Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_Private_Messages · 13 September 2013 at 11:18AM

GlamGirlie wrote: »

Hi there, I had an IVA which ended with the 60th repayment in June 2012 (commenced July 2007).

I received my certificate in July 2013 (inefficiency on the aprt of Debt Free Direct) and all defaults but two disappeared from my credit files.

Nationwide credit card was the first, I wrote to them, sent a copy of the certificate, they deleted it from my internet banking a week or two later my Noddle credit report showed it had disappeared.

The second was an HSBC loan. It was included in the IVA, but the default date is wrongly shown on Noddle as October 2008.

I have written to HSBC on several occasions and have received no response. I have called but was told someone would have to call me back and never does.

How can I get this corrected, please?

I have asked Noddle but they say I need to speak with HSBC!

Hello,

Thanks for posting and well done on completing your IVA and being debt free for a year.

I would normally suggest writing to HSBC and asking them to update your file but it sounds like you've done that at least once and they've not responded.

If this is the case then you may want to use the Information Commissioner's Office's complaints process. There are more details here: http://www.ico.org.uk/complaints/handling.

They'll only get involved if you've tried to resolve the issue directly with the company and the company haven't put things right.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James · 13 September 2013 at 11:24AM

AlexKid wrote: »

URGENT Help needed! Just about to be cut off by E-ON
Ok so my electricity is about to be cut off, they came round today to take the fuse out but my neibour stalled them, I also contacted them and they want me to pay today 100 pounds or they will cut me off tommorow.

I owe 4660 pounds.

Im on job seekers allowance, and im on housing benifit, but I dont get enough housing benifit to pay my rent so I have to pay my rent out of my jobseekers, I also have to pay council tax out of my jobseekers money, and that leaves me just enough to eat if im lucky.

No way can I even pay the 100 pound useage a month and 5 pound off my debt they offered me for me to stay connected. Its just impossibe! I cant borrow it either. Its literally impossible. (it also seems to have gone up drastically Im pretty sure I dont use 100 a month)

Basically I have owed EON money for a while and they are about to cut me off, they have sent me no end of warning letters, the debt collector knocks on my door all the time so its at that point where they legally have the right to cut me off theve given me tonnes of chances already and they are all exhausted.

The reason I havnt paid for so long and havnt worked for so long is because im a chrocnic procrastinator I write to you know sitting on top of a pile of rubbish, you get the picture.

Im getting treatment for my procrastination and anxiety with a link worker that my Dr refered me to. Would I be able to stop EON cutting me off if I was able to get a DRs note? Or is that not a good enough reason? Would I have to be on disability allowance for that? Would it have to be more serious? (People tend to not understand what procrastination is its not laziness and its reaslly life depleating if you have it)

Also are they not allowed to cut me off over the winter months? Because winter is almost here? I think thats why they want to cut me off so badly now, they dont want me using their electricity for free for another year.

Do you have any ideas on how I can keep electricity without paying for it?

I want to have a normal life a job and to be able to pay my bills, but I cant atm and hopefully after my treatment, I will be a functional human being.

Any idea on how to keep the electricity supply going before they cut me off? They seem really underhand im getting lies from them left right and centre so I feel like I cant trust them to do the right thing if I told them I have a DRs note, I get the impression that would make them cut me off even faster!

Oh im from the UK btw, and them knocking loudly on my door all the time dosnt help my anxiety much to say the least.

Hi Alex,

I see that you've got some advice from the forum members on your other thread.

I'd suggest giving our helpline a call straight away for some emergency advice. Here are our contact details: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx.

As part of our advice process we'll register you on our system and give you a reference number. You get this on your first call and it's something that you can pass on to companies to prove that you're getting help with your debts.

This reference number doesn't deal with the problem, but many companies will back off for a little while if they know you're getting advice - meaning you've got chance to take stock of your situation and try to work out a solution.

Kind regards

James

ratter57 · 15 September 2013 at 10:02PM

Hi Ideally i would like to post this as a new thread but for some reason i keep getting my posting blocked by a http error 505 so i will have to post on here in the hope it is picked up.

I have taken the plunge after years of struggling and contacted Stepchange and upon submitting my income and expenditure an IVA is there recommendation.I have had discussions with an advisor and the proposed monthly IVA payment is manageable for me . I do however have two dilemas i am not sure how to handle and would appreciate advice on.

Firstly , my first course of action to reduce my debts was to make full and final ofers to all creditors via funds raised by cashing the 25% tax free lump sum from my pension, not a wise move i know but i desperately wanted to resolve my situation.My creditors did not show too much interest in my f and f offers and hence i find myself heading into an IVA agreement with a fair lump of cash in the bank.My dilema is that my current mortgage is far far too large for my time of life and i am looking at heading into retirement with an unserviceable mortgage, i am therfore keen to use this lump sum to reduce my mortgage and not include it in any IVA calculations . My question is can i do this ? or will i be forced to use it in conjunction with my IVA .The funds are currently with a bank away from my main bankers and not at present declared to Stepchange or anybody else.

