Affordability complaints & DMP

Totalnumpty

Hi all, I am around £50,000 in credit card & store card debt. Have been fairly heavily in debt since I was about 25, am now 38 and a bit fed up with it so I've made the decision to default the lot and clear it in a DMP. I have a good salary take between £3600 and £5500 a month depending on overtime etc and would like to spend around £1000 a month to clear the debt once defaulted and no interest is being added. I have been mulling over my credit history and i'm thinking some of the balances I was offered were a bit excessive. Barclays - £15000 Nationwide - £9000 Tesco £9000, all when I had a basic Salary of £20000 and a gross of about £35000 (12 years ago), think I may have been taken for a ride. D'you think I may have a shot at affordability complaints? I've followed the advise on here, opened a Monzo (who incidentally offered me a £500 overdraft which I politely declined) for wages and stopped paying the lot, none of the debt is secured and I don't have a mortgage. Am I missing anything? I am married (wife is OK with it, has no debt of her own and no joint anything financially) and 2 kids under the age of 14.

CliveOfIndia

More details required, really. Start with an SOA.

"Hi all, I am around £50,000 in credit card & store card debt … "

"I have a good salary take between £3600 and £5500 a month"

That's good money by anyone's standards

"think I may have been taken for a ride"

How so? You don't think it's right to pay back what you owe? Particularly when you are earning a very good salary?

Let's have more details, then hopefully we can give some constructive advice.

Totalnumpty

No, meaning when I took the credit I did not earn the money I do now (as stated above), I don't know whether on a gross of £35000 having combined credit limits in excess of that is negligent by the banks or not, it was entirely my doing, I am aware of that, was 25 years old, grew up single parent house, 5 kids, council estate and all that, was not particularly money savvy, had just had my first child, got married etc 90% of it on credit, i'm not looking for sympathy I'm aware of how dumb it was, and I carry the guilt of not being able to provide certain things for my kids and wife over the years because I've been paying over £1900 a month on debt. I'm also aware that I have a good wage and i'm in a more fortunate position than some (all luck by the way, not educated to degree level, met a guy in a pub who got me a job and worked my way up).

I want to pay what I owe, I have probably paid it twice over in interest already, its the interest I want to stop as all have gone up considerably and there is no way I will ever pay my way out of it and stay afloat. I also don't want to murder my future financial self with AP markers for 10 years.

I have worked out a SOA and can comfortably pay £1000 a month, so should be able to clear a DMP in less than 4 years (get paid 4 weekly) and still save on the side. I will post it on here at some point but I'm fresh off night shift and haven't got the headspace at the mo.

Totalnumpty

I have no loans, all of it is credit cards and store cards. All of it interest bearing.

CliveOfIndia

OK, thanks for the additional information.

I guess the key thing is, are you worried about your credit history - are you likely to want further credit in the near future (mortgage, car finance, whatever it may be) ? Credit card debt is unsecured - you could in theory just not pay it. The immediate ramifications would be minor, but you'll find it very difficult to get any sort of credit for the next few year (including stuff like mobile phone contracts).

You could maybe look at shifting some of the CC debt to 0% BT cards as a short-term solution, if you're eligible.

Either that, or go all-out to pay off your debts and move forwards from then. It's your choice, really. But if you want to avoid trashing your credit history, and feel you're in a position to be able to do so, then an SOA is an excellent starting point. Even if you don't feel comfortable sharing it (although that's helpful), it can give you a fresh perspective on your income and outgoings.

Totalnumpty

I'm not fussed about my credit score, I have no plans that involve financing anything for the next few years, I may avoid credit for the rest of my days, bar a mortgage which as long as I have a big enough deposit I can't see any bank turning down free money when the defaults have cleared. I have looked from all angles, and short of dishing out £3000 a month, this debt is going nowhere, and i'm not willing to do that. I could clear some of of it, but to clear it all would take alot longer than defaulting.

I am interested whether I have a case for an affordability complaint though, based on the credit limits given (13 - 14 years ago) and my obviously poor management of the credit I had.

sourcrates

Quote "I am interested whether I have a case for an affordability complaint though, based on the credit limits given (13 - 14 years ago) and my obviously poor management of the credit I had."

Best advice is make the complaints, as soon as possible, and see how they fair.

Otherwise your plan is a good one.

fatbelly

There's no downside to giving it a go. Follow Debt Camel guidance

https://debtcamel.co.uk/refunds-large-high-cost-loans/

The lender may reject a complaint against a loan started >6 years ago but FOS will usually consider it if you have been repaying it within the last 6 years

If the loan ended >6 years ago then you are out of time

Totalnumpty

None of it is loans, all credit cards. Sooo many credit cards.

ManyWays

Do you have your bank statements from 13-14 years ago, or can you get them, because they may be neded to prove the card limits were unaffordable.

Totalnumpty

I have wage slips. Show my base salary and take home etc… I assume I could get statements from the bank.