Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

turfy6

Hi, I have a credit card that is max'd out at the mo. They have stopped me using it and I have been making a weekly payment to try to make some inroads into paying back. My other half is now claiming benefit and we have three children the usual mortgage and loans to pay back. There is not much spare at the moment. I am looking for a small cleaning job to fit in with school etc but not having a lot of luck just now.
My question is how do I go about tackling this problem with the credit card, I have to send a steriling draft each time I make a payment as this seems to be the cheapest option for me, I have read things here about freezing interest to help out. I have also tried to speak to them on the phone (not easy to India) not always easy to understand. They have just agreed to suspend a late payment charge as I have told them I will make a payment this coming week. Its beginning to get me down as I cant see a way forward with this. The card is a UK card that I have had for years, I have cleared the arrears twice before but am really struggling this time.
I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks

Rumpleteazer_2

We thought our DMP with CCCS was all sorted and have made first payment. But today we received 2 letters from GE Money. One just said that they are not able to accept our offer of payment, the other said that we have ignored previous attempts to contact them (we have written to them twice and spoken to them on the phone!!!) and says that if they do not hear from us within 3 days of the date of the letter (it is dated 7.2.09 and we received it on 19.2.09!!!) then they will begin formal recovery action.

They then go on to say that they will issue a default notice which the first step towards recovering the car that we bought with the loan or pursuing through the courts. We phoned GE who said that they would expect us to sell the car or downgrade to a cheaper one - this is all very well but our car is worth much less than the value of the loan and we need a reliable car, because we can't afford to maintain one that isn't! We live in the middle of nowhere so a car is essential! We phoned CCCS who said don't worry about it and that GE will most likely pass on to a debt recovery company.

However, my wife is now thrown into a complete state of panic and despair. Has anyone had any experience of GE or can say anything that I can pass onto my wife to reassure her? At the moment she is convinced someone will just turn up one day and take our car away, and that generally the world is about to end!

kimdegsidash

Hi CCCS counsellors

I got some great help from CCCS at the beginning of Feb. Just needed to hold the wolves from the door for two months before I go back to full time work after maternity leave, as on SMP I did not have any money to pay my creditors. I sent the letter and budget from the CCCS pack offering token payments of £1 for two months to each of my creditors: Capital One, Egg, Littlewoods, Freemans, Next and La Redoute. Not had a good response and don't know what to do next. I have paid them all £1 at the beginning of Feb and am now starting to get daily calls (which I don't answer) and threatening letters.

Only Capital One, Freemans and La Redoute have replied in writing so far. The help I need is in two parts:

1) Capital One have said thanks for my request, but I must send them proof of my financial difficulties (although I sent them the budget sheet completed at the CCCS phone interview). Should I now send them copies of bank statements and wage slips as they request? I don't get paper bank statements and my bank have withdrawn access to my online banking so can't print off.

2) Freemans and La Redoute have both refused my offer and demanded full payment of the arrears and have passed me on to their 'collections dept'. Both have also added £12 default charges for Jan/Feb thereby increasing the amount I owe them. Should I write to them again, and is there a letter I can send?

craigp_2

Hello I have agreed a new payment with all my creditors apart from hsbc.They have said I have to get cccs to make an offer on my behalf for them to accept it.

Is it possible for yourselves to make an offer with out it affecting my other agreements?

Thanks Craig

princess-of-plastic

hello, i am a new cccs customer, i have had confirmation of my dmp being set up. Can you please pm me standing order details so i can get one set up? Thanks! pop

bunty1983

hi were on month 2 of our dmp with you and we are getting hassled by calders/barclaycard day/night,they keep saying they cant set up our payment plan on the 3 cards we have with them until they recieve the payment proposal from yourselves,ive contacted you about this before and this has now been sent twice to them but they keep saying they havent recieved it just the letters of authority,theyve said the payments you have made to them will be accepted but they need payment proposals to set it up,they said you can contact them over the phone to do this,would this be possible as i know how busy cccs are at the moment?

CCCS_Amanda

adm123 wrote: »

Is it possible for N-Power to accept full and final settlement on a closed account now that I have moved out of the property and no longer am responsible for electric bills? I have asked and they came back with a monthly payment plan. Is it worth pushing on this or not?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Adm123,

Certainly, it is possible for them to accept a full and final settlement but they are not under an obligation to do this. Some creditors are more then happy to accept instalments over a long period of time if it means that they collect the full amount outstanding.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

Janjel wrote: »

hi

Could you please give me some advise?

i wrote full and final settlement offers to all my creditors offering about 50% of debt to be paid within 7 days as I got a bit of money (not a lot). i offered connaught collections for my citibank loan £1500 of a £2900 balance. The origianal loan was for £4000 and about a years worth of payments paid off (only taken over a few years). I feel a lot of it is interest etc. They have declined my offer saying that they can only take 25% discount and that they want £2300 by next month or they will issue me with insolvancy notice. They have not contacted me for months - it was me who contacted them. What should i do? i cannot afford amount they are asking - it would clear off a number of other debts if i could but i prioritesed this company as they were highest.

Thank you

Hi Janjel,

With full and final settlements you will probably need to negotiate a bit with your creditors. It could be worth your while to go back to them and reiterate your offer and advise them that you do not have any further money to offer them. See what you get back.

