Advice and guidance please..

Dear Community,

I'm looking for some advice regarding how I can fix my financial situation most effectively.

I'm in a sticky situation which I have allowed to continue for a number of years now, and it is time to get things in order and put this behind me once and for all.

Ok, so here's the deal..

I have a number of smallish outstanding debts from some years ago, which I never paid..because I could not afford to. There are maybe six or seven of them. Obviously, I should have paid them off at the time..or tried to consolidate them into affordable amounts, but I was really struggling to afford to do anything about it so just ignored them. Clearly not the best choice.

I have moved house about once a year on average for the last 10 years, and I'm not on the electoral role either. So although I still receive letters through the post to this day from various debt collection agencies, they never follow up on any of their threats. I assume this is because either;

a) They are not entirely sure where I am currently living, and don't want to waste time, money, and resources trying to find out. Or..

b) The debts are no longer enforceable, so they are just sending out letters and 'trying their luck'.

As far as I am aware, debts are no longer enforceable after 6 years, as long as you have not acknowledged the debt. Although I suspect it is not as black & white as that. They are, however, still entitled to try and recover the debt.

Problem I have is, some of the letters I get sent through do not show the original date of the debt in question. Only one or two do. So for the most part I have no idea how old most of these debts are precisely. And also can't think of a way of finding out without indicting myself so to speak. This does complicate the process somewhat.

Either way, whether they are enforceable or not, I want to get this sorted out in the way most beneficial to my future credit potential. I am 35 now, and will be looking to get a mortgage at some point in the future.

Here are some of the problems this situation causes me currently;

1. I cannot check my credit report. Otherwise that tells all these debt collection agencies exactly where I am, and they will all chase me at once..which I am ill prepared for. It's like the eye of Sauron..if that makes sense to anybody..
2. I cannot apply for credit, for the same reasons.
3. I cannot register to vote.
4. I cannot rent a property through an agency, as my credit rating is so poor.
5. I cannot currently rebuild my credit score.
6. I get offensive messages from previous people I used to live with, saying they are receiving letters through..which is quite stressful.

Plus more. Needless to say, this is not a fun place to be..

One feature that these debt collection agencies offer is, of course, reduced settlements. I had one through recently offering as much as a 70% reduction to satisfy the debt. This is where I need your help though.

If you satisfy any of these debts at a reduced price, then it will only show on your credit report as 'partially settled'. As far as I'm aware, this avenue closes the debt in question, but does not help you to start rebuilding your credit score. It would remain more or less the same. Or does it in fact help somewhat?

I just don't know which way to turn right now. The way I see it, these are my options;

1. Pay each individual debt progressively at the full amount, and rebuild my credit score the ideal way. I cannot afford to do this though..and as soon as I contact the first company, my credit file will be updated, and all the rest will pounce on me at once.
2. Pay each individual debt progressively at any reduced settlements offered. This poses the same problem as above though, and I won't necessarily end up with a much better credit score at the end of it anyway.
3. Consolidate all these debts into one, and spend the next 5-10 years paying it all off. Which again, may hinder my credit ability for too long.
4. See if any of them can be written off under some sort of government scheme.
5. Keep ignoring them and wait for them all to become unenforceable..and live with the stress in the meantime.
6. File for bankruptcy. Which I'm not going to do.

I really need a definitive 'best course of action' here, because I can't figure this out on my own it would appear. The thing I'm concerned about is that I am going to be given conflicting solutions, and end up more bewildered about the whole situation than I am now.

I guess I could potentially afford to pay £200 a month towards chipping away at these debts..if a monthly plan were the best route to take.

Anyway, that probably gives enough information for now.

If anybody has any advice they can offer me as to how to fix this mess, I would be very grateful.

I have retained many of the letters for reference, and can provide more details if required.

Thanks in advance, Andy