Help with whether to contact Debt Collectors at this point?

Scarlet_to_Black

I was away for the week and kept getting phone calls and emails from Advantis Credit. I blocked and ignored them. But I’ve just got home to this post. There is no default showing yet on my credit file. Do I need to contact Advantis Credit yet and start paying? 

Also, I have this last week:

~Lloyds Bank CC default now showing on my credit file. No letter to advise who to pay

~PayPal Credit default showing on my credit file. No letter to advise who to pay
~NatWest loans x 2 and CC x 2 all defaulted in the last week on credit file. I have affordability complaints with Financial Ombudsman for all four accounts. Moorcroft have all four accounts now but I’ve not been in touch with them and they’ve been pretty quiet apart from a couple of polite letters!
~NEXT very small balance in comparison (less than £250), who were the most persistent of all but have gone quiet, or I’ve just blocked every number they use 🤷‍♀️

Can anyone please just confirm my plan of action and timeline so I don’t mess up?! I want to get this right and also need to do a SOA, if you’d be good enough to look at that when I get chance to upload one?  I had a budget with SC before I cancelled the DMP and followed advice here and think it might have been a bit low. I kept to their suggested monthly budget amounts but struggled the month I paid them before cancelling so need to make sure ithe SOA covers everything realistically. I also only have £200 emergency fund so need to build that too 🫣

Thanks 🙏

Starfish75789

It's following what happened to me - so I would say it looks good.
Until it appeared on my file I didn't make contact with anyone, in fact once defaulted I waiting to be written to and then I replied with what I was paying. I did notice that when defaults did finally appear some of them had a default date from the previous month, so it just takes its time.
I have separate SOA one if the DOA were after one (don't want to give them all my details) and the real one I was using for myself. Seems to be working so far. 

RAS

You have an account number and have been directed to the Advantis Credit website. You should be able to make a payment there.

Does it provide enough detail to allow you to set up a Standing Order? Avoid setting up a Direct Debit as they can vary that.

Rob5342

Personally I would wait until the default shows on your credit report. It should be OK but I wouldn't want to risk the default not happening. You can pay whatever you like so you could start off with lower payments and then increase them once you have a good emergency fund built up. As RAS says pay by standing order so you are in control and can change the amount whenever you like. If you pay by debit card or direct debit then if you want to change it you will have to contact them and they'll want to go though their affordability script. 

saving_88

My Sainsburys defaulted to Advantasis credit. They were helpful in pausing the account whilst a DMP was set up. Thier Phone lines are always busy. 30 mins wait time. Online site to register isnt as helpful. Plans online exist for 12 month so payments are high. You have to phone to arrange a longer plan 

DankVielen

Scarlet_to_Black said:

I was away for the week and kept getting phone calls and emails from Advantis Credit. I blocked and ignored them. But I’ve just got home to this post. There is no default showing yet on my credit file. Do I need to contact Advantis Credit yet and start paying? 

Also, I have this last week:

~Lloyds Bank CC default now showing on my credit file. No letter to advise who to pay

~PayPal Credit default showing on my credit file. No letter to advise who to pay
~NatWest loans x 2 and CC x 2 all defaulted in the last week on credit file. I have affordability complaints with Financial Ombudsman for all four accounts. Moorcroft have all four accounts now but I’ve not been in touch with them and they’ve been pretty quiet apart from a couple of polite letters!
~NEXT very small balance in comparison (less than £250), who were the most persistent of all but have gone quiet, or I’ve just blocked every number they use 🤷‍♀️

Can anyone please just confirm my plan of action and timeline so I don’t mess up?! I want to get this right and also need to do a SOA, if you’d be good enough to look at that when I get chance to upload one?  I had a budget with SC before I cancelled the DMP and followed advice here and think it might have been a bit low. I kept to their suggested monthly budget amounts but struggled the month I paid them before cancelling so need to make sure ithe SOA covers everything realistically. I also only have £200 emergency fund so need to build that too 🫣

Thanks 🙏

It would be helpful if you would try to maintain one thread for this matter, the matter being your DMP, maybe the Mods can merge a few?.

