Old debts, help please

usedtobebad

Hi all,
About 10 yrs ago I started getting into money problems (young and foolish). They all added upto around 40 k, including ccs and loans.
Ccjs were made on all but as it was still too expensive I decided to ignore the debts. I since moved house three times and the old debts remained unpayed.
Do they get written off or will they exist somewhere forever???
I have not used any form of credit for around six years but would now like to start again, can anyone help??!! :rolleyes:

Ember999

usedtobebad wrote:

Hi all,
About 10 yrs ago I started getting into money problems (young and foolish). They all added upto around 40 k, including ccs and loans.
Ccjs were made on all but as it was still too expensive I decided to ignore the debts. I since moved house three times and the old debts remained unpayed.
Do they get written off or will they exist somewhere forever???
I have not used any form of credit for around six years but would now like to start again, can anyone help??!! :rolleyes:

Debts are eventually written off if a debtor cannot be traced. This applies even if there were CCJ's given by a court. Investigators will do their best to trace someone for a number of years (usually max 2) and then the accounts will be registered as defaults and CCJ's unsettled. These remain on your credit files and court registers for a maximum of 6 years. As these debts were from 10 years ago, it is my estimation that they are well gone by now. Highly unlikely to even be on the creditors computers anymore. I know all this as I used to work for a big credit firm in the credit control dept.

Best thing to do is obtain a copy of your credit files and see what the situation is.

Hope this helps,

Ember.

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi usedtobebad

Dont mean to be rude, but if your in a better position to pay for your 40K of debt-why not pay it now. I personally could not sleep at night knowing I owe such a large amount of debt and had blatently done my best to avoid/hide from it and playing the system(moving 3 times etc).

Most people on this forum are here because they are in debt (some very heavily) but they are asking more apropriate questions about how they can pay it off, ways to cut back on their spending etc.....but you would like to start applying for credit again...knowing you still owe 40K????

Im sorry, but does anyone else feel the same or similar..or am I just having a moan about nothing :wall:

I am in no where near as much debt as 40k more like 3-4K (we were in 11K a year ago!)but I have cut back £700 a month in the past few months by switching different things, cutting back on groceries, take aways, petrol, etc etc. I am disabled and have had to go onto Income support with my OH as my FT carer. We used to bring in alot of money between us and it has been cut drastically and we have still made a ton of savings. I have worked hard to clear out debt, moving from one credit card to another with 0% BT and will be debt free totally by next April 2006.

Sorry for the moan.

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

Ember999

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Hi usedtobebad

Dont mean to be rude, but if your in a better position to pay for your 40K of debt-why not pay it now. I personally could not sleep at night knowing I owe such a large amount of debt and had blatently done my best to avoid/hide from it and playing the system(moving 3 times etc).

Most people on this forum are here because they are in debt (some very heavily) but they are asking more apropriate questions about how they can pay it off, ways to cut back on their spending etc.....but you would like to start applying for credit again...knowing you still owe 40K????

Im sorry, but does anyone else feel the same or similar..or am I just having a moan about nothing :wall:

I am in no where near as much debt as 40k more like 3-4K (we were in 11K a year ago!)but I have cut back £700 a month in the past few months by switching different things, cutting back on groceries, take aways, petrol, etc etc. I am disabled and have had to go onto Income support with my OH as my FT carer. We used to bring in alot of money between us and it has been cut drastically and we have still made a ton of savings. I have worked hard to clear out debt, moving from one credit card to another with 0% BT and will be debt free totally by next April 2006.

Sorry for the moan.

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

I totally agree Penny-Pincher! You probably don't think I do from my response to his post, but I do think it is shocking how someone can walk away - run, run and run some more, change address blatently to hide from paying what they owe etc. But sadly it happens and it is, quite frankly so easy to hide from debt and literally make it disappear! Thousands do it every year, they are usually in rented accomodation and it is easy to move around and make it practically impossible to be found. They are immoral and in my opinion, thieves as they borrowed money and neither want to, nor ever do bother to pay it back.

I was just answering his question. I assume he feels quite 'smug' in reading my answer, that yes! his debt has gone! Forever! He has walked away and will not suffer for oweing and not paying 40 thousand pounds he recklessly borrowed and did not pay back.

His stupidity is in his plan to apply for more credit. Having used credit recklessly, immorally and illegally (it is illegal to run and hide!) he finds he has 'got away with it' and now plans to run up some more. He probably will.....the majority of people on the debt boards on here care about what they owe. They have principles and can hold their head high with pride that they struggle to pay back what they owe. Yourself included and for that you and everyone like you should be proud. Can he say the same? Is he proud of himself? I suspect not!

