Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

CCCS_Amanda

MW123 wrote: »

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?

Hi NW123,

It’s difficult to give you detailed advice via this forum as we don’t have your full financial details. However you can visit our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy.

Debt Remedy would assist you in completing a financial statement and you would be provided with tailored advice on the best way to deal with your situation. Click here to go directly to Debt Remedy.

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.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

tobefree wrote: »

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

Hi tobefree,

You can stop them contacting you at your place of employment or at all if it is causing you undue stress. If you write to them using the template that I have attached the phone calls should stop. You have to give them a way to contact you but by post is enough really.


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

If they threaten to send the debt to their solicitors then let them. The worst thing that can happen is a County Court Judgement (CCJ). If you received the paperwork for a CCJ through the post then you would just offer £5 per month as per what we advised. The court will set a judgement amount that is fair and reasonable and based on your budget.

As long as you pay a CCJ then the creditor can not do anything else to you. The only time that a bailiff would knock on your door is if you do not pay a CCJ. The creditor can not take your things so don’t worry about that.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

leebarton wrote: »

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.

Hi leebarton,

I have attached a copy of our token payment letter for you to use.

Example letter - offer of token payment

From:
Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Date:

CCCS Client No:

To:

Creditor’s Name:

Account/Agreement No:

Dear Sir/Madam

In an effort to get finances under control, I have sought help from the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS).
I am currently in financial difficulties because (please state your reason)
After payment of my/our day-to-day living expenses, I am currently only able to pay you a token amount of £ (amount) per month.
In the meantime, please send written acceptance of this offer and give consideration to reducing or stopping interest/other charges on my account/s.
I will write to you again as soon as my circumstances improve.
Thank you in anticipation of your kind assistance.
Yours faithfully,

(Signature)
(Print Name)

I hope this helps.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

Andypolack wrote: »

Hi,

I am in the process of setting up a DMP (the pack came through about 2 weeks ago), unfortunately also during this time, it seems 2 of my debts have been passed through to 2 Debt Collection Agencies. Bearing in mind that once i have sent all the info to the CCCS, it will probably be another month before the debts and my first payment is paid, what is the best way to deal with these agencies.
They request that I phone them immediately and i am keen to do this, but will informing them that i am soon to be on a DMP placate them a little. And how much info do i reveal?

Thanks,

Andy

Hi Andy,

If you have already sent your information back to us then you can just give our Client Services a call and they will change the details on your DMP and send a proposal to the new collection agent.

If you have not forwarded your information yet then just include the letters with your pack.

In the meantime just give them your reference number and let them know that you are in the process of setting up a DMP with us. This should keep them at bay. If you are able to send them a token payment of say £1 in good faith then this will also help.

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

kameka_uk wrote: »

I have two big loans with Barclays and Alliance and Leicester, I am working part-time and cannot afford to pay. I have offered to pay what I can afford.
I contacted DF LOAN FREE who said my loans may be Unenforceable and that my oustanding balances can be written off. Is this something that you are aware?

Hi Kameka_uk,
There seems to be a lot of organisations offering “wipe-off debt” services for a substantial fee. It’s worth noting that consumer credit debts will only be written off, if there is clear evidence that the creditor in question has breached the guidelines set within the Consumer Credit Act. The commercial companies offering to wipe off debts seem to be advertising this to the wider market, without prior knowledge to the individual’s financial situation.

If you are in a position where you think your creditors have taken unnecessary action which breaches the CCA and have evidence that proves so, then you could consider going down the route of disputing the debt through County Court. I would be very careful of any organisation offering such services, especially when they are charging substantial fees with no guarantee of success, when it’s something that you could do for yourself.

My advice would be that if you do feel you have a case where you feel your creditors have breached the CCA, speak to someone who can offer free independent advice, such as the Office of Fair Trading.
I hope this helps
Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

charliemouse wrote: »

Had our meeting with CCCs today on the phone - and basically the outcome was that we have to make token payments to all the people we owe money to of £1 per month.

