financial pickle, advice needed

rushnowt

Hi everyone,

I've spent the best part of today trying to help a friend with her finances, i'm no pro but i've done the best i can, i came across the bank charges reclaim link by chance cos i was pee'd off that my bank had charged me for a missed DD, long story so i won't go into it lol,

anyroad, between us we've managed to get most things sorted and she's applying to have charges by her bank reimbursed, but her problem is her catalogues :wall: payments are a bit hit and miss as and when she has the money to pay them and each month she's being charged between £10 - £30 for late, missing payments or just not paying the correct amount agreed. I've read through the thread about the credit agreement and asking for it to be sent, but what i really want to know is is it possible to ask the companies to stop these charges and to reimburse what they've already charged her, each month the debt is increasing by interest and with added costs is making matters worse for her.

She wont contact CAB or CCCS cos she's been in debt before and she feels such a failure that she's got into it again.

any help/advice would be really appreciated

Rush x

VonBek

Hi Rush, Im no expert either, but have been working hard on my partner and mines debts. With regards to your friends problem with catalogues.

My first comment would be, stop using them, they are the most expensive way of buying anything, get your friend to write to the companies involved asking for the accounts to be closed and offering a monthly payment to clear the outstanding balance.

Make sure you think carefully about the amount you offer, work out what you could afford to pay each month, split this between each company. But it is most important you close the accounts.

Hope this helps.

ps. If they refuse to close the accounts, most wont, it is important you pay what you offered to pay each month, its also best to enclose the first payment with the offer letter, Take your letters, prrof of payments and there letters to the CAB, they will be able to put more pressure on the companies that dont accept.

I have found most companies, catalogues and loan companies, are willing to accept a sensible payment offer.

Ian.

rushnowt

Thanks Ian,

we've printed some letters off from the national debtfree site and she's going to send them to the catalogue companies with a budget sheet and hopefully she can get this sorted once and for all. We've ripped up all the catalogues today and she promised not to order anything else. I really hope she realises this time what the catalogues have done to her again.

Good luck with your own debt troubles

Take care and thanks for taking the time to read and reply

Rush x

Xbigman

How bad are her debts? If she is just messy and misses payments, but can afford them, then the answer is to make the payments on time and you can avoid a lot of these charges. If you can get the dates the payments are due from her then you can remind her to pay a few days before.

If it is a situation where she cannot afford the payments then its time to default and send the letters asking for a signed credit agreement.
Regards



X

sanfrancisco

It is unlikely that you will be able to stop these charges etc without the intervention of CCCS or Payplan. If she has been with them before she really has nothing to loose going back to them.

She should in no way feel silly. Were all good and bad at different things and thats just the way it is.

I have helped people in debt before and it really is true that people will not change unless they want to. It's like Alcoholism or drug addiction. The person has to decide for themselves. I wonder whether the first time she went to cccs/payplan she was forced into it etc. The best thing you can do is just give her the tools to help herself. It sounds like she just needs to get organized. Could you set up a spreadsheet?

rushnowt

Xbigman wrote:

How bad are her debts? If she is just messy and misses payments, but can afford them, then the answer is to make the payments on time and you can avoid a lot of these charges. If you can get the dates the payments are due from her then you can remind her to pay a few days before.

If it is a situation where she cannot afford the payments then its time to default and send the letters asking for a signed credit agreement.
Regards



X

Hi,

She just really can't afford the payments, i know she does her best under the circumstances, she doesn't really have anything left after paying for essentials, so she uses the catalogues to buy clothes etc and things for the house. She knows it costs her more in the long run but it's the only way she see's that she can get the stuff she needs. Tbh if she was in a better financial position i'd rather buy what she needs and let her pay me back but i know she can't afford to do that and she'd be too embarrassed owing me money i think, i guess it's different owing money to a company then a friend/relative ?

When payments have been paid it's like she's borrowing from peter to pay paul and it's just a vicious cycle. We've filled in the forms and i've posted them tonight for her to hopefully if they agree to the token payment she'll be able to sort herself out. She knows i'm always there for her to help as and when i can but she even gets embarrassed with me and she knows i'd never judge her, just maybe rollock her a little lol, in a loving caring way

Thanks for your reply

Rush x

rushnowt

sanfrancisco wrote:

It is unlikely that you will be able to stop these charges etc without the intervention of CCCS or Payplan. If she has been with them before she really has nothing to loose going back to them.

She should in no way feel silly. Were all good and bad at different things and thats just the way it is.

I have helped people in debt before and it really is true that people will not change unless they want to. It's like Alcoholism or drug addiction. The person has to decide for themselves. I wonder whether the first time she went to cccs/payplan she was forced into it etc. The best thing you can do is just give her the tools to help herself. It sounds like she just needs to get organized. Could you set up a spreadsheet?

Hi,

I totally agree with you, last time it took me forever to get her to go to CAB, but she was really glad she had in the end, they where great and really helped her out, thats what the problem is really, she feels so foolish that she dragged herself out of a financial mess once and now she's in it again and she thinks they'll just look as her as being stupid ? i won't give up nagging her tho, i'm sure i can convince her to contact CCCS that way she's just a name and not a face but she's getting the professional help she needs, something i can't really give but then be there to support and encourage her when she has a proper plan in place.

Thanks for your reply

Rush x

southernscouser

Hey rushy! Not often we see you in here!

A state of affairs would be handy if you have the info or maybe you can go through it with her. Only then can we give our opinion on what her best option is!

Have a look at this thread if you need a guide!

Tell her that The CCCS or Payplan might have to be an option. Being embarassed or ashamed is a lot less worse than being taken to court for CCJ's which could happen if she's not prepared to help herself.

rushnowt

southernscouser wrote:

Hey rushy! Not often we see you in here!

A state of affairs would be handy if you have the info or maybe you can go through it with her. Only then can we give our opinion on what her best option is!

Have a look at this thread if you need a guide!

Tell her that The CCCS or Payplan might have to be an option. Being embarassed or ashamed is a lot less worse than being taken to court for CCJ's which could happen if she's not prepared to help herself.

Hiya hun,

great thread thanks, just finding my way around here and theres so much to take in so every little helps i had no idea there was so much info on here, it's quite staggering, haven't found the bar tho

seriously tho, i think hell would freeze over before she would come clean to me about everything, it's like getting water out of a stone with her :wall: i'm sure theres more to it, she was really upset the other day and i've called her tonight to see how she's doing and she sounded really down she now feels like she's let me down the silly mare, i swear i'll drug her and drag her to the CAB on Monday if i have to lol or by hook or by crook she will make that call to CCCS. I hate seeing her like this it breaks my heart when she's so down on herself.

I'll do everything i can this weekend to find out everything thats going on and help with anything i can until we can get her some proper assistance with her debts, i'm copy, pasting and printing like a woman possessed at the mo to give her as much info as i can. She doesn't have internet access anymore so i'm also gonna bring her up to mine so she can read some of the fantastic stories of others who have done and are doing so well, hopefully that will give her some incentive to turn her life around too

Thanks for your help and advice

Rush x

southernscouser

Oi, wheres this bloody SOA!

dottyanne

Xbigman wrote:

How bad are her debts? If she is just messy and misses payments, but can afford them, then the answer is to make the payments on time and you can avoid a lot of these charges. If you can get the dates the payments are due from her then you can remind her to pay a few days before.

If it is a situation where she cannot afford the payments then its time to default and send the letters asking for a signed credit agreement.
Regards



X

Hi im in a similar situation with a catalogue - owe about £650 - im trying to make payments but cant afford so sometimes miss - ive never singed a credit agreement i dont think - what does this mean -can they not persue the debt??