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Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

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  • Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

    Hi I am up to my neck in it (relatively speaking), due to unemployment and ill health (and not taking out any cover or anything like this for this) and also due to the recent death of a close relative, I have ran up a debt of roughly £5000.

    This is more money than I have ever owed anyone in my life - and I am unable to meet the repayments.

    I however do not currently have any other debts other than this.

    Having read around the site, there is some excellent advice here about contacting the original creditors and attempting to come to an arrangement to repay the debt.

    So my question is relatively simple. Who in the first instance should I write to at Virgin Money in order that I can begin this process? I have searched around their web site but can't see anywhere I can contact. I would rather write to them as firstly I am terrified of calling - and secondly I think it would be good practice to ensure that all contacts and any agreements are kept in writing.

    Secondly, in my circumstances, what can I ask them to do? What kind of agreement might I be able to reach? I also suffer from a disability and am receiving state benefits because of this, so can I ask them to suspend the interest - and what is the minimum I would be able to offer that they would be obliged to accept (if any)?

    Thanks so much for your help. It is a huge relief to have found this site and perhaps feel that I am not alone.

  • #2
    Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

    Hello Jebus and welcome to Beagles.

    Firstly, you have already taken the biggest step, asking for help and not ignoring the problem........it won`t go away.

    I have also looked at Virgin`s website and cannot find any information about payment difficulties, however. You should contact Virgin as soon as you can and explain your situation. The contact details are as follows:-

    Virgin Credit Card
    P.O. Box 1004
    Chester Business Park
    Chester
    CH4 9WW

    Alternatively, you can call the Customer Satisfaction line, free of charge, 24 hours a day on 08000 150 306. [Later edit , have discovered on the back of a Virgin statement that it says "if you have difficulty paying then telephone 0800 389 9001]


    You may be able to negotiate a freeze on the interest, some companies do. However, be aware that this will probably be registered as a default on your credit file with the Credit Reference Agencies and will stay there for up to 6 years.

    I see you say you have already looked around the site for information and suggested letters to send. Choose the appropriate one for you and send to Virgin. The sooner you deal with this the easier it will be. There is no stigma in debt, so dont be afraid to ask here for any further help.

    Also why not come and say "Hi" to everyone on your welcome thread here>>Welcome jebus197

    Jules
    Last edited by Tools; 16th November 2008, 00:48:AM.
    Any opinions I give are my own. Any advice I give is without liability. If you are unsure, please seek qualified legal advice.

    IF WE HAVE HELPED YOU PLEASE CONSIDER UPGRADING TO VIP - click here

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

      Hello Jebus and welcome to the site, can I ask a question please? This debt you have ran up with Virgin was it in the form of a credit card / loan / mortgage ????????? I'm thinking that maybe you might have some charges that could come back and help you, also was there any Payment Protection Insurance involved ?
      As far as how much you can offer them ? the answer to that is as much as you can reasonably afford to without causing yourself to suffer hardship.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

        The only difficulty with that address is that it seems very general and non-specific. No 'credit control department' or anything like this, so who knows if they will get my letter or how long it may take? In the mean time the interest on the debt continues to mount.

        I have called them previously, but I was very tongue tied and nervous and they put me on to someone in their credit department who was really very rude and short with me, so I hung up and gave up. So I would very much prefer to write to them if I can.

        Also again on a more specific note, what would be a reasonable agreement to reach with them? I am presently (due to ill-health) on a very low income - and the only way I can service this debt is by agreeing to repay it at the absolute minimum rate possible.
        ------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
        Originally posted by sapphire View Post
        Hello Jebus and welcome to the site, can I ask a question please? This debt you have ran up with Virgin was it in the form of a credit card / loan / mortgage ????????? I'm thinking that maybe you might have some charges that could come back and help you, also was there any Payment Protection Insurance involved ?
        As far as how much you can offer them ? the answer to that is as much as you can reasonably afford to without causing yourself to suffer hardship.
        Hi, it's a credit card. No there is no payment protection with the card at all - as I rather stupidly thought that I would never need it.

        A (lose) friend who was in a similar situation told me that there is a legal minimum that they will accept if you are in receipt of state benefits? I have no idea how much this equates to however?

        I don't intend to offer this amount indefinitely - but unless my circumstances improve dramatically I can't see how I would be able to offer to do anything more. Certainly interest at a low repayment amount would be a real concern, as I would potentially be forever in a position of only barely treading water, while the interest (and the debt) continued to mount.

