No choice but to consider DMP - help appreciated!

emsgirl

13thlegion said:

If any debt is still with FOS do not pay. No point in acknowledging that it is ok (which paying does) when you are disputing it.

Thanks I will bear this in mind.

emsgirl

Rob5342 said:

In most cases the ombudsman takes the same position as the investigator so I wouldn't get your hopes up, but they can reach a different decision so it's always worth pushing it through. Don't pay anything while it's being investigated, start making payments once that's complete. Legal action is nothing to be worried about really, if they get a CCJ against you then you'll just be ordered to pay what you can afford, so apart from a ccj on your credit record it's no differerent to just repaying what you can afford anyway. In most cases they will just be happy with whatever payments you offer, and you'll have the option of making a reduced settlement and asking for the CCA once it's been sold on too.

I don't think there is an easy answer with PRA, you don't want to be paying an unenforcable debt but the chance of them being able to find the CCA tends to diminish as time goes on and companies clear out their records. I think I would probably make minimal payments for a year and then ask for the CCA.It's a bit of a lottery though, they might not be able to produce it now, or they still might be able to in 5 years time.If you want to make a settlement offer then always ask for it though.

 

I understand what you're saying, I'll try not to get my hopes up but it's just so strange as it is really the one I thought was most unaffordable! It's worth a shot anyhow. I'm hoping to avoid a CCJ if at all possible as I know that can have more implications than a default. Hopefully it won't come to that as you say as long as I'm offering them something reasonable once I need to.

Hmm that's what I was wondering with PRA - it's possible it will be harder for them to find the CCA a bit further down the line so yes that's good advice I will pay them a little now and try for the CCA at a later date.

Thanks so much for your help

emsgirl

sourcrates said:

Quote "I haven't heard anything at all from Zopa since my default and I still haven't paid them anything. Do you think I should just wait it out and hope for a more positive result from the ombudsman? Or should I pay them something now the account is in default just to lower the risk of them taking any sort of legal action? I'm nervous of this loan as it has the highest amount outstanding so I wouldn't be able to pay it off quickly if needed as my emergency fund would be nowhere near covering it so I'm worried about any letter before action arriving".


CONC 7.14 FCA Handbook Disputed debt.

CONC 7.14.1

1. (1) 

   A firm must suspend any steps it takes or its agent takes in the recovery of a debt from a customer where the customer disputes the debt on valid grounds or what may be valid grounds.

Any debt that is subject to any kind of dispute, will have all further action suspended until such time that dispute gets resolved, this is standard industry practice under CONC guidelines.

Ah that's interesting! That would totally explain why I haven't heard from them. 

I will hold off paying Zopa anything until I get my final response from the ombudsman and then workout a plan from there.

Many thanks for your your advice - that's very helpful

emsgirl

I logged onto my PRA account to pay something towards my barclaycard account and to my surprise my zopa account was showing on my PRA account too! So Zopa must have sold it to PRA already (I haven't had any correspondence regarding this). 

I have set up minimum repayments for both my Zopa and Barclaycard accounts of £5 each - no budget required just pay what I can. I figure if I pay the minimum for now it will bide me time as you said to wait a little longer before requesting the CCA and hopefully I will also hear from the ombudsman regarding my Zopa account before deciding what to do next there. 

So I am now in a position where all my accounts apart from these two have been given refund of interest and charges and I am now paying them back at minimum amounts but clearing the balances and these two accounts have defaulted but are with a debt collection company where I can make minimum repayments with no further interest being added. So my debts are finally on the way to being paid off!

I cannot explain how much this has changed my life. I have so much else going on in my personal life that this weight being lifted from the financial mess I was in has made a difficult time much more bearable. I know I still have a long way to go but I feel more in control of my finances than I have in the last 15yrs. I really cannot thank you all enough for your support and advice - I would never be in this position if it wasn't for this forum and all of you so thank you from the bottom of my heart.