Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

CCCS_Sarah

jillie1974 wrote: »

oops forgot that bit
yes we are.

Hello,

If you call our client support department with details of Matthews’s message, they will be able to point you in the right direction.

If you need our client support number, send me a PM.

Let me know if you have any problems

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

cherrypie556 wrote: »

Hi, I enquired only with trapped.co.uk who want me to enter a DMP and pay for it. When i told them that CCCS is free i got this 'The CCCS are actually funded by the creditors and don’t actually deal with the credit until the account goes into Default status. The OFT are also investigating The CCCS.'
Is this true?

We are desperate to get some help with our debts but as we have been paying everything on time we haven't defaulted so does this mean that the CCCS cannot help us?

Hi Cherrypie,

We are indeed funded by the creditors; I have attached a link to our website so that you can have a read as it goes into detail.

http://www.cccs.co.uk/about/funding.aspx

Even though we are funded by the creditors, this does not have an impact on the advice we give. The advice is purely based on the budgets that we but together with our clients during appointments and on circumstances.

An account does not have to be in default for us to offer advice, and I would recommend anyone that feels they are struggling to have an appointment as soon as possible. The sooner the problem is addressed the better.

I can’t comment on the information about the OFT as its something I really have not heard of, but if you do hear anything could you send me a PM with the information on please?

If you have any questions at all though please feel free to ask.

If you would like to have an appointment with the CCCS please call our helpline free on 0800 138 1111, or we have a free online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy. Debt Remedy will allow you to input all your details and you will be given tailored advice to your situation. This link will take you directly to Debt Remedy.

Sarah

gemma.da

I currently have a debt management plan with DFH, I was working full time and paying the £170 per month, with £40 per month going to themselves to pay for their services.
Since June I have now reduced my hours at work to part time due to having a small child at home, I have been continuing to pay £170 per month to DFH but I am now starting to struggle with the full payment, I have spoken to DFH and they have advised they cannot reduce my payment to them, and I am not sure what I can do about this do you have any advice?

CCCS_Sarah

cheesedoffwithdebt wrote: »

HI-I am in a DMP with Payplan, and have made consistent payments since it started in March of this year. All creditors have quietened down now bar one, EOS who have had my debt referred by Freemans.
They first wrote to me in July so I called them, told them Payplan were acting and they were very polite- told me they would note their systems, however I still wrote to them to confirm the conversation. Payplan were informed also and they said they had sent a statement of affairs over, and that they could send online notifications to EOS>
Three weeks later I received a very nasty letter from EOS telling me that " as they had had no reply" they were sticking 15 pounds onto my account and would have to consider action.
I called- told the surly lady at EOS that I had phoned and written, and that Payplan had written and sent them online notification. She denied they had received anything so I just took that as rubbish.
I wrote again- sent the letter recorded delivery, and sent them copies of earlier correspondence. Payplan also faxed over another letter and all went quiet until this week when........... EOS write two threatening letters, one saying that " as they have had no reply etc" they would instruct their solicitors. payplan called them and they said oops, the letter had gone out in error.
The next day I got a letter saying I had failed to adhere to the payments agreed so I called them and got another rude man- I asked him why they were not corresponding with payplan to which he replied "it's not them that owe the money".
Frankly I think these are not errors- it's EOS trying to exert pressure by sending lots of erroneous letters.
I've reported them to the OFT- and told them the other day but they replied that they really weren't that bothered.
Payplan give me the constant impression that they are not actually acting in my best interests- when I spoke with someone there the other day she just said "oh this is normal from creditors" but they give mixed messages-so I am stuck- EOS are way out of order in my view- Payplan had sent them a payment this month but they said because it had arrived 2 days early their computer had sent the failure to pay letter out- and Payplan seem way to relaxed and unconcerned about the rights or wrongs of this- what do I do?

Hello,

Thank you for your message.

The letters you have been receiving are standard system generated letters, so even though you have spoken to an advisor they properly don’t have the authority to stop the letters. Unfortunately creditors are within their rights to send these.

Whilst on a debt management plan the creditors are under no obligation to stop the interest and charges.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

beenzo1 wrote: »

Hi i have a major problem with 1st credit, they are trying to make me bankrupt over a 6400 pound credit card debt, i was struggling with payments over 2 years ago and stopped paying last year after threats that they would put a charging order on the house if i didnt up the payments. i have a small baby now and am struggling with high mortgage payments. i contacted the FOS who were looking into the matter and 1st credit have now replied to me asking what is the complaint. i want this bankruptcy to be stopped but i cant afford any payment plan. what should i do???

