This thread is as worrying as it is comforting.
Lots of similarities with myself in saphires case.
I got a call on Thursday from a friendly sounding chap. The call woke me up as I enjoyed a mid afternoon siesta (my sleeping patterns often mean I only manage 3 or 4 hours per night so often snatch an hour in the afternoon)...
Anyway, this guy must have been a good actor because he got me.
He used lots of words, terms and phrases I had no understanding of and specifically told me that an application to make me bankrupt had been made and I was lucky he'd managed to get in touch.
What muddied the waters was I have an outstanding debt with another debt recovery company which is for £400 and is/was being addressed. I thought it was the same debt. It wasn't.
My background is that between about 03 and 06 myself and my partner had some bad luck and made some bad decisions money wise. She was made redundant 3 times in 2 years. I made the decision to stay at home and look after our son (now 5 years). We then had another son. Money was tight. As a result we sold our house (which we hated living in anyway!) but we had very little equity because we'd remortgaged/taken a secured loan to try and get ourselves sorted.
About 14 months ago we sold the house, reducing our outgoings significantly in the process and every since our main priority has been to gradually pay off everything we owe. 5 or 6 credit cards with low limits (the highest is only £750) between us were all well over limit but are now safely under. We've made an effort.
So when this person rang me threatening bankruptcy it was a shock. A huge one.
I've gone off track a bit so I'll pick up where I left off.
He said he was acting on behalf of the CIT group for a laptop I'd bought 3 years ago. Aside from the fact the laptop died 2 weeks after the 2 year warranty ran out (annoying in itself!) I'd long forgotten about it. I think what I must have done in tight month is cancelled the DD and failed to set it back up again. Entirely my own fault and I acknowledge there is a debt which I owe. This is the first I've heard of it in over a year though. The guy on the phone claimed they had written to my old address but this was the first attempt made to get in touch by telephone. He also had my new address which begs the question why not try writing there when there was no response from the old place?
My over riding thoughts were that I was in a bad situation and I should be as proactive and willing to work through it as possible. The total debt is £1339.36. He said I needed to pay this NOW! Obviously not too many people who owe money to debt collectors have that kind of cash at hand. What's frustrating is it wouldn't have been impossible just before Christmas as we inherited a 4 figure sum and the other half had a particularly good months pay with bonuses etc. I'd have just paid it there and then. Obviously though I couldn't do that. His solution was that if I agreed to pay £1000 before the end of Feb that would settle the debt. It's almost an impossibility for me to pay it without going a month behind on rent and possibly restructuring a couple of my barclays loan payments (if they're willing). I had to agree to it though and have already set the wheels in motion to try and raise an extra £300-400 by 28th Feb. eBay is useful sometimes.
I got the letter stating I'd agreed to pay £1000 from them in yesterdays post (sat 9th Feb). I was surprised it wasn't harshly worded or full of legal terms etc. It looks formal enough but not as I'd expected. It set alarm bells ringing. Then I search on google and found this thread.
I'm not disputing the debt nor am I not willing to pay it. I just need more time and more relaxed terms. I'd be willing to take these people on but could do with some advice.
1. Having made the agreement, if I break it what would their next step likely be?
2. I've read the thread a couple of times now and I'm unsure whether this threat for them to make me bankrupt can actually be followed through by them? That's what the guy on the phone said. He seemed to appear as if he was doing me a favour by giving me 2 weeks! I'm angry now. So the question is, if I suddenly u-turn on the agreement what is the harshest course of action they could take, and how likely will they be to take it?
3. If the answer to the above is that yes, they can make me bankrupt what would the implications on my partner be. Obviously she brings in all the cash but all the bills still leave my own personal account. I transfer most of her monthly salary directly to my account on the day it's paid so DD's etc can be satisfied. Again, the guy on the phone seemed to suggest that considering I have no assets and no income at all (I don't claim anything from the government...not even tax credits) then it would impact onto my other half. We're not married btw. Been living together for 7 or 8 years. He was quite vague when he said her finances would be looked at though. It didn't seem to ring true.
4. What should I do!? In laymans terms if you can please because clearly I've been done up like a kipper already!
Lots of similarities with myself in saphires case.
