Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

westmids_3

hi all... help needed if possible.. i am in debt with a credit card and catalogues.. i have been down the route of requesting a cca.. and am in no luck , they are being really tough.. i dont know what else to do ...do i get in touch with them and offer token payments ( some have refused a £1 payment before) or do i apply for a dro.. however i think i am not eligable with regards to money left over at the end of each month.. i am a single mom of a 12 year old and a 6 year old on income support and child benefit.

CCCS_Sarah

Crisp_£_note wrote: »

Hi can anyone help I need to know what to do now if there is anything I can do.

Have written twice to Skycard credit card to request they stop calling me as it is becoming harrassing, I know I am in debt and owe them etc and dealing with it. Infact it might be 3 times as I asked them for written correspondence only in initial letter then wrote to them again asking them to stop calls and when they refused I sent them the template letter.

:eek: Trouble is they are still ignoring me and although they are writing to me they have told me they are within their rights to call which I agreed to when I signed my contract. They say "every care has been taken to ensure that you will not be contacted by telephone in future, however, our systems will pick up telephone details held within our data, if no further attempt is made to agree payment terms with Skycard. Please note that by providing contact numbers on your application form, you have agreed that Skycard is able to make contact by telephone. Our aitomated dialler is only switched on from 8am until 9pm Monday to Saturday and 10am to 4pm on Sundays. These times are within regulations. I conclude that Skycard has acted responsibly in nthe management of your account and in accordance with your Terms and Conditions."

On another note they go on to say that I should contact the CCCS for further advice, this makes me even more angry as I feel they haven't read any of my letters telling them that I am acting on advice from CCCS who have advised me to make Token Payments of £1 (which I have) and I even enclosed a Income & Expenditure sheet to show this is all I can pay! :mad:


What can I do?

Thanks

Hello,

If you have written to them asking for the calls to stop and they are still calling, you may want to make a complaint to the Office of Fair Trading as this could be classed as in breach of the Debt Collection Guidelines. You will need to start keeping a log of dates, times and peoples names if possible so you have examples. The fact is not so much the number of calls but the undue stress this is causing.

With regards the letter you have received, this does sound like a standard letter so I would just store it in a ‘safe place’

Sarah

StepChange_Private_Messages

roni08 wrote: »

Hello Sarah, I have been in a DMP for just over a year. Most of my creditors are fine. I have just one that is being very difficult. They are now insisting that my reduced payment each month is paid to them on a set date each month, which of course can't work because of the way money is distributed to all my creditors every 4 weeks and not on a monthly basis, as is the case with everyone on a DMP. I know that they realise this and are trying to make sure that I eventually technically fall into arrears with my account to enable them to go for a CCJ. I am really fed up with this company because I think that as they accepted my DMP offer of repayment they should not be trying to manipulate the situation to suit themselves in their own self interest. Can you give me any advice please? It would be most appreciated as I don't know what is the best way to tackle this problem.

Hi roni08 and thank you for your message

You are right. It sounds as though they are being difficult.
Just continue to pay your DMP and make sure that you make the payments regularly every month.
If you are on a DMP with CCCS then you can call our client support team and inform them of the situation.
Send me a PM if you need their number

Regards
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Sarah

manoj_ananthu wrote: »

sorry about ur situation....but can u plz tel me how to apply for a littlewoods credicard....there is no creditcard information on the site???

Hello,

Sorry I wouldn’t be able to help with that one, I can only offer advice about clearing debt

CCCS_Sue

ManxmanPhil wrote: »

Thanks CCCS_Sue
To my knowledge there has been no CCJ. The last time I had contact with anyone to do with Amex was the letter I sent in May 08.

The company now involved said that they already had an Interim Charging order which they obtained in Nov 08.

If you are not sure whether you have a CCJ, you could check your credit file.
I have attached a link to a booklet you may find useful called ‘Credit Explained’ click here

This explains how to get a copy of your file.
As I mentioned before, if you need further help with dealing with this, you can ring for an appointment.

Regards
CCCS_Sue

roni08

CCCS_Private_Messages wrote: »

Hi roni08 and thank you for your message

You are right. It sounds as though they are being difficult.
Just continue to pay your DMP and make sure that you make the payments regularly every month.
If you are on a DMP with CCCS then you can call our client support team and inform them of the situation.
Send me a PM if you need their number

Regards
CCCS_Sue

Thank you for replying Sarah. I do make my payments as I should, but as the rolling 4 weekly system means that all payments are made to creditors on a different date each month it will still mean that this company can one month turn round and say that they have not received their payment on the due date.

This being the case won't they legally have the high ground if they take this matter to court? I will be able to prove that I have made my DMP payments regularly but if I haven't stuck to their requirement of payment by the date they have stipulated surely they can use this as leverage should it go to court to get a CCJ? I have to be very careful as I own a house with a lot of equity in it and the obvious course that they are heading towards is a Charging Order. This is very worrying as I want to make sure that I protect my property as best I can.

