We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More »
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!
Ask a CCCS counsellor a question
Comments
-
I need some advice fairly urgently please.
I am currently behind with my council tax along with other household bills. I am more than aware that I have to pay them and make no excuses other than I simply havent got the money to pay them at the moment.
I have been away with work for the last few days and got back in the early hours of this morning. This afternoon there was a knock on the door but I didnt answer it as I wasnt expecting anyone and was still in my Pjs. It turns out the visitor was a bailiff and they had posted through a letter titled Notice of further Attendance to seize goods. I then noticed that there was also a letter left yesterday from them. The letters state that they have a liability notice from the magistrates court and that I have to pay in full or let them in so that they can fill in paperwork to set up instalments.
I am a bit confused and worried to say the least. I have received reminders from the council but havent received anything from the courts. Should I have received something?
I have been researching on the internet and came across the following web site where you can check registered bailiffs but cant find Michael Tranter from Jacobs who was the bailiff who visited me. bailiffnamecheck.com
There was a mobile number on the letter and I called but it went straight to answer machine so I left my mobile number. I assume that he will be back tomorrow.
What should I do? I have read in other places that I dont have to let them in. Is this correct?
Thanks,
J0 -
Thanks for that Sarah
Although the debt went to court and was given a ccj the amount we agreed to pay was settled between ourselves and the company with the cccs acting on our behalf. I don't think the court was ever involved in the fixing of this amount. Since receiving the letter from this new company on Tuesday we have had several phonecalls each day demanding payment. This morning they phoned just after 8am and have begun to threaten litigation.
So far they have been unable to confirm any reference no. and we have insisted that they put something in writing to prove that they have the right to ask for this money. We are going to contact the original company today to see what is going on.
When we mentioned that we made this agreement with the original company via yourselves they said that it was only valid for 1 year. We have been paying this debt at this agreed amount for between 7-8 years and it has never been queried. Each year we received a letter from the company asking if we could increase things but they were happy for it to continue at that level. Do you know whether we will be legally obliged to give this new company our financial information as I really don't like the way they conduct themselves.
This situation has instantly taken us back to a level of stress that I thought would never happen again. We have worked hard to make sure that we live within our means and have managed to do so now for nearly 8 years. Thanks for your help it is great to have this facility -Thanks Martin.0 -
Hi,
I need some advice please.
I have recently signed up to a debt management plan with Moneyworries as I have debts over £15,000 my monthly payments are now £547 and I was paying over £800 to creditors every month. I have been told that my debts will be cleared in 6 years and 4months on this plan. I am still getting letters from creditors, will they accept my debt management plan or could I end up in a worse situation than I was?
Any help greatly recieved!!0 -
I have completed debt remedy with cccs. How long is it before I get letter from them
Assuming you chose a DMP, you should recieve the information through the post within about a week.
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 -
juliejured wrote: »I need some advice fairly urgently please.
I am currently behind with my council tax along with other household bills. I am more than aware that I have to pay them and make no excuses other than I simply havent got the money to pay them at the moment.
I have been away with work for the last few days and got back in the early hours of this morning. This afternoon there was a knock on the door but I didnt answer it as I wasnt expecting anyone and was still in my Pjs. It turns out the visitor was a bailiff and they had posted through a letter titled Notice of further Attendance to seize goods. I then noticed that there was also a letter left yesterday from them. The letters state that they have a liability notice from the magistrates court and that I have to pay in full or let them in so that they can fill in paperwork to set up instalments.
I am a bit confused and worried to say the least. I have received reminders from the council but havent received anything from the courts. Should I have received something?
I have been researching on the internet and came across the following web site where you can check registered bailiffs but cant find Michael Tranter from Jacobs who was the bailiff who visited me. bailiffnamecheck.com
There was a mobile number on the letter and I called but it went straight to answer machine so I left my mobile number. I assume that he will be back tomorrow.
What should I do? I have read in other places that I dont have to let them in. Is this correct?
Thanks,
J
I have answered your PM a few mins ago about this one, let me know if you need anymore help.
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 -
Thanks for that Sarah
Although the debt went to court and was given a ccj the amount we agreed to pay was settled between ourselves and the company with the cccs acting on our behalf. I don't think the court was ever involved in the fixing of this amount. Since receiving the letter from this new company on Tuesday we have had several phonecalls each day demanding payment. This morning they phoned just after 8am and have begun to threaten litigation.
