Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

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  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
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    JellyDel wrote: »
    thank you. i have done the deby remedy and have the email ready to sign and return for dmp.
    will set up a new bank acc first.

    I also have an interest free loan (for my sofa) which has only 5 or 6 payments left,would this need to be included on a dmp or can i just carry on with the payments I have left? (forgot to put this in debt remedy)

    Hello,

    Our DMPs need to cover all of your debts, so everyone gets fair treatment and to make sure you've enough left in your budget to cover living costs (as the sofa payments would otherwise have to come out of the money you need for essential costs).

    I'd say the easiest way to get this added on would be to give us a call on the number in your advice booklet. We'll also double check that this extra debt doesn't change our advice (I'd be surprised if it did, but we like to be sure).

    Thanks

    James
    I 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 Need to Sleep
  • liamb_2
    liamb_2 Posts: 52 Forumite
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    Hello James, I need your help with an annoying situation in which my girlfriend finds herself. She is trying to settle a credit card debt which was run up initially with HSBC having been forwarded a letter which indicated that the debt had been passed to Metropolitan Collections Agency. However Metropolitan claim that the debt has now been passed on to Westcard Credit Services - who in turn say that they have no record of her. So we are stuck in limbo when all we want to do is find out how much is now owed and if possible negotiate a settlement, as she wants to get it off her credit rating but cannot afford to settle in full. Any advice would be very gratefully received!
  • StepChange_Private_Messages
    StepChange_Private_Messages Posts: 120 Organisation Representative
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    liamb wrote: »
    Hello James, I need your help with an annoying situation in which my girlfriend finds herself. She is trying to settle a credit card debt which was run up initially with HSBC having been forwarded a letter which indicated that the debt had been passed to Metropolitan Collections Agency. However Metropolitan claim that the debt has now been passed on to Westcard Credit Services - who in turn say that they have no record of her. So we are stuck in limbo when all we want to do is find out how much is now owed and if possible negotiate a settlement, as she wants to get it off her credit rating but cannot afford to settle in full. Any advice would be very gratefully received!

    Hi LiamB and thanks for your post.

    It’s not unusual for debts to be passed between either different internal departments or different external collection agencies (I think rather than Westcard it is Wescot Credit Services).

    It’s probably just a case of making a few more phone calls, and making sure your girlfriend opens all the mail she receives (the debt collection company will need to write to her to inform her that they’re now handling the debt).

    If you’re planning on making a settlement offer for a reduced amount it’s important to get the collection agency to agree that the amount you are paying is in full and final settlement of the debt. You must have this confirmed in writing before paying any money over.

    You should also keep this letter as proof of what was agreed. It’s worth noting that we have a settlements service that does any negotiation for you free of charge. It might be worth giving us a call once you establish who currently owes the debt.

    I hope this helps.

    Kind regards,

    Mat
    I 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.
  • lyndorset
    lyndorset Posts: 132 Forumite
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
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    I am in a dmp set up with CCCS about 3 years ago.

    10 months ago we moved to a cheaper rental property.

    I informed the water board and requested an up to date bill. I did not get the upto date bill. But could not afford to pay the amount they billed me for due to the expense of the move, which obviously was to literally keep a roof over our heads.

    Suddenly I stopped getting reminders. When we moved into our old place the water had been compromised and the landlord had to pay the outstanding bill and get the water and drainage fixed. So with lots of pressing bills to worry about, I just assumed they had paid our outgoing bill.

    A few weeks ago I started getting horrid, horrid messages left on the answermachine from a company called Westcot. I could not work out what it was about. When they spoke to me, they would not tell me what it was about, but rudely requested my full name and dob. I told them, that I did not respond to cold calls, do not give out personal information to strangers that have phoned me, especially ones who will not tell me why they are phoning.

    Then I got a letter, which I responded to, along the lines of was it about the old address, which was and were they sure. I also informed them that I was in a dmp. I also asked for an SAE to enable me to respond to their questions once mine had been answered. I cannot afford to keep paying 50p postage. I got another abrupt letter, ignoring my reply. I again replied, this time with the prove it letter from this site.

    I now have a red letter that is a notice of the bailifs coming in. I thought the dmp stopped all that? I offered the 75p a month I am paying my other creditors in the first letter.

    I live in a tiny partly furnished cottage in the grounds of a big house, landlady would go mad if we had these people turning up, especially, as I expect they would do so when I am at work and she has keys!

    So i am now not sleeping, sick with worry and I am already ungoing tests following a 999 trip to hospital and am supposed to avoid stress!

