Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

DCFC79 · 23 February 2017 at 3:02PM

Vita_Brevis wrote: »

Thanks for replying. I did speak to the CAB about my financial problems a couple of years ago in an attempt to resolve everything, and they said they couldn't help me because my partner is self-employed. They referred me to a different organisation, the name of which escapes me now - but all the forms they sent me were for self-employed people with business-related debts. My husband has no debt issues, all the problems are mine and none of the forms were relevant to me. So even when I sought advice, I hit a brick wall.

Will the fact that my partner is self-employed be a barrier to Step Change helping me? It's all so long ago now that I can't even remember who I owe money to, let alone the amounts involved. Nationwide just happen to have been the first company to catch up with me.

The fact your partner is SE shouldnt be a barrier for help, the debts are yours.

Id get the NW sorted before you get a CCJ.

sbreez1 · 23 February 2017 at 4:52PM

So my credit rating is really really bad.

In the last 6 months I have been rejected for 3 overdrafts and 2 credit cards.

I owe about £3000 and on top of that I keep getting charged different sorts of interest which is just eating the money I am trying to pay off.

I want something like where I can put all debt on 1 credit card and pay 1 monthly amount without getting charged much but how can I do this is I cant get a credit card???

Please help.

StepChange_Kirsty · 23 February 2017 at 6:29PM

Hello,

It sounds like the CAB may have referred you to an organisation called Business Debtline who specialise in dealing with business debts and business budgets. Sometimes we also recommend Business Debtline but usually only when there are business debts involved or where someone doesn’t know their take home pay after business costs and HMRC expenses.

Your husband being self-employed is certainly not a barrier to receiving our help and advice. I would recommend you contact one of our Debt Advisors as soon as possible so we can give you urgent advice on dealing with the claim form you’ve received from the court.

Our number is 0800 138 1111 and we’re available Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 8am to 4pm.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Kirsty

Vita_Brevis wrote: »

Thanks for replying. I did speak to the CAB about my financial problems a couple of years ago in an attempt to resolve everything, and they said they couldn't help me because my partner is self-employed. They referred me to a different organisation, the name of which escapes me now - but all the forms they sent me were for self-employed people with business-related debts. My husband has no debt issues, all the problems are mine and none of the forms were relevant to me. So even when I sought advice, I hit a brick wall.

Will the fact that my partner is self-employed be a barrier to Step Change helping me? It's all so long ago now that I can't even remember who I owe money to, let alone the amounts involved. Nationwide just happen to have been the first company to catch up with me.

StepChange_Kirsty · 23 February 2017 at 7:09PM

Hi there,

Thanks for your post.

As a Debt Advisor I would not promote using credit to pay credit as often this can lead to a much worse situation.

Having said that, if the main issue is the interest payments, then looking for a 0% interest card can sometimes help you reduce the balance much more quickly. We do not provide advice ourselves on credit cards so I would recommend reading more information on the main MSE site.

I can see you have already tried to apply for alternative credit cards and I would be careful if you continue to apply. This is because every time you apply for credit and it is rejected, a footprint will be left on your credit file which other creditors would be able to see. You could try using a soft search to find out if you would be eligible for cheaper credit. This would not have as big an impact on your credit file.

If you feel that you are struggling meet the contractual payments to your creditors please do contact us so we can provide you with further help and advice. Our contact details are here.

We also have a Debt Remedy tool where you can input details about your financial situation online and we can provide further advice in the form of a personal action plan.

Here is the link to our Debt Remedy tool.

I hope this is helpful.

Kirsty

sbreez1 wrote: »

So my credit rating is really really bad.

In the last 6 months I have been rejected for 3 overdrafts and 2 credit cards.

I owe about £3000 and on top of that I keep getting charged different sorts of interest which is just eating the money I am trying to pay off.

I want something like where I can put all debt on 1 credit card and pay 1 monthly amount without getting charged much but how can I do this is I cant get a credit card???

Please help.

Caville246 · 24 February 2017 at 11:04AM

Hi I hope someone can give me some advice. Recently a ccj was filed against me as restons solicitors declined my offer of payment and are wanting £447 a month which I cannot afford to pay. I sent a redetermination to Northampton on time and it has been transferred to my local court. However I have called them today and they have told me they have not processed it yet and it could take 2 weeks. My payment would be due the 4th March and I don't know what to do?? I'm panicking? Please help

Former_StepChange_Linsi · 24 February 2017 at 12:37PM

Hi there

Thanks you for your post and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear about what’s happened. You certainly did the right thing by applying for redetermination if the payments weren’t affordable for you.

You’ll need to continue making payments in line with the original judgment until you’ve received written confirmation of the variation from the court.

