Professor Pat's UE Diary

[ProfessorPatpe]

Ok here I go, finally realised things were out of control financially in January, bought a big house 5 years ago, not knowing I would have spend over £30k on it, debts started spiralling and the next thing I knew I was getting hit with 35% interest rates and was 54k in (unsecured) debt. Went down the DMP route with Payplan, started in the spring and after a couple of months and a lot of phone calls got all 7 cards on frozen interest and charges but BoS loan still at 6.9%. Down to £50k now and dropping.
Have been a regular on the "Without a paddle" MSE DMP thread (Dopey is also a regular) and found it inspirational, anyway been thinking about UE for a while but am very, very apprehensive, however I reckon I'm up for it now.
Of the £50k, the majority (£36k) is with one creditor BoS in the form of 3 cards and a loan, they have been very difficult and it's taken a great deal of effort to get them on board. I am pretty sure the other cards are post 2007 (Egg, MBNA and Citi), but in any event all my creditors have defaulted me.
Have 4 CCA request letters and a 4x £1 ready for BoS, just waiting to get the nod and I'm off to the post office. Kind regards to you all. PP 2

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

anyway been thinking about UE for a while but am very, very apprehensive, however I reckon I'm up for it now.

Are you sure you want to proceed with this route? If so then fine, read on..... Bear in mind it is not an easy process, and you'll get stressed - nut you have to remember to stand up and fight and agree to cease communication and payments, your credit file is shot so that means little - but I mean you cannot deviate and ring them or write sneakily, do what I advise and you will be fine. Deviate and mess up and I cannot help, or if I can it will be harder....

The majority (£36k) is with one creditor BoS in the form of 3 cards and a loan, they have been very difficult and it's taken a great deal of effort to get them on board.

Ok, you need to list these individually for me answering the following info: ---> viewtopic.php?p=6789#p6789

I am pretty sure the other cards are post 2007 (Egg, MBNA and Citi), but in any event all my creditors have defaulted me.

Ok, well provide info as requested above (Here: viewtopic.php?p=6789#p6789) and i'll advise as appropriate when I have the details....

Have 4 CCA request letters and a 4x £1 ready for BoS, just waiting to get the nod and I'm off to the post office. Kind regards to you all. PP 2

Not yet, please read the above link first and then update your thread (diary) so I can see the state of affairs... you may need to read your Experian/Equifax credit repot (£2 statutory report)

[ProfessorPatpe]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

Ok Niddy, thanks for being honest with me. You are of course totally right, I need to calm down, focus, and get all the details together, plus talk to better half about this, she has been fab so far re. DMP but this is a different league. Many thanks again. PP

[MrsD]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

welcome Prof, you need to think all this through and then give Niddy all the info. I stopped our DMP in August, I phoned them and complained about the way the Scottish woman had treated us with her nitpicking and totally unreasonable demands (ie don't feed the children), the lady I spoke to was entirely symapathetic, she understood that for us, checking the validity of the agreements was the way to go, she also said that once we have it sorted out, they would be very happy to reinstate our DMP with those that are enforceable.
So has my life been a misery since we stopped paying the DMP, well err no, we've had 4 phone calls, all caught on ansaphone, just deleted them and we have had a couple of ridiculous letters from Cap i and MBNA wanting to know everything and to see our bank statements for the last 20 years or so, filed in the bin.
We have two admitting they cannot find the paperwork and therefore cannot enforce, and quite a few who haven't replied at all. I am learning loads, and actually when you read through the forum here, read the diaries etc, you start to see that it is a bit of a game, and in a lot of cases, we are winning. There are laws and they have to stick ultimately to them, they(the creditors) are not good at sticking to rules and their tactics are classic bullying and spouting a load of "official" sounding baloney, most of which is not even remotely true, BUT if you don't know that, you could be scared into payng. So I am chilled, its going well, we won't be easily scared or fooled by claptrap and we have Niddy and the guys on here for great advice and support. I actually think this is less stressful than setting up the DMP, that frustated me cos of the total chaos within the banks and because CCCS were barely able to contain it, now I'm in charge and being a wee control freak, that suits me fine!
So buckle up and gird your loins and get on with it, you've nothing to lose and everything to gain, and IF they are enforceable you can pay at some point, you're in charge remember, not them.

