Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

CCCS_Sarah

bobandbuttons wrote: »

I am considering a DMP as I have had no luck with my bank I have all the details and just need to send off the forms. However with my job I can run up £500 to £800 worth of expences. These will be paid off each month but I do need a credit card. But on the form it says not to use a credit card. Is there any advice you could give...... should I keep my credit card and use that for my expences!

Thanks
Darren

Hi Darren,

Are you able to speak to your work and see if they can issue you with a company credit card?

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

karen098 wrote: »

Hi CCCS people
My other half made the call today to start a DMP, we will have an appointment in mid Sept. We have been told to open a new bank account and write to all creditors & cancel non priority direct debts and pay what we can afford by cheque.
What do I put in a letter to our creditor???
Also, what will happen in the interview in Sept??, as I understand ths will be over the phone but OH had alot of info to take in and note down as I was at work. Will it be a case of giving us different options which will be best for us?

All abit confused by it all

Thanks - Feeling calmer already
Karen098

Hi Karen,

All you need to mention to your creditors is that you are in financial difficulties at the moment, and that you have an appointment in September with the CCCS to discuss your options.

During your appointment, your counsellor will help you complete a detailed financial statement. So you will need details of your income, expenditure and debts handy. Once they have completed your budget the counsellor will then talk through your different options and send you a pack out to look over.

Hope this helps and good luck with your appointment.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

massivedebts wrote: »

Hi CCCS Peeps
We are on a DMP with yourselves. I have written to our CC companies and HSBC who hold our overdraft asking them to stop the intereset and charges etc (they all refused!! ........nice!!) .
We also have 3 loans and all the companies have accepted our DMP payments - my Q is, can we write to the loan co's and ask them to freeze interest or is it better just to leave be for the while as they're staying quiet and seem happy (for now) with the agreement.
Thanks
MD xx

Hello,

Have they already stopped the interest and charges? If not, there would be no harm in asking them to freeze the interest and charges, if they do say no, you could ask them again in a couple of months.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

sarahb7538 wrote: »

I am about to send of all info including my payslip. The problem is i have overtime on my lastest two payslips- this has now ended and no more is avaliable which is partly why i have been able to service my debts up until now. My september pay will be my normal pay. How will this affect the set up of my DMP. Should put in a covering letter to explain. You can see from my payslip what is my normal gross and what is OT etc?

Should I send in these and then September when received.

Hello,

A covering letter would be great; it will be helpful when setting up the plan. If you do receive any overtime in future then you could save this for a couple of months and pay a lump sum into the plan, as this will reduce the term down that you are paying your debts over.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

guinness34 wrote: »

hi guy i received a letter this morning from lloyds tsb as they now are saying the are going to take me to court for 2,214.61 now i done have this money if i did i would pay it to them what do i do now do i contact them or will cccs contact them my life is so depressing at the moment i am allreading stess as i have been called up for judy duty next week and i have to find money for petrol and parking

Hello,

You should be able to claim the money back for your Jury Duty. Are you currently on a DMP with the CCCS? If so, is this debt included in your DMP? If it is included in your DMP, its nothing to worry about as its just a standard collections letter.

Hope this helps
Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

cathy163 wrote: »

My husband and I have had a DMP thro CCCS for 5 years and have paid off £60000 but still have another £90000 to pay. Both my husband and I are on reasonable salaries. However my husband is due to be made rdundant at the end of the year. This is a scarey prospect in the current economic climate. He is 45 and will hopefully get another job quickly. My question is can we approach our creditors and offer to pay some of them off at reduced amount ie full and final settlement. Or is this seen as favouring one over another? Or do we just suggest an amount eg £40000 to be paid out over all the creditors pro rata. What happens when he is made redundant do we go on a reduced DMP but pay off some of the debt using some of the lump sum. Or is best to phone and speak with someone?

I feel sick thinking about the whole situation. For last few years have felt safe paying off what we owe but that is suddenly changing and feels just like it was when we were sinking in debt.

Hello,

£60000 gone, that’s fantastic!