The threat of insolvency is probably just be a threat to try and get you to give them more money. Stand your ground and push them a bit.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

Urco wrote: »

I have been on this site since midnight and now I am ready to divulge my problems and ask for help with them. I feel the need to explain my situation as this might help others in a similar position. I am 48 y.o.
Occupation, self-employed window and door fitter ( sub-contractor). Situation between decree nisi and absolute, living in familly house left by wife and kids in july 06. Phone or txt kids daily see them twice a week at least, they stay over alternate saturdays.
The day my wife and partner of 19 years and mother of our three kids left, was the start of a deepening depression for me, everything it seemed turned to excrement. She began divorce proceedings and got the CSA involved, she actually left to become a lesbian with her partner after one month, they are still together.
I allowed work to slip, debts to mount up and i became reclusive and sometimes a self-jailed prisoner in my own home, drinking tea and smoking, I have lost two stones in weight. I have worked and tried really hard to make a go of it, but self-employed are always the first to be left high and dry in my trade when work shrinks, at the moment i cant even afford to work, fuel, materials, insurances etc.
The divorce solicitors are asking me to prove this, that and the other incomes expenditures etc, I am absolutely hopeless with paperwork, I keep every receipt and bill and records of payments, but on my own i just cannot cope with paperwork, I am a tradesman, not an accountant.
I have done what no-one should ever do, I have mountains of unopened mail, it starts with a bill you know is unaffordable, then another and so on, the letters ask for money you didn't even know was owed and eventually the bailiffs arrive to claim the poll-tax, you end up paying your fuel money for the week and then not working, hence no income to pay out more debts. The truth is I don't really know the scale of all the debts, I owe Natwest, a failed bank acount around £2.5k, CSA about the same, Power company about £800, mortgage £600, Halifax about 400 to bring account into black, but it's a £5k loan account, then theres, water rates, tv, phone, there will be others that have been passed to creditors too, like the solicitor who wants £450 for a 45 minute advice session, and who owe me £450 for fitting a window, ha ha.
I need to get this sorted NOW, before the divorce goes to court, and i lose my home and everything in it, except the cardboard box i will need to sleep in. Why now?, well every cloud has a silver lining, and mine is my new girlfriend of 7 months, I want to move forward, I have found love that i never believed i ever would and want to make the most of my life now.

Where do i start with the debts please?

Hi Urco,

It is very easy to ignore the letters that come through the door so well done for deciding to deal with your financial situation.

It all starts with a budget. Take your income and prioritise who receives your money on a monthly basis. You always need to pay your priority bills (mortgage, Council Tax, Utility bills, travel, food, CSA, etc) first and if there is any money left over then you make a payment to your unsecured credit debts (Credit Cards, loans, overdrafts).

We would be able to help you to do this, and offer advice on catching up with any arrears that you have accumulated. You can contact our helpline on 0800 138 1111 and make an appointment to speak to a counsellor. Alternately, you can access our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

paulobeef wrote: »

I have a Credit Card with Egg and have missed 4 payments due to a serious illness and not being able to work....

I confess i buried my head in the sand and didnt contact them for the first 3 months... i had more serious things on my mind but i know there is no excuse

Egg have a secure messaging service which i had emailed on 3 seperate occasions each time i detailed the scenario and how i wished to resume payments....

I subsequently sent them 2 letters detailing my change of address and my willingness to resume payments... no response again to this method... i was advised to put my request in writing by a friend who works in a collection enviroment

They then passed the debt to DL collections by email... i contacted them who informed me they had passed it back to Egg.com

anyway im in remission now and im back to work next month.. i called them today to sort this out after finally getting the courage to face this head on...

my balance is 1900... 300 over my limit due to there charges and was eager to start payment arrangements..

firstly Egg said it was too late and they have passed it on elsewhere. iasked them due to the circumstances could they claim it back they confirmed they couldnt even though they had the wrong address details and contact points for the letters they had been writing

Secondly i contacted the new company they have passed it on too.. Capcarn or capcom and was shocked with how bad i was spoken to despite detailing exactly what had happened

Thirdly they said he can clear it all for 1400 today or i pay 575 today and then pay £5 a month.. when i told him this just wasnt possible due to my circumstances he told me to speak to my parents and get them to pay it.

i know that they are commission based but i thought this was just too much and it was obvious he was not willing to consider any other offer

he told me it would be passed to a solicitor for immediate action and reclaim... when i confirmed i was not in work and could enter into a £50 payment arrangement starting from 21st February with the increase of a £100 from April 21st he told me this was not acceptable at all and i needed to commit to paying the balance by chipping 30% off today (575) i told him i could ask my parents who are back on saturday evening for assistance but i wouldnt be able to call till monday. he said call him back before 3.30 saturday and ask for a deadlne extension

my question is simple.. i have the means to enter into a payment arrangement on saturday... as described

in my current situation can they just not listen to my suggestion or do they have to take my request seriously and accept my offer... i understand there is negotation entered into but i think he is letting his bonus cloud his legal obligation....

Can you advise me who to contact. what legislation to quote.. how to go about settling on a payment plan i can afford... this is the only debt i have not sorted out and find the rigidity and rudeness and obstruction to paying this debt morally and maybe legally on shaky ground

equally as you can imagine my health is a concern and the worry is going to do me no favours

Hi Paulobeef,

Nobody has a right to be rude to you and it may be necessary for you to write to them instead of calling. Put your offer of payment in a letter with a copy of your budget and even if they are not happy with the offer then pay it anyway. Unfortunately, they are not required to accept your offer, even if it is reasonable. If they are unhappy then they will either:

1. They will pass the debt to another collection agency. This will give you another opportunity to negotiate a reasonable monthly payment.

2. They will apply through the County Courts for a Count Court Judgement (CCJ). If this is the case, you do not go to court. You would reply to the judgement with the court forms sent to you and an offer of payment that is relevant to your budget. The court will set a monthly instalment that is reasonable and affordable to you. This is unlikely as they will not get any more money.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda