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StepChange_James · 3 January 2013 at 11:40AM

lisanoo wrote: »

Someone from PayPlan told me today that DROs don't apply to Northern Ireland. Is that true? I didn't think so myself but I'm new to all of this. Anyone know for sure?

Hi,

You can do DROs in Northern Ireland. They were introduced in March 2011 (which was a little bit later than England and Wales). They aren't available in Scotland but that have a scheme called LiLa which is not the same but has some similarities.

Our website has a page on Debt Relief Orders that you might find useful.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James · 3 January 2013 at 11:43AM

inetfree180 wrote: »

it's been a year and i'm still on credit card rehab.

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

Congratulations on reaching a year of not using credit cards. If you've any questions please feel free to ask.

Regards

James

even_2 · 3 January 2013 at 12:25PM

I have been paying back a large debt for over 14 years now through a debt collecting agency, (BLS Collections). I have never had any issues but they have now handed over my file to another company.

How long do i have to keep paying this debt off?

I think when i spoke to the new company i will still be paying this off when i am in my 70's.

Is there anyone i can speak to to see if i can get some or all of it written off.

Cheers

StepChange_James · 3 January 2013 at 1:56PM

even wrote: »

I have been paying back a large debt for over 14 years now through a debt collecting agency, (BLS Collections). I have never had any issues but they have now handed over my file to another company.

How long do i have to keep paying this debt off?

I think when i spoke to the new company i will still be paying this off when i am in my 70's.

Is there anyone i can speak to to see if i can get some or all of it written off.

Cheers

Hi Even,

It's no unusual for debts to be passed from one debt collector to the next, but they all work roughly the same way.

There isn't a time limit on how long you can take to pay back a debt but if it's going to take a very long time then it's usually worth taking advice about what other options you might have.

Some people manage to successfully get their debts written off but it is usually in exceptional circumstances, like if you were very ill. Creditors are more willing to consider settlement offers though, were you offer a reduced lump sum to clear the debt - but getting hold of a lump sum is obviously not easy to do.

I'd suggest getting in touch with us for some advice. You can do this online (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) or over the phone (http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx).

Hope this helps.

James

Clara87 · 3 January 2013 at 2:44PM

Hi

New year and I am looking to get some advice on my debt. I can no longer meet the minimum payments I have for my credit cards & personal loan. I have been selling all valuable items I have for the last 6 months and am running out of things to be able to afford petrol to get into work so I am looking to find out what other options I have.

Is there any way if I look at an IVA or debt management plan I can do this under my own name only and it will not affect my husband? I know it wouldnt help his credit rating but currently we have not missed any payments on any bills but as we now work opposite hours at work our fuel costs have doubled which has been the tipping point and I don't know whats best to do as a first step to making things better.

Also what impact would this have on our mortgage? It is only my own credit card & loan thats is an issue, do I stop paying just 1 of them? Phone them all and ask for a payment plan? Sorry if these are all stupid questions !

We have cut back on all things we can, sold everything we have of value and are struggiling with what to do now.

I am in scotland as I think this meams any IVA option is different

Thanks in advance for any help

eta - I will be looking at the step change website to get more info but I dont have all my figures to hand just now and wont get a chance until the weekend so just hoping for some advice before then. Thanks

labyrinth84 · 3 January 2013 at 2:51PM

Hi,

After a year of burying head in the sand, we want to start 2013 by repaying debt.

We have no credit card debt, loans etc...bar a mobile phone contract debt.
All our other debts are household bills:
British Gas (now on payment meter, but debt from last address so it isn't being paid on this meter)
My partners council tax bill from another borough is approx £4000 (ex partner was in charge of bill payment, didn't pay)
A tax bill of £1000+
Other household owings...

Now, I know we could contact each company and come to an agreement. But as our money is low and irregular, we don't want to make payment arrangements to just default on them.

Is there a way of putting all debt into one, without taking a loan?

Thanks

newleaf63 · 3 January 2013 at 3:03PM

Hi i have just joined the forum and am looking for advice on reducing my debt and debt consolidation. My current situation is that i have around 12K credit card debts and I am self-employed having started a new business in 2010. I own a property worth approx £200,000 with a £65,000 mortgage outstanding and have 3 loans totaling around another £12,000 but these will be paid of in around 30 months or less and i am happy with these. My main problem is the credit card debt as although i am paying the minimum amount off and a little bit more the interest is crippling but being self-employed and still in a start up phase i don't show a large profit in my first 2 years of trading. I don't have any c.c.j's or bad credit, occasionally gone over my overdraft with around £20 but as soon as i realised i put some money into account to rectify, usually on the same day.

What i would really like is to convert my credit card debts to some kind of loan over a 10 year period with the option to pay back more or repay early but not sure if my self-employed will prevent me doing this. My personal bank account which i have had for 15 years shows around £1,500 - £2,000 per month being deposited.

Thanks in advance.

StepChange_James · 3 January 2013 at 4:10PM

Clara87 wrote: »

Hi

New year and I am looking to get some advice on my debt. I can no longer meet the minimum payments I have for my credit cards & personal loan. I have been selling all valuable items I have for the last 6 months and am running out of things to be able to afford petrol to get into work so I am looking to find out what other options I have.

