shocking debt - can't see a way out - please help.

chappers

meant to add try Shelter too with regards to the repo.

jez75

Wow! Thanks everybody - sounds like i've got a lot of ringing around to to today!

Ifilled in the cccs stuff online last night and then spoke to an advisor and got a payment plan e-mailed back to me. It's pretty straight forward in terms of the unsecured/less pressing stuff - unfortunately he gave me some advice I wasn't aware of which is that the bank can come and repossess without having another court hearing as we have missed payments on the arrears set in my previous suspended repossession hearing - Anyway - he did give me the number of the legal dept at legal aid who Ihave got to call this morning so fingers crossed!

I've given myself a target of speaking to all my creditors by friday of this week - Its all in such a mess and at various stages of collections/court orders etc so I want a current position, just so that from this month on, I will at least have no unexpected bombshells through the post!

First things first though - the small matter of trying to save the house!!

thanks again all of you - it's staggering to know that there are so many people out there battling against debt and more so, are dealing so well with it!

Jez

Jez

jez75

Hi AJO907,

Hopefully can give a bit back here then re: AMEX. I was in exactly the same situation - a 3k debt spiralling to £4,500 with costs etc.

AMEX have been very difficult to please unfortunately - the amount Ipay was set by the courts - I actually offered £60 and the court increased it.

The strange thing with AMEX was, they applied for a charge on the house meaning they would be paid off when I sell - That, I was lead to beleive was the end of the matter - 6 months after this, the ballif turned up on my doorstep for the full amount - I explained that it was already a debt charged on the property and the ballif explained that some companies do that for insurance but still chase their money.

not sure of your financial situation matey but £100 sound reasonable to me if you can afford it - they will have the debt back in less than 4 years - I think the key with AMEX is to get hold of the right dept and state your case.

good luck with it!

Jez

churchrat

hi
no advice to add to what the good people on here have already given, but would just like to say that most of us have been where you are now. We owed approx £61k about 6yrs ago and nearly all gone now. I so well know that feeling of gut-wrenching, bowel-turning adrenaline induced fear when the phone rings!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! just the phone!!!!!! but it was nothing compared to when the postman arrived.
It does get better---slowly perhaps, but you did not get into this situation overnight (neither did we) so it will take a little while to sort. we too were at the repossesion stage but managed to keep the house, although in retrospect I'm not sure it was finacailly worth it. We had a sick child at that time, so our reasons for wanting to keep it are different to yours, but I wonder if you have thought through what losing the house would mean? Look past the emotional side(difficult I know) and make a pros and cons list of what not having the house would mean.
good luck and keep in touch
cr

chappers

They are a pain AMEX, I negotiated on behalf of my mother with her creditors when she had to go onto incapacity benefit Mint, barclaycard and capital one all agreed to a nominal £1 a month and froze the interest pending a doctors report but Amex refused, even the CAB couldn't negotiate, however they didn't go down the CCJ route but sent it to a DCA we negotiated the same deal with the DCA as the other credit cards.
Now the CAB have negotiated with the others to write off the debt as it is unlikely my mother will ever be able to work again, but AMEX are still hanging in there I suspect the only reason they didn't go down the CCJ route is because she doesn't own her own house.

fc123

Hi Jez. if it all becomes strressy, pause, and deal with 1 thing at a time, step by step.
It has become my new mantra; if too much to deal with at once, stop, and just do the first thing.....then the next.....

Keep updating too....it really helps.:D

AJ0907

jez75 wrote: »

Hi AJO907,

Hopefully can give a bit back here then re: AMEX. I was in exactly the same situation - a 3k debt spiralling to £4,500 with costs etc.

AMEX have been very difficult to please unfortunately - the amount Ipay was set by the courts - I actually offered £60 and the court increased it.

The strange thing with AMEX was, they applied for a charge on the house meaning they would be paid off when I sell - That, I was lead to beleive was the end of the matter - 6 months after this, the ballif turned up on my doorstep for the full amount - I explained that it was already a debt charged on the property and the ballif explained that some companies do that for insurance but still chase their money.

not sure of your financial situation matey but £100 sound reasonable to me if you can afford it - they will have the debt back in less than 4 years - I think the key with AMEX is to get hold of the right dept and state your case.

good luck with it!

Jez

Thanks for taking the time to give some advice. Good with everythings mate - it will all work out well in the end

paula65

Just wanted to wish Jez the very best of luck. The bravest thing in the world to admit to a problem and now your trying to fix it and your wife sounds wonderful and understanding. I've been in your possition and come out the other side. I know the feeling of waiting on Saturday for the postman to walk up the street. I would fly into the porch and throw the dodgy letters straight into the garage and walk into the house with the junk mail and say 'no mail today love', going back in minutes later with a wash load for the washing machine, in the garage.

Annoyingly, we have friends who ended up going bankrupt this time last year and weeks later got a cheque, in the post, for 8000 for bank charge reclaim and did no more than go to Aruba for two weeks and are off to Disneyland next week with the kids. No home and in rented but holidays seem a priority. :mad:

Well done Jez, keep us updated. :T

itsnowtime

I've just come across your thread and just wanted to say good luck.

and as many people have said - do take it one step at a time.