Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

CCCS_Sue

Liam1983 wrote: »

Hi there,

I am looking to sort out my finances which have been in a mess for 3 years but I now have to get them sorted out! My money problems started and I was generally struggling to get them sorted, I was then in a serious car crash and lost any interest in getting them sorted so everything spiraled out of control, I just stuck my head in the sand!

I now have 2 CCJ's and a couple of other debts which I want to start paying back on a monthly plan but I don't know where I can find out exactly who I owe the money to and how I contact them. Are sites like Experian the way to go? I want to start some kind of monthly plan, starting low but hopefully as time progresses upping the payments until they are all gone.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


Liam

Hi Liam and thank you for your message

The three main credit reference agencies in the UK are Experian, Equifax, and Call Credit.

I have attached a booklet called Credit Explained which will give you further help and advice on how to obtain a copy of your file. click here

If you would like to speak to one of our trained counsellors about your debt situation you would need to contact our helpline free 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.

Alternatively you can visit our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy. Debt Remedy would assist you in completing a financial statement and you would be provided with tailored advice on the best way to deal with your situation. Click here to go directly to Debt Remedy.

Regards,
Sue

CCCS_Sue

kingston_2730 wrote: »

Hi I have put info into the online debt remedy however my outgoings are higher than some of the suggested so I just put in the maximum amounts it recommends. The resulting recommendation was for me to start a DMP for £1957 per month:eek: for 4 years and eleven months. The problem is there would be no possible way I could pay this amount and was wondering if you could tell me is it possible to pay less over a longer period?

Hi kingston 2730 and thank you for your message

You need to ring our Debt Remedy team who will look into this for you.
The recommended amounts on the budget are guidelines.
If your outgoings are higher, then they will be able to discuss these with you.
If you need the number, let me know, and I will send you a PM.

Regards
Sue

LittleMissSkint

I started a DMP on Nov 1st 09 (so have made two payments). Some of my creditors wrote straight away saying they accepted and that was that. I heard nothing from MBNA though however today I have received a Default Notice saying I need to pay the full balance by Dec 21st. Does this mean they are not accepting the DMP payments? I assume it does. So will they take me to court now? Or just sell the debt on? Obviously I can't pay anymore than they're getting so if it goes to court it'll be a disaster!

Any ideas what they'll do? I have a feeling I'm gonna have the same problem with Northern Rock, they too have said nothing at all since I started my DMP and I had already had a default before the DMP started, so I'm dreading that although they haven't said so they've not accepted the payments and will be shoving court papers through my door any day. I heard NR are famous for going for Charging Orders, but I live in Scotland and there's no such thing here. So I dunno what they'll achieve by going to court, unless they want an earnings arrestment, which would totally screw my DMP. Would they get one if they tried? Even though I'm paying what I can through the DMP?

Sorry, lots of questions.

CCCS_Sue

londonfraggle wrote: »

Hi - I wonder if you could perhaps give me some advice please?

I've just started my DMP with you (2 months in!) and so far everything seems to be going well. Most creditors have both stopped interest and charges and seem to have stopped hounding me, which is brilliant. A few are still adding interest but have been advised by CCCS to wait a few months for things to settle and then see what happens with them...

However one of my store cards (through Santander) is being a bit of a nightmare. Because the payment they are receiving through CCCS is actually more than the minimum amount they do not class me as being in "financial hardship" so definitely won't stop charges and interest. However, because of the date CCCS pays them I am now "paying them late" and as a result am incurring late charges every month, plus receiving constant calls from them.

I have tried speaking to them and although they acknowledge that the CCCS has been in touch and that they have been receiving the payments through them, they say that doesn't constitute an arrangement with them, so as a result it appears that I am going to receive a late fee every month as well as interest etc. which means that my CCCS payment to them is less than they are adding on to my balance every month so my debt is actually going up! So I am now in a worse position with them than before I began the DMP.

I'm not sure what to do about this as it seems a bit bonkers really - they are getting more money from me every month than they used to but I am being charged more!

Can anyone help with some advice on how to handle this one?

Many thanks!

Hi londonfraggle and thank you for your message

I would recommend that you call our client support team and advise them of this so that you can look into it further for you.
If you need the number let me know and I will send you a PM

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

margo12 wrote: »

I used debt remedy and was advised that a DMP would be suitable. I have received the form to sign and send with proof of income etc., but have now realised that one of the loans I included is actually a hire purchase agreement, whic I know cannot be included. Do I just send back the form and enclose details of the debt not to be included, or do I need to start the assessment process again?

Another question - if I start a DMP, will I still be able to have a debit card with my bank account?

Hi margo12 and thank you for your message

If you ring our debt remedy team, they will amend the budget for you and then review the options.
The HP will be included on the budget, so it will affect the amount of surplus you will have available to pay your creditors.

