Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

oneday_3

CCCS_Sue wrote: »

Hi Lynne

A decree is a formal court order which requires you to pay a sum of money to a creditor according to the terms of the decree (i.e. with time to pay by instalments granted by the sheriff, or within 14 days in full).
Once the decree has been granted you will receive an extract of decree confirming this.
If you adhere to the terms of the decree then no further action will be taken.
If a decree has been or becomes granted then further diligence to ensure the debt is paid is always possible, for example, wage/bank arrestment, attachment, exceptional attachment & even bankruptcy
Once a creditor has a decree against an individual for a debt this means that the debt can no longer be said to expire under the rules of the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. This means the creditor usually has up to 20 years to enforce repayment of the debt.

Hope this helps


Regards
CCCS_Sue

again, thanks for the info, it has been very helpful

icecube2009

Hi, I am desperate for some advice & reassurance
Myself & my hubby are currently £46k in debt, we dont have enough money coming in to pay these debts & for ages have been borrwing from A to pay B, but interest is mounting up & we have to do something about it.
We had hoped to get a loan for my in laws so we would have a lump sum to be able to make full & final settlement offers, but the in laws declined & the best they could offer is to pay off my husbands car loan (which is not included in the total debt) this would make us £150 a month better off, which would give us around £380 a month to pay towards a DMP.
I want to ask, if we go ahead with the DMP (and I cant see any other option) what sort of harassment should I be prepared for from the creditors? I have small children & am not a very 'strong' (bit of a whimp!) person & dont want people coming knocking on my door or threatening phone calls....can you advise me on the best course of action to take? are the creditors likely to accept the DMP offers made to them?
I filled in the form on the CCCS web site and it said a debt of £46k and payment of £350 would take ten years to pay off, if they stop the interest, but if they dont stop the interest is there a chance the debt could increase?
Thanks for your help

CCCS_Sarah

KMTHOMPSON wrote: »

Hi, I would like some advice about my 1st credit experience.
In 2005, Direct Line assigned our debt to 1st credit. They first wrote to my husband (although it is a joint debt) in March 2006 to ask for an installment plan to be agreed. At the time it was agreed that we pay 119 months at £234.04 and a final payment in month 120 of £199.48. We have been paying £250 a month since 9th March 2006.
In November 2008, we requested a copy of the terms and conditions of the debt. Since that letter went, we have been bombarded with phone calls insisting that we pay more money as their solicitors have requested it and if we didn't they would put a charge on the house. I'm pretty sure they can't do that as we live in a rented house! As they didn't reply within 8 weeks I sent my complaint to the FOS but they couldn't help as 1st credit was not in their jurisdiction until 2007.
On 31st January 2009 I wrote to them and requested the terms and conditions again and on this occasion I told them that if they didn't reply within 28 days I would stop all future payments. Needless to say I didn't hear from them so I cancelled my standing order. I then had a phone call to say that because they have my bank details I have admitted liability for the debt and they couldn't give me the terms I requested because the debt is too old!! I set up the standing order to them using my internet banking so they do not have a copy of my bank details.
My next move was this week when I sent a recorded letter with my £1 cheque in line with the CCA conditions. If after the 12 + 2 day waiting time they don't produce the original agreement do I have to pay them anymore? Have I admitted liability and can they force me to pay? I don't want to go to court I had to declare myself bankrupt in June 2005 and that was not a great experience. This was a joint debt so wasn't cleared through the bankruptcy.
I would appreciate any advice or thoughts.

Hello,

Below is a template letter which can be used if you do not receive a copy of the original agreement. If they cannot produce the original agreement then the debt become unenforceable, it will only become enforceable again once they produce the agreement.

If they are not able to comply with your request then the debt is not enforceable whether you have given them bank details or not.
Another thing to point out is that this debt should now be in just your partner’s name, as your liability should have been dealt with when you went bankrupt.

Hope this helps

Sarah

Example letter – request for creditor information when creditor has failed to supply documents

From:
Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Date:
To:
Creditor’s Name:
Account/Agreement No:

Without Prejudice

Dear Sirs
With reference to the above account.

I wrote to you on (date) requesting a copy of the above agreement together with the relevant information under Section 77-79 of the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) 1974. I enclosed the £1.00 fee. This letter was delivered and signed for on (date).
I have not yet received the information requested.
The Consumer Credit Act allows 12 working days for this request to be fulfilled. The 12 days ended on (date*) and you are now therefore in default of the CCA.
As you are probably aware this debt has now become unenforceable by law.
May I also remind you that until you produce the agreement and therefore show you have my authority, you cannot pass information to a credit reference agency without my permission.
Yours faithfully
(Print name)

Majestic

Hi,

Over the last couple of years, after realizing my credit file was a mess, I decided to sign up to Equifax and keep tabs on my file in a bid to improve my apparently poor score.

The reason my score was originally in the red was due to a disagreemet I had with Orange phone network and not then shortly after defaulting (£200) on a Capital One credit card, but nonetheless settled accounts.

I'm embarassed just writing about my pathetic and ill understanding of how, at the time, this would totally trash my credit score.

Anyway, fast forward four years. I have two credit cards accounts (not good I know, but they've helped improve my credit score), a mobile phone account, a broadband account, and a bank balance which hasn't incurred any charges in as long as I can remember (hooray for me, I know).

But yet on recent veiwing my credit score seems to be in worse shape then ever. As I say, i've kept everyting tip top since my younger days.

I then noticed on closer inspection, my old (defaulted) Capital One account had replaced my newer, well kept Capital One account, I was slightly miffed let me tell you. And then not the other day, my Broadband account which has also helped improve my score, totally disappears.

And my score is now back in the red.

I'm fed up to be honest, i'm paying good money to see my account when i'm notified of big changes via Equifax (such as accounts added or removed) and keep all my creditors happy with up to date payments.

I'm not expecting to see my credit score improve drastically overnight, but the effort and budgeting i've indugled over the last few years should return some improvement?

I'd just like to ask, what the bloomin 'eck i'm doing wrong?

Thankyou in advance

Majetsic.

CCCS_Matthew

jmorrissey290 wrote: »

I have a question for a CCCS representative:

Further to yesterday's long post (#1409 & #1410i), Barclaycard have gone from villain to hero, in that they have (verbally) offered 50% F&F.

This will leave our fighting fund a bit low for the other creditors, but I am tempted get my dad to accept (assuming written offer removes all future liability etc etc) as it will get one monkey off our back.

What I want to know is, is there a legal requirement to disclose this to the other creditors, or settle at the same level, in a similar way to the fact that when on a DMP you should not favour one creditor over another.

Or as these are independent negotations undertaken by myself, can Barclaycard get a premium for being first to settle without impacting my ability to negotiate with the others?

Any advice gratefully received, as want to get back to them today

No, there is nothing to say you need to disclose the amount you've agreed on a settlement offer. Neither do you need to ensure other creditors accept the same percentage.

Regards,
Matthew

CCCS_Matthew

elfieb wrote: »

Hello, desperately seeking some advice!!!!!

To cut a long story short, I am around £8k in debt across 4 credit cards. Im pretty certain I would qualify for a DRO, as I am unemployed at the moment, living with parents, with no assets.

My main source of worry is, I lied on a number of credit card applications. I know it was insanely stupid of me, but at the time it was a question of robbing Peter to pay Paul. I stated that I was employed when infact Im not.

What are the chances of the credit card companies taking me to court for fraud should I file for a DRO?

Also my parents are unaware of my debt, and I would prefer it to stay that way. Would they be notified of the debt relief order as I live at the same address?

Many Thanks

Hi there.

I think it's more likely that you would end up with a restriction order on your DRO rather than the creditors pressing charges against you. A restriction order maybe be imposed on you if the OR felt that you took out credit without the ability to be able to pay it back. I cannot say for sure that the creditors would not take things further, as we're not trained to deal with specific legal issues so you may want to check with a solicitor to get their take on the situation.

If you were to gain a DRO your parents would not be informed of it, and unlike bankruptcy it does not go in the local newspaper.

Hope this helps,
Matthew.

CCCS_Matthew

Flowers wrote: »

Hello,

Really want get out of debt. I have lost my job, but been going for interviews and hope to start one very soon.

I have very little coming in and owe money on 3 overdrafts and 3 credit cards. I been juggling for about 3 years since I was a student, but now cant keep up with the different payment dates.

I have a bad credit rating, is there a way can combine these debts and only make a monthly payment of about £150?

Acc 1 1,500
Acc 2 2,000
Acc 3 500

CC1 2,000
CC2 1,000
CC3 200

I live at home with parents, I have worked that my monthly outgongs are £450 a month.

Any advice pls?

Thanks

Hi there,

I'd suggest you book an appointment in order for us to discuss your options. Without seeing your budget it's hard to say whether £150 would be affordable for you to offer the creditors on a repayment plan. It might benefit you to book an appointment once you've had confirmation of what you are going to be earning once your working, if you are confident in getting back into work soon. Alternatively we can provide advice based on how things are at the moment, and then reassess the situation when your income changes.

You can try using 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.

Or if you would prefer, you could ring our helpline to book in a telephone based apponintment with one of our debt counsellors. Our helpline is open Mon-Fri on 0800 138 1111.

Hope this helps,
Matthew.

