Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

CCCS_Sarah

stickman wrote: »

Hi All,
Advice needed desperately please. On DMP with cccs for last 2 years.
Total debt outstanding 48k on original debt of 45k. So as you can see interest on all mydebts has not been frozen and as such debt increased.At this rate Iwill be old and grey before paying it all off. Anyone out there that's had their interest frozen, and how to go about it?
So desperate,even thought of taking second charge on house with mortgage provider and try for full and final settlement figure failing that pay off in full. Want to pay my dues but can't go on forever like this need to see some light at the end of the tunnel.
If they did freeze int I could possibly increase payments a little more and clear total debt in 5 years that way they would get more than a full and final settlement, ssems crazy not to.

Hi stickman,

Please don’t secure debt against your house. If you were to get into difficulties further down the line this could put your home at risk.

If you call our client support department, we would be able to send your creditors a letter asking them to reconsider stopping the interest and charges for you.

See how you then get on with the letter and if they still don’t consider it, have a review of your account and then we can see if there are any other options available to you.

Sarah

indirestraits_3

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

Hello,

Don’t consolidate, as all this does is more the debt from one place to another and increases the overall interest you will pay.

If possible, you need to try and cancel these cheques with your bank and then make a reduced payments to the payday loans company.

You priority is to make sure that all your household costs stay up to date and you have enough money for food etc. To ensure this if you have any other unsecured creditors you would need to cancel the direct debits and make them a goodwill gesture payment of an amount you can afford to pay.

I would not be able to say if a DMP is an option for you, as I don’t have your full financial details. 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.

Hi Sarah, thanks for the advice. I have direct debits in place for the PD loans. Do you mean I should cancel the DDs? And what should I do when they chase me for money?
I have done the debt remedy facility. It is difficult for me to call the helpline unfortunately.

CCCS_Sarah

gerturdeanna wrote: »

Hi Sarah,

After filling in the Debt Remedy online, it has been suggested that we go into a DMP with the CCCS. I have previously been self managing and although it is going ok, it's very confusing having many paymetns going to creditors.

If we were to go into a DMP with CCCS, would I stop the payments that are going out this month and send a nominal payment?? We wouldn't be able to make payment to CCCS until 15th June so DMP would start in July.....would my creditors kick off at this, as its effectivly two payments of an already reduced amount being missed??

Thanks

You would need to make your creditors a goodwill gesture payment until the plan is up and running. In your pack there should be a letter called ‘notification of debt management plan’ you could send your payment with this. Then the creditors would be aware of what is happening and know to expect a payment via the plan.

Hope this helps
Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

barneythedog wrote: »

Good afternoon everyone and thanks for a helpful and great site.

Having lost my job and relocated from Manchester to Kent I have some debt I would like to clear, this includes a CCJ. I had a pack sent to me by the CCCs in the middle of last year but this has become lost in transit. I understand that the CCCS now offer a payment or DMP service - does this involve the CCCS writing to my debtors and me making a payment to the CCCS forthem to distribute between my debtors?

Hello,

The CCCS do offer debt management plans, however these are not the best option for everyone. If you would like to see if a plan is one of your options 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.

CCCS_Sarah

Writey wrote: »

Hi,
I wonder if anyone can help. I currently have unsecured debts of around 15,000 pounds and this is getting impossible to pay back every month. I am thinking of taking a DMP out. I am married and the mortgage is soley in my name. I was wondering if the DMP will effect my credit rating and effect my ability to find a good remortgage deal when my current deal expires in January 2010. Any advice would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Writey

Hi Writey,

DMP’s are not the best option for everyone. If you would like to see if a plan is one of your options 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.

If a DMP was your best option it would effect your credit rating as you would be offering reduced payments. Creditors may issue default notices and possible pursue for CCJ’s. A lot of companies use what’s known as ‘rates for risk’ this basically means as you would be a higher risk to the lender, you would pay a higher rate of interest so would need to search more for a better deal.

Sarah

barneythedog

Thanks for the reply Sarah!

