Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

Former_StepChange_Matthew · 24 June 2016 at 10:04AM

After been on a DMP with stepchange for 2 and half years.

I can finally start to see the light at the end of the tunnel with only 6 more payments to make and i'll be debt free by the end of 2016 !

Ready to start 2017 all fresh and debt free !

Stepchange have been amazing and supportive through this difficult path !

That's great to hear! You're almost there

PRINCESSX87 · 29 June 2016 at 11:37AM

Hi. Looking for some advice please.

Many years ago I took out a studio account whilst in the mist of undiagnosed messy depression & stress. During that time I was using the account and making the payments but suddenly when my health overwhelmed me & loosing my job - I stopped paying all debts including this one.

I contacted studio via telephone to inform them of the situation and how I was unable to make monthly payments at that time. I was told from the advisor that my account would go directly to the recovery team but because I called them as a gesture of good will they would stop all late charges / admin charges of £20 each time a payment was missed.

Today, most if not all the debts have been brought by debt collection companies. I did try my hardest to make payments. If they was token ones. However when I received a letter from Robinsons Way for the outstanding amount of £300+ I knew something wasn’t right. I requested in December 2015 for a break down of all the charges.

I got back a letter with over £200 worth of charges and prize draw charges.
I disputed this straight away on the understanding that I was told over the phone my account wouldn’t be hit with these.

Now, Today, Months after first disputing the charges. I get told the following:

Thank you very much for your patience. Fortunately, I was able to get you an update from our client. The original creditor has advised that there is no record of yourself ever disputing admin charges or being informed they would not be applied. The original creditor has advised the service charge is the normal monthly interest applied to all their accounts. Prize wise is a monthly prize draw that you are offered to be entered into each time you place an order, once agreed to there is a monthly fee added to your bill every 28 days.

!I am sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction .Unfortunately, this is the information that has been received by the original creditor as this is an interest bearing account, interest and charges are applicable in line with the terms and conditions. Unfortunately, I am unable to confirm why it has taken this long for the original creditor to respond, however looking at your circumstances today I investigated further to get an update for you.

!!I can confirm that you are still liable for this account as explained previously in line with the original creditors response, If you wish we can send this to you in writing to confirm. Unfortunately, you are now required to repay the remaining balance of £220.00.!

The outstanding amount is all charges, interest and game charges which I never agreed to but apparently I know owe this money.

All this time (Six months) just to be told something I already knew, Studio has continued to ignore all my letters, calls and emails to resolve this matter. Its knocked my health back tenfold with all this worry.

Please could you let me know where I stand? I never got anything in writing as far as I remember as the advisor at the time told me that its not something they “normally do”

Thank you for your time.

Vicky.

StepChange_Rachael · 30 June 2016 at 11:14AM

Hi Vicky

Thanks for posting.

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been through a difficult time. It can’t have helped having to deal with the debts and that you’ve not had the reply you were hoping for from one of the creditors.

If a creditor makes an agreement with you it’s important to get this sent out in writing so you have a record of it. Without a record it would be difficult to dispute the added charges. However, you can take the dispute further if you feel you’re not happy with the response from the creditor.

We’d always suggest following the creditors complaints procedure and if you’re not happy with the response you can contact the Financial Ombudsman who’ll look in to the situation further for you. You can find their details here.

You can also ask the creditor to send you any information they hold on file for you, so you can check the original contractual agreements terms and conditions.

You’ve mentioned there are other debts outstanding, if you’d like to discuss these further and have free and impartial advice you can contact StepChange debt charity. StepChange tailor advice and recommendations to your individual situation.

You can find the contact details for StepChange here.

Thanks
Rachael

PRINCESSX87 wrote: »

Hi. Looking for some advice please.

Many years ago I took out a studio account whilst in the mist of undiagnosed messy depression & stress. During that time I was using the account and making the payments but suddenly when my health overwhelmed me & loosing my job - I stopped paying all debts including this one.

I contacted studio via telephone to inform them of the situation and how I was unable to make monthly payments at that time. I was told from the advisor that my account would go directly to the recovery team but because I called them as a gesture of good will they would stop all late charges / admin charges of £20 each time a payment was missed.

Today, most if not all the debts have been brought by debt collection companies. I did try my hardest to make payments. If they was token ones. However when I received a letter from Robinsons Way for the outstanding amount of £300+ I knew something wasn’t right. I requested in December 2015 for a break down of all the charges.

I got back a letter with over £200 worth of charges and prize draw charges.
I disputed this straight away on the understanding that I was told over the phone my account wouldn’t be hit with these.

Now, Today, Months after first disputing the charges. I get told the following:

Thank you very much for your patience. Fortunately, I was able to get you an update from our client. The original creditor has advised that there is no record of yourself ever disputing admin charges or being informed they would not be applied. The original creditor has advised the service charge is the normal monthly interest applied to all their accounts. Prize wise is a monthly prize draw that you are offered to be entered into each time you place an order, once agreed to there is a monthly fee added to your bill every 28 days.

!I am sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction .Unfortunately, this is the information that has been received by the original creditor as this is an interest bearing account, interest and charges are applicable in line with the terms and conditions. Unfortunately, I am unable to confirm why it has taken this long for the original creditor to respond, however looking at your circumstances today I investigated further to get an update for you.

!!I can confirm that you are still liable for this account as explained previously in line with the original creditors response, If you wish we can send this to you in writing to confirm. Unfortunately, you are now required to repay the remaining balance of £220.00.!

The outstanding amount is all charges, interest and game charges which I never agreed to but apparently I know owe this money.

All this time (Six months) just to be told something I already knew, Studio has continued to ignore all my letters, calls and emails to resolve this matter. Its knocked my health back tenfold with all this worry.