Hello,

You need to call for a telephone appointment as soon as possible so that we can look at your budget and offer advice. Our helpline number is 0800 138 1111. When you call please have to hand details of your income, expenditure and debts.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

simond503 wrote: »

Hi my name is simon i have filled out the form on the cccs wbsite and opted for a dmp we have recieved the info back from cccs and now just have to return with proof of earnings etc so that our creditors can be informed. only problem is is that just too scare to take the final step will creditors definately accept proposals as nat west say already they will put an order on ur house this is frightening stuff...please help

Hi Simon,

I understand it can be very scary, you may wish to join the DMP mutual support thread. There are many people in the same situation as you and have the same thoughts and feelings.

With regards the creditors, they can’t have what you have not got to give them! So even if they don’t accept your payments –send them anyway as they will knock it off the balance. Creditors use charging orders as a bit of a scare tactic but there is no guarantee that they will go down this route.

Hope this helps and if you have any questions, please let me know

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

Cdaae wrote: »

Hi
I have a paypal account that is connected to my ebay account. A while back I sold something on ebay, and the buyer claimed not to have received it. Paypal issued the buyer with a refund, which amounted to £19. Paypal are trying to recover this money from me, and have referred it to debt collection agencies.
Do I legally owe them anything? I have contacted them and the agencies saying I dispute the debt, but they are ignoring my letters and sending me more letters saying that I am ignoring them. What can I do about this? Do I actually owe this money to paypal?

Thanks

Hello,

I would recommend that you contact an organisation called Consumer Direct they are part of the OFT. They can be contacted on 08454 04 05 06 or you could visit their website www.consumerdirect.gov.uk

Sarah

gemma.da

i really need help!!!!!




I currently have a debt management plan with DFH, I was working full time and paying the £170 per month, with £40 per month going to themselves to pay for their services.
Since June I have now reduced my hours at work to part time due to having a small child at home, I have been continuing to pay £170 per month to DFH but I am now starting to struggle with the full payment, I have spoken to DFH and they have advised they cannot reduce my payment to them, and I am not sure what I can do about this do you have any advice?

CCCS_Sarah

LouB2 wrote: »

Hello
I am reclaiming some charges on behalf of a friend who is in financial hardship. He has been in touch with the CCCS who were very helpful they did suggest a DRO but he is keen to try and work things out himself. I have managed to get token payments accepted and reduced interest on his 2 credit card debts so with the extra cash he is saving he is slowly paying off his other debts. I have recently been sucessful in claiming a huge £2153 back from a missold PPI with the Halifax credit card, initially they said they would deduct any money over his credit limit (£265) and send him a cheque for the rest, but in the latest letter they are saying that they will pay all of the money into his credit card account and he will not be able to access it. I understand that he owes them money but he is gradually clearing that debt, I also feel that if he had not been overpaying for such a long time he wouldn't be in such a muddle now. Do you know if it is leagal for the Halifax to do this? The money could be far more useful paying off urgent debts such as the Tax man. My friend is self employed and barely keeping his head above water.

I’m not a 100% sure to be honest, you may want to read through Martins information http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-loan-insurance or seek advice from Community Legal Advice on http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/ or their telephone number is 0845 345 4345.

Sarah

londonfraggle

Hi - I wonder if a CCCS lovely person can help me with a question - I've been trying to phone the CCCS but just don't ever seem to get through!

I am in the process of setting my DMP up. I have written to (most) of my creditors alerting them and sending them token payments. The ones I haven't alerted are those that I am not yet behind with, or who are connected to my current bank account.

I am waiting for confirmation that my salary will be paid into my new account at the end of this month before I alert my bank (overdraft and personal loan with).

My questions are as follows:
1) I have missed the personal loan repayment. They don't seem to have yet taken the money from my current account to pay for this, but they are chasing for payment. Should I take my chances and let them know about the DMP and send token payment anyway? My worry is that the overdraft will be suddently removed once my bank know about the DMP and until I know for sure my salary is going elsewhere that's a worry. Any advice?! Shall I just keep stalling them for as long as I can (i.e. ignoring them!).

2) One of my creditors has already issued me with a default - despite the fact that I am only one payment of £13 in arrears and made a token £10! Is this normal? Should I be worried.

3) Another creditor (Citi Financial) is really hounding me - letters, phone calls etc. I keep telling them that CCCS are dealing with it and will make an offer as soon as everything is in place but they want to know exactly when that will be and have scared me by saying that the longer I leave it after notifying them the less likely it is that they will accept a DMP. Again, is this true?

4) I really want to set my DMP up from 1 October - as creditors are starting to hound me now, but I have had a bit of an unfortunate set back in my personal life - my old flat mate is moving out or our (jointly shared) rented flat. Another friend is moving in but not for a couple of weeks so I need to cover the rent/bills on my own for a couple of weeks. This situation will be resolved by the end of October of course when new flatmate moves in, so I wondered what your thoughts were on starting on 1 November instead? How will creditors react?

I would really appreciate some advice on this - I have tried to call the CCCS many many times over the last week but it's always so busy!

Thank you very much in advance!

Fraggle x