Ive started to complete the Debt remendy screens and should have this completed shortly, however I am due to start a new position on Monday and at the moment am a little unsure of how much exactly my take home amount will be. I have also been making a maintenance payment to my ex whcih was calculated as £350 per month based on my prev salary, this was made up of £150 as a monthly payment and £200 to clear the arrears. Im sure once the CSA have my new salary details they will look to increase the £150 payment as my basic salary from Monday will be £4k per year than the salary they used to calculate my previous payment. Can I for the moment enter the most up todate and realistc figures i have erring on the side of caution as I really would like to get on top of this now as i am back in full time employment. In addition i'm not sure how long it would take the CSA to come back with a payment amount for me as last time it 9 months for them to reply!

CCCS_Sarah

barneythedog wrote: »

Thanks for the reply Sarah!

Ive started to complete the Debt remendy screens and should have this completed shortly, however I am due to start a new position on Monday and at the moment am a little unsure of how much exactly my take home amount will be. I have also been making a maintenance payment to my ex whcih was calculated as £350 per month based on my prev salary, this was made up of £150 as a monthly payment and £200 to clear the arrears. Im sure once the CSA have my new salary details they will look to increase the £150 payment as my basic salary from Monday will be £4k per year than the salary they used to calculate my previous payment. Can I for the moment enter the most up todate and realistc figures i have erring on the side of caution as I really would like to get on top of this now as i am back in full time employment. In addition i'm not sure how long it would take the CSA to come back with a payment amount for me as last time it 9 months for them to reply!

Hello,

For the advice to be accurate the details would need to be. You could have a look at what your outcome would be on estimated figure, but this would mean that once you have the info from the CSA you would need to complete Debt Remedy again.

barneythedog

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

Hello,

For the advice to be accurate the details would need to be. You could have a look at what your outcome would be on estimated figure, but this would mean that once you have the info from the CSA you would need to complete Debt Remedy again.

Okay Sarah thanks for the info.

Ive just spoken to the CSA and as my case is pre 2003 there isn't a set formula for calculating my payment amount but they have advised me that they only take into consideration Rent, Mortgage and Council tax when calculating the amount!

I'll complete the Debt Remedy over the weekend and look forward to starting my new Job on Monday!

Thanks again for a great site!

Have a good weekend!!!

tsugi

Hi,

I am loving the situation: MPs are raking it in, the government is bailing out the banks and what is the result?

Here we go:

I am self-employed. I have a reasonably large royalty payment due in, but can't really say when, other than no later than September. It will comfortably cover things from now till then and after. Other clients are late in their payments, and a couple have gone bust.

My bank (Clydesdale) continues to slap on £35 per bounce, so that anything I do deposit is worth less (last weekend I had about £300 in charges, so the £400 I put in was a fat lot of use). Credit card companies who a few years ago used to send letters, but be agreeable to a "I'll have the money in full in two months, here's a little bit in the interim" are now saying "pay this amount by next week or we'll go to court for the entire amount on your card". She even prefaced the threat by saying: "You haven't missed any payments, you're normally up to date"!

My question - I don't want to go into a settlement plan, as this is a cashflow problem. My finances are shabby at present anyway as I had two companies go bust on me seven years ago and have been struggling to catch up ever since (they had insisted on a facilities upgrade of £45K to get the jobs. I did the upgrade - company directors ran away!), However, there is cash coming in, and I am also concerned if I go into a settlement scheme then when lump sums arrive they will be swallowed up, thus removing cashflow I need to keep working.

Is there some kind of preferential rate, credit crunch cashflow loan available from banks?

I'm currently waiting to hear from Clydesdale about the £6000 in charges they've taken as I'm in hardship. (so there is a positive to this situation), but while I'm waiting for things to happen (by which I mean payments etc - I'm not just sitting on my bahookie), I'm being hit with late charges, bank charges and god knows what else.

Thoughts? Comments?

Ta much,

dariop

Hi

I have a credit card debt with Amex that is handled for them by a firm of lawyers. The debt is about 6 years old, I set up my own DMP, offered repayment and agreed that they would suspend interest, I have been making regular repayments for some time and the debt is now under £4,000.

Today I received a letter from this firm of lawyers demanding an increase in the level of repayments and saying their client (Amex) "require a charge on my property as security". Obviously my first response is not printable!

I have no intention of giving them a charge, but my question is can a credit card company apply to a court for a charge in a case like this, and if so what is the likely outcome?

Will a court really issue a charge against a property for a credit card debt?