    Help! What do I do about these [EMAIL="B@st@rds"]B@st@rds[/EMAIL]?
  • leejhopwood
    leejhopwood Posts: 4 Newbie
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
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    Hi,
    First time using this site, as many people have recommended it.
    Basically I'm trying to find a solution to help my girlfriend.
    She currently has a loan repayment that is costing here 3/4 time to pay back than the original loan.
    She originally got into debt from using credit cards, pay day loans etc etc...
    these were only small amounts but soon escalated once she had to change jobs and her salary dropped.
    Unfortunately she didn't manage this situation well and ended up with several thousand pounds of debt, and then had various charges adding to her debt. I wasn't fully aware of her situation so have only just found out the details as we are trying to save to move in together.
    About 2 years ago she must have approached Amigo Loans to consolidate these debt and took out a guarantor loan (her dad) and has been paying it back ever since.
    What I have noticed is that her monthly interest is sometime as much as her repayment amount.
    Her loan now stand at £3000 but this will take about 3+ years to clear and total more like £5000.
    I said that she must be able to take out a new loan/balance transfer agreement (that offers a interest free period) so that she can pay back the loan without incurring so much additional interest.
    However she has a very low credit rating, hence that's why she went with Amigo in the first place, so I'M TURNING TO YOU FOR ADVICE / HELP ON ANY OPTIONS THAT WE CAN LOOK INTO.

    I've looked at a couple of loan/balance transfer offers, but all our applications seem to be rejected due to her poor credit rating....
    Unfortunately family help isn't not an option.

    Any assistance with this will be much appreciated.
  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
    Options
    lyndorset wrote: »
    I am in a dmp set up with CCCS about 3 years ago.

    10 months ago we moved to a cheaper rental property.

    I informed the water board and requested an up to date bill. I did not get the upto date bill. But could not afford to pay the amount they billed me for due to the expense of the move, which obviously was to literally keep a roof over our heads.

    Suddenly I stopped getting reminders. When we moved into our old place the water had been compromised and the landlord had to pay the outstanding bill and get the water and drainage fixed. So with lots of pressing bills to worry about, I just assumed they had paid our outgoing bill.

    A few weeks ago I started getting horrid, horrid messages left on the answermachine from a company called Westcot. I could not work out what it was about. When they spoke to me, they would not tell me what it was about, but rudely requested my full name and dob. I told them, that I did not respond to cold calls, do not give out personal information to strangers that have phoned me, especially ones who will not tell me why they are phoning.

    Then I got a letter, which I responded to, along the lines of was it about the old address, which was and were they sure. I also informed them that I was in a dmp. I also asked for an SAE to enable me to respond to their questions once mine had been answered. I cannot afford to keep paying 50p postage. I got another abrupt letter, ignoring my reply. I again replied, this time with the prove it letter from this site.

    I now have a red letter that is a notice of the bailifs coming in. I thought the dmp stopped all that? I offered the 75p a month I am paying my other creditors in the first letter.

    I live in a tiny partly furnished cottage in the grounds of a big house, landlady would go mad if we had these people turning up, especially, as I expect they would do so when I am at work and she has keys!

    So i am now not sleeping, sick with worry and I am already ungoing tests following a 999 trip to hospital and am supposed to avoid stress!

    Help! What do I do about these [EMAIL="B@st@rds"]B@st@rds[/EMAIL]?

    Hi Lyn,

    It sounds like a really unpleasant experience that you've had with this debt.

    I'd suggest giving us a call and we can see what we can do. If you have your letters to hand then one of our advisors will be able to help you work out what the situation is and how best to deal with it.

    You mentioned that you've got a red letter that says bailiffs are coming. It's hard to say for sure, but I suspect they could be threatening to send a door step debt collector rather than a bailiff. This video explains the difference: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97Cg7PL2qlQ.

    If it's a door step debt collector then you're fine to just tell them you're on a DMP with StepChange and you'll contact them shortly. They won't have any powers to enter your property or discuss your business with anyone else (due to data protection).

    Bailiffs are only sent when debts have been through the courts and it doesn't sound like this debt has. If I've got it wrong and there is a county court judgment in place that you've fallen behind with then there is a possibility of bailiffs.

    If this was the case we can talk you through the process of suspending the warrant the bailiff is operating under and how to arrange an installment through the courts.

    So I'm confident that you'll be able to take steps to get this debt sorted out.

    You may also want to consider making a complaint to the debt collector about their customer service. It would be a separate issue to actually sorting the debt out, but you're entitled to register a complaint about anything you're not happy about and if you're still unhappy after they've looked into your complaint you can refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service to investigate.

