Good afternoon,
I originally had a loan agreement with Neyber Ltd that I was making payments on, however due to having a mental breakdown, resulted in me leaving my job and left me unable to make any payments at all and with an outstanding debt of around 8/9000 pounds. I ended up handing control of my finances and debts owed to a family member who carried on making token payments until around the beginning of 2018 due to my mental health and not being able to cope with it all. I believe these token payments and all correspondence with Neyber Ltd ceased in early 2018.
I've not been able to get myself back into a better financial situation since, and I am barely able to make ends meet currently which is leading me back down the dark path I was on previously. As a result, I've not made any payments to the debt, nor acknowledged it in the previous years and have spent that time trying to get myself back to a better situation financially and mentally. I also believe due to the token payments made at the time I was suffering a mental health crisis, that the debt isn't statute barred and is no longer an option, and it wouldn't be statute barred until 2024 so they are within their rights to chase me.
I believe Neyber Ltd went into administration and ended up selling the debt onto Salary Finance, who I received a few emails from asking for payment in 2022, which I ignored again due to not being in a financial position to pay them the amounts they want. I have recently started receiving letters from ACI, who I think are owned by Perch Capital. I have also ignored these letters over the last few months but have today received an email from TM Legal Services, who I believe are working on behalf of ACI, demanding payment or possible legal action may be taken.
The email they sent is below in bold.
'We have been instructed in relation to the outstanding balance due on your account(s) and require your proposals for repayment to avoid escalation to legal action.
In the event of legal action our client will seek a County Court Judgment (CCJ). If a CCJ is not repaid it would then be open to our client to enforce the debt through one of the following methods:
An Attachment of Earnings – your employer may be Ordered to deduct payments from your wage
Warrant of Control – a County Court bailiff would attend your property
Charging Order – if you own your home, the debt can be secured against it
If your current financial situation does not allow you to pay this debt in full, we are authorised by our client to set up an affordable, instalment repayment plan.
Our aim is to ensure that your experience when setting up a plan is as hassle-free as possible, so we have designed an online Direct Debit form which, in a few quick and easy steps, allows you to have a repayment plan in place without having to speak to anybody.'
I'm just really struggling at the moment, financially and mentally. I am worried this might end up getting out of control even after six years and the work I've put in to try and get back to a semi normal life will be wasted if I'm unable to get this sorted.
Are they likely to take me to county court if I continue to ignore this? I know this is definitely not the best approach but I fear tackling it head on is going to lead to me feeling suicidal again. I'm just not too sure of what I should do currently.
Many thanks in advance for your assistance.