Ask a CCCS counsellor a bankruptcy question

foreveradevil

Hi,

I have been on a dmp with CCCS since 2005 and am now in a posistion where i feel ready to take over the responsibility of managing my debts. My income has increased and if i am honest, i have 'grown up'. I want to take control and rebuild my none exisitant credit rating. When i started the plan it was joint with my now ex wife, i know which of the debts are in my name and none are joint so could you explain how i could finish my plan with CCCS and deal directly with my creditors? Is this possible? Can i contact each creditor and set up direct debits to continue making regular payments whilst i save to make f&f settlements?

I need to seperate my plan from my ex wife but don't think i will qualify for a new plan with CCCS due to my chances in circumstances, so what do i do?

Regards

Rob

System

oliviarosejackson wrote: »

Hi, I have not been on this site in a few years. I was wondering if you ay be able to help.

I am currently in a IVA with Blair Endersby and it is not working for me, it hasn't for a while. But I have just been struggling by.

How do I go about seeing about bankruptcy, if it is the best option?

I must add that I have not missed any payments in my IVA, but I have not been in touch with them for a long while. I have been avoiding their calls and letters. I know that I have gotten into a huge mess by doing this. But I need to sort it out ASAP.

Will this affect my partner. Will he need to be involved in anything. He owns the house, nothing is in my name.

Thanks for reading and any help that you can give.

Hi oliviarosejackson and welcome back to the forum.

An IVA is a legally binding arrangement and you have signed up to the terms and conditions of this. If you feel you are not able to afford the payments you need to inform the Supervisor of the IVA.

It may be possible that your payment into the IVA could be lowered; sometimes you would need the permission of creditors to do this. This is called a variation meeting.

It’s difficult to give further advice without knowing your full situation. I'd recommend that you call the Insolvency Practitioner who is Supervisor of your IVA at Blair Endersby as they have access to all your details.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards
Mat

System

isthereawayout wrote: »

I have got myself into debt after getting loans for a business that failed last year, I would appreciate some guidance if you could, so here goes:

My partner and I bought a house 2 years ago, upon moving in I had my hours changed at work due to the cutbacks caused of the credit crunch. I then decided to start my own business to recoup the money that I lost at work as I knew if I didn't do something quickly I would fall behind in the mortgage payments

I got 2 loans, one from HSBC for £10,000 (unsecured) and the other from Sainsbury's for £10.000 (secured) to use to get the business started. I ran the business for just over a year and (I was working full time with a company and doing the business for extra income, doing two jobs) due to ill health I had no choice but to pack it in, it was labour intensive.

So now I have no extra income and with 2 extra loans to pay. I only take home £1200 after tax

Here is a breakdown of my monthly expenses, as you can see my expenses far outweigh my income

Axa Life insurance 26.92
Mortgage 773.90
Petrol 200.00
Home insurance 14.57
Car Insurance 29.00
Council Tax 151.00
Sky 30.00
Sainsbury loan 187.46
HSBC Loan 280.81
Bank Charges 12.95
British Gas 18.00

Total 1697.61

I had a bit a savings that I have been using up to now but it has been eroded away with the extra loans. As of next month June 2011 I will start defaulting on a few of the above.

Our house is worth £200,000 and owe £150,000 as we put down a £50,000 deposit. They obvious solution would be to sell the house I know, but was wondering if there was another way as we have a 4 year old that has just settled in a school on our village. Also we wouldn't qualify for a mortgage again due to low incomes.

I was wondering if the 'Mortgage rescue scheme' would be an option as we do not want to lose our house and would rather rent our house off the council and have the option to buy our house back after the loans have been paid back.

The Sainsbury secured loan is the one that will cost us our house I'm sure.

Would an appointment with the CAB be beneficial ?

Your advise would be appreciated.

Thankyou

Hello is thereawayout and welcome to the forum.

Thank you for your post message. Don’t worry - we can help you overcome your debt problems.

The first thing to do is visit our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) to help you find a solution to your debt problem quickly.

Debt Remedy will assist you in completing a financial statement with information on your household, employment, income, expenditure and debts. From this the service will automatically determine your options.

To help you fill in the form, it’s best to gather together information about:
• Your income
• Your expenditure
• The creditors you owe money to

You’ll receive a downloadable advice booklet providing a tailored solution for you based on your current circumstances and advice on ways you may be able to improve your situation.

