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CCCS_Amanda

ben80 wrote: »

Hello, quick Q.
Been on a DMP with CCCS for about 3months and I'm getting 4-6 daily calls from a creditor - Halifax, I owe about 5k on a credit card - I don't answer them now, but have in the past and explained about the DMP to which they took note of the amount proposed in the DMP and said 'Thanks.' Then the calls start again. (Halifax haven't accepted the DMP proposal yet).

The calls are seriously doing my nut in now, do you have any advice?
Thanks in advance!

Hi Ben80

Have you called our Client Support Line (the number is on your statement) and advised them that they are still chasing you for payment. Maybe we can send another proposal to them and see if that helps.

It can take a few months for everything to settle down. Even if you are on a DMP, if a creditor is unhappy with the offer that you make then they will continue to chase you for the arrears. You are doing the right thing, stand your ground and continue paying what you can afford.

You can ask the creditor to stop contacting you by telephone. They are entitled to contact you, but by post may be less stressful. This template will help you to write to them:

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to ask that you no longer contact me by telephone as your calls are causing me considerable stress due to the frequency, and that they are being made at inappropriate times. Please remove my telephone number from your database and send all future communication in writing to my home address.

I have provided the most recent copy of my income and expenditure to make you aware of my current financial situation. I will continue to make my payment of x on the x of every month and will keep you informed of any changes in my circumstances as I am keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

I understand that following this request if you continue to call I can contact the Office of Fair Trading to make a formal complaint.

Please confirm in writing that your records have been amended.

Yours sincerely

I hope this helps.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

fermi wrote: »

Sounds like one of the companies under investigation here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7894840.stm

Avoid at ALL costs.

If you have debts problems then talk to CCCS, National Debtline or CAB. Read the Problem Debts article by Martin, and post on the main board if you want.

Thanks fermi,

On top of this advice please see post 1232 for a bit more information.

Regards,
CCCS _Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

Barneyrubble999 wrote: »

Hi there and thanks in advance for any help you can give
I currently have old debt on a variety credit cards and am finding it hard to keep my head above water. I would like to enter a debt management programme but am unsure how this will effect me. I am employed as is my partner but also I have a website that brings in a small amount of money each month and for which I am company director. The website has no debts at all because it dosent really cost anything to maintain, just hosting, all my debts go back years and are personal debts. Would I still qualify for a debt management programme and could I continue to run my website as long as I declare any profit made?

Hi barneyrubble999,

It is difficult to give detailed advice via this forum. Generally speaking, if there is sufficient budget surplus to pay the debts in a reasonable amount of time then a Debt Management Plan (DMP) would be an option for you.

In your budget you would include all of your sources of income offset by your monthly household expenses, including the small amount of income you receive from the web site.

If you want to find out if a DMP is appropriate for you, you can use our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy.

Alternately, If you would prefer to talk to a debt counsellor about your situation, you can book a telephone based appointment by calling our helpline free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00. It would be helpful that when you call you have details ready regarding your income, expenditure and creditors, as this can help speed up the referral process. If you have this information ready it may be possible to refer you directly to a counsellor if one is available, otherwise we will arrange a time that is convenient for you to be called back for an appointment.

I hope this helps.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

Angel_A wrote: »

Hello, I would just like to say thank you to CCCS Amanda and CCCS Sue for your advice. I will try and put that into action. Although I am concerned as I cannot get a current account without an annual income of + £6,000. I have nothing near that at the moment coming in. Most of my bills I pay online with my debit card from my LloydTSB account. So how can I get around this? I have an Abbey savings account, but that one doesn't have a debit card, so I am limited on how and where to use it.

Any other tips would be appreciated thank you

Angel A

Hi Angel,

The banks all have their own credit requirements when they asses you for a Current Account. The requirements are usually quite high as most current accounts come with a cheque book, overdraft, etc.

