Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

CCCS_Matthew

snowymalone wrote: »

Hi

We fully acknowledge and take ownership of our debts, and don't want an IVA as we wish to pay off what we owe in full - however, under present circumstances we can't possibly do that on the terms that our creditiors demand, so we filled out your online debt remedy yesterday, identified that a DMP is the best option for us, and are awaiting the booklet through the post from yourselves. We have some queries about what we do in the interim whilst we are waiting for the DMP to be set up.

1) As payments will almost be certainly be due before the DMP is up and running, what is the best way of making these? We usually pay by single payment bank transfers, but apparently this can cause problems. Also, should we send them letters explaining the small payment and that we're handing over to you, or just send the payment and let CCCS deal with them?

2) We've included a 7.5K NatWest overdraft on the DMP: meanwhile we are in the process of making my own HSBC current account (which only has a £100 o/d and to whom we owe nothing else), into a joint account and into which we'll have all wage etc payments made. Now, once the DMP is established how soon will NatWest be likely to freeze the existing heavily overdrawn account - ie, should we shift money over as soon as we get paid this month? We're not about to ask NatWest that question as we know what'll probably happen...

3) We know that we've recently been overcharged by Halifax owing to a !!!!-up on their part - however, as they are one of the named creditors is it worth arguing with them or just let the DMP takes its course?

All advice gratefully received

Hi Snowymalone.

1) Normally around a week after selecting a DMP we will send you a pack out in the post, which will contain a template letter called "Notification of a DMP" which you can use in line with a good will gesture payment to tide you over until the DMP starts. We would normally suggesting sending a postal order to do this.

2) When you say freeze I assume you mean stop you using the account? Not all creditors will necessarily do this once you've entered a DMP, but to be in the safe side I would say move over your money and tranfer priority DD's ASAP.

3) If you think they've made a mistake and have overcharged you I would say pursue it. The fact you are in financial difficulty is irrelevent to the situation if they have made a mistake and they shouldn't hold this against you.

Hope this helps and good luck with the DMP!
Matthew.

katyp1

Hello, i wonder if you can offer some advice....

My H2B was a bit reckless with credit cards when he was younger and got himself into a bit of debt. One of the last debts he had to pay off was paid off by his dad (as H2B had leant his dad some money, so his dad agreed to pay the debt off directly instead of giving H2B the money)

Anyway, this was 3 years ago. And then out of the blue last week H2B received a letter from Cabot Financial saying that he owes nearly £700 for a debt he believed was paid off by his dad back in 2006!
H2B's dad said the debt had been paid off in full. he said he had received a settlement letter and had paid the settlement fee.
However his dad cannot remember how much he paid, which bank he paid it in to and does not have any proof of payment (receipt, letter etc).
His dad said he received a settlement letter which included a pay slip for a bank to pay into, but he doesnt remember which one and hasnt kept the receipt.

So, H2B phoned Cabot Financial and queried this with them and they have said that they have been sending letters to H2B's parents house for the last 3 years to chase this outstanding debt but had no response. So they tracked H2B down at our new address and sent the letter through to him directly.

Now, we have asked his parents about this and neither can recall ever receiving a letter from Cabot Financial....

The problem is, H2B's dad has suffered from depression for the last couple of years and his mum actually found a couple of their own debt letters stashed away in a cupboard at the end of last year, and she knew nothing about them. H2B's dad couldnt cope and just hid them.
So we arent sure if this debt actually ever got paid off as we have no proof.

However, if the debt never got paid off, i find it really hard to believe that Cabot Financial have left it 3 years to chase us! We enquired about the debt and apparently the value they are chasing us for is the total owing, no interest has been added on in 3 years (which again, i find a little hard to believe!)

We have checked on Experian and this debt isnt showing up on H2B's report.... should it show if it is a genuine debt?
We got our first mortgage 3 years ago and this was never mentioned by our finacial advisor.

Cabot financial have agreed that if we pay by 1st June, they will accept payment of £300.

We are really unsure what to do. We have discussed going to CAB but we dont have any real proof that this has been paid.
We are torn between paying the settlement fee now (we have a letter to confirm the settlement fee) or to investigate and risk Cabot Finanacial demanding the full amount once the settlement period has lapsed....

Sorry for the long email. Just not really sure what to do!!

daveyboy1979

Hi

My girlfriend and I currently owe nearly £40,000 to about 9 companies in total, including HSBC and Nationwide. We rent a flat and we both earn around £1500 a month each.
We have been on a DMP for the past seven months paying £800 and we have just been told that they estimate this will last for 7 and a half years. The company is Hanover Sterling and they have now put us in touch with a company call Personal Debt Helpline saying an IVA may be more suitable for us.
I have read what Martin has had to say on the IVA and part of me is keen to do this as the period is 2 and a half years shorter. The other part of me fears that we will have to pay more than the £800 we currently pay and feel that this is the most we would like to pay on either the DMP or IVA. Our credit ratings are quite obviously no good and we cannot borrow from family.
My main question is really do you think it is likely an IVA will be cheaper than a DMP?

