Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question
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I recently contacted Christians Against Poverty (CAP) to draw up a DMP. On the first meeting I gave all figures requested of me, and showed the advisor the income/expenditure on my bank statement as I didn't have copies of all required paperwork and was not happy about handing over originals in case they were lost.
Not all the figures I supplied were then used to draw up what was, quite frankly, an appalling and unprofessional spreadsheet, using incorrect figures, i.e. assumed income amounts used (overstated), and figures given monthly reflected the same for fornightly (on the income side). I queried this and was told it was because I didn't provide all the necessary paperwork, and they denied any errors. Not very Christian to assume I'm lying or their local advisor is.
This then led to them coming up with a draft budget of a monthly payment higher than my monthly income. The advisor did call their head office and make some adjustments over the phone and agree a lower payment, but still incorrect.
My other concern is that they appear to be using the same allowances as I was using on a previous DMP in 2005. Seriously, have creditors not allowed for rates of inflation, particularly in food costs in the last 9 years?
They will NOT provide a detailed budget until a week after they have received a first payment from you. So, they want you to pay an amount that still doesn't reflect reality, which they can then take a week to return to you should you not agree to continue with their plan. That goes against guidelines of them paying creditors within 5 days of receiving money.
Their local advisor also asked me to include tobacco costs as I am a smoker. The head office then came back and said zero allowance could be made... So why ask?
This site:debtmanagementplanforum (not yet allowed to post links)
tells me that a)Allowances, particularly for food and petrol were increased in 2010, and b) that I can include an amount for tobacco. Whilst the ideal would be quitting smoking it's not particularly going to happen overnight is it?
I'm supposed to make a payment this week, but I'm really not confident in their abilities any longer, so why would I want to tie my cash up in their account to make interest?0 -
Capital One!!
Guys
Can anyone give me any advice, DMP set up with SC.
I wrote to capital one regarding my situation and will be going on a DMP with Stepchange. Received a letter saying they cannot discuss anything because my signature on the letter was not what they have on file. They want me to resend letter with correct signature. Do not know what to do. Sounds a bit strange.
Thanks0 -
Storm-cloud wrote: »I recently contacted Christians Against Poverty (CAP) to draw up a DMP. On the first meeting I gave all figures requested of me, and showed the advisor the income/expenditure on my bank statement as I didn't have copies of all required paperwork and was not happy about handing over originals in case they were lost.
Not all the figures I supplied were then used to draw up what was, quite frankly, an appalling and unprofessional spreadsheet, using incorrect figures, i.e. assumed income amounts used (overstated), and figures given monthly reflected the same for fornightly (on the income side). I queried this and was told it was because I didn't provide all the necessary paperwork, and they denied any errors. Not very Christian to assume I'm lying or their local advisor is.
This then led to them coming up with a draft budget of a monthly payment higher than my monthly income. The advisor did call their head office and make some adjustments over the phone and agree a lower payment, but still incorrect.
My other concern is that they appear to be using the same allowances as I was using on a previous DMP in 2005. Seriously, have creditors not allowed for rates of inflation, particularly in food costs in the last 9 years?
They will NOT provide a detailed budget until a week after they have received a first payment from you. So, they want you to pay an amount that still doesn't reflect reality, which they can then take a week to return to you should you not agree to continue with their plan. That goes against guidelines of them paying creditors within 5 days of receiving money.
Their local advisor also asked me to include tobacco costs as I am a smoker. The head office then came back and said zero allowance could be made... So why ask?
This site:debtmanagementplanforum (not yet allowed to post links)
tells me that a)Allowances, particularly for food and petrol were increased in 2010, and b) that I can include an amount for tobacco. Whilst the ideal would be quitting smoking it's not particularly going to happen overnight is it?
I'm supposed to make a payment this week, but I'm really not confident in their abilities any longer, so why would I want to tie my cash up in their account to make interest?
Hi there,
Thanks for posting on the forum.
Christians Against Poverty are a widely respected organisation and we know them to be very diligent when it comes to helping their clients out of a debt problem.
That said, if you're not happy with the advice given, you could always try our online advice tool Debt Remedy to get a second opinion on what can be done moving forward. It will help you put a budget together yourself so you have peace of mind: http://www.stepchange.org/debtremedy.aspx?domain=www.MoneyAware.co.uk
Best regards
RachelI work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at [url="http://www.needtosleep.org]Need to Sleep[/url]0 -
Capital One!!
Guys
Can anyone give me any advice, DMP set up with SC.
I wrote to capital one regarding my situation and will be going on a DMP with Stepchange. Received a letter saying they cannot discuss anything because my signature on the letter was not what they have on file. They want me to resend letter with correct signature. Do not know what to do. Sounds a bit strange.
Thanks
Hi there,
Thanks for posting about this.
This is very unusual behaviour but please don't worry. You have given us authority to speak to your creditors on your behalf so we will soon be in touch with Capital One to tell them about your plan. Please keep us posted if you have any more problems.
