Ask a CCCS counsellor a question

ace53

Hi
I recently started a DMP and after 2 weeks, Nat West have locked me out of on line banking, apparently closing my accounts. I have not had anything in writing from them and wondered what I should do and what this means. I'm not very confident about going into a branch and asking as there is no where private to talk.

Can you explain their action?
Thanks
Ace53

CCCS_Sue

Nixy07 wrote: »

Hi there,

I have been contacted by a debt management company called Baines and Ernst (which i sourced via compare the market) about my debt circumstances. They have recommended an IVA and are in the midst of sending me out all of the paper work (which i have not yet signed). I have since researched IVA's and am a little worried about what i am entering into. I have £16k of debt and the IVA company came up with a 5 yr plan at £232 per month which i can reasonably afford, i am currently paying out £420 plus on debt per month so this is a welcome reduction for me.

On Martin Money Experts IVA guide advice i went to the CCCS website and filled out my details and was given a debt management plan of £417 per month to be paid over £3yrs and 3 months. Obviously i would prefer not to go down the IVA route however the DMP route does not change my immediate repayment circumstances much at all.

Can you advise??

I receive my authorisation forms for my IVA on Friday and a courier for my documents and statements has been arranged for the friday after.

Thanks

Nicky

Hi Nicky

Just to let you know that I have replied to your query on our CCCS Q & A website.
If you need further help, let us know!

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

CAR248 wrote: »

Hi,

Sorry to bother you again. I have a couple of queries.

Re the joint budget, if my debt is higher than my fiance's but we are doing a joint statement with only my income for now, will the creditors I owe money to not expect more from me because the household income is just mine? Or will it not matter will they just look at the household income and accept the surplus for the household?

I have a few credit cards which are now in arrears (just by a month, I had paid everything up to date and on time until recently). Will arrears on an account have any effect on whether a payment proposal is accepted?

Thanks again

Hi car248

They will look at the whole income and expenditure.
Whether the proposal is accepted or not would depend on the individual creditor.
They could take into account any arrears when making a decision

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

thewad wrote: »

Am awaiting my phone appointment with CCCS on the 19th.
Have sent the token payment and template letters to all of my creditors about 8 days ago.
Up today no calls whatsoever.
MBNA called today and where pleasant enough when I explained the situation.
When I mentioned CCCS and gave her my number she asked me to send them a letter of authorisation so they could talk with CCCS about me.
Do I need to do this or just leave it, and if so what do I put.

Hi thewad and thank you for your message

You need to have your appointment first to see what your options are before we can look at issuing a letter of authorisation for us to speak to your creditors.
You have done the right thing so far by sending the template letter and token payment. Most creditors will wait until you have had your appointment before they contact you again. You do not need to do anything else.

When you have your appointment, the counsellor will explain what you need to do next after discussing your options.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

shelovestobuystuff wrote: »

My business has not been making any money for quite a few months and I have not been making mimimum credit card payments on some cards,in a bit of a mess just now and with overdrafts over their limits at both banks I use I am desperate now.
I kept hoping things would get better,I would suddenly make some sales again and be able to pay but it hasn,t happened.
I found cccs mentioned on this site and contacted them today.I have a phone apointment booked for March,that was the earliest available.
My question is simple.I have a total of £14,000 unsecured debt(lots of it for buying stock for the business which remains unsold) including my overdrafts.I have only £200 a month available to pay the debt with at the moment,thats income I get even with no income from employment so I know I have that no matter what.
Is £200 enough for the amount of debt I have?

Hi shelovestobuystuff and thank you for your message

At the end of the day, you can only pay what you can afford.

When you have your appointment, the counsellor will go through your income and expenditure and put together a budget.
Whatever surplus is left is the realistic amount you can offer to pay your creditors.
The counsellor will then discuss all your options.
In the meantime, just offer a token gesture of what you can afford and let your creditors know you are waiting for an appointment with us.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

huskypup wrote: »

Thank you Sue for your reply, one further question (sorry)

The one account is underwritten by RBS as are Tesco, do you think they would be able to use that rule to take from one account to Tesco CC - as technically they will be just taking money from themselves to pay themselves.