My second dilema is that when i did income and expenditure with Stepchange i based it on my flat rate monthly income free from any bonuses and overtime which i believe is the norm as overtime and bonuses can vary or indeed be stopped.This resulted in a monthly IVA payment being calculated based on my flat rate salary. I do actually nearly always recieve overtime and bonus payments monthly but i would prefer these extras to be used in mortgage over payments as opposed to increased IVA payments , this way i feel i am tackling both my unsecured debts (via IVA) and my secured debt (mortgage)by overpayments created by surplus income generated by being in IVA.

Hopefully i havent waffled on too much and you can see what i am asking.I dont want to come over all shady with what i am trying to achieve , i am in no way trying to enter IVA and pay the minimum possible and pocket the rest i am just trying to attack all areas of debt so that my family and i dont end up in the same situation again in the future due to an unserviceable mortgage in the future.

System · 16 September 2013 at 11:47AM

ratter57 wrote: »

Hi Ideally i would like to post this as a new thread but for some reason i keep getting my posting blocked by a http error 505 so i will have to post on here in the hope it is picked up.

I have taken the plunge after years of struggling and contacted Stepchange and upon submitting my income and expenditure an IVA is there recommendation.I have had discussions with an advisor and the proposed monthly IVA payment is manageable for me . I do however have two dilemas i am not sure how to handle and would appreciate advice on.

Firstly , my first course of action to reduce my debts was to make full and final ofers to all creditors via funds raised by cashing the 25% tax free lump sum from my pension, not a wise move i know but i desperately wanted to resolve my situation.My creditors did not show too much interest in my f and f offers and hence i find myself heading into an IVA agreement with a fair lump of cash in the bank.My dilema is that my current mortgage is far far too large for my time of life and i am looking at heading into retirement with an unserviceable mortgage, i am therfore keen to use this lump sum to reduce my mortgage and not include it in any IVA calculations . My question is can i do this ? or will i be forced to use it in conjunction with my IVA .The funds are currently with a bank away from my main bankers and not at present declared to Stepchange or anybody else.

My second dilema is that when i did income and expenditure with Stepchange i based it on my flat rate monthly income free from any bonuses and overtime which i believe is the norm as overtime and bonuses can vary or indeed be stopped.This resulted in a monthly IVA payment being calculated based on my flat rate salary. I do actually nearly always recieve overtime and bonus payments monthly but i would prefer these extras to be used in mortgage over payments as opposed to increased IVA payments , this way i feel i am tackling both my unsecured debts (via IVA) and my secured debt (mortgage)by overpayments created by surplus income generated by being in IVA.

Hopefully i havent waffled on too much and you can see what i am asking.I dont want to come over all shady with what i am trying to achieve , i am in no way trying to enter IVA and pay the minimum possible and pocket the rest i am just trying to attack all areas of debt so that my family and i dont end up in the same situation again in the future due to an unserviceable mortgage in the future.

Hi and welcome to the forum.

I’m glad to hear you’ve contacted us and are looking at a solution.

I totally understand your position but it is worth noting that an IVA is a legally binding document. I’d recommend you call us back and speak to the advisor about the lump sum. There could be various ways that this could affect the advice that is offered.

After you’ve done this we may recommend that you speak to an independent financial advisor in regards your mortgage.

You can read about how bonuses and overtime are handled on an IVA here - http://moneyaware.co.uk/2012/08/its-an-iva-overtime-salary-bonus/

We’re happy to help and give the best advice, but we do need to be aware of your full circumstances to make sure that the advice is accurate.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

ratter57 · 16 September 2013 at 3:54PM

Thanks for the reply Mat, i have not formally entered IVA as yet , i am currently waiting for the paperwork to come back from Stepchange . I will take on board your advice and i will inform them of the overtime/bonus as it is earned and also discuss the lump sum. As i said in my original post i am not trying anything dodgy just trying to do whats best for my family and i. Could i ask if a DMP is managed the same way regarding overtime / bonuses / lump sums ? If i am not mistaken a DMP is a less formal agreement and would maybe give me a more fixed monthly payment regardless of income variations and therefore give me more opportunity to use excess income to overpay the mortgage.Thanks again for reply.

StepChange_Private_Messages · 17 September 2013 at 11:48AM

ratter57 wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Mat, i have not formally entered IVA as yet , i am currently waiting for the paperwork to come back from Stepchange . I will take on board your advice and i will inform them of the overtime/bonus as it is earned and also discuss the lump sum. As i said in my original post i am not trying anything dodgy just trying to do whats best for my family and i. Could i ask if a DMP is managed the same way regarding overtime / bonuses / lump sums ? If i am not mistaken a DMP is a less formal agreement and would maybe give me a more fixed monthly payment regardless of income variations and therefore give me more opportunity to use excess income to overpay the mortgage.Thanks again for reply.

Hi,

It is true that a DMP is not a legally binding agreement like an IVA but the payments are based on payment using as much disposable income as you can so that you can get debt free quicker. Bonuses are not usually taken into consideration for regular DMP payments unless you are certain to get them but on the occasions you did we would advise you to use them to pay more off your debt. Also during your DMP you would have DMP reviews to adjust the payments to reflect any change in circumstance.

