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Ask a CCCS counsellor a question
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I have received my letter from you with the agreement and letter to photocopy and send to my creditors, but on that it asks for the date when the DMP is to start, how do I know when this will be when I havent had a welcome pack etc from you yet?
I get paid on 15th August and will hold back money to send to you as the initial payment, I will cancel the direct debits to my creditors which are due around this date too - so, should I tell the creditors that the DMP starts in August or will it be September by the time things are set up with them?
Please advise as soon as possible so that I can get the letters sent out.
Many Thanks!0 -
Can someone please tell me what the main differences are between a Debt Management plan and an IVA
Thanks0 -
Hi there can someone give me some advice please..
I went through a three mth process with Benficial finance to borrow £10,000 from Oct - Dec 08.
I was approached by a lady on the phone totally out of the blue who offered me £75,000. I laughed and said if she new the financial mess we were in she wouldn't be offering me money. She told me to explain and would try to help.
I told her the truth...she went away with my figures and came back the next day with an offer of £10,000.
I was shocked as we were already up to our maximum.
It took about 8 wks to process because there were lots of problems as she went away on holiday and left with her office staff to deal with. She was the actual branch manager.
To cut along story short one of the office staff called and said she didn't know why I was told I could have this money because there is no way they would lend to someone in my situation. She went away to investigate further. It went on and on. Yes, no, yes, no etc....
Eventually manager came back and went higher and it was agreed I could have the money.
Clearly during the phone calls I was distraught because by this time I had accounted for having it.
Eventually it came through.
Can you please tell me if I have any kind of come back on this?
I accept I had the money. The problem is I should never of had it and someone picked that up but was reprimanded for interfering...
Sorry I am not sure I have posted in the right place still not very good at this.
Thanks
Hi there.
If you've signed the agreement, then you do accept liability for paying back the money. However, from what you've said there is a possibility for a case of irresponsible lending. If you haven’t already done so, you could try writing a letter to the lender outlining your concerns in their behaviour. If this doesn’t lead to satisfaction you could try escalating it to the Financial Ombudsman.
Regards,
Matthew.I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.
CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.0 -
I'd really appreciate any advice that can help me resolve this ongoing pain.
In 1999 I lived in a property for 6 months which I rented privately.
In 2006 I received a letter from Westcot credit agency to my then address stating that I owed 2 years worth of water bills to Severn Trent, a supplier used at the 1999 property. Someone had used my details to avoid paying for their water!! Anyway, I told Westcot that I had only lived in the property for 6 months (which I had paid for at the time) and provided Westcot with the only proof of address change I could find given the 7 year time difference, which was my payslips for the period. Westcot replied to me by letter stating that they had closed the case and were passing it back to Severn Trent, and that they would take no further action.
Case closed, or so I thought.
This year 2009 (aka 10 years on) I received a letter from Advantis Credit stating that they were chasing the debt. They and Severn Trent couldn't find any of the original correspondence with Westcot, which I had to forward to them along with the payslips I had sent originally. Various emails and phone calls from me to both Seven Trent and Advantis have left me with them now demanding that I need to now provide them with proof of my tenancy agreement or a statement from the council, neither of which I had in 1999 when I rented the property or 2006 when I first Westcot closed this query.
I'm frustrated and at a loss as now they are continuing to send me threatening letters and are stating that they will be taking legal action.
What can I do??? Thanks in advance for anything that can help me get this company off my back for this debt that is not mine!!
Hi Becca.
I think we
received this as an email via the CCCS website today, so we've sent you a response directly.
Regards,
Matthew.I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.
CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.0 -
wantabeedebtfree wrote: »Hoping someone can help. Having been a student for the past year I have struggled to manage to support my son and myself without getting into any unnecessary debt. Then in Feb 2009 I got a letter through from Robinson Way informing me that they were sending baliffs round etc etc (usual standard letter) for a debt of £7,500 that I owed Abbey. Around 2003/4 I was having a financial crisis and suffering from depression, I had creditors chasing me 24/7. I decided to sell my house and pay off all the debts. This happened at the end of 2004 and the problem has not re-occurred. I explained to R Way that this was the case and I had no knowledge of any outstanding debt. They sent back another standard letter. I then spoke to someone at CCCS who advised I ask for proof of agreement etc. They sent this through (just in time for the deadline) and it was a blank agreement dated 2002 with Egg. I still do not recall this debt. I spoke again to CCCS and they suggested that I send a further letter saying that as I had paid off all creditors in 2004, that if the debt did exist I believed it to be statute barred. They responded with even if it was statute barred I still owed the money??? CCCS at this point suggested I contact the FInancial Ombardsman. They were very helpful and completed all the necessary forms. I have now, again just within time recieved some docs back from R Way - a second copy of my signature dated 2002 and some screen prints from 2003, no letters or proof of communication to prevent it from being statute barred or statements etc. I wrote to them at the end of last week and advised them that they had not sent me the information that I requested and that I would be responding via Financial Omb. again. I was about to complete the forms this week when the phone calls started. I told the first lady that I was dealing with it through Financial Omb as per my letter and asked how they had got my number (obviously through the Financial Omb letter sent to them with my contact details), I explained as such I was not prepared to speak to them on the telephone. She was very rude and said that she did not understand why I would not speak to them and would send me another letter. SInce then they have been calling 2 or 3 times a day. This is starting to become annoying and stressful. I am logging the calls and advising the FInancial Omb of the situation. I still have no idea on this debt and as far as I am concerned all debts prior to 2004 have been paid in full. What would you advise me to do now, before I start to pull my hair out??Thanks,
The Office of Fair Trading state within their guidelines that it is unreasonable to chase you for a debt whilst it's under dispute. If they have acknowledged that the debt is statute barred, you are also under no obligation to make any sort of payment.
