Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

CCCS_Sarah

HelpMePls wrote: »

Hi CCCS

I really need to get an appointment to speak to someone there but I can never get through on the phone! Any idea who I can speak to someone?

I'm 24, will 30,000 debts and I'm being told that defaults are being issued to me!

Please help, thanks

We're experiencing a massive demand for our service at the moment, I'm sorry you've not been able to get through. Lines are open from 8am (Mon-Fri) and the best time to call is as early in the morning as possible.

Alternatively, we have an online facility called Debt Remedy where you can complete a financial statement and be provided with advice on the best way to deal with your situation. Click here to go directly to Debt Remedy to get advice straight away.

CCCS_Sarah

caramia1812 wrote: »

Edited today (28.01.09 at 18.50hrs): No response from my fax but there was a letter when I got home from their Retail Collections Service which did not answer my letter of 6th Jan. I got a response that started with, "Thank you for your recent correspondence requesting a summary of our reduced payment arrangement policy".

Firstly, I did not ask for that, I made an offer and asked them if they would extend the arrangement for a further year. Instead I got legal jargon about informal and formal arrangements which confused me further. In the end, I rang the number and was told by the person on the phone that I should have been contacted 6 months ago to request another financial statement etc and he further told me that once I sent this then I would be put on to a 3-monthly review but it would take a couple of weeks from them receiving my statement to sort out.

I have had NO correspondence whatsover from HBOS apart from my monthly statements.

I don't know how I am going to sleep tonight, let alone the next few months. I have been pacing the floor since I got home and feel like a rat in a maze.

Sorry, I meant to edit my post rather than respond to my own. I guess that shows my state of mind at the moment. I am sitting here in tears and don't know how I am going to get through. I see posts here about Full and Final settlements and I wonder if my family could come up with the cash now rather than next year to help me, if it would be worth my while asking them to accept 50% of the balances?

Hello,

I have just answered your previous post. I can see you are very worried about your situation. I feel you may benefit from speaking to one of our debt counsellors so they can talk through things with you. This may put your mind at ease a little.

If you would like to speak to someone please call 0800 138 1111.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

solaeclipsx wrote: »

hi i could rilly do with some info its regarding council tax we have been told that as our ex landlord didn't pay it when we rented last year it is now up to us to pay it we have spoken to the landlord but he refuses topay the council say it our problem and dont want to get involvd in our agreenebt it says all bills included i just need some ifo on where to go now >

Council Tax is one of the main priorities in a budget so needs sorting as soon as possible.

I would recommend that you seek legal help for this. I have attached the details of an organisation call Community Legal Advice, they should be able to point you in the right direction.

http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/

Let me know how you get on

Churchpolly

Hi, I am researching whether business rates are applicable under the six year Liability for Debts and Limitation Act? If a group of small semi rural businesses were undercharged on their rates bills for say 20 years and the council discovered the mistake and tried to charge them the difference for the whole period, plus interest, would they be able to? thanks . Polly

CCCS_Sarah

Moany_Money wrote: »

Hiya,
I've been trying to phone the CCCS this morning, but keep on getting an engaged tone on all the lines. Anyone else getting this ?

We're experiencing a massive demand for our service at the moment, I'm sorry you've not been able to get through.. Lines are open from 8am (Mon-Fri) and the best time to call is as early in the morning as possible.

Alternatively, we have an online facility called Debt Remedy where you can complete a financial statement and be provided with advice on the best way to deal with your situation. Click here to go directly to Debt Remedy to get advice straight away.

CCCS_Sarah

dig4victory wrote: »

Among many queries is this one;

I personally have two credit cards; M&S and John Lewis.

JL = 3684 bal
M&S = 4608 bal

When I asked JL if I could do anything about reducing my min payment they would simply consider half the min repayment for 3 months then I would have to go back to full min repayments.

M&S said they won't reduce min payments but will turn the balance into a loan with various rates over so many years, eg; £61pcm for 7yrs, 2.5% fixed APR. They said a loan would have less of an impact our our credit rating than simply reducing the min payment.

I don't know if either could do more and if they are shafting me.

Any ideas before I actually sign the paperwork would be so grateful.

It maybe worth popping onto our website and have a look at debt remedy. Debt Remedy is an online debt advice facility. You would be able to input your financial details and be given the best advice on how to deal with your situation. One thing you would need to look at is, even if you did take out this loan could you afford to pay it?, do you have enough money to cover all your priorities?

As a general rule borrowing does not solve the problem as all it does is increase the interest and extend the term, however I don’t have enough details to see the full picture so you would be better having an appointment.

CCCS_Sarah

callywally wrote: »

What happens if a creditor refuses the offer made on a dmp?
Ive been told to carry on paying for now but does this mean it will go to court?
I am not in a position to increase my offer at the moment, in fact it is a struggle to pay the amount I have been paying will be due for a review with cccs soon.
Am worried about going to court but cant pay anymore at moment so the only other thing is to go bancrupt then they wont get anything so I dont know what else to do as i really dont want to go bancrupt anyway.
Sorry to keep asking questions but I am quite worried at the moment.
Thanks

Hello,

Try not to panic. You have been informed correctly, if the creditor does not accept the payments, send them anyway!

If the creditor does decide to ‘take further action, legal action’ they generally mean a County Court Judgment (CCJ). If this was to happen then it would all be done through paperwork and would be based on your income and expenditure. The forms would ask you for an offer of repayment – this would be the same amount as you are paying that creditor on your dmp! The court is not on the creditor’s side, they are just there to set a realistic payment amount that is fair, so this is the same as what you are already paying.