We’re not mortgage advisors but the advice we would give would be to concentrate on paying off your debt then you can push more money towards your mortgage.

Again, please contact us to speak to us again if you’re unsure.

Thanks,
Mat

zeeman123 · 17 September 2013 at 6:01PM

Hi I have 2 loans from nationwide the balance on both of them is at about £4900. I got to a point where I could not afford the full payments so I got my payments reduced by nationwide for a about 1 year without them freezing my interest, after 1 year K.P.R took aver my debt and I now pay them £40 for each loan a month this has been going on for about 1 year also.

I have now been given the chance off a relative to pay both these loans off, but I was unsure about a couple of things the first being this relative doesn't have a lot of money and would rather my debts be reduced if this is possible? to maybe £7000 to pay both off? Also Im not sure who I am ment to be writing to to pay these loans off do I go straight to nationwide Or is it a K.P.R debt now? I dont really understand. And one last thing can a reduced total payment affect my credit rating as once this is all payed off and sorted I want to get a good credit score and save for a deposite for a mortgage.

I hope someone can help me thanks

mum2one · 17 September 2013 at 11:22PM

zeeman123 wrote: »

Hi I have 2 loans from nationwide the balance on both of them is at about £4900. I got to a point where I could not afford the full payments so I got my payments reduced by nationwide for a about 1 year without them freezing my interest, after 1 year K.P.R took aver my debt and I now pay them £40 for each loan a month this has been going on for about 1 year also.

I have now been given the chance off a relative to pay both these loans off, but I was unsure about a couple of things the first being this relative doesn't have a lot of money and would rather my debts be reduced if this is possible? to maybe £7000 to pay both off? Also Im not sure who I am ment to be writing to to pay these loans off do I go straight to nationwide Or is it a K.P.R debt now? I dont really understand. And one last thing can a reduced total payment affect my credit rating as once this is all payed off and sorted I want to get a good credit score and save for a deposite for a mortgage.

I hope someone can help me thanks

You would deal with KPR as they hold the debt, as for full and final there some info on the stepchange site, aabout how to go ahead etc, and whats entailed, the thing is to make sure you get everything in writing,

Do you know how much you owe and how much your relative would give you.?

StepChange_James · 18 September 2013 at 10:16AM

zeeman123 wrote: »

Hi I have 2 loans from nationwide the balance on both of them is at about £4900. I got to a point where I could not afford the full payments so I got my payments reduced by nationwide for a about 1 year without them freezing my interest, after 1 year K.P.R took aver my debt and I now pay them £40 for each loan a month this has been going on for about 1 year also.

I have now been given the chance off a relative to pay both these loans off, but I was unsure about a couple of things the first being this relative doesn't have a lot of money and would rather my debts be reduced if this is possible? to maybe £7000 to pay both off? Also Im not sure who I am ment to be writing to to pay these loans off do I go straight to nationwide Or is it a K.P.R debt now? I dont really understand. And one last thing can a reduced total payment affect my credit rating as once this is all payed off and sorted I want to get a good credit score and save for a deposite for a mortgage.

I hope someone can help me thanks

Hello,

I think Mum2one's reply is spot on really. KPR may have bought the debt or they might be working as an agent for Nationwide but either way, it's best to speak to KPR about settling the account.

It is definitely possible to get reduced settlements arranged on debts if you can offer a one off lump sum. It's generally best to see what the debt collectors say. Often they've bought the debts for a discount and a lump sum settlement is a chance to make a quick profit for them.

Mum2one has already given you the most important advice, make sure any agreement is confirmed in writing before paying any money, so you've got some proof.

You can make the initial approach to agree a settlement either in writing or over the phone. The advantage of the phone is that you can have a discussion about it but I know it can be a bit daunting to speak on the phone, so a letter works too.

I'd recommend making it clear that the funds are coming from a third party and they're only willing to give the money if you can reach agreements to clear all the debt.

If you get a settlement arranged it would usually be reported on your credit history that the debt has been cleared through an agreement like this. However, your credit history should look better with the debt gone than it would if it was still outstanding.

I hope this clears things up.

Kind regards

James

carol1963_2 · 19 September 2013 at 2:46PM

Hiya, I'll try not to waffle too much. My DMP is due to start 1/10/13, letters to creditors have been sent out this week but I was wondering if I defer until 1/11/13 is this going to cause an awful lot of hassle? I am presuming if I do defer then it would extend my DFD - yes?

The reason I'm asking is that if I defer then I can use October's money to pay what I owe on the poll tax (to bring that upto date) and pay some of the money I have borrowed off my neighbours and friends so then at least I will have a clean slate and then will just have my creditors to deal with.

I also ask because I need to pay my car tax (which was due in August) and my Husband's van tax is due at the end of this month, if I can pay these then at least we will have some breathing space. The last thing I need to do is try and pay then be left with no money, yet again, until we get paid in October.

If I use all my wages then we are going to stuck again.

Thank you. Carol

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