        Due to my own failing health, I can't envisage (bar a miracle) that my circumstances are likely to improve dramatically - even over as long as six years. So this does not seem to be such a major concern - particularly as I am unlikely to be able to afford any more debt throughout this period anyway.
        Last edited by jebus97; 26th August 2008, 11:46:AM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

          Jebus the best thing to do is

          1. Prepare an income and expenditure (I/E) form Legal Beagles this will automatically calculate for you how much you can afford to offer them.

          2. Write to them using one of the letters from Legal Beagles you can adapt them to suit your own circumstances and you can ask them to stop the interest building.

          Once you have done those then we can look at possibly claiming back any charges that might have been added to your account.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.


            A (lose) friend who was in a similar situation told me that there is a legal minimum that they will accept if you are in receipt of state benefits? I have no idea how much this equates to however?

            I don't intend to offer this amount indefinitely - but unless my circumstances improve dramatically I can't see how I would be able to offer to do anything more. Certainly interest at a low repayment amount would be a real concern, as I would potentially be forever in a position of only barely treading water, while the interest (and the debt) continued to mount.

            Due to my own failing health, I can't envisage (bar a miracle) that my circumstances are likely to improve dramatically - even over as long as six years. So this does not seem to be such a major concern - particularly as I am unlikely to be able to afford any more debt throughout this period anyway.
            Rule of thumb is Jebus, whatever your income you can only pay to unsecured creditors what you can afford, after priority debts and essential living items. As you are on benefits then this will be no more than token payments of either £1 or £5 per month whatever you can afford of the two. You need to send a letter explaining your circumstances, and make arrrangments to pay in what and how is appropriate for you. Do not get into a Direct Debit arrangment with them.

            It is not so much a case of them agreeing to what you offer, but really having no choice, but to accept what you can afford.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

              Well I have downloaded the form and the letter etc (both of which are very helpful BTW), so the only remaining question is what can I ask them to do about the interest charges? Will they continue to apply these indefinitely?

              This would make repayment at such a low amount impossible - and besides which if interest were to continue to be applied, not only would they have very little, or no chance of collecting the debt, the debt itself would in quite a short time come to dwarf the original amount I owe.

              This right now remains my biggest concern.

              Also I remain concerned that I have no-one specific (or no department) within Virgin Money that I can write to. There is the general postal address above - but this seems very vague and it may take some time for my letter (if at all) to reach the correct department. Meanwhile again, the interest on the debt continues to mount and my own stress and worry levels remain unbearable.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

                Originally posted by jebus97 View Post
                Also I remain concerned that I have no-one specific (or no department) within Virgin Money that I can write to. There is the general postal address above - but this seems very vague and it may take some time for my letter (if at all) to reach the correct department. Meanwhile again, the interest on the debt continues to mount and my own stress and worry levels remain unbearable.
                All the time you are stressing that you have nobody to send the letter to the letter doesn't get sent to anyone.

                Somebody will write back to you, but only if you write to them first.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

                  Originally posted by jebus97 View Post
                  Well I have downloaded the form and the letter etc (both of which are very helpful BTW), so the only remaining question is what can I ask them to do about the interest charges? Will they continue to apply these indefinitely?

                  This would make repayment at such a low amount impossible - and besides which if interest were to continue to be applied, not only would they have very little, or no chance of collecting the debt, the debt itself would in quite a short time come to dwarf the original amount I owe.

                  This right now remains my biggest concern.

                  Also I remain concerned that I have no-one specific (or no department) within Virgin Money that I can write to. There is the general postal address above - but this seems very vague and it may take some time for my letter (if at all) to reach the correct department. Meanwhile again, the interest on the debt continues to mount and my own stress and worry levels remain unbearable.
                  Jebus, don't worry about the interest etc. From what you have said you are not going to be in a position to make other than token payments for a long time. How much do you realistically think you can pay towards this debt each month?

                  Once you have proof of sendign the letter it is not your concern how long they take to reply.

                  Worrying and stressing won't clear the debt, so stop doing it! At the end of the day you owe Virgin some money, which broken down is just peices of paper and bits of copper. You don't owe them your health, and this must be your priority now.

                  I understand you want to pay this money back, but you simply do not have the means to do so at present, you are a victim of circumstances not of your own making. Stop worrying, and send the letter and offer off to them.

