[Question] HELP PLEASE ADVICE NEEDED

[Alice Rain]

The bank has handed me over because I don't have the funds to pay them! Now I just got a message saying the sheriff of the court will come and serve notice. Please tell me can the bank take my caravan????? If so, then I will have nowhere to live and will not be able to work.

I made two payments to Standard Bank when I could, obviously I'll pay when I can, but I'm just making the rent presently! And when I get stressed out, then my brain doesn't work that well, to do my work!

Should I sell the caravan for a minimal amount to a friend or something, so that I do not own it???

Awaiting any advice that will be appreciated.

[HR Solutions]

Should I sell the caravan for a minimal amount to a friend or something, so that I do not own it???

You cannot get away with doing this, because they will pick up exactly what you are doing - hiding assets.
You need to make an payment arrangement plan with the Bank and most importantly stick to it.

[Alice Rain]

You cannot get away with doing this, because they will pick up exactly what you are doing - hiding assets.
You need to make an payment arrangement plan with the Bank and most importantly stick to it.

Yes I do not want to hide anything, what I have is hardly worth anything anyway. It's just so sad when you're treated like a criminal, I've been telling them that as soon as I could pay I would and did make two payments. But to have a different person phone every single day is very stressful.

And I understand no-one said life is fair, which of course it's not, but I should never have received the overdraft as I didn't qualify and the manager put an incorrect amount on the documents which I do not read because I cannot absorb the information (and she's knows this) and I didn't do anything because I don't want to get her into trouble. I didn't qualify for the 2nd amount on the credit card and they guy said he'll just adjust the figures and because I was desperate I took it. Then I won my CCMA case but was so stressed out I didn't continue with the arbitration and settled for a lessor amount that just covered all my outstanding rental and then the Labour Department failed in obtaining the necessary documents from the previous employer so I have not been able to draw UIF.

I will contact them.

Thanks and regards

[Lynne123]

I wholeheartedly agree with HRS - you cannot and should not sell the caravan, because the bank is the legal owner of the caravan. Do see if you can come to some sort of payment arrangement with the bank or talk to an experienced debt councillor for legal advice.

[Pap_sak]

Personally, it bugs me that you do not accept responsibility for these loans - it amazes me that people pull out the "victim card" when they have been lent money. YOU accepted and took the money and then SPENT the money. By not accepting this and blaming other people you opening yourself up to doing it again in a few years - because it wasn't you fault, no lesson gets learn't, right?

So suck it up, go to the bank and try sort out some sort of payment plan that you CAN afford - if you cannot, then it's time to declare bankruptcy (which I understand costs a bit, so not sure how you get around that - try legal aid?). But take responsibility, make a plan and then move forward - running and blaming is not going to solve anything.

***should add, that I am getting this impression from a couple of posts and could be well of the mark, if so please discard my comments. I do hope you do find a way through what obviously is a tough time for you, but I find facing things head on is always best at least you then know where you stand.

[Houses4Rent]

If you can proof that you should not have given the loan and figures were altered you might have a case of reckless lending. See NCA. However, you should also not have accepted a loan you know you cannot afford too.

[Alice Rain]

Pap_sak
Yes it is a very tough time for me, but I’ve still got a roof, warm bed and a plate of food which is a lot more than many others have, albeit my brain doesn’t work as well, due to all the stress.

You make incorrect assumptions and jump to conclusions when you don’t know all the details and especially as you don’t know me. I have never pulled out the ‘victim card’ as you so aptly put it and I do take responsibility for my debts and don’t blame others.

The ‘people’ from the banks are quick enough to be polite and change figures when they want you to open up a credit card or increase it.

Can you imagine getting phone calls every single day, during night from different people asking the same questions over and over, when it should be on the ‘system’? Explaining over and over and over and over! Being so stressed out from these phone calls that you’re unable to produce any work, in order to pay them.

And each time they phone, should I lie and say ‘yes I’ll pay that at the end of the month’ when I am not sure if I’ll have the funds or not! The manner in which they treat a person as well as the amount of calls is pure harassment and in fact all it does is make people not give a darn about it!

The payments I have managed to make, I have not received any acknowledgement of these.

So they’ve handed me over the lawyers and guess what, I don’t give a darn about that either. But I did actually take one of their calls a few weeks ago which was cut off from their side. So I asked a friend to contact them as I don’t have airtime to phone a landline number, he phoned a number of times, left messages for Cleopatra, who to date, has still not returned his calls. And I must deal with people like this, I don’t think so!

I have part-time work and if there are any funds over after the rent’s been paid, I will pay whatever I can afford towards to the outstanding amount.

Yes because I cannot afford a lawyer, I gave up on the Labour Department who were unable to obtain my UIF documents from my previous employer – who is still under major fraud investigation - which would have helped a great deal in payments to the bank.

What really makes me angry is the amount of uneducated, vulnerable (not including myself) and often elderly people that are getting sucked into debt every day via phone calls, letters and other means.

Pap_sak I hope you never experience what I have.

[Alice Rain]

To: Houses4Rent

Thank you so much for the positive feedback.

When I was unfairly dismissed and went to the bank, the manager advised me on taking an overdraft (first time ever) which I did. I didn’t read the documentation at all in the bank, so the overdraft was approved (the manager was aware I had just lost my job). A long time later I got out the documentation and saw that the amount of salary was far higher that what I was getting so I want to and asked the manager why she put that amount it and her response was that ‘she was trying to help me’. Now I have not done anything as I do not want to get her into trouble which will clearly happen as I wasn’t working at the time.

