Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

decoratingbutterfly

Hi, could you please give me some advice?
I currently have a DMP running with the CCCS(they have been brilliant)
After a chat with them recently I have decided to opt for bunkruptcy.
The difficulty I have is that I have a car on HP, Im very confused as what to do with this.
I can give the car back to the company as I am well over half of the way to the end of the agreement or I can let it be put into the BR.(I think this is right?)
The problem I have is, if Im just going to let this debt be put into br aswell can I just stop paying it now?two months worth would allow me to pay for br!or is that going to make me look really bad? From what I've read in the t&c they take the car from me if I miss payments and they then put a ccj through to obtain the car, but I may have declared myself br in this time?

Sorry to put a long post on her but its really confused me.

Thanks so much in advance

spinningsheep

Just had my appointment 5 mins ago with CCCS and I am so happy now, they have worked out I have enough surplus to make a resonable offer to my creditors and based on them freezing all interest, I can be debt free in 5 years and 5 months!! All I need to do now is work out the pro rata payments, hopefully i can do this on my own, if not I will go on a DMP with CCCS themselves. cheers CCCS!

spoll_2

Hi,

My Dad has a DMP setup by the CCCS and his fisrt payment was due by April 1st - he paid it in to the post office @ 4.30pm on April 1st but it's not showing up on his online account; my question is did he leave it too late for it to be distributed this month?

Thanks,

Steve

keithwill

At present i am paying off a set ammount on my credit cards which was worked out by my local cab advisor and has been accepted by the cc companies,i have been making the repayments for 7 months and have not missed 1,,now Monument credit card via Portland house have been after me to either increase payments or repay them of which i can do neither,,they have now told me the debt is being sold on at the end of april,the questions i have is who will they sell it on to and will the people buying the debt accept the repayments that i have bein making to monument,or am i right in thinking i am going to be hassled by bald men in suits who appear and also write nasty letters.

CCCS_Sarah

alicemcgee wrote: »

Had an OD with First Direct and have had no information as to how much of the money owed was bank charges.have requested information but not received it. The debt was sold on to a Moorcroft Debt Recovery that took the £1 to provide details of the amount assigned but never gave out the information. They therefore said the account was in dispute and they would take no more action. I have heard nothing further from First Direct or Moorcroft.At no time did anyone inform me that the debt had been sold on


Today I got a letter from Equidebt who claim they have been instructed by HSBc (ie 1st Direct) to collect the money. it adds 'One of our debt collectorw will be contacting you either at home or place of work to arrange payment in full'. They require payment ' in full by no later that April 8 2009' The letter was sent 2nd class post.

I still don't know how much of the amount is disputed charges and I still haven't had a letter confirming the hand over agreement. Any advice please?

Hi Alice,

Debt Collectors often request their clients repay their debt in full by a certain date, and in most cases the people they write to are in no position to clear their debt so I would not be too concerned about finding money to clear the debt by the 8th of April.

The best way to pay back these sorts of debts would be to agree a payment that you can afford with the debt collector. Our Debt Remedy programme can help you plan out an income and expenditure budget which can be used as the basis of any offer of payment that you make.

This does not have an affect on your bank charges claim, so you can continue to follow that process. If you have requested information about your charges from First Direct and they haven’t got back to you it may be worth chasing them up about it.

Regards

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

maak2025 wrote: »

I will be graduating in June and will be applying for a professional job. My point of concern is whether there will be any problem for in finding a job for me if I am on DMP? Does this DMP affects negatively in a search for seeking a professional job?

Regards

Hi,

Being on a DMP would not affect your ability to apply for most jobs, though there are some employers that carry out credit checks on potential employees. This would usually only be jobs within financial services and would depend on the policies of the individual employer.

Good luck with the job hunt.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

crazyfr!!!39 wrote: »

My bankruptcy hearing is tomorrow, very stressed and very nervous!

I'm filing for bankruptcy alone as all debts in my name but I'm worried the courts will think my husbands contribution is too low, he contributes half towards essential household expenses (rent, council tax, food, gas, water, elec etc) but anything for the kids is my responsibility (he has kids of his own to buy stuff for) can they make him contribute more? And do i include his total wages in my SOA or just the part that he contributes?