I got a call on Thursday from a friendly sounding chap. The call woke me up as I enjoyed a mid afternoon siesta (my sleeping patterns often mean I only manage 3 or 4 hours per night so often snatch an hour in the afternoon)...
Anyway, this guy must have been a good actor because he got me.
He used lots of words, terms and phrases I had no understanding of and specifically told me that an application to make me bankrupt had been made and I was lucky he'd managed to get in touch.
What muddied the waters was I have an outstanding debt with another debt recovery company which is for £400 and is/was being addressed. I thought it was the same debt. It wasn't.
My background is that between about 03 and 06 myself and my partner had some bad luck and made some bad decisions money wise. She was made redundant 3 times in 2 years. I made the decision to stay at home and look after our son (now 5 years). We then had another son. Money was tight. As a result we sold our house (which we hated living in anyway!) but we had very little equity because we'd remortgaged/taken a secured loan to try and get ourselves sorted.
About 14 months ago we sold the house, reducing our outgoings significantly in the process and every since our main priority has been to gradually pay off everything we owe. 5 or 6 credit cards with low limits (the highest is only £750) between us were all well over limit but are now safely under. We've made an effort.
So when this person rang me threatening bankruptcy it was a shock. A huge one.
I've gone off track a bit so I'll pick up where I left off.
He said he was acting on behalf of the CIT group for a laptop I'd bought 3 years ago. Aside from the fact the laptop died 2 weeks after the 2 year warranty ran out (annoying in itself!) I'd long forgotten about it. I think what I must have done in tight month is cancelled the DD and failed to set it back up again. Entirely my own fault and I acknowledge there is a debt which I owe. This is the first I've heard of it in over a year though. The guy on the phone claimed they had written to my old address but this was the first attempt made to get in touch by telephone. He also had my new address which begs the question why not try writing there when there was no response from the old place?
My over riding thoughts were that I was in a bad situation and I should be as proactive and willing to work through it as possible. The total debt is £1339.36. He said I needed to pay this NOW! Obviously not too many people who owe money to debt collectors have that kind of cash at hand. What's frustrating is it wouldn't have been impossible just before Christmas as we inherited a 4 figure sum and the other half had a particularly good months pay with bonuses etc. I'd have just paid it there and then. Obviously though I couldn't do that. His solution was that if I agreed to pay £1000 before the end of Feb that would settle the debt. It's almost an impossibility for me to pay it without going a month behind on rent and possibly restructuring a couple of my barclays loan payments (if they're willing). I had to agree to it though and have already set the wheels in motion to try and raise an extra £300-400 by 28th Feb. eBay is useful sometimes.
I got the letter stating I'd agreed to pay £1000 from them in yesterdays post (sat 9th Feb). I was surprised it wasn't harshly worded or full of legal terms etc. It looks formal enough but not as I'd expected. It set alarm bells ringing. Then I search on google and found this thread.
I'm not disputing the debt nor am I not willing to pay it. I just need more time and more relaxed terms. I'd be willing to take these people on but could do with some advice.
1. Having made the agreement, if I break it what would their next step likely be?
2. I've read the thread a couple of times now and I'm unsure whether this threat for them to make me bankrupt can actually be followed through by them? That's what the guy on the phone said. He seemed to appear as if he was doing me a favour by giving me 2 weeks! I'm angry now. So the question is, if I suddenly u-turn on the agreement what is the harshest course of action they could take, and how likely will they be to take it?
3. If the answer to the above is that yes, they can make me bankrupt what would the implications on my partner be. Obviously she brings in all the cash but all the bills still leave my own personal account. I transfer most of her monthly salary directly to my account on the day it's paid so DD's etc can be satisfied. Again, the guy on the phone seemed to suggest that considering I have no assets and no income at all (I don't claim anything from the government...not even tax credits) then it would impact onto my other half. We're not married btw. Been living together for 7 or 8 years. He was quite vague when he said her finances would be looked at though. It didn't seem to ring true.
4. What should I do!? In laymans terms if you can please because clearly I've been done up like a kipper already!
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