I feel like i have waited 2 weeks only to be none the wiser as to what to do about our debts.... making a token payment of £1 can't be a long term solution surely. And i can't see our financial situation changing...so what happens next??????

can someone please help i feel so fed up i was really hoping that the meeting today would set us on the path of being able to find a solution of how to deal with this situation - i feel like i've been left in limbo. and to make matters worse this isn't even my debt it is debt that my husband ran up using a secondary credit card on my account.

£35000 is the total that we owe after going through our finances it was worked out that we were about £500 short every month on basic living. That does not include the £550 minimum payments to credit cards and the bank fees of £100 per month.

Can some one help????? i just feel like running away from the whole situation.

Hi Charliemouse,

I am sorry that you feel no further ahead.

When you have a deficit in your budget (your priority expenses outweigh your income) then the main focus has to be on balancing the budget. You will have to take steps to change your situation by either spending less or earning more by second jobs, renting rooms etc.

Without knowing the details of your budget I can only assume that your counsellor has advised £1 payments to creditors until you can deal with the budget problem.

If you need more clarification you are more than welcome to come and have another appointment to try and clear things up.

I hope this helps

Regards,
CCCS_Amanda

rippedoffandmad

my husband is in full time employment as a class 1 driver and normally earns £2'200 every 4 weeks. but 4 weeks ago he came home with a severe headache and blurred vision after 4 days he woke up blind in one eye and we all went into panic mode he has been seen and scanned and tested and thankfully its just an inflamed optic nerve...however not being with his present employer for a full 12mths he s not entitled to sick pay.thus we have scraped theough paying this months rent and direct debits and have extended our overdraft by £450 to cover £4.94 left day b4 payday. work have paid him £545... we have no credit cards and maxed overdraft and no savings and it looks like we have no way of meeting our rent next month let alone the rest of outgoings including our new energy bill of £560 for last qtr.
we normally pay by dd but they were hiking our mthly payment to £220. and so i cancelled it and was paying by card a payment every mth. also we ow a months council tax of 172.56 due immeadiately. we normally cope with our financial situation with no bank charges but now i am at the very bottom of a deep hole and need some guidance. ps i do not work as i have fibromyalgia and recieve incapacity benefit of £200 a fortnight. please helpful advice only

Jolly2009

Hello,

Could you please advise whether or not dla mobility and care is taken into consideration for a budget? I am currently trying to set up a dmp for my mum.

Thanks in advance.

barge

Lloyds TSB rang Collections Centre rang yesterday to speak to my husband about his o/s credit card bill that was due for payment on 20/2/09. I advised them that he was unavailable I am his wife and have authority on his account and they can deal with me. They said no they must speak to him. I said not a lot of chance works varying hours. I also enquire if they were the Collections Centre he said I am unable to divulge that. I then advised him that we have just entered into a Debt Management Plan with the CCCS and they will hear from them very soon. I said they would then need to communicate via the CCCS. He said he will still need to speak to my husband and will call again. I told him not to bother as we will not deal with the call and have a right to request that they withdraw our number from thier records. I have today checked my Lloyds TSB account snd they have just taken £295.00 out of our joint account and paid my husband credit card bill. Are they allowed to do this? What can I do about it please if anything? We have opended a new Bank account but didn't have sufficient time to have our monthly salaries paid in or direct debitd taken out. I was getting it all sorted next week.

jennie65

i entered my details on the cccs debt remedy and it advised bankruptcy, which i already thought would be the case, my only concern is that I work and get tax credits and housing benefit, so will need a bank account and it seems as if that is going to be difficult to get. I am only having to go bankrupt as for the third year running I have recieived a payrise from my employer and tax credits and housing benefit have deducted double what my pay rise amounted to:mad: . I managed the first year, the second I had to start using my credit card to buy gorceries and now I dont see myself getting through another year. Ive done my share of wallowing and now i need to do something about it, but how difficult is it really to get an account