Starbug Debt & Hardship * SETTLED *

**starbug** · 24th August 2008, 12:31:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

First of all i would like to thank shooter and yourself for all the help you have given. Considering my past its so comforting to know that there are people out there that care.

heres a little about me and my situation.
I wrote to the bank asking for the last years charges to be returned as i feel i meet the hardship critirea. they replied within 4 days saying that on their initial assessment they do not think my case has revealed any signs of finacial difficulties but if i do not agree i can provide further information. If mu info supports my claim they will deal with the case without waiting for the test case process to be resolved.
I then found this site and contacted Shooter who has been an angel.
I have not yet sent them my I&F as shooter is helping me put a letter together first.
I have 2 accounts with the Halifax, a cardcash and a curent with charges for the last year amounting to....£1509 and £764 = £2273. no interest calculated.
The reaason i have just claimed for the last year is because i claimed last year for the previous six years and i excepted a reduced sum, i think they paid 75% as a goodwill gesture.
my overdraft is only £100, the £3800 was for a halifax credit card.
i still have both these accounts and the £100 overdraft.

My reason for hardship.
A little about my illness.
For the past 5 years I have suffered from severe social anxiety, agoraphobia and depression.I find it very difficult to meet or speak to new people and i hardly ever leave my flat. It started out of the blue ( before this i was a dancer, model,actor and i was debt free) and over the next year it got worse.I lost all my so called friends and the rest i was to ashamed to tell, including most of my family.i was left with 4 people who knew about my illness who were a great help. i was made homeless and it got to a point where i decided to end it all. I rember i was on a roof of a high rise block getting ready to jump when a gust of wind nearly blew me over. I dont know if it was realization that i could have died without my control or the shock, but right then i decided to get help and at least try to beat this.After many letters i started getting help. i was put in temp housing and was seeing the mental health team. Over the next year things started looking up, i was managing to go out (only at night with the cover of darkness) and i had the support of the few friends and family i had left. i could see an end to this but then it all went wrong. I was put in a flat miles away from what little support I had and i was left to rot for 2 years without even the basic aminities. The flat is 15ft away from the train lines so i cant even have my windows open because of the noise. at night there are the big trains and also the workmen that are constantly drilling. i dont think i have had a proper nights sleep in 4 years. . dont get me wrong, i was grateful for the flat, its just it was so far away and left me isolated. i never once left the flat in this time. all my shopping was done online. my computer was all i had in the flat. This awful time ended when a family member came to see me from over sea's and couldnt beleive the state i was in, he complained to whoever and i started to get help again. but this wasnt the same as before, the doctors changed every month which meant new pills and I had to meet these people and explain all over again which got to much to bare. The pills made me ill and i was getting worse so I stopped seeing anyone. Now i am again left alone without any support and my illness has deteriorated.
over the years i ran up alot of debt totaling over £40,000. at first i was paying it off but then i had to use the loan money to pay of the debt. last year i got an IVA which i defaulted on a few months ago. during the last few years im ashamed to say i had a bit of a gambling problem. It maybe because it was a way out of my depression, even if it was short lived.
you see, my illness kept me isolated and alone. i was ashamed and confused about my illness and i locked myself away for many years.

sorry to bend your ears, its just that i wanted you to understand a little about what im going through.

I am receiving housing and council tax benefit which is paid straight to the goverment/housing association.

thanks you again for your help

**scoobydoo** · 24th August 2008, 12:57:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

Hi

thanks for your very honest post. I am sure you will get some help and support here.

Can I just ask was most of the debt accumulated during the last 5 years.

During this time was your only income benefits?

During this time did you ever previously explain your situation to the banks or ask for their help ?

**bloomingflower** · 24th August 2008, 13:19:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

Hi Starbug !