The plan and the action timeline are what you want them to be, your objective may be to get a reduction if you are still bought into this debt system, you might be going after 60% off or you might want 95% off or you might want to pay nothing and just wait it out for 6 to 12 years (latter assumes a CCJ obtained just before year 6).

The stages are

Stop Paying anything to the accounts

Inform each creditor that you are not paying anything

Wait for default letters

Wait to hear from Debt Consolidator that they own the rights to the debt, sometimes included in letter of default

Expect the Debt Consolidator to tell you they appointed a Debt Manager

Expect the Debt Manager to appoint a new Debt Collector company every 3 to 6 months

Do not engage after you have told them you are not paying

Wait for each debt collection company to get through their automatically generated letters

Ignore everything in the letters

Do not worry about visitors door steppers and similar leeches, they have no power, do you not have to answer the door or say a word to them.

Get a video doorbell just so you have evidence of any foul play,

Do not be fooled by letters encouraging you to call about an offer, these are just attempts to reset your six year statute bar period to 6 years.

Do not be fooled by fake legal threats, almost everyone threatens to take legal action, I had over £90k of debt and only one went for a CCJ, as it happens it was one of the smallest debts, but I still paid nothing.

If you get a bona fide letter before action sent in accordance with pre-action protocol and practice direction then decide if you care. If they have zero data on you and no view of financial activity then getting a CCJ might be throwing good money after bad from their point of view.  Credit Unions DO go for CCJ and apparently Amex do too, but if you manage your address properly they will always be at least one step behind you.  I stayed off radar for over 12 years, I did not go on voters roll, did not buy on credit, did not have energy or broadband in my name, I paid as The Occupier through a shop.  I used a neighbours wifi and paid them £10 a month for that.

Then just forget about your debts, file all letters in a lever arch file with each debt having it's own section, with default letter at the bottom of each section, then each new letter for that debt on top, use transparent dividers as you probably have more sections that dividers in a typical pack.  Keeping all these letters is important, it is evidence of enforcement showing they have had plenty of time to enforce (should there ever be a request for more time on a CCJ)

Wait for serious offers of at least 60% or just decide you are in it for the long haul and not paying a penny, the latter does not change anything really.

Remember the money never existed in the first place, they invented it on their computer, they made plenty of interest which is their business and having trapped you they stopped offering zero percent for 3.5% of the debt.  They made a few more percent when they sold the debt (typically pennies in the pound).  

You defaulting allows the original creditor to lend the same amount to someone else, as for the debt consolidator they are leeches, you have no relationship with them, they do not want to help you they want to keep you paying so you keep the debt alive as every payment resets the statute bar period back to 6 years. 

DO NOT ENGAGE with any of them, they want you to say something like "I can't make a payment this month because I had a lot of expenses" that is an acknowledgement and it resets the 6 years on the Statute Bar.

Get used to not answering the phone to any number you do not know, any number with Caller ID withheld and any number you know to be related to any of the debts.

I see no point in involving a debt charity they make money and your 6 year statute extends when you make a payment, that is my way of doing it, some feel the need to talk to them and some wait for 40% off but why pay any percent when the scum sucking leeches paid 3% or 4%?

My understanding is that Moorcroft handle debt that has not been sold yet, although that may change or have changed.  Stop engaging with them or anyone else

The SOA is for you and for people here to help you, never give such things to creditors, anytime you do what they ask it encourages them to try more.

Assume you will get a CCJ for each debt, that way when it does not happen and you get to 6 years and the debt is statute barred you can cross that debt off your SOA, but still employ a DO NOT ENGAGE strategy. Most of my debt went statute barred in 6 years, so on paper I was gifted at least £14.5k  a year, albeit that I pays a load of interest over the years before I wised up.

Copy this post to a word file, you might not do your DMP my way, that is entirely your choice, debt is misery so why allow it to go on for more than six years.

BTW I strongly suggest you take down the images, some sad people can read bar codes and the amount of that debt may tell that debt collector who you are if they search for their own name.

Remember, there is a support thread for debts that have been DuMPed, I am sure many will offer you help and you in turn will help others in due course.