Please could you let me know where I stand? I never got anything in writing as far as I remember as the advisor at the time told me that its not something they “normally do”

Thank you for your time.

Vicky.

Stresshead81 · 1 July 2016 at 9:03AM

Hi,

I am currently on a DMP with Stepchange, and as part of the agreement I knew I couldn't take out any more credit. However, due to various money factors (car and other things) I stupidly took out a payday loan to cover the costs of my car. In addition, fell behind with my repayments to tesco mobile. I tried to discuss repayment but they said that's something they don't do and would be passed to a debt collectors.
I'm really worried about my debts and wondering do I need to move to another dmp company?

AdviceSought · 1 July 2016 at 9:52AM

I'm looking to start a DPP with Stepchange.

Wondering when the best time to actually send the forms in would be?

The payments due to come off my most recently salary payment have now been taken.

I sent in the forms now to Step Change, would it likely start from my July salary (paid on 29th Jul) , or would it be more likely to start from my August salary(paid on 26th Aug)

Also, I know that a DPP or DMP will both hammer my credit rating, not overly bothered as I don't have a good one anyway, but would I be right in thinking the DPP option would do less damage?

Judithmackie · 2 July 2016 at 12:57PM

I currently have a mortgage, loan, car & credit card payments which leave me with very little money left for bills and food. I have now been hit with a credit card I thought I paid off and a factor fee I didn't know anything about, both of these have decimated my credit score so I can't get a normal re-mortgage, tried to increase my loan but was declined. I cannot add even a small payment to each company a month therefore looked to increase my mortgage.

There is very little information out there about this, I am getting to or maybe even well into a panic about this and have no idea what to do, thought about nothing else for days.

Any advice?

Former_StepChange_Richard · 4 July 2016 at 10:08AM

Stresshead81 wrote: »

Hi,

I am currently on a DMP with Stepchange, and as part of the agreement I knew I couldn't take out any more credit. However, due to various money factors (car and other things) I stupidly took out a payday loan to cover the costs of my car. In addition, fell behind with my repayments to tesco mobile. I tried to discuss repayment but they said that's something they don't do and would be passed to a debt collectors.
I'm really worried about my debts and wondering do I need to move to another dmp company?

Hi there,

Thanks for your message. Try not to worry too much about this as we'll definitely be able to help.

As you're on a plan with us already, the best thing to do would be to call our Customer Service team. They'll be able to discuss this with you and work out the best way forward. You've probably got the number already, but you can click here if you need any contact details.

I hope this helps.
Richard.

Former_StepChange_Richard · 4 July 2016 at 10:15AM

AdviceSought wrote: »

I'm looking to start a DPP with Stepchange.

Wondering when the best time to actually send the forms in would be?

The payments due to come off my most recently salary payment have now been taken.

I sent in the forms now to Step Change, would it likely start from my July salary (paid on 29th Jul) , or would it be more likely to start from my August salary(paid on 26th Aug)

Also, I know that a DPP or DMP will both hammer my credit rating, not overly bothered as I don't have a good one anyway, but would I be right in thinking the DPP option would do less damage?

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch. Glad to hear that you're looking to start a plan with us. We'll do everything we can to help.

I can't give specifics about your plan on this forum so to answer your questions it would be best to get in touch. All our contact details are here.

We'll be able to answer all the questions you have including the impact the plans can have on your credit rating. Without knowing more about your situation, it's too hard for me to say from here though.

I hope this has been of some help.
Richard.

Former_StepChange_Richard · 4 July 2016 at 10:49AM

Judithmackie wrote: »

I currently have a mortgage, loan, car & credit card payments which leave me with very little money left for bills and food. I have now been hit with a credit card I thought I paid off and a factor fee I didn't know anything about, both of these have decimated my credit score so I can't get a normal re-mortgage, tried to increase my loan but was declined. I cannot add even a small payment to each company a month therefore looked to increase my mortgage.

There is very little information out there about this, I am getting to or maybe even well into a panic about this and have no idea what to do, thought about nothing else for days.

Any advice?

Hi there

Thanks for contacting us and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry to hear how this situation is affecting you, but you're not alone with this and we'll certainly be able to help.

If you're struggling to pay for your essential living costs like food then you could definitely do with some advice on the best way to deal with your debts. For us, you should always look to pay your essentials first. You need to keep the roof over your head and have enough food on your table as a priority. Only after you have paid all of your essential living costs should you then look to pay your creditors what you can afford.

The way we'll help is by looking at your financial situation as a whole taking into consideration your income, all expenditure and the debts you have. We'll then be in a position to advise you on the best resolution to your situation. It's then up to you to decide if you want to take our advice or not. There's no obligation at all.

Our Debt Remedy tool is a great way to begin the advice process with us in your own time. You'll be able to build a budget by entering in your details. At the end, we'll offer you the best option(s) and give you all the information you'll need to get started.

If you'd prefer you can call us and speak with one of our advisors over the phone. We can create a budget with you and then offer you advice to help. You can find all our contact details here.

In the meantime try not to worry. I know these situations can seem daunting, but we're here to help and we'll support you every step of the way.

I hope this has eased your mind a little. Take care.
Richard.

Buttonmoon12 · 4 July 2016 at 2:07PM

Hi

I'm in 26K of debt across credit cards, overdrafts, store cards & loans & i don't know where to start.

I have not defaulted on any of them, however i am only making minimum payments & i know they'll never get paid off in that way. The minimum payments (because they're so high), means im left with absolutely nothing at the end of the month.

My credit score is not good enough to consolidate & im worried about entering a DMP as that means defaulting and i've worked so hard not to default on any of them.

I have no assets to sell and no family to help me.

Where do i begin?

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