Welcome to LB and congratulations for taking the first step in asking for help.. I have just read your post and I am very upset to hear about your sad situation. It is very brave of you to share your personal situation. I can relate to your depression as I was a sufferer too a few years ago. Our flat was burgled in 1995 and the same year, my daughter was born with a hemangioma on her lip, my mother was diagnosed with cancer in 1996, and she died in 1997. I never really got over those things, thus the depression setting in. Since all of that happening we moved house to a new area and life is a little bearable, apart from hardship and bank charges,and i'm in the right place here to get that sorted lol

You must not feel that your alone now.. cos people on here are fantastic and you will get all the help you need on here. Think of this as a new era for starting over again. Obviously the first thing is to get your finances in order and get your claims on track.
Just remember, no-one on here will judge you, they are here to help you get your life back !

Good Luck Starbug !

BF xx

**starbug** · 24th August 2008, 15:15:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

Thank you for your kind words..

scoobydoo, yes all my debts accumulated during the last 5 years and yes i have been on benefits.
i didnt feel a need to let the banks know as i didnt think they could help.

**Amethyst** · 24th August 2008, 15:28:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

what options did National Debtline bring up?

**scoobydoo** · 24th August 2008, 16:36:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

Originally posted by starbug View Post

Thank you for your kind words..

scoobydoo, yes all my debts accumulated during the last 5 years and yes i have been on benefits.
i didnt feel a need to let the banks know as i didnt think they could help.

Hi again
the reason I was asking is that I have a particular dislike for irresponsible lending. I am an ex BS employee and in the past you would not have been able to get yourself in the position you are in now as I assume on your income you basically had no hope of ever repaying the loans that were granted to you.

Not sure if there anything we can do to help in that respect but I really feel these Financial institutions should take some responsibility in cases such as yours.
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
Does anybody here have any experience of the charity MIND?

Just wondered if they could help in a case like this.?

Starbug

you have taken the first important step and now you need some help to fight your corner in several respects.

The priority is help with your finances and more local support and then housing.

It seems like you were coping better before your last move and you need some support to try and get a team behind you again.

We are all behind you.

scooby

**starbug** · 24th August 2008, 16:56:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

If could, i would pay back all the money i have borrowed, i feel such a failure that i cant. After speaking to the debt help line i think my only course of action is bankruptcy.

As for support in this area, well i have tried that route and came out worse for it. They where trying to help me get relocated back to where i was moved from, back to where my support was. i had a solicitor and was going through the legal route but again nothing come of it. I just stopped hearing from them. I just want to get better so i cant be part of the human race again.

My main concern now is trying to get back my bank charges and then getting help with moving closer to my support. then i wont feel so isolated and alone and can try to start getting my life back, or at least something that resembles a life.
Im surprised i have lasted this long, but i suppose im a fighter deep down.

**Amethyst** · 24th August 2008, 17:29:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

You are not a failure. You suffered from an illness. It is hard to find good help and it is hard to accept you have problems. You have done really well and you are getting better - you are facing up to things and thats a great step forwards.

I do agree, on the limited information I have, that bankruptcy appears to be the best option for you. Give you a clean slate so you can move on and concentrate on getting yourself better and not constantly worrying about debt.

I do agree with scoobs that irresponsible lending could be an issue here but I think a fight with lots of different companies isnt really what you need.

Concentrate on the bank claim - the letter you have sent is good - i do think a follow up with your IE would be in order though. If you do get a refund it will give you a boost, and if they do actually start treating you with some care and helping with the situation it should make the future seem a bit brighter. to be honest the bank claim won't make all that much difference to you financially although it might make things easier for a few weeks.

Also you should consider getting your benefits paid into a post office cash or basic account - stop the cycle of charges. I don;t have a bank account at all now and life is so much more straightforward and i know exactly what I have and when.

i'm no expert in bankruptcy at all, I think you do need to talk again to nat debtline about that course of action - and theres some good reading on the insolvency service website. there is a link to some bits and bobs in the Recommended Sites section towards the bottom of the forum homepage. You don;t have any assets and you don't want further lending. You tried an IVA but your income just won't support anything other than your basic living requirements.

