General Advice Needed re Defaults over 6 years old

[Duffers Mum]

Hi All - I'm starting a new thread on each of my debts now, so its easier to keep track of them.

 

I wrote to Goldfish offering £15 per month,

they have replied saying that according to my income and expenditure sheet I can afford to pay them £36 per month, which they are willing to accept from July to January.

 

However I cannot afford £36 per month, admittedly my income and expenditure sheet did show £90+ per month over at the end to divide between my creditors,

 

in reality its more like £50 which I think I have divided fairly, giving Goldfish the most as I owe them the most.

 

I do need to be able to budget for increases in the mortgage rate (which has already gone up since I submitted my sheet to them), and also increases in HP which are not fixed, and also increases in utilities and petrol, which do happen.

 

Should I stick to my guns and state I can only afford £15 per month (I have already made the first payment at the beginning of the month), or should I agree to what they are saying?

 

Would appreciate advice asap as I need to write back to them, as I don't want to start ringing them as they have suggested.

 

Many thanks

[spiritgirl59]

Hi DM

 

The best thing to do with an income & expenditure sheet is to make sure you pay every single creditor the exact same amount, so none of them can kick off and say they are being paid more or less than the others.

 

Its best to work out your sheet making sure you cover all your essential expenditure and allow for any arrears you owe for such things as council tax, mortgage, utility bills etc., Dont forget things like travel, school meals, clothes, etc., then divide whatever is left over - no matter how small - equally between the amount of creditors you have so they all get the same. I know its a pain in the bum, but when we consulted both the CAB and National Debtline they advised us to do this to save any of them kicking off, and it did work.

 

I got a letter from some of them moaning about the fact that they weren't getting as much as they wanted, but I simply wrote back and said that I had 11 creditors and they were all getting the same - it had been worked out fairly on a pro rata basis. This got rid of them

 

I personally wouldn't phone any of them if they ask you to, let them put everything in writing to you so you know where you stand. They will try to pin you down to paying more over the phone (I've dealt with Goldfish myself!)

 

Good luck!

Love Spiritgirl x

[powelll]

The best thing to do with an income & expenditure sheet is to make sure you pay every single creditor the exact same amount, so none of them can kick off and say they are being paid more or less than the others.

 

Most debt advisers would disagree - pro rata offers, where each creditor gets a share depending on how much they are owed is historically more successful. It's also fairer.

[powelll]

Linked budget sheet here will do it for you as well:

 

National Debtline England & Wales | Personal Budget Sheet

[Duffers Mum]

I've already sent off my budget sheet,

its just they think I can afford to pay them more than what I've offered,

but I really can't afford anymore than that.

 

If I commit to what they are asking and if the interest rate goes up again I won't have enough to pay the mortgage and HP which is also, unfortunately, on flexible terms.

[Doone175]

I would write back to them and tell them somehow you have miscalculated, you could say you forgot to include something. Offer them what you can afford and tell them thats your lot. They should be happy that you are willing to pay something each month. I got into bother with Goldfish a while back and say I gave them £50 one month the balance was reduced by a fiver by the time interest and charges were put on. I finally wrote to them and told them they were getting no more until this was looked into. They then agreed on a fixed monthly payment. Which was fine, though I had always planned to write to them and get a refund on some charges. Then the law changed recently and I worked out what I wanted from them. They offered me the excess between £12 and what I had been charged. I told them no. They also claimed there was no interest on charges. I explained to them the balance was £800 odd, I never made any purchases, I made payments of £1500 to Goldfish and my balance was still £800 odd. I wrote to them, told them this and asked once more for a refund of charges. They have finally said yes and I am getting £424 back from them, but they are doing so as a gesture rather than admitting they were wrong to charge me. Just waiting on the cheque, once they have taken 3 x £12 charges they have added since I put my claim in 3 month ago. They can't refuse what you are offering them. Something is better than nowt. They are a slow company to deal with in general too. Good luck.

[birchave0]

Hi there I got problems with Goldfish too:(

As I understand it from the information on the debt helpline webpage credit cards are bottom of the pile when it comes to making payments.

So things like your mortgage, gas, electric, water, shopping, council tax must come first.

Don't be bullied by them, send in a revised sheet, tell them you have missed something off the original one and then tell them how much you can afford to pay, even if it's only £1.00.

I was paying a set monthly payment for my Goldfish card but after they failed to supply the credit agreement for the account and the details of the PPI they have very kindly been charging me, I stopped paying. I've not paid them anything since March.....

Trading standards are on my side on this one, send off a CCA request for the account, you might get a pleasent surprise if they can't find it.....

[Duffers Mum]

Updating my threads.