So far they have been unable to confirm any reference no. and we have insisted that they put something in writing to prove that they have the right to ask for this money. We are going to contact the original company today to see what is going on.
When we mentioned that we made this agreement with the original company via yourselves they said that it was only valid for 1 year. We have been paying this debt at this agreed amount for between 7-8 years and it has never been queried. Each year we received a letter from the company asking if we could increase things but they were happy for it to continue at that level. Do you know whether we will be legally obliged to give this new company our financial information as I really don't like the way they conduct themselves.
This situation has instantly taken us back to a level of stress that I thought would never happen again. We have worked hard to make sure that we live within our means and have managed to do so now for nearly 8 years. Thanks for your help it is great to have this facility -Thanks Martin.
Hi there.
If the arrangement to pay was made informally by yourself and the creditor are you sure that a CCJ was put in place? If you didn't have any confimation from the court to agree to your offer of payment then it sounds to me as though you have just had an informal reduced payment arrangement over the last few years with the creditor. To be sure, you could try using the following site: http://www.trustonline.org.uk/. Although you will have to pay a small fee it will tell you of any CCJ's you have against you. You could also get a copy of your credit file which should also confirm any CCJ's but this may take longer to come through.
If you find it is a CCJ, then the current collection company have no right to request any more money so I would suggest making a compaint to the court the CCJ is registered with.
If it's not a CCJ then the collection company are within their rights in theory to ask for more money each month. However, if you don't have the ability to pay what they want then keep paying what you can afford. If their not content with this then the only option they can consider is to go for a CCJ which should result in you paying what you can afford.
Hope this helps,
MatthewI 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 need some advice please.
I have recently signed up to a debt management plan with Moneyworries as I have debts over £15,000 my monthly payments are now £547 and I was paying over £800 to creditors every month. I have been told that my debts will be cleared in 6 years and 4months on this plan. I am still getting letters from creditors, will they accept my debt management plan or could I end up in a worse situation than I was?
Any help greatly recieved!!
Hi there.
Debt management companies that charge you are generally considered a bad idea due to the fact you are charged for their services, and you cannot guarantee you will get impartial advice.
If you are struggling with debt, you would be better contacting a non profit organisation such as ourselves (CCCS), National Debtline or your local CAB. Feel free to contact us for help by calling our helpline on 0800 138 1111, or using our online advice tool Debt Remedy. Click here to go directly to Debt Remedy.
It's worth noting though that any kind of debt management plan is not legally binding so you can never be guaranteed that all your letters and phonecalls will stop.
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 -
Hi Debt counsellor
Mine its a bit complex to me, I owe natwest its credit card and an overdraft and i have a loan and owe sainsbury credit card. i went to work overseas witout making the payments at all. Now i have no bank account, i have to open one, how do i go about this? I have no idea how many of the CCj`s do i have.I just recently returned looking for a job? One of the sticky q`s is bank account? HELP please. Thanking you in advance.0 -
Thanks Matthew
I'm going to check through all the old paperwork which is now stored away. I'm convinced that at the time we had several ccj's but I don't remember any of them having a fixed payment through the court but after 8 years I can't remember. This may seem a silly question but why would I have to give this new company any further information just because they bought the loan. Surely they should have 'bought' all the information they need. Is my agreement legally now with them?0 -
Sarah
The penny has finally dropped for us...we're in deep do do. I've scoured Martins site for the best guidance and now need to start talking to someone before jumping into how we get out of the mess we're in.
Nutshell....Late 40s, £200k mortgage, £65k loans & credit cards, minimum repayments, £50k equity in the house. Probably £800 a month short of making ends meet, a good deal more short of having disposable income or being able to save. Need to remedy this quickly as there's an expensive 10 years coming up for the kids.
Don't fancy the prospect of IVAs or bankruptcy at all as I'd rather have some choice in how we get straight. More or less resigned to selling the house next year, clearing most of the debts with the equity, renting, saving and regrouping for a few years.
Am I on the right track? Is there something I've missed?
I'll do the Debt Remedy tool but need to know what the most useful 'get by' tips are to ease things on the repayments until we can sell the house.
Any pointers most gratefully received. Many thanks.
Nick0
This discussion has been closed.
Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

Categories
- All Categories
- 351.3K Banking & Borrowing
- 253.2K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
- 453.7K Spending & Discounts
- 244.2K Work, Benefits & Business
- 599.4K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
- 177.1K Life & Family
- 257.7K Travel & Transport
- 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
- 16.2K Discuss & Feedback
- 37.6K Read-Only Boards