Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

citizenx_2

Hi Guys,

Hoping you can offer me some guidance.

Back in 2001 I took out a loan with a high street bank, for a variety of reasons i fell behind and this went into default in December 2003.

Firstly, I understand this will have to be removed from my credit files in December this year, can you confirm this?

Secondly, I have access to my file via Experian and am working on getting access from Equifax (although they seem to like making you jump through more hoops to get to it).

Other than the default, I have no other credit accounts on file.

My report shows one credit search in the last 3 months and apparently 5 in the last year (although i can only find three, the others are money laundering/identity checks).

Equifax reported my credit score as being 568 (poor) last time i checked it in August.

It said

Factors that are having a positive effect on your score

• You make all your repayments on time and in full - no accounts have been paid late in the past six months
• You are on the electoral roll (registered to vote) at your current address
• You have made two or fewer applications for credit in the last six months
• You don't have any county court judgments and you have not been declared bankrupt in the last six years

Factors that are having a negative effect on your score

• There are no negative factors currently affecting your score.

So if there are no negative factors, how do i increase it to fair/good/excellent?

I do not wish to take out credit, far from it but i am concerned this may hamper my attempts to rent a nicer place to live in the months ahead.

To that end, I have signed up for the Cash Plus card and will join the Credit Builder service.

Can you give me any indication as to how this may impact upon my score over the next three to six months?

Is there anything else I can do to improve this?

And finally, are there likely to be any "nasties" in my Experian file that Equifax havent highlighted? As far as I'm aware, they are meant to share data between them so I assume (if this is correct) that I shouldn't expect to see anything untoward?

sazabaza1979

Hello, I am currently in a DMP with Debt Free Helpline, and I wanted to know if these are legit debt management company, they have put me into a DMP where I pay £220 a month and I have had no trouble from my creditors apart from at the beginning of the DMP..... but I am concerned that I am not paying alot of it off as Lloyds TSB keep on adding interest & charges still....

Any advice would be fantastic... Thanks

CCCS_Sarah

beginner52 wrote: »

I wonder if you can advise please. Recently my stepson who lives with my wife and I was made redundant and therefore has been unable to pay any housekeeping or a repayment to a loan I granted him. This has left us with a cash shortfall of £500 per month. This has obviously had a knock on effect and I am finding it difficult to repay the £45k we have in loans and cards which has lead to receiving numerous phone calls at all times of the day and night. I have managed to keep the mortgage repayments up to date as well the larger loans but are beginning to get concerned as the mortgage and loans are with the LTSB with whom I have the mortgage and a credit card and they are now in the habit of "setting off". Due to this I was considering a DMP but since discovering this site, realise we may have a strong case for PPI misselling which, if successful, should pay out in the region of £7k which would be an end to our woes. Bearing this in mind what course of action would you advise and what do I have to do to stop the phone calls? If I make token payments of, say, £5 to the credit card companies for an interim period will they continue to chase.

I am desperately trying to find a solution to what I hope is a temporary situation but nobody appears to want to listen.

Sorry to have gone on but thatnk you for taking the time to read and reply.

Hello,

You would be able to write to your creditors and ask them to remove your number from their systems. I will add a letter to the bottom of this message for you to use.

With regards your bank account, if you have any debts with your current bank you will need to open an account somewhere where else where you have no debts. I have attached a link to a booklet that lists basic bank accounts. Once you have your new account open, you will be able to switch your mortgage direct debit over to your new account to ensure that this payment is made.

http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

If you are making the payments direct to your creditors then the best way of doing this is either through a standing order or payment book, rather than Direct Debit.

If you would like an appointment with the CCCS, you could call for an appointment free on 0800 138 1111 or visit our online debt advice facility Debt Remedy. Both options you will be given tailored advice to suit your situations. This link will take you directly to Debt Remedy.


To whom it may concern

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to ask that you no longer contact me by telephone as your calls are causing me considerable stress due to the frequency, and that they are being made at inappropriate times. Please remove my telephone number from your database and send all future communication in writing to my home address.

