Please god help, 60k in debt and feeling suicidal

fatbelly

Statutory demands are really really rare

I've been a debt adviser for over 20 years and have only ever seen 2 or 3.

Regular creditors (cards, loans etc) do not use them since a case a long time ago where one of them (connaught Collections?) got slapped down for misuse of them.

HMRC do eventually go this route and local councils will if it's a big debt and all else has failed. I have a client owing 100k who is expecting one.

MBNA ,Barclaycard, Natwest, Virgin, Very - no chance

eleanorl89

fatbelly said:

Statutory demands are really really rare

I've been a debt adviser for over 20 years and have only ever seen 2 or 3.

Regular creditors (cards, loans etc) do not use them since a case a long time ago where one of them (connaught Collections?) got slapped down for misuse of them.

HMRC do eventually go this route and local councils will if it's a big debt and all else has failed. I have a client owing 100k who is expecting one.

MBNA ,Barclaycard, Natwest, Virgin, Very - no chance

Thank you so much, so effectively i can just erase this from my mind? Our main concern is that we do not lose the house or are forced to sell it

i have every intention of paying something towards the debts when it gets to the dca stage, so hopefully we may even avoid ccj’s at that point? Maybe im being too optimistic hoping for that. As i know i won’t be able to repay anythinf significant, at least until i get my business going which should hopefully be later this year 

Rob5342

eleanorl89 said:

i’ve only had one ‘notice of default’ letter from barclaycard atm & nothing from anyone else, though i know its coming. They threatened further action to recoup the full amount owed - is this to be expected?

The default notice normally says that they will ask you to repay the full amount and goes on to list various actions that may be taken to recover it - legal action, debt collectors etc. In most cases you can just make monthly payments and that will be that, at some point it may be assinged or sold to a debt collector. Debt collectors sound scary but they are usually nothing to worry about, normally the first letter you get from them will just say something like we want to help you find an affordable way to repay this debt, and if you offer something they are normally quite happy. The one's I've dealt with were concerned with checking that my payments were affordable rather than trying to get me to pay more.  If you ignore them completely then of course they will start turning up the threat level of their letters.

eleanorl89

Rob5342 said:

eleanorl89 said:

i’ve only had one ‘notice of default’ letter from barclaycard atm & nothing from anyone else, though i know its coming. They threatened further action to recoup the full amount owed - is this to be expected?

The default notice normally says that they will ask you to repay the full amount and goes on to list various actions that may be taken to recover it - legal action, debt collectors etc. In most cases you can just make monthly payments and that will be that, at some point it may be assinged or sold to a debt collector. Debt collectors sound scary but they are usually nothing to worry about, normally the first letter you get from them will just say something like we want to help you find an affordable way to repay this debt, and if you offer something they are normally quite happy. The one's I've dealt with were concerned with checking that my payments were affordable rather than trying to get me to pay more. 

Thanks Rob

it did list what could happen. They also said if i got in touch to pay my arrears or organise a plan, they wouldn’t take any of the suggested action. Including a default. Should i get in touch with them at this stage? Or literally wait for the default & then go from there? I’m unsure now as to what point I should avoid contact until & then get in touch to pay something

eleanorl89

The Default Notice letter said this

“Default Notice served under Section 87(1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974

Even though you have been sent letters requesting payment from Barclaycard recently, you're still behind with the payments on your account.

Under the terms of your agreement with Barclaycard, it is a condition that you must make at least the minimum payment each month by the date shown on your monthly statement. As you have missed a number of payments and your account is still overdue, you have now broken this agreement.

What you must do to remedy this breach and bring your account into order

You must make a payment of £1,749.31 so that it reaches your account before 20 January 2025.

If you're unable to make this payment, you must call us immediately on 0800 161 5258 and enter an arrangement to clear your arrears. 

We're here 8am - 9pm Monday - Friday and 9am - 4pm Saturday.

If the action required by this notice is taken before the date shown, the action below will not be taken in respect of the breach.

If you do not take the action required by this notice before the date shown then further action set out below may be taken against you.

1)Your account will be closed. If this happens, you'll still be required to repay the outstanding balance. 

