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Rainbowlou

I have today rung Lloyds to see updated totals of my debt. Despite me paying approx £5600 since 2005 my total debt to them-mainly because payments are not even covering interest charges - is approx £12000, (original debt was approx £12 000).
I am with Payplan and pay £120 a month distributed to the 4 debts. Even this is a squeeze for me and life is often hard. My question is will I remain on a DMP forever? Is this what happens when people come to Payplan? They complete the original plan and then go onto another and another but never really clearing their debts..?
What are my options..?
I can't pay enough for an IVA nor do I owe that much. I don't want to declare myself bankrupt. I owe too much for an admin order. Is there anything else that can free me within 5 years because I DO NOT WANT THIS STRESS AND DEBT FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE.
TIA!
Louise

CCCS_Sue

londonfraggle wrote: »

Hi - I wonder if anyone has any advice for me. I am in the process of getting my DMP rolling. I have quite a number of "cheque" loans, which I am not sure what to do about.

1) Try and negotiate with them directly - but I have heard that they are unlikely to do so - they have my cheques with the guarantee card number so really they know they can get their money. Plus I'm not really sure how to deal with them if I'm honest.

2) As I am not going to be paying the interest on these anymore they are going to start going through my bank account taking me well and truly over my overdraft limit.

3) I have already set up another bank account so the above isn't such an issue in day to day terms BUT...

4) As it will push my debt up MASSIVELY with my bank I'm not sure how this will impact my DMP with them - plus they will be charging me a HUGE amount of interest (there will be approx. 20 cheques going through - each one of £100 - so my overdraft will increase by over £2000 PLUS I will be charged a fee for each one, and overdraft interest - YIKES!).

5) Does anyone know if that bank will continue to charge me EVERY month for this amount over my overdraft. As my salary will no longer be going in there will be no way of reducing this every month. So I am super worried that my debt with this bank is just going to go up and up and up...and up!

Any advice gratefully received. I was feeling so positive yesterday after my appointment with CCCS but sat and thought about this last night and feel a bit sick again.... The CCCS counsellor said that on a DMP you often have to go backwards before you can go forwards, which I totally accept but I am worried that I'm going to be going so far backwards every month with Abbey once these cheques have gone through that I'll never catch up. Plus am worried about the demands they are likely to make about paying it back, court orders, bailiffs, etc etc.

Help please!

Thank you v much.

Fraggle x

Hi Fraggle and thanks for your message

First of all, try not to worry! You are working at sorting out your debt situation.

All your debts should be included on your DMP and apart from advising them that you are going on a DMP and giving them a token payment for the month before your plan starts, you should not pay them any extra money as this would be giving them preferential treatment over your other creditors.

Make sure that you pay any money you get into your new bank account.
This ensures you are back in charge of your finances and your previous bank cannot take money you need for everyday living costs.
If your overdraft does increase, then this would be added into your plan.
When we initially write to your creditors to advise them of the payment offer, we do ask them to consider stopping all interest and charges. This is at their discretion but once the plan is up and running and they are receiving regular payments, they do consider this.

With regard to bailiff action, this is only if the debt has gone to court and a county court judgement (CCJ) is issued and you default on it. If you receive a CCJ you do not have to appear in court. It is paperwork which you can fill in and send back in the post.
Bailiffs can also be used to collect debt if you get into arrears with your council tax. This is why it is important to keep up to date with all your priority bills.
If the creditors threaten to send a collector to your home, they do not have any special powers and are not bailiffs.

So, the main thing is to pay what you can realistically afford each month into your plan and do not be pressured into paying any extra.

If you need more assistance, please ring our client support team who will be happy to assist you further.

Regards
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Sue

GoalieStu wrote: »

Hi,

I want to apply for an IVA or DMP and I currently run an e-bay shop which means that according to the government I am self employed. I have to do self assesment tax etc. My main income comes from a regular job where I receive a salary. Does this affect the way I have to handle my current situation?

Thanks

Stu

Hi Stu and thank you for your email

It should not affect the options that are available for your situation.

If you would like an appointment to discuss this further with one of our debt counsellors, you can ring for an appointment 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.

