Very new here, not new to debt

sourcrates

Earlier on in your first post, you seemed uncertain as to what a default actually was, so I will attempt to clarify that point for you.

When you take out any type of credit, be it a card/loan or catalogue account, both you and the lender sign the credit agreement to say that you will both stick to the terms and conditions attached to the credit agreement.

Now if you find yourself in financial difficulties, and you can no longer afford to maintain the minimum monthly payment required by that agreement, common sense says you usually have to stop paying it, and after so many missed payments (the FCA specify between 3/6 missed contractual repayments) the lender can then say, enough is enough, it looks like you won`t be able to repair the breach to the terms and conditions of your credit account, we will give you 14 days to do so, after which we will issue a default on the account.

So they send you what`s known as a "default notice" this is a legally required document, following protocol, that must be sent prior to a default being issued, it will be sent under sec 87(1) CCA and will require full payment of the arrears by a certain date.

It will go on to list the possible repercussions of non payment, but most of the time the debt will either be sold or assigned to a debt collector, if you don`t remedy the breach.

So in a nutshell, a default is the consequence of non payment of a credit account, a default status will also show on the credit file entry for that debt on your credit report, the marker will show for 6 years regardless of what you do, and it cannot be removed for any other reason once correctly entered.

Hope that helps.

MasterG83

Welcome and I'm sure just typing these things out, it did for me. I echo everyones comments above, just know that once you have a plan, whatever the situation, you will feel 100 times better, even a plan gives you the opportunity to start chipping away at the debt, every £1 you pay off is a £1 closer to the final day and final payment. Its also addictive.

Many will know I'm a huge advocate of the Ramsey Baby Steps, again, the reasons for its success is that its a simple plan in bitesize chunks, that's how the human brain works. Take a look on You Tube or podcast.

Sunbakedscobble

Hello, so I was similar situation. I was 34k in debt on credit cards. Husband no idea. signing up for a DMP was the best thing I ever did. I used payplan and they were amazing. It was the halifax who suggested I call them after they issued me a persistent debt letter. Payplan were incredible, talked me through the whole service and I have never really worried about it ever since. It was such a relief getting it sorted. All the interest was frozen straight away. If they did try to start charging interest again, I just sent the letter to Payplan and they sorted it out. I couldn't have done this self managed, I just wanted it sorted and it no faff. I also knew I might not stick to the agreed payment if self managed.

I have 1 payment left then that is it. I am free.

Telling my husband was horrific. He hit the roof and didn't speak to me for a few days then he came and comforted me and was very supportive. He asked for access to my bank app so he could monitor my money.

You have done the right thing and good luck in your journey