Accumulating debt whilst going through diagnosis.

Jacktherussell

Hi everybody, I hope you are all well. 

In 2016, I annihilated my credit score whilst in the process of being diagnosed with lifelong conditions. Obviously, my life has now changed dramatically, and my only income is benefits.

Does anybody have similar experiences or knowledge of this financial difficulty? I've researched, and there seems to be mixed information about whether the circumstances can be considered. 

I'm now stuck in a perpetual cycle of defeat, as there's no money today off the debts and no line of credit to get back on my feet. 

Any input would be greatly appreciated. 

Many thanks. 

ManyWays

It doesn't much matter now what led to you getting such a lot of debt so far back as 2016, what is important is that you don't have enough income to be able to repay it while interest is being added (and possibly may not be able to repay it in a reasonable length of time even if interest is halted in a debt management plan).
How large are the total debts at the moment, are your buying or renting?

fatbelly

Of course you can ask for writeoffs. That should be your first move. What happens after that may depend on your asset situation.

With benefit-only income you are not going to have enough surplus to service any but the smallest of debts

National debtline has some info here

https://nationaldebtline.org/get-information/guides/write-debt-ew/

Edit: what has happened with the debts over the past 9 years? Have you been making small payments? Or no payments?

Brie

First off - don't worry about your credit score as no one but you sees that.  A bank will look at your credit history and make their own judgement.  

Secondly - have you been paying anything towards your debts?  If not and you haven't done so or acknowledged them in writing for the last 6 years they would now be statute barred and the creditors generally won't be able to chase you.

If you have still been paying and are being chased then I would suggest you get help from one of the major debt advice charities who will be able to help you sort out the situation.  StepChange and NationalDebtline are online/phone agencies.  Community Money Advice (CMA) and Christians Against Poverty (CAP) are normally face to face.  There's also Citizen's Advice.  With their assistance a case could be submitted to your creditors to explain the situation you were in and ask that clemency be granted.  Many creditors take their commitments to helping their customers quite seriously.

In the meantime you should have a look at one of the top stickies here for the Statement of Accounts (SOA).  You could fill it out and post it back here and the helpful crew will offer advice on how to tighten your budget.  Otherwise you could take it to whatever debit advice charity you choose to give a head start on the assistance they can provide.

elsien

If you’re in debt and can’t get out of it due to your circumstances, the last thing you should be doing is trying to more credit to get back on your feet. It doesn’t work like that.

Jacktherussell

Thank you to everybody that added to the discussion. What is the accepted protocol? Do I message you all back individually, or is that just private messaging? 

Best wishes

Grumpelstiltskin

Please put your replies here on this thread then we can all  see them. 

RAS

Not sure about protocol?

I'd suggest if more than one person has asked a question/offered the same advice, a response that addresses the issue is helpful, you don't need to quote everyone.

If a single response is particularly helpful to you and requires a response, you might quote. 

And maintaining the same thread for the duration of queries about the topic helps, even if it takes a couple of months to get a response from a creditor etc.

Thanks are up to you. Personally I don't generally look or check for them unless I'm worried about the poster and want to see if they've been reading the replies to their query.

Jacktherussell

Good morning, everyone,

Thank you for the guidance. As I am new here and unfamiliar with this mode of communication and advice-seeking, I will attempt to respond in the order the messages were received. I apologize for any repetition.

The debt amounts to approximately £100,000, primarily due to decisions made while initially trying to avoid relying on benefits and significant choices made during the process of securing entitled benefits. For clarification, the conditions I have are permanent disabilities with no cure. It was not my decision to stop working, though, in hindsight, it was beneficial. Additionally, I acknowledge that I struggle with managing money. My concern is being judged based on previous behaviour before my diagnosis. Currently, I am in a Housing Association property.

I contacted the National Debt Line, and they directed me to information guides. Given their current workload, I understand why they provided limited advice. My case is specific, so I need more detailed help and am willing to research on my own. What I want to avoid are wild goose chases, which are proving difficult without expertise.

I have always believed that credit scores are important due to repeated emphasis. My experience suggests they matter, especially if you don’t have strong historical relationships. After damaging my credit score in 2016 and in the following years, I burnt many bridges, so I don’t have that goodwill in place, especially as none of my original debts are with the source.

As to not needing credit whilst in debt, as much as I appreciate the sentiment, it is wildly wide of the mark. I am unable to reveal much of my circumstances without sharing personal details. What I will say is there is much to the premise of disability invisibility.

 

Thank you so much to everybody for your input so far.

fatbelly

I think we would say that your credit history will matter, if you are looking to borrow more money, but the score that the CRAs market is only loosely related to the history and people tend to fixate on it.

Why we are asking whether you have made payments to your debts over the past 9 years is, putting it bluntly, if you haven't, then they are probably statute barred and unenforceable.

Have you?

ManyWays

Without having many details, you will have to forgive us if some of the remarks are irrelevant or miss the mark.

In general, if you haven't made payments for over 6 years, then the debts as @fatbelly says are probably statute barred and you don't have to worry about them.

If you have been making payments, you need a budget that has amounts in it for saving up to cover erratic costs during the year eg car maintenance, Xmas, clothes, dentist etc.  And some of your costs are likely to be higher because of your disabilities. Two sensible options here are to ask the creditors for write-offs, supplying details of your help problems, or choosing a form of insolvency, probably bankruptcy or a DRO.

If your only income is benefits, you have no hope of clearing this pile of debts and living in social housing makes insolvency easier as their is no need to pass letting checks for a new private tenancy.