Is there any way if I look at an IVA or debt management plan I can do this under my own name only and it will not affect my husband? I know it wouldnt help his credit rating but currently we have not missed any payments on any bills but as we now work opposite hours at work our fuel costs have doubled which has been the tipping point and I don't know whats best to do as a first step to making things better.

Also what impact would this have on our mortgage? It is only my own credit card & loan thats is an issue, do I stop paying just 1 of them? Phone them all and ask for a payment plan? Sorry if these are all stupid questions !

We have cut back on all things we can, sold everything we have of value and are struggiling with what to do now.

I am in scotland as I think this meams any IVA option is different

Thanks in advance for any help

eta - I will be looking at the step change website to get more info but I dont have all my figures to hand just now and wont get a chance until the weekend so just hoping for some advice before then. Thanks

Hello,

Thanks for posting. Looking to take the New Year as an opportunity to move forward with your finances is a great idea.

You're right when you say you can't do IVAs in Scotland. They have a similar scheme though, called Trust Deeds. You can read more here: http://www.stepchange.org/Debtinformationandadvice/Debtsolutions/Trustdeed.aspx.

The first thing to do in these sorts of situations is to take stock of your finances. So as well as your household bills it would be a good idea to start thinking about what you regularly spend on every thing else (like food, travel, clothes and everything else you can think of).

Once you've got all this stuff together and have time to go to our website you can use our Debt Remedy tool (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) and it will talk you through the options and give you instructions on what to do next depending on what solution you choose.

If you've got payments due between now and the time you can get advice from us then a phone call to explain you can't afford the payments may reduce the hassle you get from creditors.

If you can complete Debt Remedy before your next payment then that will talk you through what to do next with your creditors - they are usually easier to deal with if you can tell them your getting advice from StepChange Debt Charity.

Hope this helps.

James

StepChange_James · 3 January 2013 at 4:17PM

labyrinth84 wrote: »

Hi,

After a year of burying head in the sand, we want to start 2013 by repaying debt.

We have no credit card debt, loans etc...bar a mobile phone contract debt.
All our other debts are household bills:
British Gas (now on payment meter, but debt from last address so it isn't being paid on this meter)
My partners council tax bill from another borough is approx £4000 (ex partner was in charge of bill payment, didn't pay)
A tax bill of £1000+
Other household owings...

Now, I know we could contact each company and come to an agreement. But as our money is low and irregular, we don't want to make payment arrangements to just default on them.

Is there a way of putting all debt into one, without taking a loan?

Thanks

Hello,

Thanks for getting in touch. Despite not having a lot of unsecured credit debt, it does sound like things are pretty tough for your financially.

There isn't a facility that I can think of that would put these debts into one payment that isn't a loan. Some companies provide bank accounts where they pay your bills for you and then give you spending money out of whats left but they are usually quite expensive and don't really solve this sort of problem.

If you give us a call (http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx)and have a debt advice session with us we can help you plan out a budget and try to make suggestions of arrangements to offer towards these debts. I know it's hard to plan budget with a variable income but we can work out an average income with you and start from there.

Hope this helps.

James

StepChange_James · 3 January 2013 at 4:37PM

newleaf63 wrote: »

Hi i have just joined the forum and am looking for advice on reducing my debt and debt consolidation. My current situation is that i have around 12K credit card debts and I am self-employed having started a new business in 2010. I own a property worth approx £200,000 with a £65,000 mortgage outstanding and have 3 loans totaling around another £12,000 but these will be paid of in around 30 months or less and i am happy with these. My main problem is the credit card debt as although i am paying the minimum amount off and a little bit more the interest is crippling but being self-employed and still in a start up phase i don't show a large profit in my first 2 years of trading. I don't have any c.c.j's or bad credit, occasionally gone over my overdraft with around £20 but as soon as i realised i put some money into account to rectify, usually on the same day.

What i would really like is to convert my credit card debts to some kind of loan over a 10 year period with the option to pay back more or repay early but not sure if my self-employed will prevent me doing this. My personal bank account which i have had for 15 years shows around £1,500 - £2,000 per month being deposited.

Thanks in advance.

Hello and welcome to the forum.

We generally advise against consolidation loans, as we speak to a lot of people who've taken them out and find that it has made their situation worse.

Also, if you're looking at a loan term of 10 years then it might be hard to get anything but a secured loan, which again we advise against. This is because you'd be paying off unsecured debt with a secured debt and putting your property at greater risk if you ever struggled with payments.

I'm not sure if you'd qualify for such a loan but being self employed often makes it harder to prove you are able to afford to repayments on a debt.

There's a good article on the main site about taking out loans: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/cheap-personal-loans but I would suggest being very careful before committing to new borrowing, making sure that you can afford it and that it won't cost you too much.

If you're struggling to keep up with payment then you could get in touch with us for advice, but from what you've said it sounds like the issue is trying to work out the best way to pay these debts.

If possible I'd recommend trying to pay as much as you can off these debts every month and bring them down that way. I appreciate that this is easier said than done, but if you can manage it you'll be better off in the long run.

Hope this helps.

James

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