CCCS_Sarah

Raquela wrote: »

Hello there, hope you can help.

I have debts which I am currently managing to pay, but have to start paying off a graduate loan in January which is a lot of money and on my salary there is no way I will be able to pay even half of the monthly payment even living very frugally and cutting out all unnecessary expenditure, I also have a student overdraft to pay back.

I live in rented accommodation and have just secured employment starting next week, but it is uncertain in that it is temporary ongoing (I am trying to secure permanent employment, but in this climate have to take what I can get). One of my debts is already on a DMP which I administered by myself with the creditor using CCCS paperwork about 3 years ago.

I would like to get this sorted before it is time to make the first payment on the big loan in January, as I know barring a miracle I will not then be earning enough to pay it. I think my only options are to get a new DMP, but am wondering if the creditor with whom I am already on a DMP will object. My only other option would be an IVA, - bankruptcy is really not an option since it would bar me from my hopeful future career.

Given my circumstances, could someone from the CCCS advise whether an IVA should be considered given that I don't own a house and my job situation might be considered precarious, or whether a new DMP would be a possibility? Debt amounts are

graduate loan - £23,000 (and accruing interest until the first payment due in Jan, hence wanting to get sorted sooner rather than later)
student overdraft £1,800 (they haven't chased it yet, but can't be long)
loan on existing DMP £4,200
student credit card £467

I am trying to get a graduate job, but without any luck so far, and obviously bankruptcy would bar me to so many careers. The bank gave me the grad loan on the basis of what they thought I would be earning, right before the credit crunch really came into effect.

I do plan to contact the CCCS properly and have filled out their form, but as I'm not technically in my new job til next Thursday and am not in trouble right now, I thought I should ask here first. Thanks in advance.

If your job is a temporary contract I would not advise you to go down the route of an IVA as if you failed to keep up with the repayments then there is a possibility that you could be made Bankrupt.

With regards the creditors offering the reduced payments, they can not have what you have not got to give them. The key is to make the reduced payments anyway. If you are offering reduced payments to one/ some of your creditors you should make reduced payments to all of them as this is fair to everyone.

If you would like to discuss this on an appointment, please call 0800 138 1111.

Sarah

Raquela

Thanks Sarah!

CCCS_Sue

Callie_82 wrote: »

I don't know if this is the right place to ask, but I'm completely stumped.

I was contacted by a Credit Services agency several months ago informing me of an outstanding debt from HSBC that had been passed to them for collection. I paid this off immediately. Having just checked my credit report, this is listed as a default (which is correct) but the balance is still listed as outstanding. HSBC passed the account to Metropolitan Collection Services (the debt collectionof HSBC I believe), who then passed it to Westcot (who I cleared the debt with).

All I am trying to do is change the entry on my report to list this as paid, but HSBC are telling me its nothing to do with them as the account has been passed on, and teh other two are telling me that only HSBC can clear the debt as they posted it. I am going round in circles and each company is passing me to the next. I don't know what to do?

Hi callie_82 and thank you for your message

I am attaching a link to a booklet called ‘Credit Explained’ which may help.

click here

It explains what to do if you believe something on your file is incorrect and who to contact.

Hope this helps

Regards
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Sarah

ANGSTDATA wrote: »

I cannot understand why credit card company's sell customers debt to these firms featured for maybe 6 - 20% of value when I have a couple of times during my debt history ( since losing a £23k job late 06 and now not eliigable for any benefits or job seekers allowance ) been able to scrape together -by beg , borrow but not steal method -about 30- 40 % of sum owed - why wont they negotiate ?

And as debt councillors are you opposed to trying to settle debt by this method and is this why when contacted companys who claim they may be able to wipe some debts legally ,wont touch us when they are aware that we are using a CCCS plan ?

Regards

I would not be able to say why some companies do not agree accept reduced figures, I’m guessing it’s to do with profit. With regards offering a reduced amount to clear the debts, CCCS are not apposed to this, and if the funds are available to offer full and final settlements we would recommend that you go for it, as this would save you money and time.

There seems to be a lot of organisations offering “wipe-off debt” services for a substantial fee. It’s worth noting that consumer credit debts will only be written off, if there is clear evidence that the creditor in question has breached the guidelines set within the Consumer Credit Act. The commercial companies offering to wipe off debts seem to be advertising this to the wider market, without prior knowledge to the individual’s financial situation.

If you are in a position where you think your creditors have taken unnecessary action which breaches the CCA and have evidence that proves so, then you could consider going down the route of disputing the debt through County Court. I would be very careful of any organisation offering such services, especially when they are charging substantial fees with no guarantee of success, when it’s something that you could do for yourself.

My advice would be that if you do feel you have a case where you feel your creditors have breached the CCA, speak to someone who can offer free independent advice, such as the Office of Fair Trading.
More information can be found on the Office of Fair Trading website: http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2008/consumeralert.