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  • Hello

    I have just received my DMP from the CCCS and I was wanting some time to gather the relevant paywork together along with setting up a bank account, do you think it would be wise to await the very latest statements and start activating the plan next payday with all the direct debits in place?

    Also how would it be viewed to put some money aside in a savings account for emergencies such as car maintenance, plumbing emergencies etc, i was wanting to have something put aside if possible each month.

    Also will I get a fair few letters, phone calls etc from creditors at first hassling me for payment, until the plan is fully set up?

    I look forward to your reply
  • cameron1
    cameron1 Posts: 16 Forumite
    Dizzy B

    How old are your kids? What sort of childcare - childminder or nursey?

    What job is it that you do and what are you hours? Is it something you could do on compressed hours, flexi time, annualised hours etc. What does your partner do and what are his hours?
  • DizzyB
    DizzyB Posts: 30 Forumite
    cameron1 wrote: »
    Dizzy B

    How old are your kids? What sort of childcare - childminder or nursey?

    What job is it that you do and what are you hours? Is it something you could do on compressed hours, flexi time, annualised hours etc. What does your partner do and what are his hours?

    Hi Cameron, my children are 10 months and 3 years. The childcare is a nanny, who works out cheaper than local childminder or nursery places. I pay £75 per day for my two children, as opposed to the £80-90 for a childminder. Nursery isn't do-able because my elder child has a funded pre-school place at his school and he needs drop off and pick-up. The only local nurseries aren't suitable (I visited with my eldest and wouldn't place my children there).

    I work part time hours as a manager and at this point more hours would only exacerbate the situation, as I'd be working for £10 per day or so. My husband is an electrician and works all hours to be honest. He does standard M-F hours, plus call out, regular weekend work, private jobs etc. I don't think there are enough hours in the day for him to fit more in!

    I have applied for a few homeworking jobs to supplement my income and I am hopeful that this will be some sort of cushion.
  • CCCS_Matthew
    CCCS_Matthew Posts: 922 Organisation Representative
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    huskypup wrote: »
    Hi

    we are starting out DMP with CCCS 01/05, have sent token payments for march to all of our creditors detailing reasons and CCCS ref number - Egg have replied saying they will not stop interest without speaking to us - do I phone them? and Tesco have said they are unable to help us as our letters have not been signed (as advertised by someone on here) they have sent us a template to sign and return to them in a prepaid envelope - do we sign they and send them back?

    Thank you

    Hi there.

    You could certainly phone Egg to request a reason to why they haven't accepted the proposal. I shouldn't be too worried making to the token payments to Tesco if they are kicking up a fuss, you're probably best to wait and see how things pan out when the DMP is up and running. What do Tesco actually want you to sign?

    Regards,
    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.
  • CCCS_Matthew
    CCCS_Matthew Posts: 922 Organisation Representative
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    Phil-1956 wrote: »
    Originally Posted
    Hi,

    Wonder if anyone can help. I have been in a DMP now for a year & have made all payments on time at £400 per month. (I owe about £100,000). I am self employed as a mortgage broker & the bottom has fallen out of the business. My recent review shows me as having more out go than income so I have dropped my DMP payments to £200 until things pick up. (I considered an IVA but the varaible nature of my income makes this a difficult option)
    One of the debts is with Nat West from whom I borrowed £25,000 over a 7 year period two years ago. They have recently filed for a Court judgement demanding £29,000+ which includes all of the interest that is payable on the loan over the next 5 years.
    I jointly own our property with my wife with a mortgage & secured loan & very little equity. We are now 1 month in arrears with the mortgage.
    I have filed an acknowledgement giving me another 14 days to file a defense.
    My major concerns are as follows
    As a mortgage broker I am regulated by the FSA (As an appointed rep of a network). I believe a judgement will put my job at risk, but am unsure. Any body know ? I have written to Nat Wests solicitors telling them this but they have replied to the effect that Nat West are continuing the action unless I pay them the full amount or £490 per month. (The original payment was £384 per month)
    I am looking for employment outside the industry but this is not easy.
    If I were able to repay the loan now or in the future I would under the terms of the loan be entitled to a reduction in interest. But the CCJ is going to be for the amount borrowed PLUS future interest. Can they do this & is there a defense.
    The DMP company have told me that Nat West are going to be looking to place a charging order on the house effectively making it a secured loan. My Wife would object to this as she owns half & is not party to the loan.
    Selling the house currently is not an option as I would have a hefty penalty to find on redemtion of the mortgage. However if I did in the future I would intend to offer any equity to all creditors on a pro rata basis. Surely Nat West seeking a charging order are being unfair to other creditors who have been (in the main) more co-operative by freezing interest.
    Can anyone advise me on the above in particular any points I can make in my defence.