I did not want a credit card but had to get one to pay the ‘vet’, never mind ending up having to still go to another vet. I then received a call from an agent offering me increase my credit card which I declined as I couldn’t afford it. The agent called back and as I needed money I agreed. I gave him the figures (I was still working at this point) to which he replied ‘no you don’t qualify, but we’ll just change the figures’.

All that said and done, I would probably stand a good chance with the NCA however I cannot deal with the stress that is related to any of this, be it the bank, the Labour Department. Already through this whole experience, mentally I am not able to do what I previously was capable of doing.

[adrianh]

The way to deal with all of it is like this; lay it all on the table, do the math, and then find solutions.

Do a spreadsheet or just do it on paper.

List all your debt;
Outstanding amount, monthly repayments and try to find out the settlement values.

Living expenses;
List everything including the stuff that you know you shouldn't by but you do.

Current income;
If its zero that is ok, we will work on it.

Ok,so now you know how much you need to spend and how much you bring in. There is obviously a mismatch and now you need to find ways to solve the missmatch.

The most important thing is to be able to cover your basic needs. There are many ways to bring that kind of money in, waitressing, selling door to door, doing menial labour etc. You have to be creative and you have to be willing to work your ass off. Ok, so at least you are now able to eat.

Look at your debts, their monthly repayments and settlement values. You may find that the debt that costs you a lot per month has a low settlement value. Your aim is to settle as many debts as fast as possible so that your monthly debt commitment comes down.

The problem with having debt is that earning more money to cover the debt is the wrong answer. The right aswer is of course not to make debt...of course we all have to inthe real world. The second best answer is to manage your debt in such a way that you pay it off as quickly as possible while still having enough money to keep your head above water.

Banks have no interest in owning caravans, they simply want their money. The worst thing you can do is to avoid them and hide from them. They are happy provided that you pay them someting every month.

Look, I know what its like to be hounded and threatened all the time. The stress is terrible and unfortunately debilitating. The more they hound you the worse you feel and that depression makes you even more unlikely to pay them back. If you find that you get stresed out even thinking about the situation then you should get a third party to help you figure it out. The best is to speak to somebody who is not involved in your personal life, that way you wont feel bad.

At the end of it all it simply comes down to dealing with the numbers as you would with a scince exam question. No emotion, no baggage, no wishfull thinking, just clear minded realism. Also keep in mind that there are many people here that will help you come to terms with those numbers and their implications provided that you are open and willing to listen to their opinions.

[adrianh]

If you want real help then PM me and lay your cards on the table. I sure wont have all the answers but I may be able to relieve a bit of the stress by looking at the problem from a purely 3rd party non-emotional.

[Blurock]

Please never wait until the $#!t hits the fan before asking for help. $h!t splatters and most people don't want to be splattered.

You signed for the credit so you are liable. Its too late to go to the bank to ask for help as they have already taken legal action. It does take a few months before they (the bank) get to this stage, so what have you been doing about it? The only avenue now left is debt counselling. Not ideal, but it will give you a chance if you can demonstrate a willingness to pay. Put your cards (all of them) on the table and stick to the repayment plan. READ the documents and make sure that you understand everything. If not sure, ask them to explain again. Ask for options.

[adrianh]

She can still talk to the bank and they can withdraw the action, Nedbank did that for me twice. The worst thing to do is to hide from them, just speak to them openly and explain that you really want to pay them back.

[adrianh]

I want to add anoher thing; Don't freak out....

Just phone the bank 'on behalf of a friend' and speak with a senio person at their legal department. You will be surprisedchow helpful people are when you ask them for advice.

Different banks have different systems of 'handing over' Most firts hand you over to their legal department and their lawyers chase you around for a bit. When they eventually give up they hand you off to a 3d party. Some banks don't go through their own legal department for small debts because it is not cost effective to pay their own lawyers lots of money to bring in funny money. Ok, so one they've handed you over to the 3rd party group of lawyers then you are driven mad by them. Many banks have a deal whereby the bank takes a cut and the lawyers take a fat cut of the money that they get from you. Remember, it all goes about money, if it is going to cost the bank more to get the money out of you than what the debt is worth then they are not going to go after you themselves. Ok, so now the 3rd party lawyers hound you all the time. The problem at this point is that the lawyers add on all sorts of strange fees like, R50 each time they call you, R50 forceach emailvsent etc. You now find that your debt startsbecoming very expensive. The more they hound you the more they add to what you owe. It takes a very long time and a hell of a lot of mesing about before they actually take you to court. Our courts are very understanding and I cannot see a court allow them to take the caravan givenvthat it is your only acommodation.

The bottom line is not to panic or freak out. The guy the other side of the phone is a numbskull who gets paid to freak you out and scare you. I reached a point where I got to know them by name and we would talk rubbish when they phoned. Remember, they are paid to scare you so that you pay so that their boss takes a cut from the debt.

[Alice Rain]

If you want real help then PM me and lay your cards on the table. I sure wont have all the answers but I may be able to relieve a bit of the stress by looking at the problem from a purely 3rd party non-emotional.

Hi Adrianh

Thank you and all the others for the advice given. I will PM you probably over the weekend as I'm presently working every moment possible, while the work's available.

Until then, much appreciated

Regards Alice

[adrianh]

Cool