If your husband is made redundant and receives a lump sum, I would recommend that you call us and then we will be able to send you all the sample letters to use.

If there are any debts remaining after the full and final settlements, there could remain on the dmp and it would just reduce the term.

Depending on your circumstances, you could possibly look at a lump sum IVA, this is similar to full and finals just legally binding – we could discuss this in more detail over the phone.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

sethsmum wrote: »

Hi, I have a question about County Court Judgements. Basically, I divorced my husband 4 years ago, and whilst we were together he had run up a lot of debt in my name as well as taking all my wages so I was left with rent arrears and overdue bills left right and centre. He has not had to pay a penny as he has spent the majority of the last 4 years in prison and has never held a proper job. When we divorced the total amount was £30k and since then I have managed to pay off nearly half and repaired my credit to the point where I am allowed credit cards and an overdraft again, which I am careful to manage so as to further increase my credit rating so that I can buy a house once all the debt is paid off. I am hoping to have it all paid off in the next two years, as once I no longer have to shell out £900 a month for my daughter's childcare that money can go towards paying off the debt.

Anyway, this week I received a letter that threatens to undermine all my hard work. I had a notice from a solicitor claiming to act for an old landlord, of a property I occupied with my ex-husband in 2001. We were evicted in December 2001 and there was a County Court Judgement at that time. None of the outstanding amount (£3,390.14) was ever paid and there has been no contact between myself and any solicitors or the landlord in the intervening period. I know that CCJs are not time-barred, but can they really threaten to enforce the judgement after 8 years? They are threatening bankruptcy proceedings which is not an option for me as I am a Chartered Secretary and so would lose my professional status and my job if I went bankrupt or had an IVA. Since the first letter I have had another stating that the CCJ is enforceable forever. I have not acknowledged any of the letters as yet.

A little advice on how to proceed would be much appreciated. At a push I could pay this off in instalments, although I don't have much slack in my budget. In all honesty though, I really resent the idea of having to pay yet another debt that I am not wholly responsible for, just because these people can find me to chase for it and can't find him.

Thanks in advance

Hello,

You would be able to put forward a new income and expenditure to the court, with a new offer of repayment. You would need to complete a form called an N245 there will be a charge for this of £35, you can either pick an N245 up from your local County Court or off the Courts website http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/

If you need any advice or help completing the forms you can call 0800 138 1111.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

EmptyPockets wrote: »

I am due to move house in two weeks time. I have already changed my address details using the online facility on the CCCS website (as I have access to the new property already) - but, will CCCS inform my/our creditors of the address change, or is this just lazy thinking on my part?!! Do I have to inform the creditors myself?

Hello,

We don’t let creditors know that you have moved, you would need to write to them all.

Sorry

CCCS_Sarah

sun_is_shining wrote: »

Hi,

I am in debt with the bank. I have a £400 overdraft with the bank and i stupidly got myself into trouble with it. I have gone over by about £200, meaning i am quite a bit overdrawn (-£600). I'm wondering if anyone can give me any advice as to how i should go about trying to pay this back in an easy simple way. Could they freeze the account so i could pay it back in instalments?

Thanks for reading

You could ask them to reduce the amount in instalments; however they could just take the £200 to bring your account back into the agreed limits.

My advice would be to open another bank account and set up a standing order to clear the overdraft. Doing it this way, you have control of your money and the bank can not take what you have not got.

Hope this helps
Sarah

guinness34

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

Hello,

You should be able to claim the money back for your Jury Duty. Are you currently on a DMP with the CCCS? If so, is this debt included in your DMP? If it is included in your DMP, its nothing to worry about as its just a standard collections letter.

Hope this helps
Sarah

hi sarah thank you for your answer yes i do have a DMP with CCCS and yes this debt is inclulded as for jury duty i have been told that i can claim for mileage which will be 70 miles round trip but parking i am unsure as this is going to cost me 6 pounds for every day i will have to atented which i now have to find before i go as well as petrol money. seem too me that if you do the crime some one else will pay for you to go to prison as use taxpays pay for that to just dosen't seem right to me soory for the moan every one but had to get it off my chest so to speak