    Thanks in advance

    Hi Phil,

    Thank you for your email.

    I would recommend that you call for an appointment as soon as possible for the CCCS to help you complete a detailed budget and look at your options. You will need to speak to your mortgage lender as soon as possible and come to an arrangement for the missed payment.

    With regards the CCJ, if this was going to affect your work then you could apply for a Tomlin Order. You would need to find proof from your governing body of how a CCJ would affect you.

    If the creditor agrees to a Tomlin Order, a document or schedule would need to be drawn up by a solicitor or a court appointed mediation service. This would then be presented to the court to agree the order. Solicitor’s fees for this service vary depending upon the complexity of the case.

    If you default on the order, the creditor can return to the court and apply for a judgment to be entered without having to re-start proceedings.
    The order then becomes public and will be registered as a CCJ with the same enforcement options e.g. bailiffs, attachment of earnings etc.

    Sarah


    Thanks for your reply.

    Seems like the creditor is not being very helpful. You could try this from a different angle and approach the court directly. You could apply for something called a Time Order. This gives the court the opportunity to reset the terms and payments of the arrangement. You could attach any relevant paperwork e.g. that a CCJ would affect your work, you have tried a Tomin Order and the creditor is not willing to reduce the payments so still unaffordable so now you are asking them to help.

    It may help if you have a detailed budget from a debt advice charity too such as CCCS, CAB or National Debtline as this shows you have tried a number of different types of negotiation.

    I have attached a link to the National Debtline’s website so you can have a read about Time Orders.

    Hope this helps
    Sarah

    Hi,

    The Judgement has now been issued, & I have to pay them £549 per month. It seems that the court has taken no notice what so ever of the income & expenditure that was sent to them. I can't pay this as I am struggling to pay £200 per month into the debt management plan. I am now in arrears with our mortgage & also working in the evening to try & keep up.

    I have checked & I have to report the fact that I have had a judgement issued. It seems that I may not lose my ability to create an income, but its not guaranteed.

    On top of that I'm starting to feel the stress. I had a heart attack several years ago & don't want to risk another

    Any advice on what to do next.

    PS I know that Nat West are likely to want to get a charging order which explains why they are being so unhelpful. I would want to contest this as half of the property is my wife's, their is little if any equity, & it would be unfair on my other unsecured creditors (who unlike Nat West have been more helful & frozen interest instead of adding 7 years worth on upfront)

    Hi there.

    Once the CCJ has been issued you have 14 days to contest the amount by writing the court a letter. Hopefully you may find the court reassess things and accept a reduced amount.

    After 14 days you must then fill out an N245 form instead to request a redetermination of the amount.

    I would suggest you contact the court to see why your offer was rejected, and request a rationale to why the reached the conclusion of £549. It might also be worth checking that they received the paperwork in the first place. Did you send it recorded delivery?

    If all else fails you could request a court hearing to speak to a judge about the situation face to face. You can do this by filling out an N244 form with a fee of £75.

    As far as a charging order would be concerned, you would have the ability to defend it at a hearing. It's worth noting that a charging order would only be granted on your equity if the debt it only in your name.

    I also think it might help if you came for an appointment as suggested by Sarah so we can review your overall situation and give you much more detailed advice. It's quite difficult to go into a lot of detail about things via this forum. We can also make sure that your income and expenditure is reasonable. If your costs are high this may explain why your creditors have not accepted previous offers of payment.