 

Sent Goldfish a F&F offer a couple of weeks ago, they have responded by selling my account to Cabot!

 

Am sending of a CCA to Cabot tomorrow as I never bothered to do this with Goldfish as they were happy to accept reduced payments and freeze interest etc.

 

Meanwhile I have cancelled my standing order to Goldfish as I'm not paying somebody who has sold the debt.

 

Not had dealings with Cabot before, will wait and see what happens with my CCA request.

 

I want to get all my debts sorted out but just when I'm in a position to start doing that they all sell the debts to DCA's, its all rather odd!

[scousepie]

Updating my threads. Sent Goldfish a F&F offer a couple of weeks ago, they have responded by selling my account to Cabot! Am sending of a CCA to Cabot tomorrow as I never bothered to do this with Goldfish as they were happy to accept reduced payments and freeze interest etc. Meanwhile I have cancelled my standing order to Goldfish as I'm not paying somebody who has sold the debt. Not had dealings with Cabot before, will wait and see what happens with my CCA request. I want to get all my debts sorted out but just when I'm in a position to start doing that they all sell the debts to DCA's, its all rather odd!

 

I had the same problem with Goldfish, they sold my wifes debt to Cabot last week I sent Cabot a CCA/SARs and the wrote back saying that we are not the creditors you need to write to Goldfish??????????

 

but we want our money...lol...they are a joke...happy fishing

[Duffers Mum]

Scousepie - the letter I received from Cabot clearly states they have "bought" my debt from Goldfish, by my reckoning that now makes them the creditor. I've had my Goldfish account for years, so somehow doubt they are going to be able to provide one. I don't suppose you wife had offered a F&F recently had she? I'm wondering if my creditors have now all sold these debts because they realise I can only pay £xx and not the full balance. I've not had to deal with DCA's before so not really sure what to expect except a lot of letters and threats, however because of all the great advice on this site I won't worry. I have no intention of paying any of them unless they can come up with the correct documentation, whereas i would have been quite happy to compromise with the original creditors had the debts stayed with them. I've now got Cabot, 1st Credit, Blair Oliver & Scott, and Mercers on the go, makes life easy as they all get the same letters!

[scousepie]

Scousepie - the letter I received from Cabot clearly states they have "bought" my debt from Goldfish, by my reckoning that now makes them the creditor. I've had my Goldfish account for years, so somehow doubt they are going to be able to provide one. I don't suppose you wife had offered a F&F recently had she? I'm wondering if my creditors have now all sold these debts because they realise I can only pay £xx and not the full balance. I've not had to deal with DCA's before so not really sure what to expect except a lot of letters and threats, however because of all the great advice on this site I won't worry. I have no intention of paying any of them unless they can come up with the correct documentation, whereas i would have been quite happy to compromise with the original creditors had the debts stayed with them. I've now got Cabot, 1st Credit, Blair Oliver & Scott, and Mercers on the go, makes life easy as they all get the same letters!

 

 

 

Hi DF,

 

Thanks for your reply, I sent Goldfish a CCA and the sent my wife an Application form and tried to pass it off as an agreement...lol..fools

 

I also sent them a SARs but the refused cos a sig was not on the doc, so catch 22....Neather gave in, in the end GF sold the debt......as they do cos they wont win, the charges must be massive on this account.

 

Morgan Stanley miss sold her PPI that she did not need, the DCA refused to suply a CCA/SARS saying it not our problem cos we are NOT the OC....lol...a letter to T&S and OFT I think.

[Duffers Mum]

Just checked and my CCA request was received by Cabot today, so they now have 12 working days, tick tock!

 

Received the bog standard reply from Cabot today, we are not obliged to provide etc etc, return your £1 but have requested documentation from Goldfish, lets wait and see what they come up with!

 

I usually make a payment to goldfish around the first of each month. As mentioned above I received a letter from Cabot telling me they had bought my debt. I've CCA'd Cabot, in the meantime should I make my payment to Goldfish as normal, pay it to Cabot, or not pay it at all?

 

I sent an F&F offer to Goldfish recently, their response was to sell my debt to Cabot. I have been making payments to Goldfish on a monthly basis, however I'm not sure what to do now. I have CCA'd Cabot and their time is up next week. Should I carry on and make my payment to Goldfish even though they don't own the account anymore, or should I make the payment to Cabot, even though they haven't proved they can actually ask for payment yet, or do I just do absolutely nothing for the time being. Any help would be much appreciated

[Iceman54]

Hi

 

Many of us are in exactly the same position as yourself, Goldfish were recently taken over by Barclays who promptly sold loads of accounts to cabot.