We usually advise opening a Basic Bank, these accounts offer more flexibility. I have attached a link that will give you details on the different accounts on offer.

http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

I hope this helps.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

lennymfo wrote: »

Hi, Im posting this on behalf of sadnewmum hoping that a CCCS Counsellor can help. I have posted the link to Post 52 of her thread. Post 52 talks about the advice she got from CCCS regarding her situation. Here is the link could you please advise her please. Many Thanks Len

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1505247&page=3

Hi lennymfo,

Thanks for making us aware of this post.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

Doodles152

Hi, i have just posted on other site but desperate for some advice.

I was paying my council tax missed payments through Equita, but i forgot to pay Feb 09 payment.

This has now passed to a baliff. I received a letter from them on saturday stating the balance is £544 they baliff called yesterday and gave 7 days to pay but said the balance is £715.

I have sent Equita a letter (subject access request) by recorded delivery today asking for proof of monies owed and proof of court order etc.

What should i do now? Do i contact the baliff and tell him what i've done or wait??

I tried phoning Equita but as it has been passed to the baliff they wont speak to me they said i can only deal with him now.

What do i do, any help would be gratefully received.

TipTop_3

My partner is currently on a DMP of which should be cleared within 5 years. How long does the DMP stay on his record and how long before he would have a credit rating elligible to get a mortgage?

We currently have a mortgage but he fell into arrears and also has had a charging order against it, we're going to sell it soon to clear CCJ.

Will we ever be able to get another mortgage?

MW123_2

Hi me and my husband have 15000 debt between us- catalogues, ge money, credit cards. i work full time hubbiee stays at home with kiddies and basically after shopping rent council tax car insurance etc there is no money left to pay our creditors, would like some advise which way to go. BR has been suggested but not sure if this can be done or this new debt relief order?

tobefree

Hi, I put a budget together with assistance of cccs and made an offer of reduced payments to all my creditors some months ago. The majority of which have agreed to the offers with the exception of 3. Two of which are under review but the last and funnily enough least amount follows below:-

I was absolutely horrified today when the litigation department of one of them called me at work.

Are they allowed to do this? My first reaction was to tell them this is unacceptable and asked them to call back on my mobile. I made quite clear my thoughts to which they replied "we have been trying to get in touch with you without success, we have recieved no correspondance from you so are forwarding your account to our solicitors to take further action, furthermore we will contact you however we see fit whether at work or at home". We then proceeded to discuss my offer in more of a argument than a discussion. I questioned how they knew about the offer given that they have recieved no correspondance and there was a silence then a poor attempt to talk their way out of it.

They said my offer was totally unacceptable and that they had a different figure in mind. (original payment was £37, CCCS recommended £5 based on the pro rata calculation). After a few unnessicary comments like "theres no point in trying to get blood out of a stone" i finally got the figure out of them. (£107 a month over 6 months). I said to them do you think that i can pay £107 a month given that £37 was an issue and they said they dont care thats the figure pay it or it goes to their solicitor.

My question is should I be worried about what happens next? I live in fear every day that people are going to come to the house and start taking posessions and then eventually the house, where do i stand and should i complain about their attempt to recover the debt and their way about it.

And can they call at work if you explicitely say they cant?

Thanks in advance

leebarton

Hi

I have been through Debt Remedy and tried to phone through to CCCS for three days but haven't managed to get through.

I am currently on maternity leave receiving £117 a week SMP, £209 a week child/working tax credit, child benefit and a whole £12 a week housing benefit. My husband is self-employed and has just moved to new premises which are due to open in April so he isn't able to take a wage at the moment.

The budget is worked out to the penny and I am confident that we can manage this. I have cancelled all the direct debits and asked to pay manually for 6 months so I can time the payments around benefits. I have a personal loan and two credit cards that I would like to arrange a payment break for six months. Is there a template letter so I can ask for a break where I pay a nominal sum and they freeze the interest for the six months?

Many thanks for any help or advice.