Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

CCCS_Sarah

ylesia wrote: »

Hi

I'm helping my friend sort out her finances, she has already had a call with CCCS but was left feeling a little overwhelmed and totally freaked out when the information arrived as it recommended bankruptcy. She really doesn't see this as an option, as the house is joint owned with her son and he can't afford to come up the equity and she is terrified of losing the house.

I think the bankruptcy was recommended as it looked like there was only £91 left to pay £35000 debt. We've been back over her budget and now have a £350 surplus each money, I have helped her come up with a plan and I'm sure a DMP would work. I am going to help her get the letters out and send the £350 pro rata to her creditors next week but I'm a little nervous about making that step if the CCCS will not put her onto a DMP.

If she phones on Tuesday with the new budget, is she likely to be accepted for a DMP with the £350 (6 debts - 3 creditors) and if so how long would it take to set up?

She is anxious to have it all set up so she knows that the £350 comes out every month and she doesn't have to deal with cheques and letters.

Thanks for any advice.

Hello,

If there has been a change in your friends budget she would be more than welcome to have another appointment, we will change the figures in the budget and see what other options are available to her.

I would not be able to say for sure if a dmp would be an option for her, as I don’t have her budget to look. On rough calculations it would take her around 8 years to clear her debt on those figures if the creditors were to stop the interest and charges, so could be a possibility.

In her booklet, there will be a contact number, if she calls that then they will arrange another appointment for her.

Sarah

saskia1

advice please....

I recently completed the cccsonline debt remedy which recommended iva or dmp.

we considered the iva but as both me & my husband work for banks this was not an option.

My q is - i have had to do a Managed Loan with the bank i work for - my staff loan / credit cards x 2 & o/draft (30k) - i know MLA are considered the worst thing but i had no choice otherwise would have faced disiplinary procedures & possibly the sack & yes i did discuss a cccs dmp with them but they basically said thats when they would have to consider disiplinary- wouldn't have helped our finances one bit!!

my other creditors - 6 - largest debt 25k & smallest £3k - i have £312 to offer these creditors. Will cccs take off HSBC debt from my DMP and deal with the remaining creditors or will i have to do a self admin dmp?

many thanks

sas

Widelats

Or any other CCCS councillor can answer pls?

CCCS_Sarah

andyathers wrote: »

Hello i am in court on wed 27-05-2009 . It is regarding a loan with tesco.It is a joint loan, but tesco are only chasing me.We are paying our debts through payplan.

I already have a ccj from tesco but it was for the exact amount paypal suggested.Tesco immideatly asked for it to go back to court which is wed

tesco solicitors sent me some paperwork today stating they dont accept the ccj payment and want the whole amount, so they can go for a charging order.They are also asking the court to vary the order forthwith.
It also says if the court is minded to grant an installment order, leave is requested to apply for a charging order but not to be enforced if payments are maintaned.

If our home is sold there would be no money left as we have a secured loan.We also have 2 young childern, and my wife is sick and has been for 10 years now.

Any help welcome please

Hello,

You have good grounds to defend the charge as 1) the house is jointly owned, 2) if there is not enough equity to cover the debt plus your other creditors. Under the Charging Orders Act 1979 the court has to consider all the circumstances of the case and in particular the personal circumstances of the debtor and whether or not any creditor would be unduly prejudiced. This means the court has to decide if making a CO would disadvantage other creditors.

How much debt do you owe in total to all your creditors?

You will need to put forward your objections to the court at least 7 days before your hearing. In your defence I would also write as there is children living in the home you would like conditions adding to the charge (if granted) that as there are children living in the property that the house can not be sold until the children are grown up.

Hope this helps
Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

lulubeth wrote: »

Hi,

I owe approximately £28,000 in debts; most of which came from a professional studies loan that I took out with HSBC 6 years ago. The rest was from overdrafts and credit cards. I started an IVA nearly 2 years ago, but in all honesty was never really able to pay the monthly repayment amount that was asked of me (£340). I used a company called Grant Thornton which came through the CCCS website and they seemed helpful and understanding. I found it difficult to speak to them about my concerns and queries though, because I felt ashamed and also just wanted this all to be over as soon as possible, so I agreed to something that was simply unachievable. I am ashamed to say that I only ever managed 1 payment on this plan and as a result have failed the IVA. It has been officially failed since the end of 2008 and I have been contacted by a debt collection company for the HSBC debt. I have managed to get them to agree on £50 a month, which will last the rest of my life if I am ever to pay it all off. I haven't yet been contacted by any of the other creditors. This is where I am unsure of what to do - should I wait for them to petition bankruptcy for me or should I just go ahead and do this myself?
I should also explain that I have real trouble budgeting properly and keeping to the miserable tight estimations that these companies think are reasonable for you to spend on yourself in a month. I suppport my partner who had been on sick leave for a year and now he has returned to work but earns more than the threshold for any more benefit entitlements but less than enough to actually pay any of our bills or provide any food. I often end up paying his debts and for his travel expenses/food etc. I don't know whether to bring this into my petition for bankruptcy as I don't want to drag him into it with me, but if I don't admit this on my forms it looks (on paper) as if I can afford the IVA payments. I am also worried that my creditors don't have my new address and that is why they have not contacted me about the failed IVA. What will happen if they cannot contact me? Will they send officials after me?

