Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

CCCS_Sue

Cee wrote: »

I had a debt management programme 3 years ago with the cccs and today churchwood finance told me that it wouldn't have had an effect on the way we remortgaged and that the arrears we had been in before it would have. As we couldn't get a good deal on our mortgage interest payments because of it.

We are both currently experiencing problems meeting our outgoings again and although I don't want to default on any payments due to interest charges on some of our creditors we may have to.

I rang churchwood finance back today as my initial application was for a loan and asked not to go ahead with the dmp they offered me as i want to try and pay off the debts before having to take one up, i'm sure i know the answer to this question but would i be better off going with cccs again or taking on churchwood with a hint of a promise that they could settle a loan for me 3 months or so down the line?

I want to keep my credit clean so it wont affect our mortgage in the future again.

Hi cee and thank you for your message

I can understand you want to keep your credit ‘clean’ but we would not recommend that you pay off debt with more debt, as the interest added can make the debt increase, and you could end up worse off.
And if you were to default on these new payments in the future,then your credit rating would be affected anyway.

At the end of the day, this has to be your decision, but if you are struggling to make the monthly payments, then you need to look at ways to pay your creditors back at an amount that is affordable to yourself, so you do not fall behind with your priority payments.


I would recommend you call us for an appointment to discuss your situation as we do not have your full financial details.
We could then look at all the options available for your circumstances.All our help and advice is free and confidential.

If you would like 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.


Regards,
CCCS

CCCS_Sue

tosh01 wrote: »

Hello,

I currently have unsecured debts of approx £21500 and after recently losing my job and having £0 saving's I am currently paying £1 each to 8 creditors.

I am hopefully subject to a medical and security references about to take up full time emplyment again but the wage is a lot lower than what i was previously on, I have worked out a budget and currently have approx £165 disposible income left after all of my outgoings, and I am wondering whether a IVA would be best for me or a debt management plan ??

On a dmp if we managed to get the interest at 0 % I would be looking at approx 11 yrs to pay everything therefore would an IVA be better if so what would I be looking at paying then ??

Please help

Hi Tosh01

I have answered this on a PM you sent to us yesterday.
If you need further assistance let us know.

Regards
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Sue

determinedtodothis wrote: »

Hello..

I'm coming up to my 1st year anniversary with CCCS and so far its been going ok, It looks like I am due a refund from the tax man this month and i'd like to use the money to clear some debt ~ would I be able to offer a Full & Final Settlement on maybe my capital one card if i'm in a DMP?

Thanks

Hi determinedtodothis and thank you for your message

Great to hear your plan is going well!

You can pay lump sums into your DMP. You need to ring our client support team and they would advise you how to go about it.

If you need the client support team number, let us know and we will PM it to you.

Regards
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Sue

tosh01 wrote: »

Hello,

I currently have unsecured debts of approx £21500 and after recently losing my job and having £0 saving's I am currently paying £1 each to 8 creditors.

I am hopefully subject to a medical and security references about to take up full time emplyment again but the wage is a lot lower than what i was previously on, I have worked out a budget and currently have approx £165 disposible income left after all of my outgoings, and I am wondering whether a IVA would be best for me or a debt management plan ??

On a dmp if we managed to get the interest at 0 % I would be looking at approx 11 yrs to pay everything therefore would an IVA be better if so what would I be looking at paying then ??

Please help

Hi tosh01

This has been answered on your PMs

Regards
CCCS_Sue

mrsdarbs

Hi

I have looked through the credit explained book, but still have a query.

My husband and I had been experiencing some cash flow issues for most of this year and they are only just starting to be resolved as we finally managed to rent out my flat (when we married in Sept I moved into Army accomodation with him) so now have the rental income coming in. During the last 6 months however our credit cards were maxed out by just trying to pay our bills and put food on the table etc, no lavish expenses or holidays or anything.

As a result we have been late with some of the payments and are incurring the late payment charge making it harder to get the balance down on them.