Also, can you advise what things are realistic for on a SOA? Obvioulsy i know about including rent, council tax ect but I'm struggling with what else to include. when i remove all my debts out of my monthly budget it looks like i have a lot left to paycreditors but i know if i pay it all out in that way i still have nothing left for anything i havent budgeted for (clothing, birthdays, xmas, car repairs etc) and that is exactly how i got myself in this mess!

how much is a realistic budget for clothing (family of 5 - 3 kids aged 12,14,16) what about a realistic budget for if household appliances go wrong? car repairs? am i allowed a ciggarette budget? am i allowed a xmas & birthday present budget? I dont have breakdown cover for the car but i am disabled and could do with it really so can i put it on my SOA as i have the intention of getting it once i have sorted the bankruptcy?

What other things should be in a SOA?

Hi Crazy Frog,

I've only just got to your post and it looks like the bankrutpcy hearing is today. If you still need urgent advice you might want to call our helpline on 0800 138 11 11.

I hope your hearing went well, sorry we didn't get chance to answer your post in time.

Regards

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

tinatony1 wrote: »

Please help, I have been struggling with my debt for a long time now and although i have been a silent reader on the forum for a while now i have never really got much further.
The situation now is that i have used all my saving just to pay off my monthly payments and this month have nearly used up all my overdraft so far.
i dont know what to do now, especially as my husband is very likely to lose his job in June through redundancy. Please help

Hello,

Thanks for posting. It sounds like you could really use some advice at the moment. If you have been needing to use savings to cover your monthly outgoings it sounds like you are spending more than you are earning, which is obviously not a great situation.

The first thing I would suggest would be to put together an income and expenditure budget (often referred to as a Statement of Affairs). This will help you plan out what income you have, how much is needed for your most important living costs and what, if anything, is available for any credit debts you have.

You can use out online programme called Debt Remedy to put together this budget and it will also advise you on the options that are available to you. 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.

Hope this helps.

CCCS

CCCS_Sarah

decoratingbutterfly wrote: »

Hi, could you please give me some advice?
I currently have a DMP running with the CCCS(they have been brilliant)
After a chat with them recently I have decided to opt for bunkruptcy.
The difficulty I have is that I have a car on HP, Im very confused as what to do with this.
I can give the car back to the company as I am well over half of the way to the end of the agreement or I can let it be put into the BR.(I think this is right?)
The problem I have is, if Im just going to let this debt be put into br aswell can I just stop paying it now?two months worth would allow me to pay for br!or is that going to make me look really bad? From what I've read in the t&c they take the car from me if I miss payments and they then put a ccj through to obtain the car, but I may have declared myself br in this time?

Sorry to put a long post on her but its really confused me.

Thanks so much in advance

Hello,

If you paid more than half the total amount repayable on the HP agreement then you can hand the car back to the finance company without any further liability, providing the car is not in a reasonable state. Although, if for some reason there was an amount left to pay this would then be included in the bankruptcy.

You could end the agreement now in writing, hand the car back and then use the money that would have gone towards car payments to save for the bankruptcy fee. I cannot see why the courts would not have an issue with this.

If you stop paying the car payments but keep hold of the car then you are right to say that you risk the car company taking the car back from you. Again, I can’t see why the courts would think that looked bad, thoughit is very unlikely you would be able to keep the car after bankruptcy.

Hope this answers your query.


Sarah

smile2grin

Hi there,
I'm very much a newcomer to MSE but am hoping to get some advice on my very overwhelming and complicated financial situation.

My partner and I got into lots of debt when we were students, but we'd really love to own our own home.

At the moment we are paying 800 pounds a month off in debt, living on 400 pounds a month for food and petrol etc, and then the rest goes on bills/rent. We have a measly 50 pounds saved with the credit union.

Our original plan was to pay off all our debts save for our student loans (4000 credit cards, 4000 overdrafts and 5000 graduate loan) and then save for a deposit for a house.

We're starting to wonder now though if it would be better to save for a deposit, and get on the property market (at least we wouldn't be paying 600 a month rent) rather than paying the debts off first.

I spoke to a man earlier at London & Country Mortgages Ltd who said we would just be able to get a 110,000 mortgage with our current level of debt...but only if we had a 10% deposit! How do I figure out the maths of how much we're paying in interest on debt versus how much we'd save by getting on the property ladder????!!!!!!!

Please advise if you can, the whole situation is just so confusing to me, and at the moment I can't see a way we'll ever own a home

many thanks for your time
Lenny x