    Kind regards

    James
    I 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 Need to Sleep
  • Former_StepChange_Rachel
    Former_StepChange_Rachel Posts: 252 Organisation Representative
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    leejhopwood wrote: »
    Hi,
    First time using this site, as many people have recommended it.
    Basically I'm trying to find a solution to help my girlfriend.
    She currently has a loan repayment that is costing here 3/4 time to pay back than the original loan.
    She originally got into debt from using credit cards, pay day loans etc etc...
    these were only small amounts but soon escalated once she had to change jobs and her salary dropped.
    Unfortunately she didn't manage this situation well and ended up with several thousand pounds of debt, and then had various charges adding to her debt. I wasn't fully aware of her situation so have only just found out the details as we are trying to save to move in together.
    About 2 years ago she must have approached Amigo Loans to consolidate these debt and took out a guarantor loan (her dad) and has been paying it back ever since.
    What I have noticed is that her monthly interest is sometime as much as her repayment amount.
    Her loan now stand at £3000 but this will take about 3+ years to clear and total more like £5000.
    I said that she must be able to take out a new loan/balance transfer agreement (that offers a interest free period) so that she can pay back the loan without incurring so much additional interest.
    However she has a very low credit rating, hence that's why she went with Amigo in the first place, so I'M TURNING TO YOU FOR ADVICE / HELP ON ANY OPTIONS THAT WE CAN LOOK INTO.

    I've looked at a couple of loan/balance transfer offers, but all our applications seem to be rejected due to her poor credit rating....
    Unfortunately family help isn't not an option.

    Any assistance with this will be much appreciated.

    Hi there

    Thank you for posting today.

    If your girlfriend is struggling to pay the minimum on this guarantor loan that her dad took out for her, chances are that Amigo will contact her father and ask him to pay the difference. It will be up to him to decide if he wants to do that or let it go into collections. It might be wise for her to let him know she’s struggling if that’s the case.

    The other problem is that if your girlfriend has had a guarantor loan taken out on her behalf, then creditors may be weary of lending to her at present. Please reassure her that her credit file doesn't stay static and once the debts are paid, it will begin to improve over time.

    I would recommend that your girlfriend get in touch with us. There are options available that she can explore with us. We can give free and impartial debt advice and worked out a realistic budget for her. Our online advice tool Debt Remedy can give a solution in just 20minutes: http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp

    Hope this helps

    Best regards
    Rachel
    I 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]
  • Bizarre
    Bizarre Posts: 1 Newbie
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    Hi, I am seeking some advice. After hiding away from all my debt problems I have finally started to sort them out. My main debt is with Nationwide. I have 2 loans with them, in total around £9'000. I am currently going back & forth with them to sort out a repayment plan. My question is this: I inherited my house from my late mother so I have no mortgage/rent. Can Nationwide or any other debt try to take my house off me?
    Thank you in advance for any advice you can give
  • allofushere
    allofushere Posts: 184 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Combo Breaker
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    Hi
    I'm going to be contacting Payplan today to try to arrange a debt plan.
    I have an joint endowment which my daughters father and I left running when we separated 14 years ago. This was agreed between us to be used on maturity to help our daughter with uni costs.
    Can anyone make me sell my portion of this to help with my debt?
    Her dad would go absolutely crazy if this were the case. :-(
  • cottonbud12
    cottonbud12 Posts: 4 Newbie
    First Post First Anniversary Combo Breaker
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    Hi, first post here after months of reading articles.

    In a nutshell, I have quite large credit card debts (£30K). Due to losing my father and cousin in the same year a few years ago, I suffered from bad anxiety and saw gambling as a way of 'enjoyment'. This became a habit and caused me to be where I am today.

    I have 8 credit cards (stupid - I know) and 3 of these are maxed out and one has been put on hold. I struggle to pay the minimum payment each month and usually end up borrowing from one to pay another. Also, the interest accrued means I'm paying peanuts off the balance. I know this is a downward spiral and am now trying to get my feet back on the ground. I am a proud man and want to pay back every penny I owe and get out of this hole.

    Recently, I thought I had paid a card bill and when checking my balance, saw that I hadn't. I called the provider (Sainsburys) who said the arrears needed paying (can't afford it) and they could put me on a plan for 6 months paying £100 a month and that this would 'chip away' at the arrears. I can't really afford this and if the arrears are not going to be paid, what is the point in doing this?.

    My wife does not know how large my credit card debt is and I would like to keep it this way as I don't want to place undue stress on her or expect her to pay for my troubles.

    I am thinking of approaching a DMC or Stepchange in the near future but am facing possible redundancy next year after 13 years in a job. The payout I receive would massively reduce the debt I am in but this would leave an hole in the payout for my month to month living.

    Can anyone offer the best advice or route to take?
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