If your debts are business debts, then you can contact Business Debtline which is a charity which gives free confidential advice to the self employed.
http://www.bdl.org.uk/englandandwales.asp

Regards
CCCS Sue

CCCS_Sue

londonfraggle wrote: »

Hi there - could a lovely CCCS person please give me some advice.

I have just begun my DMP journey - I have received the first email with the budget breakdown and notification template. I haven't yet told all my creditors that I'm going onto a DMP - is this notification letter all I need to send them.

Also - some advice about my bank please. I currently bank with Abbey and have an overdraft with them. I have opened a basic bank account already, and have arranged for my salary to be paid in there from the end of this month (september) onwards. Clearly, once Abbey receive my DMP notification letter I will no longer be able to use my account so my question is - should I hold off sending them the notification letter until all this months priority payments (gas, electricity etc) have gone out of the account? They should all be in a week or so. From October onwards, once my salary goes into my new account I will set all DDs up from there. I'm a bit confused about the order to do things in.

I also wonder what I should do about the notificiation letters to other companies/creditors I have in the same (Santander) group - presumably once any of them know (e.g. Cahoot) my bank will know too.

So - am in a bit of a muddle and would appreciate any advice please.

Thank you very much.

Fraggle x

Ps - I wonder if any of you have had a chance to read my post about payday loans/cheque cashing loans - I would be so grateful for any thoughts on what to do about these as am in a tizz about them.

Hi fraggle

You need to send the bank the notification letter after you have paid this months priority bills, and your new account has been set up and all your money has been transferred across.
With regard to the rest of your creditors, you can send the notification letters out straight away so they are aware you are going on a plan.

Hope this helps

Regards
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Sue

fishinfrog wrote: »

Hello, I'm on my DMP and plan to be complete by the end of 2011

I just have a couple of queries;

1) One of my debts has been passed to a Debt Collection Agency who now about my DMP and are happy to continue with it, however, do I need to inform the CCCS that this debt has been transferred

2) Also a couple of my creditors are Halifax Loans who have lumped a number of charges on my account for missing payments ranging from £10 to £70 a time. When they are all paid off is there any likelihood for me being able to reclaim these charges?

Many thanks

ff

Hi fishinfrog and thank you for your email

You need to let us know when a debt has been passed to a collection agency as we need to contact them with an offer of payment.
With regard to the charges and interest being added, I would recommend that you call our client support team and let them know. Have you had a review recently?
It may be that the creditors need an update of your situation.
If you need the telephone number, send me a PM.

Regards
CCCS_Sue

CCCS_Sue

Malldo wrote: »

Hello,

Hopefully I'm in the right place here. My wife has just had her bank card declined at a petrol station, when she got home and phoned the bank, they informed her that her overdraft has been cut by from £1900 to £500 and that she now needs to put another £1000 to avoid any charges for being over her overdarft limit.

She was on a graduates overdraft account with abbey and is a recently qualified teacher, however after all government promises of jobs for teachers, there is no work for her at all (including supply work). They have now said because she is not a student and is not putting regualr transfers into her account they have changed her overdraft limit.

After arguing with them, she has got them to agree to put the limit back to £1400 temporarily, but there are no guarantees how long they will leave it at that level and they have still taken the £400 that she had in her account to pay for bills this month. We may now not be able to pay everything this month and will start to incur charges. We have only just been able to get by on my wages recently & this could seriously damage our ability to meet our financial obligations, especially if we begin to incur charges.

Are they allowed to impose such a severe drop in an overdraft with no warning at all, surely they should have to give you a few months notice at least. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Malldo and thank you for your message

I am afraid they can withdraw any overdraft facility at short notice, but they usually do give you some notice that they are about to do this.

I would recommend that you open up another bank account as soon as possible and transfer your income to that bank.

This will put you back in charge of your finances and it also prevents the bank taking money from your account to pay any debts with have with them.
The bank does have the right to do this and it is known as ‘right of offset’.

You can then come to an arrangement to repay the overdraft at an amount you can realistically afford.

You will need to put together a budget showing your income and expenditure.
Whatever is left after paying all your priority bills is what you can realistically pay towards any non priority debts, including the overdraft.

