Road to recovery

[AftonGlen]

Am I glad to have discovered this forum...…

I had a lightbulb moment yesterday after a phone call to an advisor about getting a trust deed left me feeling as hopeless as ever - what if I just stopped paying my creditors, what is the worst that can happen?

For the past 7 years I have been making the minimum payments like a good little girl, with no end in sight and now due to a change in circumstances I have less money coming in than out, council tax arrears and having to borrow from family to pay for essential items.

I came across this site and for the first time I actually feel as if I might be able to make a dent on what I owe and get back on my feet. For the first time ever I couldn't care less about my credit score; it is already in tatters anyway and at this point I have no desire to take out credit in the future.

Having read over the forums I feel like I have a basic plan of what I want to achieve but I will need some help along the way!

I have roughly 10k in debt :

3800 to Avant Credit

2300 to Capital One

900 to Barclaycard

1000 to Simply Be

190 to Freemans

554 to Next

I am going to stop making payments to them all except the Freemans one which I think I could cover at the same time as getting on top of my council tax arrears.

I am not at the stage where I have defaulted/chased by debt collectors but I do want to go down the unenforceable route with at least the Capital 1 and Barclaycard when the time comes. I suppose for now I will just need to wait on the letters coming in.....

I will give all these debts their own thread and looking forward to any help/advice that you can offer.

[AftonGlen]

Avant Credit

Type - Loan
Date Commenced - 10/2017
Approx Balance - 2800
Date last paid - 01/ 2019, 174.85
Payment - not paying
Status- Arrears
Account owner - Avant

[AftonGlen]

Capital One

Type - Credit card
Date Commenced - April 2006
Approx balance - 2300
Date last paid - May 2019, 150.00
Payment - not paying
Status - Arrears
Account owner - Capital One


November 2019 - receive letters and emails weekly requesting payment,received another Notice of Sums in Arrears dated 30/10/19

[AftonGlen]

Barclaycard

Type - Credit card
Date Commenced - I first took out a card in 2002, however they moved the balance from this account on to another in 2011, not sure why
Approx balance - 900
Date last paid - April 2019 - 50
Payment - not paying
Status - arrears
Account Owner - Barclaycard

[AftonGlen]

Simply Be

Type - Catalogue
Date Commenced - September 2015
Approx balance - 1900
Date last paid - May 2019 - £40.00
Payment - not paying
Status - arrears
Account Owner - Simply Be

[AftonGlen]

Next

Type - Catalogue
Date Commenced - sometime in 2016
Approx balance - 550
Date last paid - May 2019 - £29
Payment - arrears
Status - Payment due
Account owner - Next

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

after a phone call to an advisor about getting a trust deed left me feeling as hopeless as ever - what if I just stopped paying my creditors, what is the worst that can happen?

I came across this site and for the first time I actually feel as if I might be able to make a dent on what I owe and get back on my feet. . . .

. . . Having read over the forums I feel like I have a basic plan of what I want to achieve but I will need some help along the way!

Hello

May I just first ask whether you live in Scotland or in England and Wales? The Consumer Credit Act applies to both, but they are in different legal jurisdictions.

Once you stop paying there will be a lot of noise (phone calls and letters) but it will soon taper off.

You may find that after a while the accounts are assigned/sold to debt purchasers who don't always have access to all the information held by the original creditor which can be to your advantage.

Maybe wait to see what each ones does/says and then when the time is right (different in each case) you can send s 77-79 CCA Requests to the debt owners and get an opinion from Niddy (Never-In-Doubt the forum owner) on whether they are enforceable or not.

Council Tax is a Priority Debt so it's wise to focus on that first.

I look forward to helping you.

Di

[February17]

council tax arrears

Welcome to the forum

The Council Tax arrears jumped out at me as that can be serious, based on my own experience of Councils they can be quick with legal proceedings.

I would try to get that back on track ASAP and make some payments towards the council tax arrears as this is far more important than any credit card or catalogue card payments.

A useful link:
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/de...l-tax-arrears/

As Di says the phone calls will be annoying when you stop paying the credit cards but this does calm down after a few months.
The sooner you can get the interest frozen the better and then you can start getting back on track.

