Hello everyone, I'm sorry to hijack an old thread, but reading through this has shown me just how helpful you lovely people can be.
I have an outstanding court fine from an unpaid speeding offence which has now snowballed out of control. The fine has been outstanding for a considerable period but I was paying it via an attachment of earnings order. I then changed jobs in February this year and it never even occurred to me to notify my new employers about the attachment of earnings order, I thought this would automatically come with me to my new employer and the accounts department would be informed when it came to paying my wages. I am absolutely useless with my finances and had no idea I had stopped paying it. The outstanding amount has now been passed to a company called Collectica who have contacted me via letter asking me to get in touch to pay in full or arrange a payment plan. I have absolutely nowhere near the outstanding balance available to pay in full, but I am keen to clear the debt and want to make monthly payments of as much as I can. I told them this on the phone just now and they had absolutely no interest at all in installments, I was told repeatedly I had to pay the full amount or there was nothing they could do to stop bailiffs coming to my home, forcing entry and removing items to the value of the fine, with several more hundreds of pounds added on to cover 'costs'. I was told several times that I should get a credit card or a loan and use that to clear the debt, however due to my financial history I have absolutely no way of getting a credit card or loan, and even if I did, I really do not think more debt is the solution here. I feel incredibly threatened and forced into a corner with nowhere to go. I do not have any friends or relatives who can lend me the money. I do not know what to do.
Collectica say in their letter that the outstanding balance is £728.82, there is just no way I can get hold of that kind of money. If I could, I wouldn't be in this position in the first place. I am willing to pay £100 per month, or even £150 as an absolute maximum, until the fine is cleared. This will leave me really struggling financially, but I want to clear the debt as quickly as I can. I simply do not know what to do when they will not even entertain the idea of monthly installments. The person who I spoke to at Collectica, along with encouraging me to get myself in more debt (although not possible in my situation) completely dismissed my offer of monthly installments and didn't even ask how much I would be able to offer. He was incredibly arrogant and unhelpful. He ended the call by saying that I have no option other than paying the full outstanding amount, but he will put any action against me on hold until September 30th to give me time to get the money. He would not listen to me when I said even in a month's time I will not have access to that kind of money. He just wasn't interested in trying to help move things forward in any way whatsoever other than payment in full. I have dealt with many debt collection agencies in the past and never experienced anything like this. They have always been prepared to listen to my situation and come to an arrangement that everyone was happy with. I have a terrible track record with debt and have been in debt for as long as I can remember. I want to rectify this moving forwards, but I simply do not know what I can do in my current situation with this company. I live with my father, in a house which he owns. I have very little in the way of possesions, although I do own a cheap car which I need to get to work which is 45 miles from home. I am scared that a bailliff will pay my elderly father a visit and remove his possesions, even when I am offering to repay the amount I owe via the maximum amount I can afford on a monthly basis! Please help me in any way you can. I do not know what else to do. Thank you
I have an outstanding court fine from an unpaid speeding offence which has now snowballed out of control. The fine has been outstanding for a considerable period but I was paying it via an attachment of earnings order. I then changed jobs in February this year and it never even occurred to me to notify my new employers about the attachment of earnings order, I thought this would automatically come with me to my new employer and the accounts department would be informed when it came to paying my wages. I am absolutely useless with my finances and had no idea I had stopped paying it. The outstanding amount has now been passed to a company called Collectica who have contacted me via letter asking me to get in touch to pay in full or arrange a payment plan. I have absolutely nowhere near the outstanding balance available to pay in full, but I am keen to clear the debt and want to make monthly payments of as much as I can. I told them this on the phone just now and they had absolutely no interest at all in installments, I was told repeatedly I had to pay the full amount or there was nothing they could do to stop bailiffs coming to my home, forcing entry and removing items to the value of the fine, with several more hundreds of pounds added on to cover 'costs'. I was told several times that I should get a credit card or a loan and use that to clear the debt, however due to my financial history I have absolutely no way of getting a credit card or loan, and even if I did, I really do not think more debt is the solution here. I feel incredibly threatened and forced into a corner with nowhere to go. I do not have any friends or relatives who can lend me the money. I do not know what to do.
Collectica say in their letter that the outstanding balance is £728.82, there is just no way I can get hold of that kind of money. If I could, I wouldn't be in this position in the first place. I am willing to pay £100 per month, or even £150 as an absolute maximum, until the fine is cleared. This will leave me really struggling financially, but I want to clear the debt as quickly as I can. I simply do not know what to do when they will not even entertain the idea of monthly installments. The person who I spoke to at Collectica, along with encouraging me to get myself in more debt (although not possible in my situation) completely dismissed my offer of monthly installments and didn't even ask how much I would be able to offer. He was incredibly arrogant and unhelpful. He ended the call by saying that I have no option other than paying the full outstanding amount, but he will put any action against me on hold until September 30th to give me time to get the money. He would not listen to me when I said even in a month's time I will not have access to that kind of money. He just wasn't interested in trying to help move things forward in any way whatsoever other than payment in full. I have dealt with many debt collection agencies in the past and never experienced anything like this. They have always been prepared to listen to my situation and come to an arrangement that everyone was happy with. I have a terrible track record with debt and have been in debt for as long as I can remember. I want to rectify this moving forwards, but I simply do not know what I can do in my current situation with this company. I live with my father, in a house which he owns. I have very little in the way of possesions, although I do own a cheap car which I need to get to work which is 45 miles from home. I am scared that a bailliff will pay my elderly father a visit and remove his possesions, even when I am offering to repay the amount I owe via the maximum amount I can afford on a monthly basis! Please help me in any way you can. I do not know what else to do. Thank you
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