Stepchange terminated DMP immediately hounded by PRA

FireAnt

I am seeking advice on how to proceed with PRA and StepChange. The person details of why and how I got into this situation are irrelevant, but the following details are.

My debt was contracted in the UK before the Pandemic, and I would like, in the future, to return to the UK. StepChange has conducted all aspects of my DMP via email because I have no UK address or phone number. In August 2024, StepChange sent a letter to my former UK address which, of course, I never received. StepChange then cancelled my DMP. They never contacted me via email as they had done before and because they had cancelled my account, I could not contact them via the member portal.

I found out about the cancellation because I received the following email from PRA:

“The Barclaycard Credit Card was opened on 19 May 2016 and defaulted on 31 August 2022 at a balance of £4,084.37. PRA Group purchased the account on 15 September 2022.

On 23 November 2022, Step Change contacted us and confirmed payments of £1.00 a month would be made through your Debt Management Plan with them. Payments were then received to your account from 29 November 2022 until 4 October 2024.

Step Change advised us that they were no longer managing your account as of 31 October 2024. As a result, your account re-opened for contact from PRA Group, and we reached out to discuss your circumstances.”

PRA are now demanding full payment of the debt they purchased after it was defaulted by Barclaycard although I have tried to explain to them that I have no means to pay, no assets for them to seize and indeed, I am not even in the UK.

What, if any, options do I have at present? Any advice would be most welcome.

Thank you all for this most excellent advice forum.

Brie

Do you have the means to make the individual payments yourself?  So if you had, for instance, 5 creditors each of which was to receive £1 could you pay that? 

You had a way to pay StepChange so presumably you can pay the others too yourself.  There's nothing the matter with a DIY DMP.  All you might do is to send each creditor a letter/email to explain that SC is not longer involved and that you need their bank details to set up the £1 a month payment previously agreed with them.  

They may not like this and they may all come back and say "pay it all now".  But with that they will likely include their payment details and you can set up a standing order to that yourself.  

As with any DMP you are likely to get a letter once a year asking if your circumstances have changed and all you need to do is say "no change" and keep paying the £1.

FireAnt

I did not realise that I could do that! PRA was immediately aggressive and demanded full payment. Does a DIY DMP work the same way as a managed one?

Yes, I can pay them the £1 as I kept a UK bank account expressly for that purpose. 

Grumpelstiltskin

OK Have your debts defaulted?

If not just stop paying them and wait for defaults.

You do realize whilst you are outside of the UK the creditors can do nothing that will hurt you.

The amount you owe is significant. Can you list the debts, ie. how much owed who to etc.?

Brie

Yes it works the same way.  SC has already given them some information - probably some version of a statement of accounts or similar.  In that they've totted up your income vs expenditures and decided you had X left over to pay the debts.  You can just take that and continue on in the same way.  Community Money Advice (CMA) sets up DIY DMPs so just does the paperwork but then leaves it up to the individual to arrange the payments.  Not sure if CAP, CA or NationalDebtline does the same or not.

Just make sure it's you setting up standing orders, not giving the creditors your details so they can set up direct debits.  That way you remain in control.

FireAnt

Grumpelstiltskin said:

OK Have your debts defaulted?

If not just stop paying them and wait for defaults.

You do realize whilst you are outside of the UK the creditors can do nothing that will hurt you.

The amount you owe is significant. Can you list the debts, ie. how much owed who to etc.?

Yes, all debts defaulted by 2021 and were contracted before 2018. Total is between 7 and 8. PRA have only acquired the largest one from Barclaycard. I do not have the totals and details to hand. 

I would like to return to the UK in future and want to get the debt situation to a place where I can go forward. 

Grumpelstiltskin

You do realize that after 6 years ( England or Wales ) or 5 years ( Scotland ) the debts become statute barred even if they haven't been paid back?

Pity you have made payments after the defaults as the statute barred in 2021 could have been well on it's way now.

FireAnt

Grumpelstiltskin said:

You do realize that after 6 years ( England or Wales ) or 5 years ( Scotland ) the debts become statute barred even if they haven't been paid back?

Pity you have made payments after the defaults as the statute barred in 2021 could have been well on it's way now.

I didn't realise that. I went to Stepchange for advice and they suggested a DMP. And now PRA is saying that because I made token payments, I am now liable for the whole amount (not that they bought the debt for that amount.) Hence, my query on what to do now.

Brie

Of course there's the question too if you ever intend to return to the UK.  If it's not planned for some time you might simply stop paying and then presume that on one is going to chase you for any of it if you return in 10 years time.  If that was the case and someone did catch up to you you could send them a prove it letter and hope that they had lost all the pertinent information in the meantime.  

fatbelly

Stepchange have done you a favour by stopping a token offer plan that was not suitable as a long-term strategy.

See who writes and do cca requests on any consumer credit debts.

If you had just told them 4 years ago that you had gone abroad and won't be paying, they would be on the way to being unenforceable now.

FireAnt

Ugh! I didn't leave the UK to escape debts but to find work. Now I want to return and find a way to deal with these debts that I cannot pay for the foreseeable future.

Who would be the best agency to consult with about this?