Some basic advice from an ex CAB counseller

nimparkin

Hiya,
I am in the process of clearing my debt. Unfortunately in the past I have struggled with money and had a ridiculously high interest loan. I have taken 2 loans for £2000 each, consolodated them and rearranged the payments on them. Despite only ever having £4000 cash and paying bavk £3500 they still want just over £5000!
I have heard a rumour that they may accept less if I offer less any idea if this is correct and if so how much would you recommend I offer??
Thanks

ehsan11

Hi man,

I like this site. I know many think in this site.It is very helpful for any people.
So thanks for hem who read the text.

Thank you

treading_carefully

Deleted_User wrote: »

How about a 'sticky' at the top of this board with some basic advice?

Many of the posts here are the same to a certain degree but I feel there are important pieces of advice being fragmented across many posts and threads and some things are not even being mentioned - possibly for fear of upsetting someone.

As an ex voluntary debt counseller for the Citizens Advice Bureau perhaps I will say the following -

1. There are many reasons why people go into debt. Sometimes circumstances force it upon them - i.e. loss of a job, death of the main earner, divorce/co-habitation split - to name a few.

Other reasons are simply due to the live now pay later attitude and reckless spending.

You need to examine WHY you are in the situation you are in now and acknowledge it to yourself if you are at fault. If you cannot do this, you cannot move on and you will keep spending.
If you cannot even see there is a problem - you may have that as a problem in itself.

Are you using loans to pay off other loans?
Are you behind with your rent/mortgage?
Is all or the majority of your wages/salary/benefits already spoken for before you've got it?
Are you borrowing from friends/relatives to get you thru the week?
Are you buying groceries on a credit card that is not paid off every month?

Any of the above shows you DO have a problem.

2. I cannot emphasise enough the importance of COMMUNICATION with your creditors/utility companies/banks etc..

If they don't hear from you because you are burying your head in the sand, or because you don't ask them for help and time to pay, they then cannot be blamed for having a bad attitude towards you, nor can you expect them to be sympathetic.
(This is not to say creditors don't have their faults - I know only to well how ignorant, bullying and almost criminal some of them can be).

3. You need to look at your WHOLE financial picture, not just the credit card problem, or the loan problem.
Debt needs to be prioritised. For example, you cannot go to jail for not paying your credit card. You can go to jail if you don't pay your council tax.

4. You can get FREE, CONFIDENTIAL and EXPERT advice from your local Citizens Advice Bureau. They will want to see ALL your paperwork regarding loans, mortgage/rent and all your paperwork regarding salary/wages or benefits you are receiving - basically, everything. They can help you work out your income/expenditure and most importantly, what you have left to live on and to service your debts with.

Once this is known, they can negotaiate with your creditors for reduced payments, more time to pay, suspended interest and other things. (I have also successfully negotiated much reduced full and final settlements as well).

If you use the CAB - you WILL be helped but you need to sign commitment not to go further into debt. No more credit card spending etc...
If you cannot do this, you are not ready to be helped and the CAB will not become involved any further in your case.

Specialist debt counsellors at the CAB can, with your signed permission, deal with your creditors on your behalf, working with you and them, to an arrangement that you can manage.

In severe cases, management of the debt may simply be unrealistic and bankruptcy or an admin order may be an option. Again, specialist advice is there for you and the CAB can help with Court procedures as well. (Or could when I was there).

I make no apology for 'plugging' the CAB for the marvellous work they do. It's free for you utilise and I know of no other free agency that even comes close to what they achieve for people in debt. They are non judgemental and deal with each case on it's merits.

But it is not ALL down the them. Clients have to be prepared to make it a team effort and consider changing their ways too.

Whilst the original cause of your debt may not be your fault, the worsening of it could be.

Moderator comment:- For Martin's take on this have a look at 'Q. Help!!!! My debts are out of control, no one will give me credit, what should I do? on the Q&A page of the main site.

Just a quick question on unsecured debts not threatening the roof over your head. If unsecured creditors can ultimately put a charge on your property does this threaten your home immediately or does the charge just sit there gathering interest until such time as the property is sold. I appreciate that the unsecured loan would have to be fairly substantial in the first instance to result in creditor going for a charge. Thanks for any feedback.

catch22scaleb

hoping that you can help

i have been trying to claim council tax benefits for almost 4 years now, but the council keep denying my claim as i have been unable to provide my payslips (due to the fact that my employer never gave me any! i am at an employment tribunal hearing in march to get proof of my income from my previous employer)
i want to give the payslips to the council, so that i can get my council tax benefit backdated, what is the likelyhood that i will get it backdated - from 2006 to present date?
i was a single parent of 2 young children, part time wage, in receipt of wtc & ctc, & child benefit.... i shoud never have been paying full council tax in the first place but the council would not even contact my employer for proof of income!
should i get legal representation to help get the claim backdated & force the council to refund the overpayments that i have made???
need advice asap!!!

hope to hear from you shortly

lyechin2002

recently a lot of people loss their job, so that they may fall into debt.

munchkin1984

hi guys,

just wondering if anyone could offer some advice

i got 2 loans while with my ex partner, both with lloyds tsb. one is a joint loan and the other is a sole loan together they total £10,000
when me and my partner split 3 years ago it was agreed that we would both still pay our fair share as time has gone on things have got messy and to cut a long story short ....after many excuses and lots of lies my ex has stopped payin towards it, and now im left with all this debt plus a whole lot of interest which has been added, i have agreed a payment plan with the bank that i can afford on my own! but i was just wondering if anyone knows wether i have any options as to wether i can make my ex pay...or if iam just left with this debt on my own! the bank say it is not possible for them to split the loan so we both pay half as it has to stay joint....i just feel as though where ever i turn i hit a brick wall

any help greatly appreciated


thanks

TheLearner

Hi All,

I am about to take out a loan with Tesco for £7500 to buy a car at 14.4% over 36 months with a repayment of £254.14 per month.

What would I pay if I settled early, like after 2 or 3 months. They refuse to give me the figure. They say I will pay interest for 2 months but I am not sure exactly what I would pay.

Please help!

Nick1986ukmids

i would recommend debt relief only £90 that clears all of your debt its not bank ruptsy either, my mate filed for it his credit file was broken in peices but will be mended in 2 years time

PattieRosie_2

thanks for the advice, i have to absorb it 1st

troub

Hi I wonder if anyone can advise me. My dad was ill for a long time and accrued debts, some in his name, some in mums. She has the house with a small mortgage which is now hers. The company that negotiated reduced payments with their creditors sent out death certs and told mum dads debts would now probably be wiped as her state pension in miniscule and she still has debts of her own. They then also said that regards dads debt she was on her own, they wouldn't help.
However the bank to whom dads biggest loan 10K has written to mum wanting to know about her estate. She has the house, but no cash, debts and little income.
She is worried that they will demand she sells up to pay the debts or go after her for them. She is 70 and the equity is small, so she couldn't buy another house.
I have got to write a letter in answer to their request and need to word it carefully. There is a will but we didn't need to do anything with it as the house was simply transferred into mums name.
Any ideas????:cool: