examination proceedings...help??

[aliise]

hi all, looking for some help/advice as to what this letter means and what i should do next as i don't understand all of this legal talk.

a bit of backround

bank loan with boi of 16k....was paying back ok..lost job...husband lost job...couldnt pay loan so it went to their solicitor, lavelle coleman solicitors. At the time I was so nervous about this that i agreed to paying 100 euro a week to the solicitors account as i didnt want to be taken to court etc. They also obtained judgment against me, which has now run out, it was for 2 years.
around a year and half ago i asked to reduce payments as we just could not manage paying them 100 a week (bear in mind we also have a mortgage with mounting arrears and other debts)

dh got work p/t...so is on p/t jobseekers also. I dont work as we have 2 kids and would not be worth me getting a job as childcare costs more than what i would earn. we were getting help with mortgage payment. i filled out a means sheet for lavelle coleman and sent it back stating that i could not meet 100 euro a week and they said i would have to make at least 75euro a week payment to them or they would commence with court proceedings. Again nervous about being taken to court we struggled on with this payment.
fast forward to august last and ptsb were threatning repossesion etc, had meeting with them and they basically said we had to meet x amount per month towards mortgage to stop repossesion.
So i stopped paying lavelle coleman altogether as we needed this 75 euro towards the mortgage. I never wrote to lavelle to say i couldnt afford it, i basically just ignored any contact from them, which was 2 letters from them, 1 being a statement of means, the other a letter stating that they had not recieved payment since x date and that i was to bring it up to date. bad on my behalf i know.

fast forward to this week where our help with mortgage payment has stopped. and in the same week i have gotten a letter from lavelle coleman.

they have recieved their clients instruction to commence Examination proceedings. it then explains that this means i would have to go to court and provide a statement of means , to which a judge will make a decision on how much i should pay a month. failure to comply with an instalment order of the court may result in commital order leading to your arrest and imprisonment.

but first they will let me get back to them with a statement of means to forward to their client for their consideration and revert to me with the outcome.

the amount due is €6120


so what should i do? i can probably stretch to €100 per month but lavelle coleman lay the pressure on really heavy and i know that they just will not agree to this? i have never been to court and i get nervous and upset when all these letters and court threats come in the post. my husband tells me to relax but i cant, im a worrier. sorry for the long post.

 

[WizardDr]

@aliise:

This sounds like an unsecured loan.

Lavelle Coleman will know that if you cant pay you cant pay.

You dont say what the position is with PTSB and I assume you are in arrears to some degree.

It sounds likes you have cut back a lot and that you diverted your money to your mortgage.

You should have contacted them but you are where you are.

Realistically what can you afford?

The tactics here are:
1. Lay out your income
2. Lay out your costs
3. Identfy what you have already reduced - thats important.
4. Spell out that you have paid back 10k.
5. What have BoI done? What was their sacrifice?

You need not worry about the judge for the very reason that you have attempted SUBSTANTIALLY to address your debts.

You take a little time to put togther your story. With figures and get help if you need it.

You could write directly to
Richie Boucher
Chief Executive
Bank of Ireland
Mespil Road
Dublin 4.

You will simply be telling him in a slightly more structured way what you have said here.

If you can pay €100 a month I think that is as good as they are going to get.

Did PTSB more or less tell you not to pay the BoI?

 

[wbbs]

If you find it hard to deal with the correspondence give MABS a ring and make an appointment, it make take a while to get one but just tell both banks that you are waiting for an appointment and will be in touch after you have spoke to MABS.

 

[Bronte]

they have recieved their clients instruction to commence Examination proceedings. it then explains that this means i would have to go to court and provide a statement of means , to which a judge will make a decision on how much i should pay a month. failure to comply with an instalment order of the court may result in commital order leading to your arrest and imprisonment.

but lavelle coleman lay the pressure on really heavy

and i know that they just will not agree to this? i have never been to court and i get nervous and upset when all these letters and court threats come in the post. my husband tells me to relax but i cant, im a worrier. .

There are a few issues here. Your husband is correct, you must relax about this, of course when you get threatening letters it can make you nervous and afraid, but in the circumstances you've outlined there is nothing more you can do. Just remember the threatening letters have harsh words, they are designed to compel people to pay up, but they are just a standard letter generated by computers that debt collectors issue all the time.. But people who cannot afford it should have no fear of such letters. All you have to do is do up a very clear statement of all your income and expenditure, everything. That's what you are going to need if they bring you to court. I suggest you do that now and send it to Lavelle by registered post. You should also put a covering letter outlining your situation. In relation to your offer of 100 Euro, maybe you shouldn't offer that now until it is absolutely clear, after your done up your income & expenditure, that you can actually afford it.

Some people are very bad at doing up an income and expenditure SFS. Please seek the advice of Mabs - I believe they have a link on their website to show people how to fill out the SFS. That's a good starting point.

If you like you can post up all your figures on here and you may get further advice.

Most importantly please do not think going before a judge means you will be treated harsly, most judges are very understanding, particularly in the current crisis that so many people are in. If you go in with your figures and your honest story you have nothing to fear.

Have you any family member who is good at figures and can help you on this and on helping you to deal with the stress caused by the letters?

 

[Kev]

I totally with agree with above posts, but you should only make an initial offer of 50 euros a month as they will probably negotiate it up. However make sure you also keep some money available for emergencies for your children. They will not want to take you to court as they will probably get less. It depends on your disposable income that you will have left over after your priority outgoings.

 

[Bronte]

They will not want to take you to court as they will probably get less. .

A point on this, they probably will not waste time on continuing with court proceedings if Aliise demonstrates to them that she has no excess income to pay them.