I have provided the most recent copy of my income and expenditure to make you aware of my current financial situation. I will continue to make my payment of x on the x of every month and will keep you informed of any changes in my circumstances as I am keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

I understand that following this request if you continue to call I can contact the Office of Fair Trading to make a formal complaint.

Please confirm in writing that your records have been amended.

Yours sincerely

CCCS_Sarah

sunnymoneytree wrote: »

Hi CCCS counsellors, How lucky we are to have you, thanks!
Here are my 2 questions.
I am subject to a Debt Relief Order and I would like to clarify how I proceed if my income rises as I am currently living in a very spartan way and have several basic needs such as winter clothing that I need to raise extra income for, and basic but expensive requirements for my degree studies. (hard drive/computer++).
Would I just need to notify the Official Receiver about both and show that my surplus has not risen over £50, or would it be considered contrary to the conditions?
Also, with a fluctuating income, how often am I expected to update the OR on my changing circumstances?, as at present I have calculated over the whole year then divided by 12 months.
Many thanks for your time.

If there has been any changes to your circumstances, you would need to let the Insolvency Service know. You could let them know that your expenditure has also increased, so hopefully this will just balance out. If they did not accept the increase in expenditure and this took your surplus over £50 this would revoke your DRO.

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

mrjohnmiles wrote: »

Hi CCCS

I have a question for you, I am looking to enter a DMP shortly as I have seperated from my partner and cannot keep up with all the commitments I have long term, (specifically from December onwards).

We have a house in both our names, however all the unsecured debts are solely mine, totalling £32.5k

I would like to keep the house on in my name only, however the Halifax will not entertain the idea as there is not enough equity in the house to transfer it to me, and with my unsecured debts at minimum payments I would fail there credit scoring.

My question is (eventually) Would me going onto a DMP affect my ex's ability to get credit, and would I be able to get a mortgage in my name only at some point in the future while on the DMP.

My other option is to sell the house, and rent, but now I am on the ladder it seems like last resort and something I don't really want to consider at this time.

Many thanks for reading this.

Cheers

John

Hi John,

Credit files are based on the individual not the address, so your ex partner should not be affected unless you have any joint accounts.

With regards your ability to get a mortgage in future. As you would not be making the full contractual payments on your accounts then the creditors will log that you have arrangements in place and will possibly issue Default Notices or pursue for County Court Judgments.

Lenders have differing criteria when lending money, but as a general rule the higher risk you are to a lender the higher rate of interest you will pay. So once your credit file starts to improve you can then look for a better interest rate.

Hope this helps
Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

missjones123 wrote: »

Hi CCCS,

Please may I ask 2 questions?

I'm currently a full time mature student and lone parent. I was told I needed to use the student advice centre to try and lower my loan/credit commitments as I was dependant on university hardship funding due to a large mortgage. The advice centre organised a DMP for me as National Debtline would not consider my student income e.g. student loan. As I have a mortgage, and was previously employed in finance I was used to a very good credit rating and felt my arm forced into going into a DMP. I have been saving to try and make full and final settlements in the next 6 months before I start empolyment again. My worry is that when I start working again they may try to impose CCJ's as I have equity in my property. It's a vicious circle where I can't remortgage due to poor credit and with being a student, the housing market is slow despite me trying to sell and constantly reducing the price on my property. I'm wary of an IVA as I need to keep my home for my children. I'm in my final year and have studied a profession which has a registered body (non finance) and am worried about the implications on that also.

1) What sort of full and final percentages should I start off by making and what is likely to be accepted in the current climate? The advice centre very rarely deal with settlements and can't give much advice. I know it's a long shot but I was going to start at 20% and hope for round 40 in most cases.

2) I have a loan with Northern Rock where the interest was added to the loan from the beginning. My other creditors have frozen their interest but what happens in a case where the interest has already been added to the debt?

Thank you in advance

Leanne

1) What sort of full and final percentages should I start off by making and what is likely to be accepted in the current climate? The advice centre very rarely deal with settlements and can't give much advice. I know it's a long shot but I was going to start at 20% and hope for round 40 in most cases.