ANY help or advice would be soooo appreciated; I am so ashamed and frightened. I really want to face up to this and get my life together.

Thankyou,
Lulu

Hi Lulu,

Have you received a certificate to say you IVA has failed? Even thought it will be written in your IVA agreement that you could be made bankrupt it does not always happen.

Without knowing you full financial details, I would not be able to say if bankruptcy is an option for you. But if they did decide to make you bankrupt then it would save your £510. If bankruptcy was an option with a larger surplus, you would be asked to pay an Income Payment Arrangement (IPA) for three years.

If you have received your certificate to say you IVA has failed, you would be able to have another appointment with the CCCS and we can take another look at your budget and look at your options.

Also speak to you IP, Grant Thornton are very understanding and will let you know where you stand.

To book an appointment please call 0800 138 1111.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

Greengrass11 wrote: »

Hi

Can someone tell me if a main high street bank can freeze an account after a large ammount of money has been paid in, looked into and cleared through the court and also a judgement from a crown court stating that the account cannot be frozen again?

Thanks

Hi Greengrass,

Could you give me a little background to this please?

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

mikey_1873 wrote: »

I recently got a copy of my credit report from Experian & was shocked to find i had a default against my name! after doing a bit of research (looking out previous bank statements) i found that i had made a late payment on 1 of my monthly payments;

I made a scheduled payment on the 31st of Oct 08, & the following scheduled payment on the 1st Dec 08, however i then made a late reduced payment over the phone telling the lender i couldnt really afford to make the full payment on a 1 off basis, we agreed to a reduced payment for 1 month - this was paid on the 7th Feb 09. (the phone call was made after the scheduled payment was due to come out)

I then review my credit report & find out that i had 'deafulted' on 5th Feb 09.

I phoned the lender & asked why i had a deafult against me, they told me they couldnt see a problem & to send a copy of the credit report into them to review (which i am yet to do; this will be done later in the week).

Does this seem like a mistake or is it likely i have been deafulted for a single late reduced payment albeit that i phoned (late) & agreed to make a reduced payment for 1 month.

Cheers in advance.
Michael.

Hi Michael,

A default notice is generally issued after a couple of missed payments, they may off issued it due to the period of time, however do speak to your lender as if it has been added in error you should be able to get it removed. If not it will stay on your file six years from the day of issue.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

KAYLA wrote: »

Hi,

Sorry I am very new to this and didn't know where to post this query.

I have about £20,000 debt and MAY BE] be in the fortunate position to inherit some money that would let me pay off the debt.

Apart from one actual CCJ the rest are with various DCA's who keep sending me letters about the amounts owed. The agencies also keep changing as though the debt is being passed on. Could anyone advise if I can negotiate full and final settlement figures with the agencies, or whether I should go through a Debt Counsellor.

I really want this settling but I am worried about being 'ripped off'.

Thank you for your help.

Regards

Pauline::T

Hi Pauline,

If you were to come into some money it would be worth offering your creditors full and final settlements as you will save some money.

If you didn’t manage to clear all the debts then depending on your circumstances you could look at some type of reduced payment plan.

I would be able to send you a fact sheet on full and final settlements if you send me a PM with your email address. Or if you would prefer to have an appointment with a debt counsellor you can call 0800 138 1111.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

roller1007 wrote: »

Hello all, I was looking for some advive on my debt problem, I currently have my own home which is worth about £47,000 my morgage balance is about the same price, but i have 2 secured loans on the property aswell for 25years one is for £31,000 and one for £13,500 those are settlement figures if i was to pay them back now. I also have a car loan from log book loans where the apr is 428% scandously i know!! i now owe £8,000 on that loan, i need a car to visist my son and for work. All my other unsecured debts to over 20 other companies totals about £12,000.

As you can see i am in lot of debt, i only get paid £1250 a month and my outgoings are far higher than my incomings, i struggle every month to pay for just general items like food and petol. My credit file is shot to pieces what with my arears and defaults and i feel the only opion is going bankrupt, do you think this is wise?

It’s difficult to give you detailed advice on your options 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.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

katyp1 wrote: »

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!!

You could try and find out a little more information from Cabot by asking for all the details on your account. You can do this by asking for a subject access request this will then give you all the notes on the account and confirm payments etc.

There is a legal time limit allowed for a full response to be made. From the receipt of a DSAR, there are only 40 days in which to gather the data and to respond.
Or you could send the creditor a CCA request. I have also attached a copy letter that you could use.

Example letter – request for creditor information

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

Without Prejudice

Dear Sirs
With reference to the above account
Please will you send me a true copy of the original signed agreement together with an up to date statement of the account showing all transactions, including interest and charges, and a copy of any other document referred to in the agreement.
I understand I am entitled to this information under ss77-79 of The Consumer Credit Act (CCA) 1974.
I also understand that this information should be sent to me within 12 working days of you receiving this letter. The CCA states that creditors are unable to enforce an agreement until this request is complied with.
I am enclosing the £1:00 fee, payable under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, for each account.
Yours faithfully
(Print name)