Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

Emski_1

Hi Sarah,

I am gradually paying off my debts via a dmp with Payplan and have been doing so since 2007. I'm now in the fortunate position where I have a lump sum that covers 50% of my debts. Is it better to contact my creditors directly and negotiate on the full and final settlement myself? Or should I go via Payplan to arrange this? Could I contact CCCS directly to help me with this part?

Thanks in advance and thanks to all that post on the forums, it really has been a great source of information.

piglint

Hi Ted the bank were great with me and said that it was the first step to getting help and they had quite a few people paying token payments through them.Stress wise TSB have been a nightmare ringing constantly despite being asked not to,the sound of the phone ringing used to make me shake with fright but i have resent my budget to them and they have left me alone at the moment.The other creditors( i have 11 in all )and £33,000 debt have been very helpful, none of them phoned me after i explained their calls were making me a nervous wreck .They now all contact me in writing and i am no longer terrified of the phone ringing.It has taken a few sleepless nights and bitten nails to get this far but it is the most positive thing i have done in a long while.I am now back in control of my life and it feels wonderful !!!

MyOwnFault

The Question:

Is it better to do a short sale & stay current on all my credit card payments OR is it better to default/ settle on a couple credit cards and stay in good standing with my mortgage?

The Background Info:

I put myself in this position, so nobody to blame but me. I want to stop the madness and fix this, but want to make sure I take the smartest path to do so.

I am current on all my debt payments as of right now, but will not be able to sustain that for much longer.

I tried to sell our house, but the only way to sell it was to bring more money to the table than I have. I am beginning to consider a short sale -- but before I do this I wanted to find out if this was a better option than to pinpoint 2 - 3 of my unsecured debt credit cards and let those go into default.

The Bottom Line:

I am currently at the point where I have to pick a path or this is all going to unravel and get bad across the board. I would like to minimize the damage & fulfill my debt obligations to as many as possible. I need to do something soon to be able to do this.

Please help -- thanks!

gerturdeanna

Hi - I was expecting my CCCS DD payment to leave on the 15th but it hasn't yet - which number is the best to call??
TIA Gert x

twoflower169

Hi - We are currently on a DMP with CCCS and we have 2 small debts of £600 and £175 in amongst our larger debts and we were wondering as we both do overtime whether we can pay these debts off individually if we save the overtime money? If so do we need to speak to cccs or can we just approach the company's involved?

Thanks TF x

1066wasabadyear

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

Hi Gary,

Thank you for your message. I would recommend that you just pay them what you can and cancel your direct debits. If you have any debts with your current bank you will need to open a new bank account at a bank where you have no debts and arrange for your income to be paid into here. If you pay any of your priority costs by direct debit i.e. mortgage, council tax etc then you will need to also switch these over as soon as posible.

I would recommend that you have a telephone appointment with ourselves so we can help you complete a detailed financial statement and look at your options. If you would like an appointment please call 0800 138 1111.

Regards
Sarah

Thanks Sarah phoning right now.

michelle45_2

Hi
Taken the first step and applied on line - it will take (if they stop interest) 4years 6 months to get rid of my debt but at least I will be able to sleep. Would you be able to send the paperwork to my works address as I do not wish my partner to be made aware of the terrible mess I have made of my life.

Thanks

Michelle

mystery_united

Michelle, I'm not from the CCCS, I have just started a DMP With them, once it is all set up it becomes so much easier, although you still do get the odd letter from your debtors, but you learn which ones to write back to, never call them on the phone.

Whilst I am not a debt counselor, Have you tried to speak to your partner about you situation, at least you are sorting it out now and you will be debt free in less than five years.

We where in a similar situation where we didn't talk to each other about our debt problems, we ended up in a worse position before we contacted the CCCS. Two heads are always better than one.;)

Good luck with becoming debt free.

michelle45_2

Myself and my oh have just started to live together so all the debts are mine. Hes the kind of person who has no debts and pays a bill as soon as it falls through the letter box.

I got myself into the mess by being a single parent of 2 kids, and trying to give them what I could I think to make up what they were missing - stupid I realise in hindsight. I was ok at making the payments until they turned 16 and the maintenance stopped, working tax stopped and all in all in one month I was down 600 p.m. and been living on credit ever since. Until now and its all dried up.

CCCS_Sue

katgirlie wrote: »

Hi,

I have just been phoned by a company called Consumer Credit Services, who have told me that my credit card is unenforceable because (a) my minimum monthly payment is a percentage of my balance and not a fixed amount, and (b) they have increased my credit limit without asking me first. He said that the balance can be written off because of these points. I have asked him to call me back in an hour while I look into it myself a bit more.

I'm not struggling to pay my credit card (slowly but surely!) but it would be nice if I didn't have to...! However, I'm well aware that if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is. Could someone set my mind at ease that I'm not missing out on a massive opportunity to rapidly clear my debt here?

Thanks in advance!

Hi Katgirlie and thank you for your message

There seems to be a lot of organisations offering “wipe-off debt” services for a substantial fee. It’s worth noting that consumer credit debts will only be written off, if there is clear evidence that the creditor in question has breached the guidelines set within the Consumer Credit Act. The commercial companies offering to wipe off debts seem to be advertising this to the wider market, without prior knowledge to the individual’s financial situation.
If you are in a position where you think your creditors have taken unnecessary action which breaches the CCA and have evidence that proves so, then you could consider going down the route of disputing the debt through County Court. I would be very careful of any organisation offering such services, especially when they are charging substantial fees with no guarantee of success, when it’s something that you could do for yourself.
My advice would be that if you do feel you have a case where you feel your creditors have breached the CCA, speak to someone who can offer free independent advice, such as the Office of Fair Trading.
More information can be found on the Office of Fair Trading website: http://www.oft.gov.uk/news/press/2008/consumeralert.
Regards
Sue