Old cahoot debt and new Santander account help please.

[deep in the whatsit]

Apologies if this is the wrong section but its a bit awkward.

 

I had some serious debt issues that are now statute barred, Cahoot was one of them and

i went to open a bank account at Santander and they had my details already.

 

I thought how will they have that, Then i found out they took over Cahoot some time

ago.

 

As the debts were not repaid and are now statute barred if they do let me open this account

will they be able to claim any funds from it towards the debts i did not pay?

 

I still have health issues and i am not working, Just claiming ESA with no other income.

 

Will they let me open an account and can they take any money towards the old debts?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

PS.

 

My credit file is now empty and nothing showing, All i wanted it a basic account that would

let me pay bills etc. They said a 123 account would suit me.

 

Do you think they will reject me?

[dx100uk]

yes they can offset as all the SB status does in E&W

is prevent court action.

 

 

the 'debt' still exists.

[deep in the whatsit]

I had a feeling that maybe the case, Can they dip into my ESA money though as its barely enough

to live on these days. Bills increasing and no increase in what the ESA pays.

 

But i am in a limbo where my health prevents work, but does not fit into a category where i

am entitled to more benefits. It sucks, but i know of people in worse situations so i have

to look on the bright side.

 

Is there anything to stop them taking the money? What if i open as a joint account instead

of just being in my name? They cannot link my old debts to another account holder can they?

 

Thanks.

 

PS. whats E&W?

[dx100uk]

joint they can

 

 

England and wales...

[Sidewinder]

As DX says - in England and Wales they can offset against any account whether individual or a joint account as you are financially linked to the joint account holder.

 

Only option to avoid offsetting is to go to another bank outside of the group where the debt exists

[deep in the whatsit]

Oh dear, The account paperwork has been done and as far as i am aware approved and just awaiting

the paperwork. They even offered me an overdraft facility

which i declined. I dont want more debt and have avoided falling into the trap of spending what i

do not have. It was a big lesson when i could not pay the bills.

 

I have no idea if they sold the debt on or have kept it inhouse, Anyone know what cahoot would have done

in this situation? Maybe they sold it on and closed their file?

 

Or should i expect everything to go smoothly then find they take money i put into the account?

 

Are there any limitations on the offsetting?

 

Easy credit and a spend now pay later attitute has certainly come back to bite me.

 

Thanks.

 

Another detail that may have an affect. The first missed payment was late 2006, Santander didnt take over until

2007 i think?

 

Been googling and i found some info from 2014 that said Santander cherry picked the customer from cahoot

and left the bad ones? Is that right?

[dx100uk]

but no income goes into it

so not an issue?

 

 

dx

[deep in the whatsit]

I was going to use it to put my ESA money into it instead of having to goto the postoffice.

 

And then pay my bills by direct debit from the account.

 

Have i now scuppered my partners credit file also?

 

 

Surely they cannot add my old debts onto her file as this debt was solely mine.

 

Partners credit file is empty nothing at all,

Just a post office account and nothing else.

Had issues with not appearing on the electoral roll for some reason.

But thats sorted now.

 

Would they have opened the account and given me an overdraft and chequebook etc if they were going to offset any money in there?

 

 

Can they take money from an ESA payment?

[dx100uk]

 

 

I was going to use it to put my ESA money into it instead of having to goto the postoffice.

 

And then pay my bills by direct debit from the account.

 

Have i now scuppered my partners credit file also? - no that cant happen

 

Surely they cannot add my old debts onto her file as this debt was solely mine.- correct

Partners credit file is empty nothing at all,

Just a post office account and nothing else.

Had issues with not appearing on the electoral roll for some reason.

But thats sorted now.

 

Would they have opened the account and given me an overdraft and chequebook etc if they were going to offset any money in there? - yes

Can they take money from an ESA payment?

- yes.

 

 

dx

[deep in the whatsit]

Oh dear,

 

 

So my partners small savings account which is also with them is safe?

 

 

There is a couple of hundred she keeps for emergencies only.

 

 

As the ESA money is a joint claim

 

 

is there any limit on what they can take?

 

 

Whats my best option do you think?

 

 

Dont use the account and then switch to another

 

 

hopefully get one that pays to switch if there is one?

 

 

Or just remove my name from the account?

 

 

We dont want to be paying £2 a month to have an empty account sitting there and not able to use it.

 

 

The idea was to save money as funds get ever tighter.

 

 

I know i didnt pay my debts and owe the money but my future doesnt look like i will be able to sort that any time soon. Thanks.

[daverules]

Hello there.

 

Take a look at Co-Ops cash minder account, it's basic but does give you a visa debit card and allows you to do direct debits.

 

http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/currentaccounts/cashminder

[dx100uk]

who says you owe the money?

 

 

it could all be penalty charges

odds on they'll do nothing

 

 

but its not unknown.

 

 

if your name is on any account with them

and there is money in it

they could off set,

but after all this time its a remote could

[deep in the whatsit]

Are they supposed to still send statements out? I have had nothing for several years now.

 

Its possible they got sold on, but as i mentioned in my debt threads there were a lot of letters

from many different companies, some chasing the same debts. From what i gather it was probably

just internal departments with different names.

 

This account was for the wife, she has not been able to open an account for some reason, slight issue

with her not appearing on the electoral roll. She was accepted and we should have left it at that and

not made it into a joint account.

 

Just trying to cut our costs and get a few extra pennies here and there. Were told the 123 account will

save us money on our household bills. Costs £24 a year but it will save us more than double that.

 

My plan now is to just put enough in there to cover the direct debits and not leave a penny extra.

 

Since all the defaults in 2006/2007 i have not spent more than we get, I do have a credit card with a

small amount that we use for the shopping and pay in full every month.

Wife is under strict instructions that the first time we cannot pay it all off it gets cut up and binned.

 

I thought i had a 2nd chance having learned a big lesson and a fresh start and this has popped up.

 

Do i just hope they sold the debt on and wont be claiming anything back?

 

Another worry is we put the bill money in and setup the direct debits and then the direct debits fail.

With companies adding charges for missed direct debits will hurt us financially.

Edited May 8, 2015 by deep in the whatsit
putting some paragraphs back in, they got removed when posting?