    Regards,
    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.
  • CCCS_Sue
    CCCS_Sue Posts: 966 Organisation Representative
    Is there a link to a thread with addresses to people like M&S, Barclaycard, Mastercard, HSBC, Tesco etc where token payments should be sent? Most bills say don't send correspondence with money. So I was wondering where to send the token payments I need to send this month.


    Hi GibbsRule and thank you for your message

    I do not know of a thread that has all the creditors addresses on.

    Your statements should have contact addresses on them and some usually have payment slips you can use. Or, if you have their phone numbers you could ring and ask them for a contact address.

    You could ask for a copy of your credit file, as this has a list of all your creditors and their contact numbers and addresses at the end of the report.
    I have attached a link to a booklet called ‘Credit Explained’ which will give you further information on how to obtain a copy. The main credit reference agencies are Experian, Equifax and Callcredit. There is usually a fee of £2
    http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf

    Hope this helps

    Regards
    Sue
    I am a CCCS Debt Counsellor and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on CCCS in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • CCCS_Matthew
    CCCS_Matthew Posts: 922 Organisation Representative
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    cameron1 wrote: »
    Hi

    I have my cccs paperwork signed and ready to send back. My monthly installment is £624 per month which means each creditor will get a monthly payment which is roughly 65% of the required amount.

    My concern is that i get paid on the 20th of March and my creditors all require payment around the 25th March. However i will pay £624 to CCCS on the 1st of April as required which wont then be distributed to my creditors until the 25th April. Thus meaning they are effectively not being paid at all for 4 weeks. They will be getting March's payments at the end of April. How are they going to react to this?

    Also i have a form to send to all of my creditors informing that i am going into a DMP. Would you advise that i send a letter with these forms to each of my creditors, exlaining my situation, why i am in debt, and that these installments are all i can afford to pay?

    Would you explain to them that bunkruptcy results in instant dismissal from my job, thus meaning i would lose my income. Given i have no assets, they would get NOTHING of what i owe them. Added to which, i love my job and dont want to do anything else.

    Likewise, if they dont accept the DMP, my next alternative is IVA which means a lot of the debt will be written off.

    Do you think this would be providing them with too much info, or do you think that knowing my circumstances might encourage them to realise a DMP in also in their best intrerest and make them more accepting of it?

    Alos, im interested to know, what happens if a creditor does not agree to the plan?

    Cam

    Hi Cam.

    If your DMP start date is April 1st, then it's probably worth sending a token payment with the 'Notification of a DMP' letter that we would have sent you. You don't really need to enclose your own letter with a justifcation unless you want to. It's not something your creditors tend to expect on a DMP.

    Likewise, I wouldn't get into a discussion about how bankruptcy would affect you if this is not a route you are looking to take. Creditors making people bankrupt is a rarity, and if you have no assets to speak of it's not something they would consider so you don't really need to point this out to them.

    Once sending confirmation of a DMP, your creditors are only going to be interested in how much they will get, how long it's going to take you to clear, and what else you are spending your money on. All this information will be provided by us through the DMP proposal, so my advice would not to overload them with additional information which doesn't relate to the DMP.

    If a creditor doesn't accept the DMP, we'll pay the money regardless. If their not happy you don't have any more money to offer and there is little they can do to take things much further. The worst case scenario is a CCJ which, again, will guarantee them no extra money. Or, if the creditors didn't accept the proposal you could look at other options such as an IVA if you met the criteria.

    Hope this helps and good luck.
    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.
  • CCCS_Matthew
    CCCS_Matthew Posts: 922 Organisation Representative
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    chocolates wrote: »
    Hi
    Im currently on Maternity leave and from next month will be on statutory maternity pay. I owe around £20k and so it will be impossible to pay all of my creditors. Would it be possible to start a DMP whilst on maternity leave?? Also my pay will differ each month.
    Many Thanks

    Hi there.

    A DMP whilst on SMP isn't impossible. It depends on what the rest of your costs would be, and whether you had any money left over for the creditors. If you are on SMP why would your pay differ each month? Currently SMP is £123.06 each week if you were working full time.

