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excess_2

Hi,

I have a number of credit cards some of which I have had for a number of years. Following divorce I now find myself struggling to match my outgoings with my income, something not helped by the extortionate CC interest rates. Do you know whether or not it is true that some credit card agreements (particularly older ones) are not enforcable due to how they were worded or did not correctly point out the statutory points? If so is there a legitimate process to cancel such a CC account.

many thanks,

excess

CCCS_Amanda

DotNetter wrote: »

Hi there,

I've filled in a debt remedy online and have all the paperwork for a DMP form CCCS ready to send off to my creditors and I have several questions I'd like some help with.

1. If a creditor doesn't accept the DMP and they start 'proceedings' am I able to come out of the DMP and revert to paying them - I know this sounds a little silly seeing as we wouldn't be in the DMP if we could afford to pay but I'm just trying to offer some assurances to my wife who is scared to bits that we'll loose the home.

2. I received my paperwork just over a week ago but have had to open a new bank account as my current bank account is also a creditor. Can I send my creditors the CCCS notificaiton of DMP letter (except the bank!) to let them know what's going on and then once I get the bank account details (should be any day) I can sort out my direct debits and where I'm paid and then inform the bank - what I'm asking is do I need to inform them all at the same time from a legal standpoint?

3. What with Christmas just around the corner I tend to get January's pay before christmas. I have a lot of extra bills coming out aswell and this will make things even more confusing for starting a DMP. Can I stop my direct debits with my creditors (except the bank cause it's still my current account) for the month of December and inform them that I will commence my DMP with CCCS from January 1st? I realise this will mean that I don't pay them anything in December but tbh I have NEVER missed a single payment in over 5 years so far so I'm hoping this will be ok?

Sorry for the long-winded questions. I know this would be better discussed over the phone and I'll try and ring at some point but due to my working hours it's not always possible

Regards,


Wayne

Hi Wayne,

The answers to your questions are as follows:

1. If a creditor doesn't accept the DMP and they start 'proceedings' am I able to come out of the DMP and revert to paying them - I know this sounds a little silly seeing as we wouldn't be in the DMP if we could afford to pay but I'm just trying to offer some assurances to my wife who is scared to bits that we'll loose the home.


On a DMP you are essentially offering a payment to your creditors that you can afford, and this is less than the amount that you are contracted for. If you were to stop a DMP, unless you were able to catch up on the arrears that have built up, it is unlikely that your creditors would stop anything that they have started.

It is very difficult to lose your home if you are not up to date with your unsecured debt. The worst case scenario is a CCJ and as long as you submit the forms on time, a CCJ would be for an affordable amount. As long as you pay your CCJ then your home would not be affected. However, if a ‘forthwith’ judgment was awarded to the creditor (full amount payable immediately) and you were unable to make this payment then the creditor could apply for a charging order to be put on your property. Once the creditor has the charging order they are usually happy to accept a reduced payment. The charging order just guarantees that they will eventually receive payment in full for the debt if you move.

2. I received my paperwork just over a week ago but have had to open a new bank account as my current bank account is also a creditor. Can I send my creditors the CCCS notificaiton of DMP letter (except the bank!) to let them know what's going on and then once I get the bank account details (should be any day) I can sort out my direct debits and where I'm paid and then inform the bank - what I'm asking is do I need to inform them all at the same time from a legal standpoint?


No, you can inform the other creditors now and you can let your bank know what is happening when you have a new account.

3. What with Christmas just around the corner I tend to get January's pay before christmas. I have a lot of extra bills coming out aswell and this will make things even more confusing for starting a DMP. Can I stop my direct debits with my creditors (except the bank cause it's still my current account) for the month of December and inform them that I will commence my DMP with CCCS from January 1st? I realise this will mean that I don't pay them anything in December but tbh I have NEVER missed a single payment in over 5 years so far so I'm hoping this will be ok?


If the direct debits are unaffordable then you can stop them and make a token payment to your creditors that you can afford. Even if the token payment is for a pound it is in good faith. Just let them know what you are doing about the debts and they will hopefully give you some time to sort your DMP out.

I hope that this helps.

Regards,

Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

DotNetter wrote: »

Hi again,

On another note, if the creditor doesn't accept the DMP can they continue to charge the same interest?

My concern is that one of my creditors currently charges about 22% and I've been paying £270 a month as the minimum payment but get charged about £230 interest each month!.

If my DMP offers them less than the interest then surely I won't be paying my debt off...it will be increasing?!!!

Regards,


Wayne

Hi again,

The first few months on a DMP are always the hardest, and although there is no guarantee that your creditors will freeze interest, most try to make a concession. It may not happen immediately, but will usually happen after you have received a default notice.

Regards,
Amanda

marie2000

Hi,

Does anyone know of any commercial alternatives to CAP(christians against povery), where they manage your money for you and pay your bills. I am just not into dealing with an obviously religious organisation and would prefer to deal with someone else privately. Thanks.