If you can’t make the required payment next Saturday then it’s best to pay what you can as a gesture of goodwill. I’d also recommend speaking to Restons Solicitors to let them know you’ve applied for redetermination. You can also let them know you’ve spoken to your local court who has advised your application will be processed within two weeks.

Just be aware that if you do miss or make a reduced payment, the creditor could begin enforcement. You can find more information about this on our website.

It may also be worth going back to your local court and letting them know when the first payment is due. They may be able to speed things up and look at your application sooner.

I hope this helps.

Linsi

Caville246 wrote: »

Hi I hope someone can give me some advice. Recently a ccj was filed against me as restons solicitors declined my offer of payment and are wanting £447 a month which I cannot afford to pay. I sent a redetermination to Northampton on time and it has been transferred to my local court. However I have called them today and they have told me they have not processed it yet and it could take 2 weeks. My payment would be due the 4th March and I don't know what to do?? I'm panicking? Please help

Rochdale_Guy · 1 March 2017 at 3:56PM

Hello, asking this on behalf of someone so here goes.

Can someone (60+) in a lot of credit card debt who jointly owns there home with a daughter (but daughter doesn't live there) be accepted on a DMP, and what are the chances the credit card companies will try and make them sell the house (mortgage paid off) to clear the £15k credit card debts.

Homeowner is currently paying the monthly minimum totals with help from her daughter but the interest is extortionate and swamping the monthly repayments each month.

They do not want to sell the family home to have to repay the debts, so are there any other options please and would StepChange accept her as a client?

One of the credit card companies has sent her a form to complete asking what her income/outgoings are, but it also asks what the value of the property is.

Any advice/help most appreciated please.

Thank you.

It would help if the c/card companies would at least freeze the interest but a DMP would have more power, surely?

Thank you.

Former_StepChange_Richard · 2 March 2017 at 12:19PM

Rochdale_Guy wrote: »

Hello, asking this on behalf of someone so here goes.

Can someone (60+) in a lot of credit card debt who jointly owns there home with a daughter (but daughter doesn't live there) be accepted on a DMP, and what are the chances the credit card companies will try and make them sell the house (mortgage paid off) to clear the £15k credit card debts.

Homeowner is currently paying the monthly minimum totals with help from her daughter but the interest is extortionate and swamping the monthly repayments each month.

They do not want to sell the family home to have to repay the debts, so are there any other options please and would StepChange accept her as a client?

One of the credit card companies has sent her a form to complete asking what her income/outgoings are, but it also asks what the value of the property is.

Any advice/help most appreciated please.

Thank you.

It would help if the c/card companies would at least freeze the interest but a DMP would have more power, surely?

Thank you.

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch.

Credit cards are known as unsecured debts in the industry because it is only the person, not the assets the person has, that can be held liable for the debt. This means that a credit card company cannot make a person sell their home for having a credit card.

If a person does not pay their contractual payments a company will likely issue a notice of default against that person (affecting their credit file). This also means the company can pursue court action against the individual through something called a county court judgement (CCJ).

Once a company has applied for a CCJ they could then apply for a charging order against the property. If this happens, the debt becomes secured against an asset that the person has (a home in most cases). Failing to meet the payment terms of the charging order could then see the company request that the court forces the sale of the asset to pay the debt off. A judge would make this decision though, not the company.

As you can see, there's a lot of steps to go through before a person's home can be at risk for having a credit card debt. If a person can come to an arrangement to pay the debt back with the company, it will likely never reach the point of a charging order.

We can help this person with their debts. The person's age or living arrangements do not affect our ability to help them. I would suggest that they contact us and begin the advice process. They can appoint someone to do this on their behalf if they are not comfortable dealing with this themselves.

There's two ways to begin the advice process with us:

Use our Debt Remedy tool on our website. This self-help tool will help you to create a budget to show a person's full financial situaiton. The Debt Remedy tool will then present the best advice to help the person with their debts.

Alternatively, if they would prefer to speak with an advisor over the phone to make the budget and get the advice, they can call our Helpline. All contact details are here.

I hope this helps.

Richard.

Rochdale_Guy · 2 March 2017 at 5:17PM

Thank you StepChange_Richard,

That was very encouraging, I will show them this information.

Cheers.

Sleepyhead1906 · 3 March 2017 at 4:55AM

Hi , I have just joined the forum and because of worrying about debt have not slept. Husband confessed last night to hidden £53k of credit card debt that has built up over many years. We have a mortgage of £39k on a house worth sound £170000 (only 9 years to go). My question is should we ask our mortgage lender to add debt to mortgage which I have calculated we can afford easily afford, or ask for a DMP? Sorry if posted in wrong bit but so tired and confused I'm not functioning properly. Please help me as I'm trying to deal with this without worrying my husband even more.

Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

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