newbie need some advice please

owenmonicapeter

i went on maternity leave 6 months ago, since then I have give birth to a little boy with a serious condition that is requiring monthly surgery and a hell of a lot more care than most babies, because of this my husband has had a lot of unpaid parental leave making things a bit tight, then last month I was made redundant and we had to stop fostering, so our income has gone down by approx £300 a week plus lost income from being on parental leave.

We are entering into a low start DMP with cccs but we are being harrassed by all our creditors from 8am to 9.30pm plus letters and calls to my mobile, they have ignored the template letter i have sent them explaining our situation and sky talk say we cannot change our landline number.

Has anyone got any pearls of wisdom they can offer us?

Ex-Spendaholic

There is a letter you can send to your creditors telling them you want to be contacted in writing only. I'll see if I can find it. In the meantime don't answer the phone, pull it out of the wall if need be. Why do Sky talk say you can't change your number? Are you stuck in a contract with them?

boredofbeingathome

Hi owen you should also be able to claim disability living allowance and if you get middle or higher rate then you would also get carers allowance.

I was in a similar situation to you when my youngest was born..i think you can claim from 3 months onwards because of the extra care needed. If you already claim sorry, but if not and you want some help feel free to contact me.

All the extra helps, as well as that if you get it then there is a disability element on child tax credits which also help. If your income is low, then you should also get help with hospital expenses, visits to consultants and also an exemption card for medical needs..( sorry just thinking of things to help ease your other situation as well)

sky talk will change your number if you are being harrassed, and you can also order extra services which will block nuisance calls.
BOB X

fatbelly

Changing your number would seem to be a good move. Ask the guys on the telephones board. As I understand it if you pay line rental to BT, not Sky, you need to get in touch with BT if you want to change your number, and then your skytalk will need to be cancelled, and reinstated on the new number.

10past6

owenmonicapeter wrote: »

Has anyone got any pearls of wisdom they can offer us?

Hi

So sorry your going through a very difficult time, however, 2 things, first send this letter to your creditors by recorded delivery, marking your letter "Formal Complaint:

Your address

Company Name

Dear Sirs

Harassment by telephone

Account Number: XXXXXXX

I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing.
I have verbally requested that these stop, but I am still receiving calls. (Delete if necessary)

I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only.

I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and I will report you to OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you will be liable to a substantial fine.

Be advised that any further telephone calls from your company will be recorded. (**Even if you don‘t yet have recording equipment!!**)

I request confirmation that my telephone details have beem removed from your databases.

Yours faithfully,

[NAME HERE] ONLY INITIAL, NEVER SIGN THE LETTER!!

Also, send this letter to your creditors again, by recorded delivery:

Your name
Address

Date

Creditors name
Address

A/c no.xxxxxxxx

Although I've informed your company numerous times I'm in the process of dealing with my financial situation by taking advice from CCCS and giving you my ref number xxxx, your company continues to contact me direct, I have some very serious personal circumstances at present, the added stress from you is uncalled for, and therefore I'm writing to inform you, your company is in breach of OFT guidelines:

2.8 Examples of unfair practies:

C: Refusing to deal with appointed third parties, such as CAB, Independant Advice Centres, Money Advisers.

Contacting debtors directly, and by passing their appointed representatives, i.e CCCS, National Debtline, CAB, Payplan, etc, etc.

If I do not receive a satisfactory reply within 7 days, I reserve the right to seek advice from the OFT.

boredofbeingathome

letters which may help are on this thread..there are lots of others about. The very best of luck to you at this difficult time...

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=963087

10 past 6 beat me to it...have a look at them anyway.

owenmonicapeter

thanx for the reponses, the letters are great and I will be sending a few of them out asap.

We pay line rental to sky not bt, we are not in a contract but sky tell us that the phone number we have is owned by bt and only bt can change it!!
we contacted bt who told us that it is up to sky to sort out!! i have rang sky again 4 times and ams till waiting for a phone call back from their customer relations department.

we have made a claim for DLA for our son and we are just waiting for the response, if he is awarded it then it will make such a difference to our income but it wont cover arrears, I was sensible though and paid 50% of our mortgage arrears, we only now owe them £700 but they will not accept an extra £70 a month as recommended by cccs and they still continue to charge us for being in arrears.

Has anybody used payday loans where you cash cheques?? I have added them to my DMP but I am concerned they will just cash them and send me over my overdraft making my debt to the halifax even larger.

boredofbeingathome

well DLA will be backdated to the date you make a claim, so i think you will be surprised at the amount. I would also get a claim in for carer's allowance at the same time, i know it sounds daft but they will award you it as soon as you get the right level. Also remember that it is not always straightforward with the claims so be prepared to go to tribunal and make sure you get evidence to support all your claims.
I don't know about payplan in all honesty as i have never used them, but there are plenty who have..so have a quick search on the forum button..top right of screen and it will tell you about them.
Hopefully someone on the DMP thread will be along with the answer to that one.
Also have you put any claims in for hospital expenses? They do add up don't they?