I have applied for a basic bank account from Lloyds TSB - in my name at present - and will add HB's name if I get accepted (did online at work - shhh).

Now to just make that phone call......

It's unlikely, but to make sure, you should try and get a basic account elsewhere and then you know you are back in charge of your finances!

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

emmington wrote: »

Good evening CCCS,

I bought a car a while back and was unfortunate enough to have the car re-posessed due to non payment. The car company sold the car for a fraction of the price and I am left with making up the difference. I spoke with one of your counsellors before whom advised me that this is normal practise.

I came to an arrangement with the car company to pay the difference of £6k arpx at £50PCM as at the time I had several other debtors which were more important. The car company accepted this offer which I have continued to pay monthly ever since.

I am now in a position where I have almost completely paid off all of my other debtors and will only have the car left to pay.

I obviously have 2 options which would be to carry on paying at £50PCM, which wouldn't really make any difference to the wage packet or; snowball the debt which would probably take about 9 months.

Would mortgage companies frown upon this debt? As if this is not the case I could carry on paying the car debt at £50PCM and would be able to save for a mortgage etc. Just looking for your general advice really please on which would be the better option i.e. if it would be held against me with creditors paying it at £50PCM for the forseeable rather than snowballing.

I hope that this makes sense!

Thanks very much for your help,

Emmington

Hi emmington and thank you for your message

Different mortgage lenders have different lending criteria, so it is difficult to say whether they would refuse you a loan because you had an outstanding debt.

If your creditor is happy with the £50 month and you are keeping up with the repayments, then I see no reason why you should not continue with the payment.

However, if they are charging you interest, then perhaps it would make sense to clear the debt first so you have a clean slate.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

beowulf wrote: »

Hi,

We need some help with our debts (like so many others). I have used the forms on the CCCS website and it suggested the best course of action would be a DMP, which seems fine.

However, we need to relocate due to a change of job. I spoke to a very helpful, friendly lady at CCCS after completing the forms, who said it would be best to wait until we have moved (which will be in four weeks) to start the ball rolling, otherwise we'd have to change everything anyway.

All ok so far. We can stay with my girlfriend's mum for a while until we find somewhere more permanent.

We own our house and are in negative equity, so selling it is not an option. We are going to rent it out and then find somewhere to rent ourselves.

Having looked at some rental agents I noticed that most will now do a credit check as well as take references. If I start the DMP before renting, is this likely to really affect our chances of being able to rent?

Thanks.

Hi Beowolf and thank you for your message

A DMP is a way of repaying all your debts at an amount you can realistically afford, so you are dealing with your situation and not avoiding them.

If you have a bad credit rating, some landlords and letting agents will still accept you as long as you get a person to act as guarantor to guarantee the rental payment if you defaulted. They may also ask you for a more substantial bond to cover any potential unpaid rent.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

ace53 wrote: »

Hi
I recently started a DMP and after 2 weeks, Nat West have locked me out of on line banking, apparently closing my accounts. I have not had anything in writing from them and wondered what I should do and what this means. I'm not very confident about going into a branch and asking as there is no where private to talk.

Can you explain their action?
Thanks
Ace53

Hi ace53 and thank you for your message

Do you have any debts such as loans/credit cards/overdrafts with Nat West that have been included on your DMP? This could be the reason they have closed your account.

We always advise you open a basic bank account elsewhere if you have any debts with the bank you are paying your salary into, as they can freeze your account or use their ‘Right of Offset’ which means they can use money you have in your account to pay off their debts without your permission.

I would recommend that you call our client support team and explain what has happened.
Open a new basic account elsewhere and have your money paid into this account so that you are back in charge of your finances.

Regards
Sue

halphy

Hi If my husband has a debt with a company that we also bank with (as a joint account and I have one seperate) with they stop the banking services? We are starting our DMP at the end of this month.