CCCS_Amanda

sulkisu wrote: »

I have a question on behalf of my friend. He has started a dmp with CCCS, but apparently has not disclosed all of his accounts. As I understand it, he wanted to keep a credit card even though it has a zero balance. He also has a savings account, which only had a few pounds in when he started the dmp, but recently he was given £3k by his father and has put this in the savings account. His total debt was £22k. I told him that this probably goes against the dmp and he could be risking his agreement with CCCS. My friends' view is that CCCS do not have the ability to check his accounts (I'm not sure if the savings account is listed on his dmp). My questions are can/do CCCS check credit files etc to see if a cleint has other accounts - e.g. credit card and savings account? If he declares the £3k, will he have to use all of it to clear his debts or can he keep some of it for emergencies or for his own use? My worry is that having finally sought help with his debts (he's been on the dmp for 2 years), he risks undoing all of the hard work by being thrown off of the plan.

Hi sulkisu,

The agreement that your friend has with us is in good faith and we do not perform credit checks. We hope that when an individual is on a DMP and receiving help for their debts that they put as much into it as we do. The money that your friend has would make a big dent in the debts, but if does not apply it to his outstanding commitments he is only hurting himself.

Regards,

Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

alixandrea wrote: »

Hi guys, I don't know if this one got missed at all, but I haven't had a response yet. I would really really appreciate it if you could give me some direction regarding the issue, as I'm very worried that I might end up having to go bankrupt if the debt repayment falls to me.

Many thanks in advance for your advice.

Alixandrea

Hi Alixandria,

Sorry that we missed your post!!

I am not sure how successful you will be in removing your name from the loan. Banks rarely do this, and would probably advise your ex to apply for another loan to pay out the first. As he is unemployed this is not likely to happen now but may be something that you want to consider when he is working again.

If your ex defaults on the loan, the only thing that you will be able to do is to make an offer of payment to them that you can afford. Hopefully it will only be temporary and the loan company will give you some time to pay. Unfortunately, there is not a lot that you can do until he actually defaults on the loan.

I hope that this helps.

Regards,
Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

icmdead wrote: »

Hi folks, my wife received a letter for me while i was at sea. It was a letter from CABOT financial saying i owed some 400 pounds, but not to what or who, she called and was told someone would come to the house to collect. when i spoke to the company call center operator i confirmed my name, postcode and date of birth, he said the date of birth was different and ended the conversation. what does this mean? i'm confused and slightly alarmed that i'm receiving post of this nature considering i have always paid my bills and never missed one that i have and am fully aware of the only loan i have. any help would put me at ease

thankyou

Hi there,

They probably sent a letter to you in error and once you confirmed your date of birth and they realised they have the wrong person they ended the call.

Sometimes, debt collection companies go looking for people and don’t always get it right. Try not to worry, you will probably not hear from them again.

I hope that this helps.

Regards,
Amanda

Antoinette1976Totton

Hi,

I was wondering if you could help me. I currently am on a DMP with DFH, Manchester. Now at the moment I pay them £150 per month and £25 they take as fees.

Is it possible for me to stop this programme and change it over - are there free DMP company's that you know of?

CCCS_Amanda

mikee31 wrote: »

Although I have considered a DMP with CCCS previously and resisted going through with it for some time, it is likely that I will need to take this course of action given my current situation.

Having been in debt for most of my working life, whilst I was working it seemed that I could at least attack the debt with monthly repayments. However, I was recently made redundant and am really struggling to find a new job in my particular profession.

Whilst I was realistic to the possibility that I may not earn the salary that I was previously used to, I did not consider that I would be out of work for this long and the redundancy money is slowly running out. I was hoping to gain new employment quickly, albeit with a lesser income, and then reassess my finances once I knew what salary I would have.

If I am honest, I was not particularly happy in the profession that I was in and would happily change career, although it would be likely that I would have to reduce my salary expectations even further if I was to take this step.

Therefore my question is that if I was to accept a job earning much less than previously, would creditors accept a repayment which was much less than what I was previously paying?

Help from a CCCS counsellor would be much appreciated.

Hi mikee31,

Your offer of payment is always based on what you can currently afford. If the job that you take does not pay you what your previous job did then all that you can do is to make an offer of payment to your creditors based on what you can now afford.

It is difficult to say whether your creditors will accept your proposal, but they do acknowledge that you can only give them what you can reasonable afford.

Regards,
Amanda

CCCS_Amanda

trevorf wrote: »

Hi my stepson had some debts which were paid up,some in full and some by agreed settlement amounts now he has got letters from a debt collection company saying they have bought his debt with barclaycard and want money from him.Where does he stand in this matter please,any help would be gratefully received.
thanks in advance
Trevor

Hi Trevor,

Thank you for your post.

Does your stepson have written proof that Barclaycard accepted his offer of payment? If so, then he could forward this to the company collecting this account.

If not, he could try and make a Data Subject Access Request. This is a request that you make using the data Protection Act to find out what information that a company holds on you and your account. Hopefully, when he receives this information, it will show that they accepted a settlement amount for the debt. I have attached a link to help you make the request if need be.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/for_the_public.aspx

I hope that this helps.

Regards,
Amanda