It is very unlikely that a creditor would make you bankrupt, if you’re paying a reduced amount they are getting something back towards the debt and they can see you are trying to sort things out.

CCCS_Matthew

f1widow wrote: »

Hi Ive had a problem with being served a CCJ (and my husband although his has not been received) without first having had default notice and court forms etc or any paperwork from debt collection agency that were dealing with this) First I was advised to go for an N245 form (sorry I should say I have received "Judgement for Claiment (in default) as judgement has already been served - I have now been advised that I need N244 by someone on debt wannabe forum I just wanted to check with you first I did try phoning actual court but could not get through (on hold for a total today of about 2 hours) - the N244 form seems so daunting - the company who we owe the money to has stated well they have sent all relevant documents and its my word against theirs that the letters have not been received - how am i going to prove this in court - am I just wasting £75 I really have not got because I dont know anyway of proving non-receipt. Apparently each time we were sent anything it is done in duplicate - I just cant believe if the paperwork was sent that neither my husband or I did not receive just one item.

Im so anxious about this (unfortunately have been off work now for almost 2 years with extreme anxiety and depression and its not something I can deal with easily)
Your help is greatly appreciated as Im getting a little confused.

Hi there,

If you want to contest the fact you feel the issue of the CCJ was unfair based on the fact that a default was never served then an N244 would be the way to go, in order to put your argument in front of a judge. It would be a case of your word against the creditors, so they would have to prove some how that the documents were sent. Unless you in are in reciept of benefits the £75 will stand, so you would need to make a decision on whether you felt it was worth the trouble.

Alternatively, you may want to consider just allowing the CCJ go through, but redetermining the amount via an N245 form (£35) which allows you to make an offer of repayment based on your current situation. Assuming the judge accepts, you then have a set payment in place and you don't have the worry of the creditor coming back asking for more. The CCJ will have a more negative effect on your credit file, but if you are not too concerned about obtaining further credit in the near future, this shouldn't be too much of an issue.

Hope this helps,
Matthew.

CCCS_Matthew

jaja wrote: »

Hi Matthew or Sarah

Sorry I cant find my last two posts - so in short.

The RBS took us to court in Northumberland without telling us date, the judge filed £700 per month despite our I&E saying we could not afford this, we appealed with the relevant paperwork to have the case referred to local court as per your instruction and received a date for the end of Feb. Meantime we took Martin's advice and requested a CCA with the template letter, heard back from RBS well within time scale stating they have mis-filed the paperwork and no longer have it so they cannot persue us for this debt. (Not forgetting the loan was forced on us with 'dodgy' means in the first place, and done over the phone with severe threats).

Today we have heard from RBS solicitors with further paperwork filed at the court to issue a charge on our property. OH is very distressed by this we are trying to find out what on earth to do next. Trying to phone CCCS but cant get through as yet.

Hope one of you is around to help, will keep trying the phone line.

Many Thanks

jaja

Hi jaja, sorry to take so long to get back to you, we've been very busy at late.

Have you managed to get through to speak to someone?

Have you had a hearing date for the charging order yet? The fact that RBS have admitted that they cannot persue you for the debt because they cannot find the agreement may well help with your situation, as effectively they cannot prove to the court that the debt is yours. I would certainly show this to the judge when you have your hearing to see how that affects the situation. It's my understanding that a debt that cannot prove the CCA is a debt that is unenforceable through the court. Whether the existing CCJ would be thrown out completely would be up to the judge. Can I also ask how much equity you've got in the property, and the total amount of credit debts? If you don't want to put it on the thread you can always PM me with the details.

Regards,
Matthew.

CCCS_Matthew

CreditCrunchee wrote: »

Hi, would really appreciate any guidance.

A very pushy DCA have stated they will not accept even a written financial statement without it being confirmed/ratified by the CCCS.
I offered a £120 payment yesterday but they insist that without a CCCS confirmed income & expenditure statement they will still require another £500 next week?
Is that normal? Can they do that?

My concern with the I&E statement is that I am self employed and will find it very difficult to prove a regular sustainable income stream (although really who can at the guarantee that at the moment).

I have posted a fuller explanation in the following thread which eplains the problem/concerns I have.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=18274155#post18274155

As you can see things seem to be coming to a head/impasse so I'm considering requesting CCAs but am not sure if it will make things worse, especially if they can supply in time?

The earliest I can post them is Monday after the school run, before I do so is there any reason I shouldn't or alternative you would suggest i.e SOA?
(Also, Registered or Spec.Delivery for each?)

ANY advice urgently needed, I need to decide a course of action before Monday. I'll be working all day today and tomorrow until late and checking for any replies.

Many thanks, CC

Hi there, sorry to take so long to get back to you - we're extremely busy at the moment.

Although the DCA can request you get a statement drawn up through us, they can't make you do it. Often it's a request to ensure that the amount you offer is a realistic amount (as some people offer too much or too little), so they can guarantee the amount they are being offered is an amount they will recieve on a regular basis.

If you're confident you know how much you can pay then you can make those payments directly if you wish, although they may not want to accept the payments, they have to legally take them off the balance of the debt.

If you do want to book an appointment to draw up a budget with a counsellor and discuss your options, you will just need to call our helpline on 0800 138 1111 and an advisor can go through the process of booking you an appointment to speak to a counsellor.

Regards,
Matthew.