and with the cost of stamps but I found it meant I had to keep answering a lot of questions, despite me being very specific on details. This may not have happened as much with a letter.

My unenforceable debt which is confirmed in writing after a CCA request, from the early 1990’s, is the one where one year later they sent Resolve Call to my door. I am not sure if I would be best asking for a write off or to continue with the statute barred on this one. Unfortunately, I was paying it for many years it was at a time with lots of fees and interest, so I don’t think it is statute barred. I checked my email that I sent them and so far I haven’t used the reference number for it, I wrote to them about a different debt that Cabot have, but they added all of my debts with Cabot to the one email as a collection. I am not sure now where my statute barred start day is for this debt: 2 years ago or August. If August I might be best asking for a write off.

I only understood about statute barred two years ago, otherwise I may not have continued the payment, but it did keep them quiet despite at the end only being a token payment.

Thank you again for your help, despite being unwell I am slowly feeling better about this from reading advice on other threads, as well as the help received on mine.

Citizens Advice Bureau helped 6 months ago with a big HMRC issue and with applying for disability. They said that I have normalised a lot of things that needed addressing. I didn’t at the time mention about the debt, it was too much for me, I was just appreciative of the help they gave with the two issues I went with. It will be a good thing for me to go back for help with the debt, if I can find the courage face to face. 

fatbelly

Freddys_Flat said:

Thank you, I appreciate it.

Citizens Advice Bureau helped 6 months ago with a big HMRC issue and with applying for disability. They said that I have normalised a lot of things that needed addressing. I didn’t at the time mention about the debt, it was too much for me, I was just appreciative of the help they gave with the two issues I went with. It will be a good thing for me to go back for help with the debt, if I can find the courage face to face. 

Ask them. They will have a record of you and your previous cases. They may have a locally based debt specialist who could help. If not, you are no worse off. Most debt advice is done by phone and email since the pandemic but practices vary so it's worth asking