Please Help Me

[Fiery_Princess]

Hi,

 

I hope there's somebody out there who can help me

 

Long story cut short, used to live in Scotland, fell behind on a debt to Jewson, was taken to court, Decree was given, paying off at £300 pm.

Seperated from Husband, sold house, debt was paid off. Brought house in England, no mortgage, new partner, thought everything was going well.

 

Checked credit file, and Jewsons have been looking for me. Spoke to Ex, and his reply was, Oops forgot to pay debt, Oh Well

 

I don't work, have two small childrem , my partner isn't in a well paid job, we're struggling as it is, I can't afford to pay this.

 

I feel so sick, I can't eat, I can't sleep, I cry at the slightest thing, my kids think I'm mad, I live in fear of the postman/knock at the door. I won't let the kids play in the garden in case the balliffs turn up.

 

What should I do? What can I do? More to the point, what will Jewsons do?

 

Please, please help me. I'm not disputing I owe the money, I just have no way of paying it all of in one go, no hope of getting finance, no family to ask.

 

I'm at my wits end, Please help

[creditcardmug]

Hi try not to worry.

what is the debt for i.e. loan/credit card etc?

who is the original creditor?

these questions will help to get the answers you want.

others will be here soon to help

[Fiery_Princess]

Hi CreditCardMug,

 

Debt was from a self build account with Jewsons, Decree from memory was for about £4500 back in 2006

 

Debt was treated as commercial not personal, which was why we had to sell the house, couldn't afford the high repayments.

 

We live in a small village, and I don't want to lose my home, I try not to worry, but it's easier said than done.

 

What makes it worse, is I thought debt had been paid off, it hadn't so now that looks really bad on me, so Jewsons are not going to be happy

 

I've had no contact from Jewsons, but they recorded a search on my credit file on 1st May 2008, that's why I'm dreading the post or someone turning up. Do they write to you first, or do they just come and take everything away? What about my kids things? I couldn't bear it if they took them? How would I explain it to them?

 

I know I shouldn't get stressed, it could be worse just so scared

[creditcardmug]

I dont know about the law in scotland, but someone called rory will be on later and he will help you.

Meanwhile if you can tell us any more about it (leave out personal details), it will help

[creditcardmug]

No no-one is going to come and take anything away, they would have to have a ccj and you would have to have defaulted on it, and then they would have to apply to the court for an enforcement order, youre miles away from all that.

Wait for rory or someone else who knows more than me. youll be ok.

[Fiery_Princess]

They do have a ccj (decree) and I have defaulted, I didn't mean to, ex told me he would pay it off as part of seperation, but whatever way you look at it, I have defaulted

 

Do they let me know when the apply to the courts to enforce it?

Do they write to me?

[maroondevo52]

Hi, Firey Princess.

 

I'll ask Rory32 to have a look at your thread, I'm sure he will give you all the answers to your questions.

 

 

Regards.

 

Scott.

[rory32]

I assume this debt was in joint names, is that correct? Do you know the wording of the decree granted against you?

Do they write to you first, or do they just come and take everything away?

There's quite a few things that they would need to do first before using bailiffs.

What about my kids things?

They can't take anything belonging to your kids. Bailiffs are actually quite restricted in what they can take. In relation to this debt they would only be able to take things that are clearly yours and are not classed as essential items. They also can't take things like your clothes, tv, washing machine, etc.

[Fiery_Princess]

Hi Rory,

 

Thanks for answering

 

Debt is in my name only. As part of the seperation, ex was supposed to pay off debt, this was agreed informally, nothing in writing

 

I can't remember the wording of the decree, just that when I went to court, the Sherriff said he was setting payments high as it was a commercial debt, and needed to be cleared in a year. Think there was a time to pay order, but obviously that's in default, so I don't know what to do

 

Glad my kids things are safe, I couldn't cope with that. Know I've made some mistakes, not fair that they should pay for them.

 

There is equity in the house, but we have no way of releasing it, so as much as I worry about balliffs, also worried about charging orders/bankruptcy.

The more I read, the more worried I become

Edited May 26, 2008 by Fiery_Princess
Typo's

[rory32]

The unfortunate thing is that you have nothing in writing from your ex. You may wish to write to Jewsons with some sort of a proposal (obviously at a lower level of repayment) to clear the account. This would at least show that you are not avoiding your responsibilities if it does go to court again. Any court action against you would now be in England.

 

If there is equity in the property then they may go for a charging order. This actually isn't something to overly worry about as it wouldn't result in you having to sell your home as you have children. Judges don't like granting sale orders at the best of times and if there are kids involved they simply won't.

 

Try not to lose sleep over this. I'll have to have a look and see if there is a possibility of applying to change the time order (obviously we normally deal with consumer rather than commercial debts and the legislation is a bit different) in line with your current ability to pay.

[Fiery_Princess]

Thank you soo much

 

Feel slightly better now, have been having terrifying visions of house being emptied, whole village gossiping etc, etc

 

WIll contact Jewsons in the morning, to see if they will accept a lower payment. Last time I spoke to them, just before the decree, I had to speak to their solicitor, and he was a very nasty little man

 

Hopefully will speak to someone nicer this time

 

Will let you know how I get on.

 

Off to bed now, doubt I will sleep much, head still spinning, but at least there is some hope

[rory32]

Don't phone them. You need to do this in writing so that there is a record of your proposal and any reply to your proposal. Preferably send it recorded delivery, failing that get proof of posting.