I also agree finding some support through a charity such as MIND could be a good step as you will find people that understand what you have been and are going through. The help is out there you just have to find it. We'll help all we can.

Hope this helps a little tiny bit - I know its not very proactive but i think you know what needs doing you just need some encouragement and support to make the next steps.

Ame
xxx

**Amethyst** · 24th August 2008, 17:32:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

INCOME

DLA - £62.55 week (250 month)
IS - £136 week (£592 month)

Are those figures correct ?

**scoobydoo** · 24th August 2008, 17:46:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

I agree with amethyst - you are not a failure and there are thousands of people out there in exactly the same financial position as you. You need support and thats what i hope you will get - sometimes it is a matter of knowing the right people to contact. You were on your way back up before and I am sure you can get back to that same position again.

**shooter** · 24th August 2008, 21:34:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

Thanks Ame and everyone who has posted support for starbug, I knew this was the right site to post his details on.

I am so pleased that he felt safe enough to post himself, Although I felt that after he had read some of the threads here on LB he would see just how supportive and non judgemental everyone here is.

Your responces make me feel very proud to be a member of LB

I will be asking starbug some questions so that I may try to form a letter for him to send with his I&E and when he has replied I will post the letter for others to comment on and amend if neccesary.

WELL DONE ALL OF YOU

Shooter xx

**shooter** · 25th August 2008, 14:32:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

Well having received the info from Starbug I have drafted the letter below

I think that it probably needs work and would be grateful for input from the folks on LB

Account No’s

Dear Sir/Madam

I am returning the I&E form that you sent me, fully completed and whilst doing so would like to point out to you the following details in support of my hardship claim

I have recently been made aware of the updated criteria for financial hardship which have been defined by the Financial Services Authority in the updated version of the Complaints Handling Waiver.

I believe that I meet the defined criteria and request that you consider refunding the default charges you have taken from my Halifax current accounts, numbers as above.

I have set out below the reasons I feel that I meet the qualifying criteria:-

For the past 5 years I have suffered from severe social anxiety, agoraphobia anddepression. I find it very difficult to meet or speak to new people and I hardly ever leave my flat. I was made homeless and put into temporary accommodation near to a network of support and treatment and started to feel able to deal with things but then I was moved into permanent accommodation which is far away from my support network and treatment at which time my financial problems began in earnest, I have been struggling financially ever since. I am now receiving treatment from my local mental health team.

I entered into an IVA in July 2007 but just 1 year later this has now failed as I was unable to keep up payments to it. I have now received a default notice pertaining to this.

I have been threatened court action by one of my creditors and another has passed to a DCA for action I have had to resort in the past year to using my credit card for basic needs and now owe £4000 to Halifax Credit card.

I currently approximately £400 in arrears with my rent and have received a letter threatening repossession. Also I am in approximately £80 arrears with my council tax.

I am in receipt of Disability living allowance which is paid to me to allow me pay for the extra care that I require and Income Support with is paid to cover my basic living expenses

Halifax have applied default charges to my current accounts. Account Numbers as above. These total £2273 . I trust that Halifax agree that my situation is one of significant and severe financial hardship and will undertake to resolve my claims and return the default charges of £2273

Yours sincerely

**scoobydoo** · 25th August 2008, 18:47:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

Sounds fine to me

Think the key is to keep it fairly simple and to the point at the moment .This will test the initial reaction and we can get a bit stronger if the reply is not favourable.

IMO - keep things polite at this stage.

**starbug** · 25th August 2008, 20:57:PM

Re: Starbug Debt & Hardship

Thank you so much. I was half expected people to tell me its my own fault and to deal with it. If only there were more people like yourselves in this world.

again thank you for all your time and effort. I dont deserve it.

One thing concerns me.
The bit about oweing the halifax £4000. they may just take the money and give it to the credit card so i dont get anything. should i just leave that bit out.

Starbug Debt & Hardship * SETTLED *