Best regards
RachelI work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at [url="http://www.needtosleep.org]Need to Sleep[/url]0 -
Hi guys,
My brother got into some debt when he moved out and lost his job a few years ago, stupidly he has ignored most of the letters received from the housing association and 'UK Search Ltd' hoping they'd just go away. Eventually they did stop contacting him for a few months but today he received a letter from Shulman's Solicitors saying the full amount of almost £5000 must be paid within 6 months, otherwise they'll commence 'immediate proceedings without further notice' and this will include further costs and a CCJ against him. He has no way of repaying that amount within 6 months though! Now a solicitor is involved has it gone too far to repay a smaller amount over a longer period or are these just scare tactics to make you pay up quick?
Thanks, Marc0 -
Hi,
I was a Barclays Bank customer for over 10 years when my debit card details were cloned and money was stolen from my account.
They were terrible at sorting it out but eventually it was solved and the money refunded, but it took so long I opened an account elsewhere.
Long story but I had an overdraft with them that I negotiated a repayment plan for, but whilst this was happening they registered a default notice on my credit file.
It's inaccurate information and I want it removed, however Barclays refuse to communicate with me, I've sent over 10 letters by registered post and they simply don't reply, my credit file is immaculate apart from this so what can I do?
ThanksWaddle you do eh?0 -
Hi guys,
My brother got into some debt when he moved out and lost his job a few years ago, stupidly he has ignored most of the letters received from the housing association and 'UK Search Ltd' hoping they'd just go away. Eventually they did stop contacting him for a few months but today he received a letter from Shulman's Solicitors saying the full amount of almost £5000 must be paid within 6 months, otherwise they'll commence 'immediate proceedings without further notice' and this will include further costs and a CCJ against him. He has no way of repaying that amount within 6 months though! Now a solicitor is involved has it gone too far to repay a smaller amount over a longer period or are these just scare tactics to make you pay up quick?
Thanks, Marc
Hi Marc and thanks for your post.
It sounds like your brother would benefit from some free and impartial advice.
There could be various solutions available to him. I’d recommend that he tries our online debt advice tool Debt Remedy http://www.stepchange.org/debtremedy.aspx?hp=400
Debt Remedy will decide the best solution and explain how to proceed.
If he does receive any court paper work in the meantime I’d recommend that he calls our free helpline on 0800 138 1111. We’ll explain how best to fill this paperwork in.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
MatI work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy.
Don't be afraid of getting debt advice. We'll help you take one more step towards getting help with your debt.0 -
Greenstuff wrote: »Hi,
I was a Barclays Bank customer for over 10 years when my debit card details were cloned and money was stolen from my account.
They were terrible at sorting it out but eventually it was solved and the money refunded, but it took so long I opened an account elsewhere.
Long story but I had an overdraft with them that I negotiated a repayment plan for, but whilst this was happening they registered a default notice on my credit file.
It's inaccurate information and I want it removed, however Barclays refuse to communicate with me, I've sent over 10 letters by registered post and they simply don't reply, my credit file is immaculate apart from this so what can I do?
Thanks
Hi and thanks for your post.
The best article on credit ratings, how they work and how to improve them is on this site and is written by Martin http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score
It’s worth noting that if you weren’t paying the full contractual repayments on the overdraft then Barclays would default you as standard procedure.
It’s still worth following up if this wasn’t explained to you at the time.
You could ask for a notice of correction to be added or take it up with the Financial Ombudsman – Martin’s article will explain more.
I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
MatI work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy.
Don't be afraid of getting debt advice. We'll help you take one more step towards getting help with your debt.0 -
Myself and my OH have spent the last 10 days trying to work out the best way to sort out our debts with the minimum long term damage.
We currently have 5 cc debts (2 mine, 3 his) and 2 joint account overdrafts.
My questions are,
Can I just do a DMP, as we can probably manage repayments on his cards if we can get payment reductions on mine.
My biggest debt is on a Nationwide credit card. We have a joint account with them, that we can probably get back into credit soon. Can we keep a small balance in this to pay bills, his credit cards etc, without Nationwide taking the money to pay towards my debt?
We have a larger overdraft on a joint account with Natwest, if I take a DMP, will Natwest call in the overdraft because of my credit score? We cannot afford to put this one back into credit.
We have a property in USA that we are trying to sell. It will give us very little, if any money back, but if it does, we can start getting back on track, as we also will not be paying for this either.
Therefor, this is (hopefully) a temporary cashflow blip, which is why we don't want to both do a DMP if possible.
Please can you advise, many thanks.A Payment A Day keeps the debts at bay
PADS 2016 = £222.57
Frugal living challenge 2016 1129.71/3660
= 14.86 per day/10.00 per day0 -
Really need some sound advice, have some debt, some already in hands of baliffs, what is the best way to sort out all the debt, is it best to contact everybody separately or is it best to lump all debt together and pay out 1 payment only,0
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