Ember xx

HelenR_3

Ember999 wrote:

I totally agree Penny-Pincher! You probably don't think I do from my response to his post, but I do think it is shocking how someone can walk away - run, run and run some more, change address blatently to hide from paying what they owe etc. But sadly it happens and it is, quite frankly so easy to hide from debt and literally make it disappear! Thousands do it every year, they are usually in rented accomodation and it is easy to move around and make it practically impossible to be found. They are immoral and in my opinion, thieves as they borrowed money and neither want to, nor ever do bother to pay it back.

I was just answering his question. I assume he feels quite 'smug' in reading my answer, that yes! his debt has gone! Forever! He has walked away and will not suffer for oweing and not paying 40 thousand pounds he recklessly borrowed and did not pay back.

His stupidity is in his plan to apply for more credit. Having used credit recklessly, immorally and illegally (it is illegal to run and hide!) he finds he has 'got away with it' and now plans to run up some more. He probably will.....the majority of people on the debt boards on here care about what they owe. They have principles and can hold their head high with pride that they struggle to pay back what they owe. Yourself included and for that you and everyone like you should be proud. Can he say the same? Is he proud of himself? I suspect not!

Ember xx

Bit harsh ember , at least until he replies

saying that , i agree with what you bioth say :T

Ember999

HelenR wrote:

Bit harsh ember , at least until he replies

saying that , i agree with what you bioth say :T

Is it really harsh or is it the truth? We all feel for everyone on here struggling to pay debts back and I think we all resent people who try to flout the system and not pay. I don't mean to be harsh, sometimes things when written down seem harsh when they are not intended to be. I answered the original poster with a polite reply and my response to penny-pincher was the same. Hope I haven't hurt anyone's feelings, just sticking to the facts as they stand and sometimes the truth is hard to take.

Ember xx

Penny-Pincher!!

Hi

You havent hurt my feelings..lol. I just struggle understanding peoples logic or lack of it.

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

Ember999

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

Hi

You havent hurt my feelings..lol. I just struggle understanding peoples logic or lack of it.

Penny-Pincher!!
xxx

Hi Penny-Pincher, my reply was aimed at HelenR who I think thought my response was a little harsh. I agree with you and your post, as I said in my reply to you. I myself cannot understand the logic of someone who leaves behind £40,000 of debt only to want to get some more 10 years later. It beggars belief doesn't it?

Take care,

Ember xx

usedtobebad

Steady on people this was ten years ago when I was not in a position to pay off these massive debts. I could of gone bankrupt like so many do and written them off there and then. Bankrupcy is a legal process which removes all debt, is that immoral too?
As for paying the debt now if it does still exist, why should I suffer for probably fifteen years for a mistake made so long ago?

Even murderers get a chance of parole!! I am convicted of nothing.

I have worked hard to own my own place and business and will not jepordise it for a mistake as a youngster.
Im sure youve all made mistakes up there on your moral high ground, maybe worse than mine with bigger consequences!
I am not proud of it but do not have a problem sleeping at night as it is in the past now and if I do again use credit it would be responsibley.

Anyway thanks for the help. :A

Bossyboots

Why should you suffer now for a mistake made so long ago?

Because you owe people money that is why. You spent money you did not have and now don't have the decency to attempt to pay it back. Not only that but you intend to obtain more credit. Instead of funding a better lifestyle now, why don't you pay back those who funded your lifestyle all those years ago?

Yes we all make mistakes, but I personally have never left anyone else to clear mine up after me. I have had to take the responsibility and consequences for my own silly actions.

In relation to going bankrupt, although it would have wiped your debts (and for what it is worth, yes I do think that is immoral) but would have left you in difficulties for many years to come because it would have affected your credit status both personally and for running a business and bankrupts, even once discharged, are prevented from holding certain positions so your life choices would be affected. So in return for having your debts wiped, there would have been a long term penalty to pay so it wouldn't necessarily have been the easy option.

IJJoseph

usedtobebad wrote:

As for paying the debt now if it does still exist, why should I suffer for probably fifteen years for a mistake made so long ago?

Even murderers get a chance of parole!! I am convicted of nothing. :A

Are you saying that if a murderer is caught and convicted 10 years after commiting a crime that he should walk away scot free?!!!

I too got into debt quite heavily and couldn't afford to repay it on the salary that I was receiving so I got two extra jobs. I was working 7 days a week between 8am and 2am.
Why should you be allowed to get away with it?
Why should the rest of society subsidise your recklessness?
Why should my insurance premiums increase because you've stolen money because that is basically what you've done?