[AftonGlen]

Hi

Thanks both for your replies!

Di- I am in Scotland.

My council tax arrears have been passed to Stirling Park, I got a letter through yesterday for the full amount. I have the option of going on a payment plan though so will deal with this ASAP!

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Di - I am in Scotland.

I thought so

The Consumer Credit Act still applies but the legal procedure is different if any of these debts result in legal proceedings. Let's hope not but let me know if they do.

Di

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Capital One

Type - Credit card
Date Commenced - April 2006
Approx balance - 2300
Date last paid - May 2019, 150.00
Payment - on 4 month payment plan arranged with Capital One,150 pm
Status - Arrears
Account owner - Capital One

Without knowing the full background of this account (e.g. when/how you opened the account) it's difficult to comment, but sending a s77/78 CCA Request might be your next step. We'll soon see.

Has Capital One served you with a Default Notice at any stage? You say you're on a 4 month payment plan but has your account been terminated?

A little more information is needed before making suggestions.

Di

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

Barclaycard

Type - Credit card
Date Commenced - I first took out a card in 2002, however they moved the balance from this account on to another in 2011, not sure why
Approx balance - 900
Date last paid - April 2019 - 50
Payment - not paying
Status - Payment due
Account Owner - Barclaycard

When did you last make your full contractual payment on this account (i.e. the minimum monthly payment)?

Has the account been defaulted following a DN, since Barclaycard has a reputation of defaulting accounts extremely late.

The balance 'transfer' may be helpful. More details please.

I expect a s77/78 CCA Request will be on the cards but not yet until more information is available to the forum.

Di

[AftonGlen]

Originally posted by AftonGlen View Post
Capital One

Type - Credit card
Date Commenced - April 2006
Approx balance - 2300
Date last paid - May 2019, 150.00
Payment - on 4 month payment plan arranged with Capital One,150 pm
Status - Arrears
Account owner - Capital One
Without knowing the full background of this account (e.g. when/how you opened the account) it's difficult to comment, but sending a s77/78 CCA Request might be your next step. We'll soon see.

Has Capital One served you with a Default Notice at any stage? You say you're on a 4 month payment plan but has your account been terminated?

A little more information is needed before making suggestions.

Di
.......

Hi Di,

This account was opened in 2006 by post I believe, I got a form through my letter box and I sent it off.
I am sure I received a default notice earlier this year but I haven't managed to find it yet.
I had phoned Capital One to try and get 'back on track' as I had missed payments and agreed to pay 150 a month for 4 months, think I managed 3 months and then thought 'sod it'.
The account hasn't been terminated as yet, I have been receiving letters and emails requesting payment, and probably phone calls but my phone is always on silent so get the deaf ear :-)

By the way is there any way to quote posts instead of copying and pasting? I haven't the savvy to work it out!!

Thanks

[AftonGlen]

23rd June 2019, 18:36
Originally posted by AftonGlen View Post
Barclaycard

Type - Credit card
Date Commenced - I first took out a card in 2002, however they moved the balance from this account on to another in 2011, not sure why
Approx balance - 900
Date last paid - April 2019 - 50
Payment - not paying
Status - Payment due
Account Owner - Barclaycard
When did you last make your full contractual payment on this account (i.e. the minimum monthly payment)?

Has the account been defaulted following a DN, since Barclaycard has a reputation of defaulting accounts extremely late.

The balance 'transfer' may be helpful. More details please.

I expect a s77/78 CCA Request will be on the cards but not yet until more information is available to the forum.
.........

I took out a Barclaycard at uni in 2002, there was a desk set up at the front touting for students!
Anyway, I last paid full contractual payment in April 2019, I don't think I have received DN, just letters and emails reminding me to pay.

With regards to the 'transfer', I had a BHS Mastercard which was transferred to a Barclaycard in 2011- the first I knew of it was when I went to pay my Barclaycard online and had 2 accounts.
I paid the full balance of the original BHS card then I think what happened was they moved the balance of my original Barclaycard onto the new one then terminated it.

[AftonGlen]

Sorry meant to say in previous post that the original Barclaycard was terminated , don't know if I made that clear