There is no set rules to be honest, start as low as possible they can only say no! If they do then offer them slightly more. If you send an email to [EMAIL="contactus@cccs.co.uk"]contactus@cccs.co.uk[/EMAIL] FAO Sarah I will send you some sample letters out to use

2) I have a loan with Northern Rock where the interest was added to the loan from the beginning. My other creditors have frozen their interest but what happens in a case where the interest has already been added to the debt?

Once an account is defaulted then the total amount payable does become due. So you could try and negotiate a reduced amount on that, but unfortunately the creditors are able to change this.

Thank you in advance


Hope this helps

CCCS_Sarah

citizenx wrote: »

Hi Guys,

Hoping you can offer me some guidance.

Back in 2001 I took out a loan with a high street bank, for a variety of reasons i fell behind and this went into default in December 2003.

Firstly, I understand this will have to be removed from my credit files in December this year, can you confirm this?

Secondly, I have access to my file via Experian and am working on getting access from Equifax (although they seem to like making you jump through more hoops to get to it).

Other than the default, I have no other credit accounts on file.

My report shows one credit search in the last 3 months and apparently 5 in the last year (although i can only find three, the others are money laundering/identity checks).

Equifax reported my credit score as being 568 (poor) last time i checked it in August.

It said

Factors that are having a positive effect on your score

• You make all your repayments on time and in full - no accounts have been paid late in the past six months
• You are on the electoral roll (registered to vote) at your current address
• You have made two or fewer applications for credit in the last six months
• You don't have any county court judgments and you have not been declared bankrupt in the last six years

Factors that are having a negative effect on your score

• There are no negative factors currently affecting your score.

So if there are no negative factors, how do i increase it to fair/good/excellent?

I do not wish to take out credit, far from it but i am concerned this may hamper my attempts to rent a nicer place to live in the months ahead.

To that end, I have signed up for the Cash Plus card and will join the Credit Builder service.

Can you give me any indication as to how this may impact upon my score over the next three to six months?

Is there anything else I can do to improve this?

And finally, are there likely to be any "nasties" in my Experian file that Equifax havent highlighted? As far as I'm aware, they are meant to share data between them so I assume (if this is correct) that I shouldn't expect to see anything untoward?

Thank you for your message, I have attached a link to another section of this website that has loads of things that maybe useful for you. Have a read through that and let me know if you have any further questions.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

sazabaza1979 wrote: »

Hello, I am currently in a DMP with Debt Free Helpline, and I wanted to know if these are legit debt management company, they have put me into a DMP where I pay £220 a month and I have had no trouble from my creditors apart from at the beginning of the DMP..... but I am concerned that I am not paying alot of it off as Lloyds TSB keep on adding interest & charges still....

Any advice would be fantastic... Thanks

If you are paying this company money to run your DMP, I would recommend that you switch this to a non fee charging company or do it yourself. This will help you clear your debts much quicker.

How long is your DMP for? If there term is high there maybe other more suitable options available to you. If you would like the CCCS to take a look at your options then you could call our helpline free for an appointment (0800 138 1111). Or visit our free online debt advice facility Debt Remedy. This link will take you directly to Debt Remedy.

sazabaza1979

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

If you are paying this company money to run your DMP, I would recommend that you switch this to a non fee charging company or do it yourself. This will help you clear your debts much quicker.

How long is your DMP for? If there term is high there maybe other more suitable options available to you. If you would like the CCCS to take a look at your options then you could call our helpline free for an appointment (0800 138 1111). Or visit our free online debt advice facility Debt Remedy. This link will take you directly to Debt Remedy.

Hello, I am not paying them any money per month but I did pay a fee of around £500 if I remember correctly to start my DMP...

My DMP should be for around 4 years but as Lloyds are still charging interest and fees I feel it may go on longer.

I am able to come out of the DMP plan and do it myself?

Thanks

Jvic28

Hi,

I am on a DMP with CCCS at the moment paying £132 a month. I started maternity leave in June and need to reduce this amount. I have heard that the minimum DMP has to be £100 a month, is this true? My boyfriend has said he will cover everything else allowing me £100 surplus to continue paying CCCS if that is the case, would that be Ok as my budget may look odd as there wouldn't be that much on it. My pay has more or less halved exactly so I'm desperate to reduce the amount until I go back to work.

Thanks