I am really wanting to get a 0% card to transfer the balance over. With the rental income coming in we are now able to pay more than the minimum payment, this would make such an impact if we could lose the interest. I applied for a Virgin card about 3 months ago and was refused.

I'm not sure if this was due to my credit rating or that I wasn't on the electoral role. I sent the forms to the council yesterday so that should soon be changed.

I do not want to apply for another card if my late payments are really going to show on my credit file as I do not want the rejection making my rating worse.

Do the credit card companies mark every late payment to the credi checking agency or do they wait until you are in arrears etc??

Thank you!
Gemma

bigjohnuk

CCCS_Amanda wrote: »

Hi there bigjohnuk,

Thank you for your post.

If you want to reduce payments to your creditors then you will need to supply them with a copy of your income and expenditure and offer them a more reasonable payment that is based on your budget. There is no way to make a creditor agree to your offer of payment and there is no way to make them stop charging you interest if they do not want to.

If the debts are just in your name then the missed payments, defaults, etc would only be recorded on your credit history. I have attached a link that will give you information on credit histories and the information that they hold.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf

Our service is confidential and if you are struggling to make payments to your creditors then you could have a chat with a debt counsellor. They will be able to give you more information on reducing payments, your credit history, and the collection process. You can contact our helpline on 0800 138 1111, alternately you can use our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy.

Regards,
Amanda

Hi Amanda,

Thank you for the feedback. However I understand that it may not drop my wifes credit level, however I know form others that if my Wife went to obtain a loan in the future, that they would have a flag to my details based on the address, thus they will then see that her husband is on a Debt Remedy which I understand is that they mark your record with not making the full payment on time. My wife does not want me to do this Debt Remedy becuase of this, but I am finding it hard to try and come up with another way around my problem.

John

CCCS_Sue

homer_simpson wrote: »

Hi,
I am on a plan with cccs and have a quick question,

If my partner was to move in how would it effect my plan? i wouldnt be asking her to contribute to the running of the house, just to cover her bills, partly because she is just out of uni and has debts to pay from then, but also because i dont want all the joint income thing yet, as thats how i ended up in debt in the first place!

All i will be asking for is half the food bill, half the council tax, as i will lose single person discount, and half utility bills, as she works shifts, and i work 9 - 5,

Basically, will cccs expect a raise in repayment to the point were i will have to rely on her income?

Hi homer_ simpson and thank you for your message

If she was to move in and contribute towards the household bills, then the expenditure would increase as there would be two people on the budget.

Any extra surplus money after paying your priorities could then be used to pay towards your plan.

This would help to clear your debts even quicker.

You would need to ring our client support team and make an appointment to update your plan.


Regards
CCCS_ Sue

CCCS_Sue

gargrave50 wrote: »

My husband and I are considering a DMP after doing a DR with CCCS. The one thing I forgot to clarify is - if we had any spare funds on a one off basis e.g. carboot sale are we able to make additional payments direct to creditors? I suspect not but wanted to check.

Hi Gargrave50 and thank you for your email

You would need to pay them through your DMP,so if you received any lump sums whilst on the plan,you would need to contact our client support team for further advice.

Regards
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Alan

retsbed wrote: »

Bump up the forum

Hi Retsbed

You would need to look through the agreement of the IVA, probably under the unsecured debt section to see what stipulation is made regards joints debts. It may say that you are still joint and severally liable for the debt, minus any payments made from the IVA.

It is possible that when Natwest received the proposal that they thought it was initially a joint IVA and It may have recently come to light it is a singular IVA which could be why they have taken so long on taking any action.

If it turns out you are still liable for the debt still only offer what you can afford to the debt each month.

Regards

CCCS_Alan

sallyanneclarke

I have a dmp with cccs, my husband and I pay HSBC a total of £176 towards a loan and 2 credit cards totalling £11,000. The credit cards are at 17% interest at the moment. HSBC have offered us a managed loan at 7% above base rate for thesame monthly repayment.

Should we accept or let them issue a default for the loan and transfer to debt collectors? Will the credit cards be transferred at the same time? I need to tell them by Monday 13th July.

Sally Clarke