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Probably never getting a house (long and whiny)
Eleven years ago I had 2 loans, 2 credit cards and accompanying costs (storage fees, parking tickets and 407 fees from the car that one of the loans was for, cleaning and damage fees from a rental that the other loan was for) from an ex boyfriend who gave his new girlfriend my details and used her to open credit in my name. It took me years and cost me thousands to get that all cleared up. Add that into my habit until that time of paying utilities late, and having no credit history myself, and it was a major undertaking.
When my husband died I was working 12 hours a week, he was basically supporting the household, and our son was too young to enter into a registered daycare, so another hit as I went into debt with everyone (landlord, utilities) for four months until I started working again. I also acquired a couple debts from him that I didn't know about, so they ballooned a bit before I found about and was able to pay them, and I couldn't prove if they were genuine or not, since I didn't even know him when they were taken out, which took a couple more years of my credit acquiring life.
Last year I got a call from a creditor from Rogers (phone and internet) over the last debt from that time - since they wouldn't allow me to cancel the account and give forwarding address because I owed them money and they 'can't make changes on an account that has a balance owing' I was looking at a couple grand from them, including the boxes that none of the reps I talked to would tell me what they looked like or where they would be in the house so I could return them. I managed to get that - finally - settled for what would have been a reasonable final bill, if Rogers didn't have such an idiotic policy (I hope no one here works there!)
I got preliminary approval for a mortgage this year, with some government assistance for first time home buyers with lower income, and found a house I wanted, put in an offer, went for final mortgage approval - and they found thousands of dollars of debt under my name. All for the same bill, each debt company sold it to the next but didn't take if off the credit report. I can't get the mortgage, I've lost my deposit, I've lost my approval for the government assistance, since it is dependent on financing, and I've lost my will to continue to fight for this. It took me such a long time and so much money to get everything back the last time, it took so many hoops to jump through to get down payment assistance, and I'm exhausted.
The debt I owe? Life insurance. When my husband passed we had life and disability insurance for each other, but the policy was taken out in his name, and the funds taken out of his bank account each month (because he was the only one working). When he died I submitted to get the payment (since it was life insurance and he died) and they denied it five times. Each for more stupid reasons than the last. (We can't payout for suicide - but it says in your policy that is only true for the first year, and we've had this policy more than two years, yes but we can't pay for intentionally dangerous activities and he was alone in the woods at the time, he could have been mauled by a bear - but he wasn't, and that has nothing to do with his death, your policy states that as dangerous activities leading to death, the example in the policy is skydiving, yes but we can't pay for illegal activities and it shows here that he was drinking before he died, and was on public property, which is illegal etc. etc. etc.) So they didn't pay anything.
They also wouldn't cancel the insurance. I sent his death certificate in, they wouldn't let me cancel the policy because he originally took it out. They needed to talk to him or get a letter from him, and only him. After three months I closed his bank account so the automatic payments would stop. They would call me every month and tell me that the payment wasn't made and if it continued the policy would cancel, I would say I'd already cancelled it, they would tell me it wasn't allowed. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
I guess they kept the policy open for three years before cancelling and sending to collections, three years of missed payments, interest and collections fees owing. It doesn't matter that I have all the paperwork showing their response to my continued requests to cancel, it doesn't matter that it wasn't MY policy (or I would have able to cancel it). I showed the file to the mortgage broker and she said I should have hired a lawyer to get the payout, but that it was too late now. (It's been 7 years)
I just want to hide and cry and give up.
When my husband died I was working 12 hours a week, he was basically supporting the household, and our son was too young to enter into a registered daycare, so another hit as I went into debt with everyone (landlord, utilities) for four months until I started working again. I also acquired a couple debts from him that I didn't know about, so they ballooned a bit before I found about and was able to pay them, and I couldn't prove if they were genuine or not, since I didn't even know him when they were taken out, which took a couple more years of my credit acquiring life.
Last year I got a call from a creditor from Rogers (phone and internet) over the last debt from that time - since they wouldn't allow me to cancel the account and give forwarding address because I owed them money and they 'can't make changes on an account that has a balance owing' I was looking at a couple grand from them, including the boxes that none of the reps I talked to would tell me what they looked like or where they would be in the house so I could return them. I managed to get that - finally - settled for what would have been a reasonable final bill, if Rogers didn't have such an idiotic policy (I hope no one here works there!)
I got preliminary approval for a mortgage this year, with some government assistance for first time home buyers with lower income, and found a house I wanted, put in an offer, went for final mortgage approval - and they found thousands of dollars of debt under my name. All for the same bill, each debt company sold it to the next but didn't take if off the credit report. I can't get the mortgage, I've lost my deposit, I've lost my approval for the government assistance, since it is dependent on financing, and I've lost my will to continue to fight for this. It took me such a long time and so much money to get everything back the last time, it took so many hoops to jump through to get down payment assistance, and I'm exhausted.
The debt I owe? Life insurance. When my husband passed we had life and disability insurance for each other, but the policy was taken out in his name, and the funds taken out of his bank account each month (because he was the only one working). When he died I submitted to get the payment (since it was life insurance and he died) and they denied it five times. Each for more stupid reasons than the last. (We can't payout for suicide - but it says in your policy that is only true for the first year, and we've had this policy more than two years, yes but we can't pay for intentionally dangerous activities and he was alone in the woods at the time, he could have been mauled by a bear - but he wasn't, and that has nothing to do with his death, your policy states that as dangerous activities leading to death, the example in the policy is skydiving, yes but we can't pay for illegal activities and it shows here that he was drinking before he died, and was on public property, which is illegal etc. etc. etc.) So they didn't pay anything.
They also wouldn't cancel the insurance. I sent his death certificate in, they wouldn't let me cancel the policy because he originally took it out. They needed to talk to him or get a letter from him, and only him. After three months I closed his bank account so the automatic payments would stop. They would call me every month and tell me that the payment wasn't made and if it continued the policy would cancel, I would say I'd already cancelled it, they would tell me it wasn't allowed. Repeat, repeat, repeat.
I guess they kept the policy open for three years before cancelling and sending to collections, three years of missed payments, interest and collections fees owing. It doesn't matter that I have all the paperwork showing their response to my continued requests to cancel, it doesn't matter that it wasn't MY policy (or I would have able to cancel it). I showed the file to the mortgage broker and she said I should have hired a lawyer to get the payout, but that it was too late now. (It's been 7 years)
I just want to hide and cry and give up.
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