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Thread: Debt not my fault - what do I do ?

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    Debt not my fault - what do I do ?

    Hi Every one ! hope you all have had a super new year !!

    I have a bit of a strange scenario and hopefully someone could offer me some advice

    I moved to South Africa 4 years ago - and set myself up with a job and car , got out a few loans and store cards etc
    these loans and store cards were being paid on a regular basis via debit order.

    anyway - 2 years later (start of 2010) I moved back home ( to the UK) - and closed my bank account where my debits were coming out of as a good friend of mine had agreed that I could pay my debit order amounts into their account and they would pay my accounts for me -
    ( he had his UK account linked to his Nedbank account ) the intention was that after 1.2 years of payments my accounts and loans should be paid off

    mid 2011 myself and my partner decided to move back to SA but to buy a house first - I then applied for a bond only to discover that I had been rejected by at least 2 banks - I then checked my credit report and it turns out that non of my accounts have been paid at all ! so my good friend was infact not a friend at all !

    I had 4 store accounts - and these should have been paid off with the regular payments I have been sending my friend and closed by now - but on my report it says bad debt written off

    I had 2 larger amount loans with - absa and a CC with standard bank both of which are quite large amounts and these have not been paid either .

    I have no intention of letting these debts go unpaid - however i am seriously concerned that once these have been paid that I will continue to have a very bad rating - Since im looking to buy a house this is not ideal .

    My question is - is there anyone that I could speak to and explain my situation to or is there anyway I could get these default removed from my report after the debt have been paid ?

    I will be going to SA on hols in march and my mum mentioned that maybe I could get an affidavit from the police stating these debts going into arrears should not have happened etc - would this help ?

    He is a family friend and I have known him since we were both toddlers - so I had no reason to not trust him , he was like my brother, he has been MIA for a long time - and his folks have not seen him for a over a year either , apparently he got into some trouble with Narcotics - Non the less I have put this down to be a huge learning experience and I really just want to put this behind me but don't really know how to go about doing that or where to start - hope fully someone could offer some advice ?

    any help would be greatly appreciated

    thanks Mellissa

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    Unfortunately ignorance is no excuse - clear your debts by paying them off slowly and then reapply after a clean period if time. Nothing wrong with renting in the meantime!

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    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
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    You are going to have to pay them back in full once that is done you can work towards letters of good standing with the bank and other account holders as well. Hopefully this will help you along.

    Just stay away from debt counselling please… I have seen my share and they are NOT the solution to anything debt related.

    Good luck
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    I take it your main concern is your credit record going forward.

    I suspect the only thing that might help in that regard is a formal charge of fraud or theft against your friend, together with a record of the payments you made to your friend that were supposed to be applied to the debts.

    I doubt that will help much while the debts remain unsatisfied, but might help once you've got them squared away.

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    Diamond Member Citizen X's Avatar
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    Hi There,

    Dave is absolutely right, a charge of fraud could get you some justice as it were but will not help your short term problem of your unpaid debts.
    1. That said, from a supificial glance of your situation , it appears to me, that your 4 store accounts as well as your 2 bank loans are textbook examples for prescription claims. It appears that these debts were not paid at all for at least 3 years. should this indeed be the scenario then my business can help you with submitting prescription claims and having those debts cancelled so that you don't have to pay them anyway!
    Last edited by Citizen X; 02-Jan-12 at 11:26 AM.
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    Melissa, this is a very unfortunate situation made worse by the fact that a "trustworthy" friend caused it.

    I worked for a Bank for 20 years 1980 - 2001) so have a little experience to draw from, albeit perhaps slightly outdated. The onus to repay unfortunately remains with you regardless of any arrangements you made with your friend, who is a 3rd party to the stores & Banks. The only situation that might alter the onus of responibility on you, is if you had set up this payment arrangement with the knowledge and written acceptance of your creditors, which I sense is not the case here.

    The decision to lay a charge of fraud/other with SAPS that might result in any relief to you may well be a pointless exercise and of no/little benefit to your situation particularly if you have nothing in writing with your friend that confirms the agreement.

    The Prescription Period for these sorts of things is 3 years, which has not expired yet so Vanash's solution is not an option.

    If you're up to it I feel you have only 1 way to clear your record. Approach all the creditors concerned, first personally and then in writing, to explain your situation, accept responsibility for repayment, offer them a repayment plan, get the debts paid off & then apply to have all adverse records & judgemnents rescinded. There is a chance that along the repayment way you might be able to convinve your Bank (& use 1 of the Banks you owe money to for your new banking arrangements when you return to SA) to extend you some credit but it is probably only a remote chance at best.

    Sadly, I cannot see that you will be able to restore a clear credit rating until that happens. Non-Institutional/Private borrowing may be the only way to get the credit you need.

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    You caught in a worst scenario of bad friendship according to me the only way to recover from bad credit scenario is, you should file a case against your friend and pay off all your loans before asking more loans.
    The best thing you could do is, Punished your so called friend hard this would help you to come out from frustration.

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    New Member magiclifestyle's Avatar
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    I think the first thing to do is accept that the debt is your fault. Not to condemn yourself or to feel guilty but to take back your power and control of the situation. That way you can accept full responsibility for the solution without leaking energy to anger and blame. We all mess up, it's just part of being human ... you and your friend.

    It was not a silly decision to trust a good friend but it was a poor decision not to check up on the status of the accounts from time to time. I've done a similar thing before and I know how easy it is to let things slide. Hopefully a lesson learned.

    Depending on the size of the debt you could apply to the small claims court if you can trace the friend.

    Talk to your creditors and work out a schedule to repay the loans.

    If you owe the bank $100 that's your problem. If you owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem. (J Paul Getty)

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    Thank you

    Hi Every one

    thank you so much for your advice - I have now filed a case of fraud against my friend , though by the sounds of it i think this will probably go on for sometime

    I have accepted that these debt are mine, and they need to be paid (which I will be doing from the end of Jan )

    But again my main concern is that my credit rating has been severely affected by this ? - I have spoken to the bank and they are happy with the payment plan I have in place .

    do you think it would be worth while getting in writing from the store card companies that once the debts has been paid they will remove the default from my file ? if I then have this in writing would they be obligated to remove the default listing since I have the agreement in writing or via email? if this is at all possible what exactly should I be asking for , ? or is there a template letter that someone could possibly direct me to ?

    ( thing is these store cards although there are 4 off them they will be paid off in 1 go - so no need for a payment plan)

    Also can someone explain to me what a trace alert is ?, is this classed as a negative on your credit file ? I have 2 trace alerts on my file 1 by a company and the other a solicitor

    thank you again for your advice

    Mel

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    Hi all

    Best wishes and Blessings for the new year!

    Lesson number 1 in finance.............. dont sign surity !!!!!!

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