A DMP would not stop you having a debit card with your bank account, but if you are changing to a basic bank account because you have debts at your current bank, then you would need to check whether your new bank will allow a debit card.
I have attached a link to a booklet called Basic Bank Accounts which may help you further.
http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

laineygirl wrote: »

hi
we have debts of £17500 which we cannot pay back at this time. We have been in touch with CCCS and filled in a budget sheet which we have sent back to our creditors.We have cut every thing back as far as we can but we seem to have more going out than coming in and as a result have only been able to offer a token payment of £1 to each company. They will not freeze the interest and have told us that they cannot help us as we are in negative income????? My husband had to give up work last year to be my carer and we paid our credit cards and loans from savings for a year. These have now gone and so we had to tell the companies that we could no longer afford the payments. Our income is fixed by benefit limits so they will not raise except by the yearly increase and I become a pensioner next year. We have always worked and paid our way but now it seems that we cant get help from anybody even the CCCS have said that they cannot do anything else except to advise us to keep sending the £1 as we cannot afford to enter into a DMP, which might have helped us. I'm frightened to death that we might loose our home and that the Baliffs will be sent in. What else can we do?
Our family are as badly off as us as work is very iffy at the moment for everyone. We have been offered some money by my son, not a lot, certainly wont pay off the debts but I heard that the banks sell off the debts to debt collection companies for a fraction of the costs. Would it be possible to ask the banks to accept this payment as full and final payment of our debt as it would take 40years to pay back what we owe at a £1 a week and I defintely wont be here then.

Hi laineygirl and thank you for your message

Your main priority here is to try and balance your budget as if you have more going out than coming in, then the budget is not realistic as you do not have enough money to pay your main priority bills.
The £1 a month you are paying is a goodwill gesture at the moment.
As you say, it is not going to pay the debt off.
If you are paying token payments and are then able to offer a lump sum of money, then you could try and offer a full and final settlement to your creditors.
If you would like to make another appointment with us when you know how much you can offer, we could give you some further help and advice on how to make a full and final offer.
The creditors do not have to accept this however, but it is a better alternative to them receiving token payments every month so it is worth a try!

With regards to bailiffs, they can not be sent in unless the creditor has been to court and you have been issued with a CCJ and you have defaulted on it.
Collectors are not bailiffs and they have no special powers, as they are employed by the collection agency to collect money, so do not be pressured into paying more than you can afford.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

Vicky70 wrote: »

Hi,

Hope I've done this right and it appears correctly.

Bit of background. We have total debts of approx £75k as a result of husbands business collapsing. The job he got after this he was made redundant from and he's not been able to find work since. We have 4 kids age 8 and under and are now on benefits whilst he continues to look for work.
We have multiple creditors and one of them has now taken court action against us.
We took advice from CAB and they advised token payments until our position changes and we can afford to pay more. One of the creditors has applied for a CCJ and we now have also been served with a copy of a interim charging order against us. This was as a result of us advising them that we could not afford to pay the monthly amount they were asking. We have a court hearing date of the 15th Jan.

We understand that this means if we sell our house then they will get the money that we owe them from the proceeds but is there anything else that we should be aware of???

Many Thanks,
Vicky

Hi Vicky and thank you for your message

After the interim order, the second stage is the court hearing in front of a District Judge.
At this hearing the court will decide whether to make a permanent charge on the property; this is called a final Charging Order.(CO)
If you object to the final charging order then you should write “a letter of objection” to the creditor and the court stating why you object.
This letter should be sent by registered post at least 7 days before the hearing.
The letter of objection should outline all the arguments you have for why the CO should not be made. These arguments should be taken into account by the District Judge at the hearing.
You should still attend the hearing.
If no letter has been sent to the court then it is essential that you attend the hearing. The court can refuse to make the CO final so you have an opportunity to serve notice and go to the hearing. If you are not available on the date set for the hearing, you should contact the court for a different date to be arranged. If you do not go to the hearing, the CO is likely to be made final by the court at the request of the creditor.


It is difficult to give you full details regarding this via email as I do not know your full financial situation.

If you would like to speak to one of our trained counsellor about preparing for your court hearing , you can call for an appointment on 0800 138 1111.
Lines are open 08.00 until 20.00 Monday to Friday.

Hope this helps

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

LittleMissSkint wrote: »

I started a DMP on Nov 1st 09 (so have made two payments). Some of my creditors wrote straight away saying they accepted and that was that. I heard nothing from MBNA though however today I have received a Default Notice saying I need to pay the full balance by Dec 21st. Does this mean they are not accepting the DMP payments? I assume it does. So will they take me to court now? Or just sell the debt on? Obviously I can't pay anymore than they're getting so if it goes to court it'll be a disaster!

Any ideas what they'll do? I have a feeling I'm gonna have the same problem with Northern Rock, they too have said nothing at all since I started my DMP and I had already had a default before the DMP started, so I'm dreading that although they haven't said so they've not accepted the payments and will be shoving court papers through my door any day. I heard NR are famous for going for Charging Orders, but I live in Scotland and there's no such thing here. So I dunno what they'll achieve by going to court, unless they want an earnings arrestment, which would totally screw my DMP. Would they get one if they tried? Even though I'm paying what I can through the DMP?

Sorry, lots of questions.

Hi LittleMissSkint and thank you for your message

CCCS Sarah has answered your query already on the main thread, but if you need further help,let us know.

Regards
Sue

the_cat

Hi
I have just seen a post on the old style board and need to check something before I direct them to this board and possibly cccs.

When doing a SOA what allowance should be made for food for an adult and 2 daughters (don't know ages). Apparently this woman's bank have told her she is spending too much on food at £140 per month after she submitted her SOA details to them. That can't be right can it?

workinonit

CCCS_Sue wrote: »

Hi workinonit and thank you for your message

The three main credit reference agencies in the UK are Experian, Equifax, and Call Credit.
The details held by each of these may be different as not all creditors share details with all three.

Hope this helps

Regards
Sue

Hi Sue,

thanks for your reply. I've just viewed my Equifax report and it has all my creditors on it. None of my debts have been sold on anywhere so I'm sure it's everything. Is it still worth signing up for the others? Don't want to give myself more things to remember to cancel before they start charging than I have too!

thanks
Ross