                  Keep us updated.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

                    I have telephoned Virgin for you Jebus, I have been told to address the letter to Payment Services followed by the address I gave to you before. Good luck, stay calm and keep us informed of your progress.
                    Any opinions I give are my own. Any advice I give is without liability. If you are unsure, please seek qualified legal advice.

                    IF WE HAVE HELPED YOU PLEASE CONSIDER UPGRADING TO VIP - click here

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

                      Thank you.

                      I would have said this sooner, but I didn't get a notification email.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

                        If you mean a notification email to inform you of new posts, you need to enable it in your Control Panel.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

                          Hi I have done as was suggested here and have mailed a budget form and a letter explaining my circumstances to Virgin money. They did send me a letter saying that they had suspended my account after this and acknowledging receipt of the budget sheet. However they also said they wanted me to call them so that I could discuss the matter with them on the phone.

                          There were two reasons why I didn't want to do this. First my nerves wont take it. I have dealt with one or two creditors and debt collectors in the past (on behalf of a couple of the elderly people where I do voluntary work) - and I know exactly how rude and manipulative they can be.

                          Second all of the advice I have read here suggests that I need to keep everything in writing - and I think personally that this is best too.

                          So I wrote them a letter back saying I wanted to keep everything in writing.

                          However the last letter I sent was over a month ago and they have still not responded to this.

                          So the question is, what do I do? They have failed so far to respond to the offer I made (which was to repay the debt at a small amount of £5 a month - until my circumstances improved) and I am becoming increasingly worried and concerned. I would rather have a formal agreement in place so that I could know where I stood.

                          Why are they taking so long to respond and what should I do if they don't? Are they just sitting on the debt for long enough until they can sell it to a debt collection agency?
                          Last edited by jebus97; 8th November 2008, 15:11:PM.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

                            Welcome back jebus

                            Firstly, a good move keeping everything in writing, you are obviously aware of their telephone tactics and it is all too easy to agree to anything just to get them off the phone.

                            Secondly, you say you sent a letter, could you copy it up here so we can see your proposals to them. If there is anything you would rather not post from the letter then just give a brief explanation.

                            If Virgin have not responded, maybe it is time for a follow up letter to ask why, include a copy of the original and ask why you haven`t even received confirmation of them receiving it or any steps they may be taking. Again, ask for confirmation that they have received this next letter, preferably send it to be signed for.

                            Good luck
                            Jules
                            Any opinions I give are my own. Any advice I give is without liability. If you are unsure, please seek qualified legal advice.

                            IF WE HAVE HELPED YOU PLEASE CONSIDER UPGRADING TO VIP - click here

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Help, up to my neck in it! Virgin Money.

                              OK it's a little embarrasing, but I suppose at least the forum is still quite anonymous. Here is a copy of the original letter I sent.

                              Account Number: xxxx xxxx xxxx 6195
                              Dear Sir/Madam,
                              I am writing as I must inform you that I am no longer in a position to service this account. This is due to the recent death of a close relative that I had to pay for and due to my own declining state of health.
                              Because of this – and due to the fact that I am no longer able to work since recently being made unemployed due to the upheaval in the financial markets and also due to ill-health and as I have no savings – and also I have had to accept state help in the form of Income Support and Disability Living Allowance clearly my ability to repay this debt has been severely affected.
                              Clearly under these circumstances I am entirely unable to continue to meet the repayments, or any ongoing interest charges.
                              However I am fully willing to make an offer to repay this amount in accordance with my current means. To this end I can offer to repay the amount at a sum of some £5 a month, until such times as my health and my circumstances improve. (Although it is extremely unclear when, or if this is likely to happen).
                              To this end I have consulted Citizens advice and they have provided me with a legal budget and expenditure sheet for your consideration. The Citizens Advice Bureaux have also advised me that I should ask you if you might be willing to either write off the debt, or to accept repayment at a significantly reduced amount.
                              I deeply regret the circumstances under which this debt has arisen and of course should my circumstances change I will inform you immediately and will make good efforts to repay the sum in full at the earliest possible opportunity.
                              Yours faithfully,
                              G. Bloggs
                              I also sent a follow up letter saying that I wanted to keep everything in writing - which as I said I have not had a response to yet - and I have just taken your advice and have written a follow up letter which I intend to mail later today asking why they haven't responded to this. The question is though, what do I do if they don't respond to this letter?

                              Comment

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