Debt getting me down

fatbelly

Anyone linked by a joint financial product will be affected. That could be a loan, bank account or mortgage

llcooljayne1

I have an account with Santander in my name only with a £500 overdraft and a joint one with my oh which has a £3000 overdraft. Should both be closed?

I am not linked financially with anyone else on anything. All main bills ie electric, council tax etc are just in my name only. I have never defaulted on any of these.

My parents are not on the mortgage just the deeds, does this mean they will still be affected?

RAS

You need to either pay off the joint account or get you name off it. Do you mean the accounts have £500 and £3k OD limits or you have maxed them out?

ManyWays

My parents are not on the mortgage just the deeds, does this mean they will still be affected?

No. Property ownership is not visible to the credit reference agencies so it will not factor into their credit reports or scores

llcooljayne1

Ok that’s one good thing as I really don’t want them being affected.

The Santander is maxed out but the Barclays is only used now and again

sourcrates

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/82040580#Comment_82040580

Debt is associated with the individual debtor, and is never tied to any particular address.

So only people you share a financial product with will be affected by your actions.

You have had some really great advice in this thread, but the one thing I would urge is that nothing happens quickly in the world of debt collection, even though you may get letters that give a deadline for a response, that is their deadline, not yours, such things are totally meaningless and are simply designed to make you thing they require urgency, when they don`t.

llcooljayne1

Thank you Sourcrates 😊

Everytime a letter or email gets sent I feel sick. It’s a constant reminder of my stupidity!

Grumpelstiltskin

I know it isn't easy but you have to change your mind set and you have to realize you are in control not your creditors.

Block all numbers you get texts and calls from. You can ask for all communication to be by letter and whatever you do don't speak to any of these people. You are not the only person in this situation, beating yourself up achieves nothing, what has happened in the past has happened, you have to look forward to the future.

llcooljayne1

Thank you so much. You are right, we can only learn from our mistakes and now I need to see although it’s not going to be easy, there is light at the end of the tunnel and life can get better. Before coming on here I honestly was so confused and nervous about starting a dmp, I thought it would ruin my future. But now I realise that taking the step and changing things is actually going to make it so much better

Grumpelstiltskin

Great, now the thing to do now is not to panic, do not rush into paying anything and keep coming on here asking if you are not sure what to do.

As has been said debt collection moves slowly, as long as you have sorted your bank accounts out and stopped paying all the unsecured debts the next thing to do is start using what spare money you have to build up an emergency account so open a savings account or easy access cash ISA. As well as covering emergencies that money can also be used for reduced final settlements down the line.