    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.
  • CCCS_Sue
    CCCS_Sue Posts: 966 Organisation Representative
    cga1983 wrote: »
    Hi I'm just after a little advice on a situation i have with one of my creditors. I have an outstanding balance of roughly £1000, i was making payments of £25 but haven't made a payment since November due to the continued hassle i was receiving from them informing me i wasn't sticking to their 28 day payment policy, i have since had several more conversations stating that as a single income family of 4 i cannot adhere to the 28 day policy but can only make payments on the 1st of every month as i get paid on the last working of every month. Having been told that this would not be good enough and the calls and letters would continue unless i made the 28 day payments, in a very grown up sort of way i decided to stop the payments and try and change their minds, this has not worked. The threat of taking further action unless i make payments within 28 days it further action will be taken. What i would like to know is can I be bullied into making payments that i cannot stick to, i am not refusing to pay the debt but i can't do it on the condition they are demanding?

    Any advice would be great.
    Hi cga1983 and thank you for your message

    I can understand how frustrating this must be for you, but it is better to keep paying something rather than nothing at all. They are more likely to take further action if they are not receiving any payment.

    Send them an update of your income and expenditure and offer of payment.
    Set up a standing order so that the payment comes out on the 1st. and then stick to this.

    I have attached a link to the CCCS website which gives you further advice regarding creditor action, and what they can and cannot do which may help.
    http://www.cccs.co.uk/InfoCentre/EnglandandWales/Creditoraction/Debtcollectionprocess.aspx

    You can ask them to remove you from their telephone database and communicate in writing only to stop all the phone calls.

    http://www.cccs.co.uk/InfoCentre/EnglandandWales/Creditoraction/Debtcollectionprocess/Telephonecalls.aspx

    I have attached a sample letter you could use:-


    Dear Sir/Madam

    I am writing to ask that you no longer contact me by telephone as your calls are causing me considerable stress due to the frequency, and that they are being made at inappropriate times. Please remove my telephone number from your database and send all future communication in writing to my home address.

    I have provided the most recent copy of my income and expenditure to make you aware of my current financial situation. I will continue to make my payment of x on the x of every month and will keep you informed of any changes in my circumstances as I am keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

    I understand that following this request if you continue to call I can contact the Office of Fair Trading to make a formal complaint.

    Please confirm in writing that your records have been amended.

    Yours sincerely


    Hope this helps

    Regards
    Sue
    I am a CCCS Debt Counsellor and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on CCCS in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • CCCS_Matthew
    CCCS_Matthew Posts: 922 Organisation Representative
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    DizzyB wrote: »
    Hi there, I am looking for some urgent help. We are drowning in debt and at the moment the only way out I can see is a consolidation loan. Things have gone so far though, that I can't imagine anywhere would give us one.

    We have a mortgage and all the associated household bills, whihc we are on top of, so prioritising the bills is done. However, the debt is not decreasing at all. I am getting continuous bank charges and am constantly shuffling money between accounts as otherwise I'd not even make it to work before the money was swallowed up. Childcare is ruining our finances. I am barely making what I am paying out - but giving up work wouldn't solve things either as I need to be able to use the money for the childminder to pay the bills!

    I really do not have a clue where to turn and I can't see any way out. I am terrified I will lose our home and ruin our children's lives. Please help.

    Hi there.

    Generally, consolidating existing debt is not a good option. As most of the folk on here will agree, by taking on further credit you commit to paying interest upon interest and you will increase what you owe, albeit over a longer period of time.

    If you're drowing in debt, then you need advice to discuss your options before making a snap decision. I think you would benefit from using our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy. Debt Remedy will assist you in completing a full financial statement and you will be provided with tailored advice on the best way to deal with your debts. It should take you about 20 minutes to complete and it’s completely free and impartial. To get advice straight away, click here to be taken directly to Debt Remedy.

    If you would prefer to talk to a debt counsellor about your situation, you can book a telephone based appointment by calling 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.

    Regards,
    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.
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