 

If Cabot follow their normal pattern

 

They will reply that they are not obliged to supply your CCA agreement (they are) but as a courtesy they will request the documents from the OC.........they usually return your £1

 

At day 10 or 11 (i.e just before they default) They will write and tell you that the OC is taking longer than expected to retrieve the documents, but as a gesture they will put the account on hold until they have the documents (nice of them.........they are only complying with the law!)

 

That is where I am up to, some others are a letter or 2 further along but you are not obliged to offer any payment whilst the account remains in dispute...............If they then fail to supply the documents after a further 30 calendar days they commit a summary criminal offence, which means the agreement can only be enforced by order of a court (and they would also have to explain to the judge why they had committed said summary criminal offence)

Hope this helps

[Duffers Mum]

Thanks for that, I've had the we don't have to provide it blah blah, return the £1 cheque (which I've filed away safely as proof I did send it!), hope to get it to you in 12 days etc letter. This is by far my biggest debt and I was more than happy to make a F&F payment to Goldfish which no doubt would have been far more than what Cabot have paid for it, so its their loss I guess. I'll sit tight and wait to hear from them further.

[Duffers Mum]

Cabot have until Friday 9 May to get my CCA to me, be interesting to see what appears in the post today/tomorrow, their time is running out, I wonder if I'll get the we are still looking for it etc etc letter!

[cups]

Hi

 

I actually made a request to Morgan Stanley/Goldfish about 2 months ago and they ignored it completely. CABOT wrote to me recently about the same account, so I have told them that I have the proof and they have been sold an account that is in dispute.

 

CABOT man was very nice and seemed to me resigned to the fact that mine was only a small part of a much bigger problem.

 

Cups:-)

[Duffers Mum]

Well true to form Cabot replied 2 days before the 12 days were up stating Goldfish were having trouble finding my agreement and they would place my account on hold for the time being. Gives me a bit of extra time to deal with all the other cretins who are coming down heavy handed, as you will see from my other threads

[creditcardmug]

Why have you made a f/f to goldfish, while not having cca'd them, then waiting for it to go to cabot , and then ccaing cabot?????

[Duffers Mum]

Credit - because Goldfish were happy to accept reduced payments and stop interest and charges, therefore I had no need to CCA them at the time, it was only once I offered them a F&F that they transferred it to Cabot, although I understand Goldfish sold a stack of their accounts to Cabot following the sale of Goldfish to Barclays. Also i'm not trying to get out of paying my debts. happy to come to some sort of compromise with the actual companies, but not with DCA's!

[creditcardmug]

Yes i see what you mean, i have similar problems.

a few things though

1 was original card morgan stanley ( they have lots of trouble finding their own never mind ms)?

2 have you had a letter from goldfish making it clear the account has been SOLD to cabot, ie. not just for collection purposes. i wouldn't pay cabot anything without this.

3 have you had a default notice from goldfish as they are not allowed to pass debt on before doing this

[Duffers Mum]

Credit - No it was originally a Goldfish card, yes I've received a letter stating account has been sold (silly of Cabot to accept it without the correct documentation in place though eh?? ) and have just checked and no default notice received from Goldfish as at current time. Does that mean they shouldn't have sold the debt or does this mean that Cabot can't collect as correct procedure not followed?

[creditcardmug]

Have you had a letter from goldfish stating the acc has been sold to cabot?

If no default notice then legal action is not possible (no cause of action)

 

If you had the letter of assignment to cabot then they can still keep asking for payment, however while you are still waiting for the CCA then it's in dispute so you don't need to pay yet

[Duffers Mum]

Yes had a letter from Goldfish advising they have sold and assigned the debt to Cabot, no default notice received from either company.

 

I am still paying Goldfish a token amount, should I continue to do this, or should I start making payments to Cabot or will that merely mean I am acknowledging the debt to them?

 

I want to get these debts sorted out, you would think these companies would bite your hand off that something is offered, but no that is not enough, they want the whole balance repaying, which unfortunately I'm not in a position to do, however what I have offered them in F&F settlement is fair bearing in mind at the present time none of my creditors have provided the correct documentation!

[Iceman54]

I assume Cabot have defaulted?

 

If so and the debt is now unenforceable, you could offer in the region of 10% to Cabot as F&F........which is good for them as legally you are not obliged too offer them anything

 

Also make it a condition that they repair that part of your credit history

[Duffers Mum]

Yes Cabot have defaulted as they have not provided the document within the 12+2 days required. They are still within the 30 days though. My next que?stion is...should I just offer Cabot 10% F&F now, or should I wait, i don't want to admit liability to them too soon, are they likely to take 10% as I don't want to get into a situation where we are to-ing and fro-ing and still don't reach an agreement (like my current situation with M&S)?