CCCS_Matthew

manicmarcus wrote: »

Hi

I recently decided things were just too much financially and contacted the CCCS. I have an appointment coming up in the next few weeks.

My wife and I are both self employed and we have been working out or income / outgoings and debts in preperation for the appointment. After all business and living expenses are taken into account, we reckon we have about £700 a month left to share amongst our creditors. They total around £50,000 secondary debt. That all seems pretty straightforward you may say, which is true. But the problem is, there is also about £12000 of priority debt in addition to the £50,000. This boils down to council tax, tax and VAT.

The council tax isnt really an issue as i believe, as long as i keep up with the monthly payments on the current year, i will be able to pay £50 a month off of the arrears. Currently, I have an arrangement in place to pay the taxman £200 a month off of the accumulated arrears for tax. The most worrying is the VAT. This is about a years worth of VAT returns which I havent filed (probably about £4,500 owed) as i didnt have the money at the time to pay them. So far, the VATman has not chased me for the debt, apart from sending final reminders, but i am worried that if I have a conversation with them, they will want £500 a month to clear it in a year, or that they will take me to court or distrain. If they want £500 a month, it leaves precious little for anyone else. I have budgetted to ensure that all future liabilities for tax and VAT are paid when due, but am worried about this backlog affecting our ability to take out a DMP. Can you advise?

Thanks

Hi there,

Before any DMP can be considered, we would need to ensure the budget supports a reasonable amount of the surplus goes to any priority arrears. As you're probably aware, the repurcussions of not paying your VAT is much more severe than not keeping the creditors happy. I would try not to panic too much at this stage, as your counsellor will discuss this in a lot more detail and will offer advice on trying to deal with the situation as a whole. As you are self-empoyed you will have been booked to speak to a counsellor specifically trained to deal with the self-employed so they can provide much more indepth advice about your VAT situation.

If the tax man is happy with your current arrangement certainly stick to that. I would also suggest perhaps getting in contact with the Council about increasing next years payments to get something a little more concrete set up to clear the arrears.

Regards,
Matthew.

baggilou

Sarah

I have signed up online and been told what I have to pay and been sent a Barclays Bank Application form.

I was told that my £50K of debt could be paid off in 4 and a half years but have since been told by alot of people that this cannot be correct.

I just want to know when I can start the process, can it be from today, ie cancel DD's and go ahead or do I have to make sure that I start and get money across asap.

If I send token payments now and don't start till 1st May then the companies will not get any money till 24th May and I will be a month behind before I start - this just concerns me.

Thanks,

Lou

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

Hi Lou,

Please could you clarify what stage of our advice process you are currently going through? Have you used our online Debt Remedy service or booked in for a telephone counselling appointment? Have you received advice about what your best option will be with your creditors? With the answers to these questions it will be easier to answer your query.

If you have not yet received advice about how much to pay your creditors, then I would suggest making a token payments of an amount you feel you can afford as a temporary measure while you wait to get advice on your best long term strategy.

Regards

Sarah

CCCS_Matthew

icecube2009 wrote: »

Hi, I am desperate for some advice & reassurance
Myself & my hubby are currently £46k in debt, we dont have enough money coming in to pay these debts & for ages have been borrwing from A to pay B, but interest is mounting up & we have to do something about it.
We had hoped to get a loan for my in laws so we would have a lump sum to be able to make full & final settlement offers, but the in laws declined & the best they could offer is to pay off my husbands car loan (which is not included in the total debt) this would make us £150 a month better off, which would give us around £380 a month to pay towards a DMP.
I want to ask, if we go ahead with the DMP (and I cant see any other option) what sort of harassment should I be prepared for from the creditors? I have small children & am not a very 'strong' (bit of a whimp!) person & dont want people coming knocking on my door or threatening phone calls....can you advise me on the best course of action to take? are the creditors likely to accept the DMP offers made to them?
I filled in the form on the CCCS web site and it said a debt of £46k and payment of £350 would take ten years to pay off, if they stop the interest, but if they dont stop the interest is there a chance the debt could increase?
Thanks for your help

Hi there,

Your creditors are very unlikely to send anyone to your house to collect money, particularly if you are on a DMP as the money will be coming directly from us. If they do send someone out, they are not a bailiff. They have no power whatsoever to enter your property to take possessions. As I say though, it's extremely unlikely for them to do this anyway.

You may get letters and phonecalls, but you don't need to do anything to entertain them other than explain you are on a DMP and your payments come through CCCS. You have no more money to offer them. In many cases creditors accept the proposals anyway, which normally means the creditor contact is kept to a minimum.

We can never guarantee that the interest is stopped on a DMP, so the timescale offered is only a guide based on them stopping all charges. If they don’t stop the interest the timescale is obviously going to be longer.

Regards,
Matthew.