[ProfessorPatpe]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

Here are the details of my creds;

1.Bank of Scotland Visa
From 1997
£12k balance.
Last full payment Mar 10 (DMP since May 1st)
Defaulted in Aug
Supposedly transferred to Blair, Oliver and Scott 2 weeks ago but have heard nothing.


2. Bank of Scotland Mastercard
From 2006
£6k balance
Last full payment Mar 10 (DMP since May 1st)
Defaulted in Aug
Supposedly transferred to Blair, Oliver and Scott 2 weeks ago but have heard nothing.

3. Bank of Scotland Visa
From 1999
£3k balance
Last full payment Mar 10 (DMP since May 1st)
Defaulted in Aug
Supposedly transferred to Blair, Oliver and Scott 2 weeks ago but have heard nothing.

4. Bank of Scotland Loan
£25k over 7 years taken out in July 2006
£15k balance
Last full payment April 10 (DMP since May 1st)
Defaulted
Still with original lender

5. MBNA (Virgin CC)
From Jan 07
£5k balance
Last full payment March10 (DMP since May 1st)
Defaulted
Still with original lender

6. Egg CC
From 2003
£6k balance
Last full payment March10 (DMP since May 1st)
Defaulted
Still with original lender

7. Citi CC
From 2008
£3k balance
Last full payment March10 (DMP since May 1st)
Defaulted
Still with original lender

[ProfessorPatpe]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

welcome Prof, you need to think all this through and then give Niddy all the info. I stopped our DMP in August, I phoned them and complained about the way the Scottish woman had treated us with her nitpicking and totally unreasonable demands (ie don't feed the children), the lady I spoke to was entirely symapathetic, she understood that for us, checking the validity of the agreements was the way to go, she also said that once we have it sorted out, they would be very happy to reinstate our DMP with those that are enforceable.
So has my life been a misery since we stopped paying the DMP, well err no, we've had 4 phone calls, all caught on ansaphone, just deleted them and we have had a couple of ridiculous letters from Cap i and MBNA wanting to know everything and to see our bank statements for the last 20 years or so, filed in the bin.
We have two admitting they cannot find the paperwork and therefore cannot enforce, and quite a few who haven't replied at all. I am learning loads, and actually when you read through the forum here, read the diaries etc, you start to see that it is a bit of a game, and in a lot of cases, we are winning. There are laws and they have to stick ultimately to them, they(the creditors) are not good at sticking to rules and their tactics are classic bullying and spouting a load of "official" sounding baloney, most of which is not even remotely true, BUT if you don't know that, you could be scared into payng. So I am chilled, its going well, we won't be easily scared or fooled by claptrap and we have Niddy and the guys on here for great advice and support. I actually think this is less stressful than setting up the DMP, that frustated me cos of the total chaos within the banks and because CCCS were barely able to contain it, now I'm in charge and being a wee control freak, that suits me fine!
So buckle up and gird your loins and get on with it, you've nothing to lose and everything to gain, and IF they are enforceable you can pay at some point, you're in charge remember, not them.

Thanks for your support Dopey, just one burning question at the mo, what actually happens when the creditor admits unenforcability? ie, Is there a time frame after which the debt is written off? Do they then back off, knowing it is pointless chasing.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

Thanks for your support Dopey, just one burning question at the mo, what actually happens when the creditor admits unenforcability? ie, Is there a time frame after which the debt is written off? Do they then back off, knowing it is pointless chasing.

After 6yrs your credit file is clean - i.e. free to start again. The object is to cease repayments, get defaulted then 6yrs after the default date - your credit file is wiped clean.

I'll answer your main post in 2 mins........

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

• 1.Bank of Scotland Visa
  From 1997
  £12k balance.
  Last full payment Mar 10 (DMP since May 1st)
  Defaulted in Aug
  Supposedly transferred to Blair, Oliver and Scott 2 weeks ago but have heard nothing.
  
  This will probably be UE due to the date
  
  2. Bank of Scotland Visa
  From 1998
  £6k balance
  Last full payment Mar 10 (DMP since May 1st)
  Defaulted in Aug
  Supposedly transferred to Blair, Oliver and Scott 2 weeks ago but have heard nothing.
  
