Mum-of-one had to pay £7,500 overdraft and credit card debts that ex left behind
MUM-OF-ONE Amy Tweed was left to pay £7,500 in joint debts when her marriage broke down seven years ago.
The factory worker, 31, ended up owing £16,000 in total after turning to payday loans as she couldn’t afford repayments - but in just four years she’s managed to pay off every penny.
As soon as the couple separated in September 2012 her ex went silent leaving Amy to pay off an £3,000 overdraft on their joint Lloyds bank account.
The overdraft had been increased after her ex had passed his driving test in 2011 to help buy a car.
Plus, they had credit cards and catalogue debt adding up to £4,500 which has been used for everyday essentials and clothes for her daughter Courtney, now 14.
'We didn't have an extravagant life'
“My ex and I didn’t have an extravagant life. We’d buy something on credit for my daughter Courtney.” Amy who lives in Worthing told The Sun.
“It seemed manageable because there were two wages.”
“The £3,000 joint overdraft somehow all got left to me because I didn’t know where he was living and he wouldn’t communicate.”
Amy was on a salary of £13,200 a year and trying to provide for her daughter so she quickly fell behind on bills.
She added: “I really felt the pressure to make sure Courtney had a good birthday, Christmas or school holiday. I felt like I had to keep up with her dad’s family and school friends.”
“I didn’t know what terms like APR meant. I hoped Capital One would give me a big enough credit limit to be able to transfer some debt across so I could maybe have an interest-free period to help get my debts down. It didn’t work out like that.”
Initially she took out a £200 Wonga long to do food shopping and paid it back immediately but the following month she was short again and soon her finances spiralled and she owed £16,000 in total.
'I was so embarrassed - I needed to keep a roof over our heads'
“It was like borrowing from Peter to pay Paul. I was constantly juggling it all and seemed to just scrape by,” Amy added.
Amy earned £1,100 a month after tax but realised after writing her bills down that her debt repayments were £1,200 a month, always leaving her short of cash and with nothing to live on.
“I was so embarrassed about it all. I just kept doing what I was doing because I needed to be there for my daughter and keep a roof over our heads.”
But in December 2013 Amy defaulted on a Littlewoods catalogue payment and realised that she needed to sort out her situation.
The dangers of joint bank accounts
A joint bank account lets you manage money you share with your partner, housemate or others. It’s convenient - but there are risks.
- If one of you has a poor credit history then it could affect your credit rating
- An account holder can take money out without your consent
- If the account becomes overdrawn then you’re both liable for the debt
If you’re having problems with an account holder then you can ask your bank to freeze the account.
The bank will only unlock the account if everyone agrees on how to split the money.
She was recommended by a friend to try PayPlan who offered her a debt management plan (DMP).
Providers will contact your creditors to agree to a repayment plan and they can sometimes negotiate for your debts to be frozen.
You make one monthly payment to the DMP provider who then pays your creditors for you.
PayPlan does not charge a fee for a DMP but some suppliers do so it’s worth double checking how much this will cost you.
A DMP is good for someone who find managing their money complex and stressful but you can organise for your debts to be frozen yourself by contacting your creditors and explaining your situation.
It took Amy four years to pay off her payday loan, credit card and catalogue debts but she still hadn’t paid off the joint overdraft.
'It was a nightmare - I had to pay it all off'
During this time Amy was charged another £416 in interest, which was only adding to her debt worries.
Joint accounts must have a zero balance and both account holders must sign paperwork in order to close them.
Amy said: “It was a nightmare. The only way I could close it to get my name separated
from his was to pay off the £3,000 overdraft - which I did.
“But we haven’t spoken since September 2012 and I didn’t know where he was living.”
She only managed to close the joint bank account in April 2018 after sending him
paperwork through mutual connections.
“I did that without speaking to him. I had a friend who had a friend who worked with him. I asked them to pass on some paperwork to sign.”
Banks have tried to make closing joint accounts easier to help situations where a couple has split on bad terms or in cases of domestic abuse.
For example, since 2007 both account holders do not have to be present at the same time when a joint account is closed.
In April this year Amy received a letter from Lloyds out of the blue with £397 compensation for overdraft charges.
Lloyds admitted wrongly charging interest fees even though Amy was on a DMP and struggling financially.
In total they paid £794 compensation but gaullingly the cash was split and half was given to Amy’s ex-partner.
'It felt like a kick in the teeth'
She said: “I was gutted to see the compensation had been split. It was a kick in the teeth after I had paid it all off.
“He didn’t deserve that. But I knew there was nothing I could do.”
When The Sun contacted Lloyds about Amy’s case they agreed to refund her additional £397 as a gesture of goodwill.
A spokesperson said: “We always encourage customers to let us know of any difficulties they may be facing to help us provide appropriate care and support.”
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Finance expert Sarah Coles, from Hargreaves Lansdown, warned about the risk of joint bank accounts.
She said: “You both have the right to take money out of the account – regardless of who paid it in – so one of you could empty the account without the other knowing.
“The other problem is by having a joint bank account you’ll have linked your credit files.
“It means that even if you break up and close the accounts, if they continue to be terrible with money, it’ll reflect on your credit record.”
““You can protect yourself by only putting enough into the joint account each month to cover the bills, and keep the rest of your finances separate.”
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