If you’re not confident with computers or would like to speak to an advisor then you’re welcome to ring our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111. We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm.

If you phone us it may be possible to refer you directly to a counsellor for immediate advice. Alternatively, we will arrange for an appointment to be booked at a time convenient for you.

You’ve taken the first step to sorting out your money worries and we can support you with free and impartial advice along the way.

Kind regards,

Mat on behalf of CCCS

System

Lionhound4 wrote: »

Hi,
My husband and I were in extreme financial difficulty when he lost his job two years ago. However we did the sensible thing, contacted all our debtors and offered reduced payments, then put our house on the market. Luckily our house sold fairly quickly so we went into social housing and with the proceeds of our house sale paid off each and every one of our debts. One debt was with CapitalOne for a credit card. I had a debt with Capital one for £2406.48 which I intended to pay in full, however just before the sale completed I received a letter from CapitalOne stating that if I pay £1389.68 before the 12/03/10 then they would accept that as full and final settlement of my debt with them. As we moved on the 4th March and now had the funds I wrote a cheque for that sum and posted it along with the letter and my wife's Capital one credit card statement and cheque. My wife's cheque cleared on the 11th March and my cheque cleared on the 15th March (which I have only just discovered). So thinking that we are no longer in debt I was very surprised to get a very strong letter from Fredrickson International saying that I must pay the remainder of my CapitalOne account of £1016.80 or they will prosecute me and whats more, add charges to this amount. I have written explaining the situation, but only get letters back stating that they have not received the payment. I have written again explaining in even plainer English and still I get replies saying that they have no record of my payment. They won't have a record of my payment as I have never paid anything to them but CapitalOne direct as I was dealing with them. I am at my wits end and really do not know what to do now. My wife is extremely stressed by this all as we thought we were debt clear. We feel like we have been conned by CapitalOne. Your help would be very, very appreciated.

Hi Lionhound4 and thanks for you post.

We’d always recommend when paying a reduced amount that you ask the creditor to confirm in writing that they will no longer chase the remaining amount before you make the payment.

Capital One sent you a letter making an offer; however they didn’t confirm in writing that this would be in full and final satisfaction of the debt, this is regardless of when the cheques were cashed.

Without providing you with written confirmation that the debt is settled they can sell the debt on for the remaining amount to be chased.

I’d recommend putting a budget together and making the debt collection company an offer of payment that you can realistically afford.

You could send one final letter to Capital One and Fredrickson explaining the situation, you should send this letter recorded delivery so that you have proof they have received it. You could also enclose proof of the original sums leaving your bank account. There is no guarantee that this will make them re-think the matter but it could help.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Mat

System

foreveradevil wrote: »

Hi,

I have been on a dmp with CCCS since 2005 and am now in a posistion where i feel ready to take over the responsibility of managing my debts. My income has increased and if i am honest, i have 'grown up'. I want to take control and rebuild my none exisitant credit rating. When i started the plan it was joint with my now ex wife, i know which of the debts are in my name and none are joint so could you explain how i could finish my plan with CCCS and deal directly with my creditors? Is this possible? Can i contact each creditor and set up direct debits to continue making regular payments whilst i save to make f&f settlements?

I need to seperate my plan from my ex wife but don't think i will qualify for a new plan with CCCS due to my chances in circumstances, so what do i do?

Regards

Rob

Hi Rob and thanks for your message.

If you want to separate your plan from your ex wife all you have to do is give us a call. If you’re now in a position to manage your own debt management plan or make the contractual payments to your creditors we can give you advice on this too.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Mat

jennymadmum

Hi,

I have two friends who have been asking me for assistance with regards to their over-indebtedness (i used to be a general advisor with the CAB but it was in Scotland and you have different products down South and they live south of the border). They have no assets with the exception of a car (they've now handed that back as it was on a final purchase finance scheme) and they have unsecured debts totalling just under £60k with a new baby just weeks away... We went through all the options and it seems that bankruptcy would be best to allow them to clear their feet, provide for the new baby and eventually save for a mortgage together (they're married and both work). Although they earn reasonable incomes just now (above NMW), it will drop dramatically when mrs starts to receive her SMP (no company MP)and they have another small child at home. As it stands, they are only paying the minimum balance on their cards just now and they're withdrawing cash from them to pay for their everyday expenses so they're not getting any 'benefit' from their salaries.