1. we’ll send you a Formal Demand letter, which will ask for repayment of the whole balance. If you don't pay this, we may take further action to recover the balance in full.
2. Details of this default on your account will be registered with Credit Reference Agencies, which could make it harder for you to get credit in the future.
3. we may pass your debt to a third party debt purchaser who will ask you directly to repay the outstanding balance. We will tell you if we do this and will explain what this means for you including any payment arrangements you have made.“

Is this standard? Should i get in touch to pay or see what their next steps are? Thanks

Karonher

This is from the Citizens Advice website. With Stepchange it should be possible to come to another arrangement - ie paying what you can afford.

A statutory demand is a kind of written warning from a creditor. It will state that if you don't pay your debt or come to another arrangement that's acceptable to the creditor, they may start court proceedings to make you bankrupt.

EssexHebridean

eleanorl89 said:

Rob5342 said:

eleanorl89 said:

i’ve only had one ‘notice of default’ letter from barclaycard atm & nothing from anyone else, though i know its coming. They threatened further action to recoup the full amount owed - is this to be expected?

The default notice normally says that they will ask you to repay the full amount and goes on to list various actions that may be taken to recover it - legal action, debt collectors etc. In most cases you can just make monthly payments and that will be that, at some point it may be assinged or sold to a debt collector. Debt collectors sound scary but they are usually nothing to worry about, normally the first letter you get from them will just say something like we want to help you find an affordable way to repay this debt, and if you offer something they are normally quite happy. The one's I've dealt with were concerned with checking that my payments were affordable rather than trying to get me to pay more. 

Thanks Rob

it did list what could happen. They also said if i got in touch to pay my arrears or organise a plan, they wouldn’t take any of the suggested action. Including a default. Should i get in touch with them at this stage? Or literally wait for the default & then go from there? I’m unsure now as to what point I should avoid contact until & then get in touch to pay something

Haha - well I'm sure they wouldn't - but the default is actually what you want, so sit tight!

Try to let go of the feelings of shame too - it honestly is far more common than you feel - of your friends and family group I would pretty much bet that far more have unsecured debt than are completely clear of it! That doesn't make it a "good" thing - but it is so normalised these days it's not surprising that the majority of people do carry some form of secured debt - it's just seen as "what people do". The position you should emerge from this in however is one of knowing that why it is normal, it doesn't have to be YOUR normal - that will put you in a position of being in a far better control of your finances. 

You can continue to use this thread to ask questions, express concerns and fears or whatever - there will always be someone here to listen and usually to help as well. In the longer term you might want to think about starting a debt free diary over on the diaries sub-board  as that would be a great place to track your progress if you wanted to do that - people often find that really helpful! 

You are not going to lose your house, and right now, if anyone turns up at your door you can simply tell them to go away, they have precisely no more power than the man three doors down to enter your home or remove goods. 

Rob5342

Keep ignoring them until it has defaulted, then you can engage with whoever is chasing payment and pay what you can afford. You will then hsve a fixed date in six years time when that default will drop off your credit report

That letter is pretty standard, everyone who defaults will get one with similar wording. In the vast majority of cases the debt just gets sold on to someone else and they will take whatever payments you can afford. In the rare case that anyone does go for a ccj then the court will only order you to pay what you can afford, which will be the amount that your DMP payments are anyway so there is no need to worry. The creditors know that too so they wouldn't want to waste their time just to get the same payments out of you. 

It can be overwhelming initially but now you can start looking at the future. Once everything has defaulted you will have a fixed date when your credit report will be clean. As time goes on you can start saving some money and use that to make settlement offers and clear some of the debts for a lot less. 

kimwp

They have to tell you all the things that might possibly happen, so you can't say "you didn't warn me". You want a default and they are telling you how to get it, your path couldn't be clearer.

Let your past inform your future, but not hold it back - learn from the mistakes you made with money, but don't dwell on them or make it part of you - that would only be another mistake.

eleanorl89

Thanks guys! So is that letter from Barclaycard an actual default? Is that that account defaulted now? I’m so confused!