  This will probably be UE due to the date
  
  3. Bank of Scotland Mastercard
  From 1999
  £3k balance
  Last full payment Mar 10 (DMP since May 1st)
  Defaulted in Aug
  Supposedly transferred to Blair, Oliver and Scott 2 weeks ago but have heard nothing.
  
  This will probably be UE due to the date
  
  4. Bank of Scotland Loan
  £25k over 7 years taken out in July 2006
  £15k balance
  Last full payment April 10 (DMP since May 1st)
  Defaulted
  Still with original lender
  
  This may be enforceable, we'll know more later
  
  5. MBNA (Virgin CC)
  From Jan 07
  £5k balance
  Last full payment March10 (DMP since May 1st)
  Defaulted
  Still with original lender
  
  This may be enforceable, we'll know more later
  
  6. Egg CC
  From 2003
  £6k balance
  Last full payment March10 (DMP since May 1st)
  Defaulted
  Still with original lender
  
  This may be enforceable, we'll know more later
  
  7. Citi CC
  From 2008
  £3k balance
  Last full payment March10 (DMP since May 1st)
  Defaulted
  Still with original lender

This may be enforceable, we'll know more later

Hiya,

Ok, regards to the above - first things first. You need to contact your DMP company and cancel the DMP and cite the reason as going down unenforceability, then explain you'll come back to them once you know where you stand in regards to the enforceable ones. Thank them for their help and then read on!

To start the process, after cessation of payments, you should sent the CCA Request (click it) off with a cheque/PO for £1 payable to whoever owns the account, this will be a DCA or the lender. You need to send this (and all correspondence from here-on-in) recorded delivery. The reason for this is to create an audit trail and provide proof, should we end up in court (fat chance of that so dont worry)!

You need to stop answering the phone when they hassle you, you need to notify me of any mail they send you (via this diary) and most importantly you must not pay them anything or speak to them without coming past us first! You do that and you'll ruin the process, you have to stand your ground - be firm and fail security. I suggest you change numbers if it gets too much, but in the meantime if a lender rings you all you do is fail security (see beloe)

Lender: Is that Mr XXXX
You: Who is this
Lender: Barclays
You: No sorry wrong number

or common examples if you mess up and confirm it is you

Lender: Can you confirm your date of birth
You: 01.01.XXXX (pick any date)
Lender: That isn't what we have on record
You: Oh well, bye then (hang up)

Get the idea? See my comments above, in red.

[ProfessorPatpe]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

Right, got ya, will get onto it. Cheers v much. PP

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

Oh one other thing, whatever you do stop banking with any linked company as they will utilise roso and take your money!

What I mean is say you have a bank account with lloyds, and a debt with them that you're looking for UE with then stop paying into that bank account cos they will pinch your dosh! Its legal and above baord, just google right of setoff.

cheers

[ProfessorPatpe]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

Thanks, one more quickie, lets say my 3 ccs with BoS are deemed UE but the loan is not, couldnt they just take the payments I then have to make to the loan and pay off the UE cards first? As presumably they could do what they want with the money I give them.

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

Thanks, one more quickie, lets say my 3 ccs with BoS are deemed UE but the loan is not, couldnt they just take the payments I then have to make to the loan and pay off the UE cards first? As presumably they could do what they want with the money I give them.

Nope they cannot do that. You send payment to a particular account.... don't worry about that right now, it won't happen..... each debt is unique and identified by account number which is what you concentrate on.

forget them as being monetary things from now on and classify them as accounts with a blanace yea? don't stress - read some of the diaries for an idea of what will happen and how I deal with it, in my unique way! ;LOL

[ProfessorPatpe]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

Righty ho, best get back to the diaries in between watching Conan the Barbarian..........it must be an age thing!!! PP

[Never-In-Doubt]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

LOL - ok, keep us updated - best of luck y

[MrsD]

Re: Professor Pat's UE journey.

Go Prof, welcome on board, its a bit of a rollercoaster but its actually really interesting and enlightening, I find the absolute lies they tell amazing, who on earth do they think they're kidding?