Please god help, 60k in debt and feeling suicidal

Humdinger1

@eleanor189 you are doing brilliantly! Your soon-to-be-ex is about to start a crash course on What it means to be an Adult.  Is it rude to call him a juggins? I hope so...I have subscribed love Humdinger xx

Humdinger1

Just wondering how you are @eleanor189

eleanorl89

Hi all

I have had the following letter from Wescot

I offered a monthly repayment amount of a measly £2pm, i know this is low but I genuinely cannot afford more at the moment. I couldnt find any correspondence from them i regards to this offer & have now received the below letter, I am absolutely beside myself. Please advise (the debt is for £20k)

“As you have failed to repay the above debt, we have been granted authority by Natwest UK Card Services to issue proceedings against you. We will shortly instruct Drydens Solicitors to issue a claim in the County Court.

If Legal proceedings are issued, Court fees and costs will be added to the claim, which will increase the outstanding balance.

If the claim remains unpaid, Drydens Solicitors will be instructed to apply for a County Court Judgment against you, which is likely to significantly affect your ability to obtain future credit.

You can avoid legal action and a County Court Judgment by contacting us on 01482 484 606 to agree an affordable and sustainable repayment plan.

If you continue to ignore this matter and a County Court Judgment is granted, our client may take further action to enforce the County Court Judgment. This could be by:

Securing a Charging Order against any property you own.

Obtaining an Attachment of Earnings Order which may result in instructing your employer to make payments direct from your salary.

Payments can be made by the methods provided on the reverse of this letter.

If you are unable to pay and require independent advice on the management of your finances, you can obtain free advice from such organisations as Citizens Advice Bureau, Step Change Debt Charity, National Debtline or any other similar organisation.

We hope further action will be unnecessary and recommend you either contact us or make a full repayment of the outstanding balance by the 04 July 2025.”

I have literally just bank transferred them £25 & also emailed them with the details on the back of the letter. Does this mean then will not instruct the solicitors at all? I’ve not read great things about Drydens. I’m not trying to avoid paying, I just can’t pay much atm with not working

Is this likely to go to court? This is what I was terrified of!

Grumpelstiltskin

OK So their letter worked, it frightened you into paying more than you can afford.

It is not a letter before action, if you get one of them with a form that needs a reply within 30 days then we would have advised you what to do.

Stop panicking, nothing is magicked out of thin air there is a process they have to go through if they are thinking of applying for a CCJ which they aren't at the moment, they are just using frightening tactics which you fell for.

sourcrates

Wescott do not own your debt, they are acting on behalf of the client, so they themselves cannot obtain a CCJ.

It would be Dryden`s who would do that, on orders from NatWest.

Why are you terrified of court? I don`t understand it when people say this, the court is there to be helpful to both sides, not just the claimant.

When a CCJ is granted, it is set according to your budget, not the claimants wish list.

You won`t actually attend, its all done by post and online, if anything it will benefit you the most, they have everything to lose, you have nothing to lose here, if what they are asking is not affordable, the court will back you up on that, they are not there to persecute you.

Court judgements set in stone the fact you owe the money, nothing more, any payment to this debt is set according to the budget you complete for the court, so if £2 is all your budget shows is affordable, then that is what they will get.

As long as you maintain the payments, no further action can occur, and if your home is jointly owned, any charging order they may pursue would just be a restriction.

This is fantastic news for you, let them fill their boots, as long as a CCJ will not affect your job, and you won`t be wanting any more credit for 6 years, there is no down side here for you.

They use legal action, and solicitors as a threat all the time, but in many situations this is the last thing they actually want, if they can bully you into paying £25 a month with just a piece of paper, they will win, but a court judgement ordering you to pay just £2 a month, you win, do you see now?