handling debts-am I doing correctly?

[iko]

Hi all, I'm new here, just beginning to understand how these things work,
so please excuse if I sound silly,
I just would like to make sure I understand things correctly.

Here is some background;
I have always been making (minimum) payments on time, making it as priority but
I can not afford anymore. After taking corona break, I sent letters to my lenders
to accept my token payment together with my budget sheet.
Some accepted, some has not responded.

So far 2-3 missed payments.(after corona break)
I have credit card/loan debts in total of 17k.All with original creditors,
received arrears notice, none defaulted yet.

What I'm planning is, make token payments for a while,(year?)
after that I will have about 150 pounds/month disposable..(according to my
budget sheet),which can be spread between creditors as reduced payment offer.

I understand that as it will take too long to be cleared this way,
some "settlement" can be arranged at some point...

In that case, is it realistic to expect to go with token payment as long
as I can push, so that I can keep the money aside for settlement?
I am a home owner-how could it affect?

Also, is it a good idea to start making token payment now, regardless their
response? Or would I just leave it until they default?
Is it ok to just stop paying without communication?
(As I was stuck with the idea for too long that payments should come first,
I get easily scared about not paying at all...)
If my accounts get defaulted anyway, what is the point of token payment,
especially if it is to be sorted eventually by making settlement?

Your advice is much appreciated!

Thanks

iko

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

so please excuse if I sound silly . . .

. . . If my accounts get defaulted anyway, what is the point of token payment

That's a good question not a silly question.

In fact if you've already missed two or three contractual payments you may be defaulted soon anyway. Have you received a Default Notice from any of the creditors?

The best way to go about this is to make a separate post for each debt on this thread in this format >

* Original creditor and product (credit card, loan, overdraft, catalogue etc)
* Balance outstanding
* Year account opened
* Last full payment date (contractual monthly minimum payment)
* Last payment (token payment or in a DMP)
* Defaulted
* Current Owner (if assigned/sold on - not the DCA acting for the original creditor).

Then forum members can make suggestions as the way forwards based on each one since no two debts are the same.

I look forward to helping you

Di

[ca71]

Hi iko, welcome to the forum.

You are in excellent hands with Di.

[Warwick65]

To echo what Di has said , it would be really helpful to know the above information. There are reasons for the specific questions, for example, things can change once a debt has been sold to a debt purchaser; some are easier to deal with than others. Also once a debt has been sold it may be more difficult for them to get hole of the paperwork needed.

It will not be easy to start with, but it will become easier. I had a lot of debts (lots of creditors, some of the debts relatively small so I had 25+ people trying to contact me. After a while it eased off and would have a flurry every 6 months, then every year then less frequently.

If they think you can be bullied, they will try even harder

Trust me when I say, if I can do it , anyone can but use the help on here.

Once I made the decision it was truly like a weight being lifted off my shoulders and I started feeling more in control.

Good luck and we are here to help - and we don't judge.

[iko]

Hi everyone,thank you for your kind replies,
I feel welcome and in safe hands

I will list them separately,
other than listed, there is one debt on my wife's name
(HSBC credit card about 5.5k-taken out in 2004,
never missed or late payment)
which is in one year agreement on interest/fees frozen,
minimum payment, in order to keep credit card active.
(we need one active for use abroad for essential items-we are both from abroad)

As for start date, I can not be sure right now, I've been trying to resolve a log-in issue
to access my credit file, so it's a guess.

[iko]

* Original creditor and product /credit card (barclaycard)
* Balance outstanding /7k
* Year account opened / 2003?
* Last full payment date (May 2020-followed by 6 months payment break)
* Last payment (same as above.None paid since.)
* Defaulted (default notice received-I'm given til 19 March to bring account in order.)
* Current Owner (Original creditor).

[iko]

* Original creditor and product /(Barclays. personal loan)
* Balance outstanding /200 pounds
* Year account opened /2010?
* Last full payment date (May2020-followed by full 6 months payment break)
* Last payment (same as above,none paid since.)
* Defaulted/not yet-they acknowledged my letter/budget sheet,they want me to call.No answer about my token payment offer.
* Current Owner (Original creditor).

I keep getting phone calls-I think from them-which I ignore. Only writing.

[iko]

* Original creditor and product /(Barclays, overdraft)
* Balance outstanding /1.5k
* Year account opened /2002?
* Last full payment date (got overdrafted first time in Jan 2021-so never paid)
* Last payment/ (same as above)
* Defaulted/Not defaulted
* Current Owner (Original creditor).