I would certainly keep a log of the dates and times they call. You may want to put it in writing to them that you request not to be contacted via the telephone. You can add this to the letter to the financial ombudsman if you are planning on making a complaint through them.
Regards,
Matthew.I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.
CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.0 -
hi, my question is we are due to go b.r on the 10th sept, we are moving into rented on the 24th august, we are worried that the o.r will tell the landlord & they will kick us out. as we have 4 kids thats worrying. i have had different answers with regards to the o.r contacting the LL or agent. where do we stand here as we are also worried that if we told them, they may not go ahead with the move in. ?????
The OR would only normally contact your landlord if you had included rent arrears within your petition. Assuming you don't have any rent arrears there should be no reason for your landlord to be told.
In any case where you are going bankrupt and you are renting it's best to check where you stand with your tenancy agreement to make sure whether you have to disclose such information. In most cases, landlords won't be too concerned if you've gone bankrupt providing you keep up to date with the rent.
Regards,
Matthew.I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.
CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.0 -
Hi, i currently have approx £120k of unsecured debt and have been paying through the cccs for last 3 years. i have an opportunity to get a sum of money that would pay 33p in the £1 to every creditor as a full and final settlement and close all the accounts.
I have 2 questions please!
1) how likely is it that they will accept this given that the alternative is bankruptcy as we cannot go on like this forever
2) will it significantly clean up my credit file/score as should show as £0 debt
I would be grateful for your comments
Hi there, thanks for getting in touch.
1) It's difficult to say whether they will accept it or not. 33p in the pound is definitely a possibility though, whether you try offering settlements or possibily a lump sum IVA. If you're on a DMP with us then you are best to give us a call so it can be discussed in more detail once someone can see all your details in front of them.
2) If settlements are accepted, some creditors will be happy to update your credit file as 'settled', however some will only update it as 'partially settled' which may go against you if you consider borrowing further credit at a later date.
If a lump sum IVA were to be a possiblity, it would be registered on your credit file for 6 years.
Hope this helps,
Matthew.I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.
CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.0 -
jonnym8083 wrote: »i am putting a list together of income and expenditure and working out pro rata payments with all my creditors. i have 8 creditors but i have found that with one creditor my minimum payment is 45 pcm but my pro rata payment works out to £59. do i pay this as it works out fair with all creitors or can i just pay the minimum of £45 and share the remaining £14 between my other creditors? what should be the first letter that i send to my creditors? thanks all advice welcome
Hi there.
Even though the offer will be more than the contractual, I would still go with it. That way you can show that your being fair to everyone and there is no confusion to how you've reached the amounts you've offered.
Hope this helps,
Matthew.I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.
CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.0 -
I have contacted ccs and payplan ccs advised I could take out a DMP with £103 extra a month and CCS the same with £179
CCS sent me all the paper work right away.
Payplan are really pressurising me to do an IVA which I don't feel comfortable about. I feel a little uncomfortable about the company and awaiting for a case manger to phone me next week anthor week gone by
Don't know who to use for the best now. I have £12,300 of debts and my mortgage and other bills up to date. Want to pay extra off the amount when I can so that I can get back on track again.0 -
CCCS_Matthew wrote: »The Office of Fair Trading state within their guidelines that it is unreasonable to chase you for a debt whilst it's under dispute. If they have acknowledged that the debt is statute barred, you are also under no obligation to make any sort of payment.
I would certainly keep a log of the dates and times they call. You may want to put it in writing to them that you request not to be contacted via the telephone. You can add this to the letter to the financial ombudsman if you are planning on making a complaint through them.
Regards,
Matthew.
Thanks for this Matthew. They phoned again today, the first time my son answered and they started asking him questions, I took the phone and told them again that they were harrassing me for a debt that was in dispute with the Financial Ombudsman. I told them again to stop calling me and they got quite stroppy saying that it had to be resolved, so I told them that was why it was going through the Ombudsman, as they have already said that the debt is statute barred but are claiming that it is still a debt that needs to be paid?? (of which I have no knowledge). I am guessing they are making empty threats as they cannot prove any legal debt, as this is what I requested through the Ombudsman in the first place. I have sent them another letter today and copied the Ombudsman into the letter. They called a further 4 times with automated calls. I am thinking this is now beyond any reasonable chasing of debt particularly in view of the additional circumstances, should I also contact OFT in regards to the harassment?Thanks for your help so far,wantabeedebtfree
Current debt 2011 - £23,875
Admitting it, now losing it!0
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