Tot_3

Hi there,

I have been on a DMP with CCCS for over a year now and things are running quite smoothly, so thank you for your help. My question is that my statement shows I have made 14 payments of £500 (keeping numbers simple!) making £7,000 paid to yourselves, but only £6,300 appears to heve been paid out to my creditors.

This appears to come from the early months of my DMP when things were being set up and creditors were accepting/disputing my DMP but is there a way that I can get this money back? It doesn't appear to have been paid out and I could really do with it as my boiler has broken and my wife and I are really struggling to find the money to have it fixed.

Many thanks again, Tony.

drfaust

Hi Sarah,

I have a loan of £9650 that I took back in 2004 and have been paying since. I have another £6000 left to pay off, approximately another 6 years.

Is there any such thing as writing a loan off and if 'Yes' where shall I start from? A company called Beneficial Claims called me and offered their services but I am not entirely sure.

If the answer is 'No' what other options are there to minimize/decrease the huge interest I am paying?!

Thank you for taking the time to read this and look forward to your advice.

Vladimir

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

Thanks for this Wendy.

As Wendy has advised, please feel free to message any of us.

We are happy to help!

Sarah

Ch1rpie

Hi...I am new to this forum, and not sure if I am posting this correctly. I need to reduce my monthly payments to all my cards - due to a reduction in hours in my job over next 6 months.... what is the best way to do this.... do I contact the credit card companies by phone or is it better by mail. What sort of reduction could I request? Should I ask for a set payment each month with a reduced rate?

CCCS_Sarah

pegginout wrote: »

Not sure if I have asked this in the right place.

My friend is in a real mess because of Barclays Reserve on her account. She went over into the reserve and has been charged £88 this month. She just can't seem to get out of the reserve so keeps getting charged.

I would love to help her but financially I am unable to.

She is a single parent, working, and just trying to get by. No fancy cars, holidays etc . She earns enough to cover day to day expenses but her washer has broken and she has ended up in a pickle.

She has 2 accounts, one student one current.

Can these charges be frozen??

Also, can she reclaim these bank charges?

Hello,

Your friend would need to open a basic bank account where she has no debts and arrange for her income to be paid into here. Once she has done this she will also need to change her priority direct debits so they are debited from this account also. This will stop the bank taking her money in charges, then she can make arrangements to clear the debts.

She could try and ask the bank for the charges back and see how she gets on.

If your friend keeps getting bank charges, there must be some issues with her budget. I would recommend that she has an appointment with the CCCS. She could visit our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy. Debt Remedy would assist her in completing a financial statement and she would be provided with tailored advice on the best way to deal with her situation. Click here to go directly to Debt Remedy.

If she would prefer to talk to a debt counsellor about her situation, she could 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 friend calls she has details ready regarding your income, expenditure and creditors, as this can help speed up the referral process. If she has 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

CCCS_Sarah

fluffthecat wrote: »

Hi, I need some advice and help.

I have a booking with a CCCS advisor on the 4th June. The last time I spoke to somebody at CCCS for initial advice was about 2 weeks ago. They told me to write a letter to my creditors(8 credit card companies)and offer them all a £1 postal order as a token payment until I get some CCCS help and perhaps start a pro-rata payment scheme.
I have since posted all these letters by recorded delivery, however, I have still not heard from any of them and I have now missed 2 monthly payments with 2 credit cards. They have both charged me a £12 late fee.
What should I do please? Should I call each creditor to see if they have received my letters, or wait a bit longer until my interview with CCCS. In the meantime, I will miss another 2 payments!

Thanks for any advice.

Regards

Fluff

Hi Fluff,

If you have sent them a goodwill gesture payment and letter explaining that you are having an appointment with the CCCS, don’t worry – you have done everything you can until your appointment.

On the 4th June you will know what your options are going to be then you will be able to give your creditors an update.

Hope this helps and good luck with your appointment.

Sarah

Widelats

Sarah,

Am i likely to get this DRO order processed or not? These are my basic details, i have a appointment next week at the CAB to fill in the forms, i am taking my whole JSA along and paying in full up front.

Rent £16 per 2 weeks approx
Electric £10 per 2 weeks approx
Food and other household stuff £40 per 2 weeks
Catalogue £60 approx per month


I get £100 per 2 weeks JSA as the jobcentre are taking £30 per 2 weeks back in social fund loans.

No assets or bank savings, live in council accomodation, unemployed.

Cheers.

CCCS_Sarah

Godiva500 wrote: »

I received info today that I got my DRO, so I was very happy. Now I see that my Pension has been paid into my old overdrawn HSBC bank account, even though i wrote to them on 16th April and gave them info of my new co-op account, and told them not to pay it into the HSBC account.
My account with HSBC has been frozen, so I can't access it!! I will phone the pension people tomorrow but think they can't do much now, and HSBC will never let me take it out!!

What can I do - any ideas?

You will need to contact your pension company as soon as possible and get them to make sure all future payments are paid into your coop account. With regards the payment that has gone into your bank account, you could try contacting HSBC and if you have no luck there, you could try contacting the official receiver directly.