[Warwick65]

Hi
Thanks for posting the debts up. In my view (and this is my view only) the best thing is to get the debts sold on to debt purchasers because they might have greater difficulty in getting hold of the documents (if they still exist). That is quite a long way off for now.

If you have them, try to get any correspondence you have going back as far as you can. Then also keep copies of all letters you receive and send from now on.

I am a little OCD in keeping letters but this was how I did it.

I got all my letters/emails etc and separated for each debt. I then got them in date order

From there I scanned everyone and named it with a number, a brief description and date so for example 1. CCA request 20022012 2. CCA acknowledgement 26022012.

I then stored them in the cloud - I used google drive so I had three copies, one was the hard copy in a file, another was a digital copy on my laptop and the 3rd was the digital copy on my hard drive.

When I received a claim ( I only received 1 out of 25+ debts) I then was able to share the whole relevant file with Jo and Di so they knew exactly what I had received. That might not be necessary or even desirable but it gives you the option ( for an example I did send some rather 'colourful' letters to one of my debts that I would not want anyone to see, especially a Judge so I might 'forget' I had those).

As I said a little OCD but left me feeling a little in control


The good thing is that most of your debts are pre 2007 , there was a law change then which makes it easier for a company to prove the debt but there are lots of ways you can beat a debt purchaser. I did mine on no default notice, Di won at least one of hers on the assignment issue ( I think).

I don't think any of us here judge and think you should pay a debt regardless- I would say you only need to pay it if they have complied with the law and got all their ducks in a row.

[iko]

* Original creditor and product / (Ratesetter, loan)
* Balance outstanding/2.8k
* Year account opened/2017
* Last full payment date /(Nov 2020- Three months breathing space to expire March 2021)
* Last payment (same as above)
* Defaulted/Not defaulted
* Current Owner /(Original creditor).

I sent them my budget sheet and holding letter, token payment offer in Jan 2021.
They replied
they were "currently not in a position to review a token payment plan."
and gave 30 days breathing period, which got reviewed 2 times.

And thank you Warwick 65,for sharing your story.
It's very encouraging!

[iko]

Hi Warwick65,seems we were posting about the same time

So...to get the debts be sold, better leave the whole thing, without contacting them
rather than making token payment?

I have been paying debts like a good girl for ages sacrificing other things for too long,
and now feels that is enough.
I feel all that happened due to lack of knowledge and misleading information...

[Warwick65]

I arrived on AAD paying all my creditors £1 per month and in a fairly desperate state. This was quite a few years ago so things have changed a little and as I had been in a dump for a few years nearly all my debts had been sold.

I suspect that if your token payments are low enough they will sell them on fairly swiftly

If they do call you, tell them you will only communicate in writing - do not do security with them. Some of the operators are very skilled at getting you to talk

I hope you have never been questioned by the police but this is the time to be saying 'no comment' ev. en though you may feel some of their questions are quite reasonable.

[Joanna Connolly Solicitors]

So...to get the debts be sold, better leave the whole thing, without contacting them
rather than making token payment?

The thing about making token payments is that the debt will never become Statute Barred as long as you carry on doing that.

Another thing is the debt may not get sold on because the creditor is getting something each month however little. If 250,000 debtors each pay £1, then the creditor is banking a quarter of a million pounds per month effortlessly.

My suggestion is to send a s77-79 CCA Request to each of them now.

If doing this flags up compliance issues for them (some of your accounts date back to 2002-2004 etc) then they'll probably drop them like a hot potato and assign (sell) them to a debt purchaser.

Di

[ca71]

A little tip I've used when naming files. If you use this format YYYYMMDD for the filename then everything will be in the correct order:

YYYYMMDD_<Debt>_<Text>

e.g. 20210226_CABOT_CCA CCA Request Sent.DOC

[iko]

Hello Di, thank you for reply,

I am still left feeling a little unsure about not communicating/paying at all,
as I wonder if it won't be seen as...not engaging, which encourage them
to take further action?(I wonder if you understand what I'm trying to say..
I'm not sure if I fully understand how it works, especially legally.)
I have been reading a lot from many websites past months,
I must say I'm a bit confused.

Also, about CCA request-I read somewhere there is a better chance they can't produce
the original document after it's passed on to a debt purchaser. Is that so?
Or it doesn't matter as they are almost all pre-2007?

I guess I don't bother with ratesetter from 2018?
How about Barclays overdraft? The account is old, but overdraft is only from last month.

Barclaycard accepted my 1 pound token offer-would it be a problem if I don't start this payment?

Hello, ca71
and thank you for your tip.
Much appreciated, as I'm not really good at keeping files etc..