Sons debt

florence123_2 · 8 June 2012 at 7:23PM

Hi

I have recently found out my son has got himself in a right mess over the past 3 months. He has gone and got himself 5 or 6 pay day loans when he is currently unemployed. He had just been finished from his job when he first applied. I was oblivious to this but have recently got to the post before him and opened his post only to find he now owes nearly £2,000 as they are charging daily interest. He won't phone them up and speak to them he just keeps saying how are they going to get it off me Ive got nothing to give them. Now they are threatening him with bailiffs and door step collectors. I don't think they will speak to me if I ring them but I am so worried about him and this mounting debt he is only 20 and he doesn't seem to even care. My other concern is can the bailiffs come in and use my furniture and possessions or his younger brothers to clear his debt. I am so scared they will come and take everything as my son has nothing for him to take. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I feel so stupid I was oblivious to all this. I am worried sick. I am in debt myself and I can do without this.

Thank you in advance.

HappyMJ · 8 June 2012 at 7:34PM

It's your property you can deny access to the bailiff and ask them to leave your property. Bailiffs could levy your car so have your paperwork ready to prove the car is your car so they don't levy it.

A bailiff would only be sent if he has a CCJ that he has not paid. Debt collectors might call by but they have no power to do anything at all so just ask them to leave and say nothing further.

As his credit is now shot to peices there isn't much you can do. Eventually they will get their money back from him and no other bank will lend to him for the next few years as he has proven he cannot be trusted with credit. It's nothing really for you to worry about now. Don't repay his debt for him and encourage him to start thinking about finding a new place to live as you don't want the threat of bailiffs and debt collectors knocking on your door. Make sure you are charging him rent to encourage him to leave.

DevCoder · 8 June 2012 at 7:37PM

The debt is in his name, they (bailiffs) cannot take anything of yours.

Age 20 is considered an adult (by a few years!), he needs to realise that his refusal to face his situation has now removed any credit/lending (loans/overdraft/mortgage) to him for the next 6 years at least. Even a rental maybe difficult if the the Landlord or Agent insists on credit checks.

He would be best to face up to reality and head over to the Debt Free Wannabe board for advice.

themull1 · 8 June 2012 at 7:54PM

Why did you open his post?

florence123_2 · 8 June 2012 at 8:06PM

Thanks for all your comments they are much appreciated I feel slightly better now. I opened his post as he was acting strangely and they had payday loan names on the front. I know I shouldn't be opening his post and I have never done before but I had my suspicions and as he is living in my address I needed to know what debt he had brought to my door. I never thought it would be this bad. He is in a bad place at the minute doesn't seem to care about anything or anyone and currently unemployed so don't know how they would go about getting their money back. I have been in bad debt myself over the past 10 years and just finally managed to pull myself out of it but I was a single mother trying to bring up 2 kids so really I didn't have a choice. He has just got himself in this mess for no decent reason and no matter how much I try and tell him his credit is now wrecked it goes in one ear and out the next. I know the bailiffs need to be let in the property but I have a younger son of 17 who may just be intimidated by them if they come when I am at work and worried they may just say they can take my stuff to intimidate me too.

HappyMJ · 8 June 2012 at 8:11PM

You never ever let bailiffs into the property. You can tell them to go away...that is if you answer the door and did not know it was them. You can deny entry and if they force past you then you can call the police to get them to arrest the bailiff and charge them with assault. Tell your younger son to keep doors locked at all times and do not answer the door to strangers. Even us adults should never answer the door unless someone has phoned in advance. If people think you are at home they'll usually get you on the mobile whilst at the front door then you can let them in if friends.

DevCoder · 8 June 2012 at 8:24PM

Excellent advice, as usual, from HappyMJ.

You sound like you have handled your own debts/situation well, just hope that your son realises the situation he is in and can learn from you.

immoral_angeluk · 8 June 2012 at 9:57PM

I'm sure an adviser will be along to respond to this, but in the meantime OP you may wish to have a look at the CAB adviceguide pages which have loads of information about bailiffs.

mynameistallulah · 9 June 2012 at 11:00AM

OP, if you post on the Debt free Wannabe board they can offer lots of advice on how to handle bailiffs.

allen35 · 11 June 2012 at 12:10AM

A suggestion could be if you get his authority you may be able to act on his behalf with an advice centre such as CAB, it is not in his best interests to forget it as charges will be running until a repayment plan has been negotiated.

Payday loans usually have different ways of how lenders pay rather than DD's so he will need to let his bank preferably in writing that he wants to refuse any company accessing his funds. I know he probably has no money in the bank but he will be incurring charges through the bank too.

He needs to get advice and help with this before it escalates and ruins his life financially.

An advice agency would negotiate a suitable payment plan and request charges/interest be stopped whilst he's unemployed by way of token offers and this would stop any calling at your house or unnecessary phone calls.

When he is back in work he could raise the offer to a more affordable level.

CAB_Swansea_Bay_representative · 11 June 2012 at 8:31PM

Hi florence123, thank you for your query regarding sons debts.
Regarding your concern about bailiffs coming to your home let me first say that no bailiffs can be used to collect a consumer credit act regulated debt, such as a payday loan or overdraft, without the creditor first obtaining a county court judgement. County court bailiffs as you rightly state, cannot force entry into your home and cannot take any goods which do not belong to the debtor. For more information about bailiffs you can read information from this link http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/debt_w/debt_action_your_creditor_can_take_e/debt_bailiffs_e/about_bailiffs.htm#types_of_bailiffs.
I would suggest you encourage your son to seek advice regarding his debts as soon as possible to stop the debts escalating further. You can find your local Citizens Advice Bureau by using this link http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk. Alternatively you can find information and template letters to help your son to deal with his debts himself by looking at http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/debt_w/debt_help_with_debt_e/how_to_sort_out_your_debts.htm
Hope this helps

Sons debt

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