If you would like further assistance in preparing a budget you can ring for an appointment to speak to one of our debt counsellors on 0800 138 1111.
The counsellor will also discuss all options available for your situation.

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 Sue

CCCS_Sue

CASR25 wrote: »

I hope a CCCS councellor can help, I have just filled in a Debt Remedy form and and my husband and i are now seriously considering going with a DMP.

3 questions though that I can not find an answer to on the website.

1. Our mortgage is on a fixed rate until 2011- we don't have any unsecured debt with the company, Nationwide, what will happen when we come to renew if we're on a dmp?

2. I'm about to have a baby and go on maternity leave, my wage will drop in october, but then go back to normal when i return to work, the earliest end of january. My husband sometimes receives commision from his job, could we put that towards my maternity leave and thereafter of the debt? What do the cccs reommend? (Our tax credits will go up then too, but just until the new baby is a year old.)

3. Also, what do we do about my husband's commision that he gets from his job in sales- it's not guarenteed, or a set amount but is included in his final year tax thing? Would we just put them towards extra payments etc - would it be our choice what we did with it. What is possible? His wage goes up with inflation and mine as a teacher goes up every two years - is that what is reviewed yearly, not the tax thing in april or our bank statements?

Thank you so much in advance,
Cx

Hi and thanks for your message

Being on a DMP should not affect renewing your mortgage as it is just a way of repaying your debts.
Different mortgage lenders do have different criteria.
However, if you were to get a county court judgement, this could have an effect, as could any default notices.
These would show on your credit file for six years.

If there are any changes to your circumstances whilst you are on the plan you would need to call our client support team for a review of your situation.
When your baby is born, although your wages will reduce, you should be eligible for child benefit and child tax credits.

Your priorities would always come first, so we would need to ensure you were able to pay these before any non priority debts.

We would only use guaranteed income when doing your income and expenditure, but any extra commission your husband earned could be saved up and paid as a lump sum.

Your plan is reviewed every year, but you do not have to wait for that review if there are any significant changes during the year. You would just need to contact our support team.

Hope this helps but if you need further help then you can ring our Debt Remedy helpline. If you need the number, send us a PM.

Regards
CCCS Sue

bisselljk1986

Hi all,

I am currently on a DMP and it hasnt been for very long. Have already had to have it amended once as my OH pay was reduced as well as my debts needed to be added on. We got a letter saying that this cannot happen again. Since then I have had a legal letter from Buchanan Clarks & Wells on behalf of N Power about a debt that relates to our previous address (over 2 years ago).

We were paying N Power all fine until one day they didnt take DD from my bank account. I rang, queried it and they had never heard of me, couldnt find my account or even my address (strange set up where I used to live). This went on for months and months, I spoke to several customer service agents, sent letters, had calls back saying it would be looked into yet nothing materialised.

I advised my landlord of the mess when we left. Now 12 months later I have this letter saying I owe almost £1500 and I can't put it on mhy DMP or it will be cancelled and I can't afford to pay it...

I never had a bill for this amount (ive never even had a bill from N Power), yet BC&W want to charge me £10 just to send a COPY! Help!!

Thank you in advance!

KingMartin

Hi there everyone. I am new to this. I have been having no luck finding help with regards to my spiraling debt.

I am about 12 - 13k in debt an i want to be debt free in 2 - 3 years.

I need help. I don't know what options are safe IE bankruptcy, IVA.

i Have obtained my debt report from Experian and i am beginning to feel swamped with demands, CCJ's etc.

Any help or advice would be gratefully appreciated.

M

dunnzer1979

Hello everyone,

I wondered if I could get some advice.
I am about to start a claim for reclaiming payment protection on my credit card as I have been paying since 2001 and assumed it was just part of the minimum payment each month and mandatory. It now appears not.

The problem is that I also have my mortgage, and current account with the same company, if I make a claim for the mis sold PPI can they for example reduce / remove my overdraft on my current account / change the promotional rate on my balance transfer on my credit card etc.

I don't want to send of the first letter making a claim when i'm nervous that the bank will make things difficult in the future.

Any advice would be appreciated

MD