It would obviously make sense for them to apply for their BR once her income has dropped (reduces the risk of an income payment order being made which they immediately won't be able to afford). My question is this:

They obviously have to apply separately for the BR but how do they split the expenditure amounts? a straight 50/50 wouldn't be an accurate reflection as he will be earning loads more than her £128pw so to do it that way, she'll show a massive deficit on income v's expenditure whereas he'll show a large surplus! - Putting the two together will in effect cancel each other out but because of his disposable income figure being 'inflated' (so to speak) they might still end up with the IPO... Should they enter these figures in proportion to what they earn? ie: he takes 3/5 and she takes 2/5? If we can do it this way, she might qualify for a DRO as the debts in her name are just over £14k and this would mean that they don't have to raise two loads of heavy fees for the BR...

Any advice?

StepChange_Pavan

jennymadmum wrote: »

Hi,

I have two friends who have been asking me for assistance with regards to their over-indebtedness (i used to be a general advisor with the CAB but it was in Scotland and you have different products down South and they live south of the border). They have no assets with the exception of a car (they've now handed that back as it was on a final purchase finance scheme) and they have unsecured debts totalling just under £60k with a new baby just weeks away... We went through all the options and it seems that bankruptcy would be best to allow them to clear their feet, provide for the new baby and eventually save for a mortgage together (they're married and both work). Although they earn reasonable incomes just now (above NMW), it will drop dramatically when mrs starts to receive her SMP (no company MP)and they have another small child at home. As it stands, they are only paying the minimum balance on their cards just now and they're withdrawing cash from them to pay for their everyday expenses so they're not getting any 'benefit' from their salaries.

It would obviously make sense for them to apply for their BR once her income has dropped (reduces the risk of an income payment order being made which they immediately won't be able to afford). My question is this:

They obviously have to apply separately for the BR but how do they split the expenditure amounts? a straight 50/50 wouldn't be an accurate reflection as he will be earning loads more than her £128pw so to do it that way, she'll show a massive deficit on income v's expenditure whereas he'll show a large surplus! - Putting the two together will in effect cancel each other out but because of his disposable income figure being 'inflated' (so to speak) they might still end up with the IPO... Should they enter these figures in proportion to what they earn? ie: he takes 3/5 and she takes 2/5? If we can do it this way, she might qualify for a DRO as the debts in her name are just over £14k and this would mean that they don't have to raise two loads of heavy fees for the BR...

Any advice?

Hi jennymadmum and thanks for your post.

Although they need to petition separately, they can still go to the courts together at the same time.

Its best that they both prepare the same budget as it will detail both their incomes and it will be the most accurate representation of their household budget.

If they need any more detailed advice, they can get in touch with us as we have a specialist bankruptcy support team that can help with filling out the forms etc.

They can visit our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) or call our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111. We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Lionhound4

Hi
Thanks for your quick reply. CapitalOne said in their offer letter that if I paid £1389.68 this would be in full and final payment to settle the debt, surely this is what it means? I wrote to them saying that I accept their offer and sent the cheque well before the expiry date of the 12th March. Why would they then change their minds?

System

Lionhound4 wrote: »

Hi
Thanks for your quick reply. CapitalOne said in their offer letter that if I paid £1389.68 this would be in full and final payment to settle the debt, surely this is what it means? I wrote to them saying that I accept their offer and sent the cheque well before the expiry date of the 12th March. Why would they then change their minds?

Hi Lionhound4 and thanks for your reply.

If you still have this letter I would forward it to them as proof of that you paid the amount required to settle the account.

If you no longer have this letter the only thing you can do is complain to CapitalOne in writing.

A lot of these letters are system generated by the creditor, unless you called them to discuss it or had further correspondence from them in regards the matter it’s difficult to prove what they offered as full and final payment and it can become a case of your word against theirs.

The debt collection company are unlikely to change stance so I think you would have more success speaking to CapitalOne.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Mat

Lionhound4

Thanks for your reply, luckily I do have the letter. I will write to CapitalOne now and see what happens.
Thanks again