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Hi All,
I've been reading a lot of threads on this forum over the last couple of days and it's made me realise I'm not alone. There are many who are in the same position. There are even more who are even worse off. My circumstances are also about to change because my son goes to school in September so I will have spare cash to repay what I owe.
I was made redundant in 2006. I slowly started to struggle keeping up with payments and by mid 2007 the first of the default notices dropped through my door. Naturally I ignored them. By mid 2008 the last of the default notices arrived. Every single bit of credit I had was now in default. I still ignored it.
Anyway, it's this last default that has given me the kick in the nads that I really need. It was for a mobile phone contract and at the time was around £315.
In November 2009 your good friend Bryan Carter was awarded Judgement by Default (because, yup, you got it, I'd ignored everything!) for a total of £515 including costs etc. Yes, £515 - he doesn't seem have gone for a partial claim on this one!
So, what did I do about it? You got it - nothing!
So, on Saturday I receive a letter from a Bailiff at a local court headed Final Warning and stating that unless the sum of £175 is paid by 19th July then the warrant will be enforced. £175? Why only £175? - the judgement was for £515! Anyway, I've had dealings with bailiffs before in relation to council tax arrears and although it's not pleasant, I couldn't give a toss if they come knocking on my door. However, with the knock comes fees and that's what I really need to avoid.
Unfortunately, I'm stoney broke until the 27th of this month. So, what do I do? Do I phone the bailiff and tell them I'll pay on 27th? My concern is that knowing I'm unable to pay before then they'll just come knocking in order to ramp up their fees. They're not exactly the most honest lot are they lol. Even if I do manage to do this, what about the rest of the balance? Do I then arrange to pay this with Carter?
My other alternative is to email Carter ASAP and offer a repayment proposal to start on July 27th. If I do this will they inform the court that there is no need to enforce the warrant?
I'm just really worried that I've just managed to face up to this and have probably worked out a manageable resolution to become debt free and then I'm going to get hit with unmanageable fees and charges and just curl back up under my little stone again.
The rest of my debts, I'm really a bit unsure what to do about them. I receive letters every now and then which I just throw away but none of them have gone to court...yet. Some are less than a year away from being statute barred. The last one that could be statute barred is only 19 months away from it. However, I owe the money. I racked up the debt and don't mind paying it. I also figure that I'm only 2 years away from ALL of the defaults (except the mobile phone one which went to court) from dropping off my credit report and three years from the CCJ dropping off so by Nov 2015, my credit report will be sparkling! I'll be less than a year away from my 40th birthday then and can start the new era of my life completely debt free apart from my mortgage.
If I continue to ignore my other debts in the (false) hope that they'll go away then there's a real risk that CCJ's will start dropping on my doormat over the next 2 years and this can only serve to continue to make my credit file look like poo!
So really, I've answered my own question about what to do about them. Get in touch and offer repayment terms. Problem is I have no contact details because I just bin their letters. I could just wait until they write again and then respond with an offer. Alternatively, I could be pro-active and try and get their contact details. Part of pulling my head out of the sand involved me building up the bottle to obtain my credit files which I did this morning. All my debts are listed on there and I'm fairly certain they're all DCA's now rather than the original creditors and I'm sure I could probably get their contact details if I really really wanted to.
After looking at my finances, I'm confident I can have all my debts gone in 2 years once my son goes to school - I haven't got two pennies to rub together at the moment but get by. When he goes to school though I'll have less going out and potential for a bit more to come in.
When writing to offer payment plans, should I go for the conservative offer over a longer period of time and just top up payments when I get extra money or do I go for the quicker option and offer a higher amount with the risk that if something changes then I might struggle to meet my commitment?
Anyway, that's my story. I've tried to keep it short (and I've obviously failed!). I'm not after sympathy, I don't think I'm even after advice even though I've asked questions throughout - I know deep down what the right thing to do is. I guess I just wanted to add my story here on the www for others to see. It really helped me to read other's stories.
The only advice I really need is what to do over this Carter and Bailiff issue.
I've been reading a lot of threads on this forum over the last couple of days and it's made me realise I'm not alone. There are many who are in the same position. There are even more who are even worse off. My circumstances are also about to change because my son goes to school in September so I will have spare cash to repay what I owe.
I was made redundant in 2006. I slowly started to struggle keeping up with payments and by mid 2007 the first of the default notices dropped through my door. Naturally I ignored them. By mid 2008 the last of the default notices arrived. Every single bit of credit I had was now in default. I still ignored it.
Anyway, it's this last default that has given me the kick in the nads that I really need. It was for a mobile phone contract and at the time was around £315.
In November 2009 your good friend Bryan Carter was awarded Judgement by Default (because, yup, you got it, I'd ignored everything!) for a total of £515 including costs etc. Yes, £515 - he doesn't seem have gone for a partial claim on this one!
So, what did I do about it? You got it - nothing!
So, on Saturday I receive a letter from a Bailiff at a local court headed Final Warning and stating that unless the sum of £175 is paid by 19th July then the warrant will be enforced. £175? Why only £175? - the judgement was for £515! Anyway, I've had dealings with bailiffs before in relation to council tax arrears and although it's not pleasant, I couldn't give a toss if they come knocking on my door. However, with the knock comes fees and that's what I really need to avoid.
Unfortunately, I'm stoney broke until the 27th of this month. So, what do I do? Do I phone the bailiff and tell them I'll pay on 27th? My concern is that knowing I'm unable to pay before then they'll just come knocking in order to ramp up their fees. They're not exactly the most honest lot are they lol. Even if I do manage to do this, what about the rest of the balance? Do I then arrange to pay this with Carter?
My other alternative is to email Carter ASAP and offer a repayment proposal to start on July 27th. If I do this will they inform the court that there is no need to enforce the warrant?
I'm just really worried that I've just managed to face up to this and have probably worked out a manageable resolution to become debt free and then I'm going to get hit with unmanageable fees and charges and just curl back up under my little stone again.
The rest of my debts, I'm really a bit unsure what to do about them. I receive letters every now and then which I just throw away but none of them have gone to court...yet. Some are less than a year away from being statute barred. The last one that could be statute barred is only 19 months away from it. However, I owe the money. I racked up the debt and don't mind paying it. I also figure that I'm only 2 years away from ALL of the defaults (except the mobile phone one which went to court) from dropping off my credit report and three years from the CCJ dropping off so by Nov 2015, my credit report will be sparkling! I'll be less than a year away from my 40th birthday then and can start the new era of my life completely debt free apart from my mortgage.
If I continue to ignore my other debts in the (false) hope that they'll go away then there's a real risk that CCJ's will start dropping on my doormat over the next 2 years and this can only serve to continue to make my credit file look like poo!
So really, I've answered my own question about what to do about them. Get in touch and offer repayment terms. Problem is I have no contact details because I just bin their letters. I could just wait until they write again and then respond with an offer. Alternatively, I could be pro-active and try and get their contact details. Part of pulling my head out of the sand involved me building up the bottle to obtain my credit files which I did this morning. All my debts are listed on there and I'm fairly certain they're all DCA's now rather than the original creditors and I'm sure I could probably get their contact details if I really really wanted to.
After looking at my finances, I'm confident I can have all my debts gone in 2 years once my son goes to school - I haven't got two pennies to rub together at the moment but get by. When he goes to school though I'll have less going out and potential for a bit more to come in.
When writing to offer payment plans, should I go for the conservative offer over a longer period of time and just top up payments when I get extra money or do I go for the quicker option and offer a higher amount with the risk that if something changes then I might struggle to meet my commitment?
Anyway, that's my story. I've tried to keep it short (and I've obviously failed!). I'm not after sympathy, I don't think I'm even after advice even though I've asked questions throughout - I know deep down what the right thing to do is. I guess I just wanted to add my story here on the www for others to see. It really helped me to read other's stories.
The only advice I really need is what to do over this Carter and Bailiff issue.
