CCCS (and others) or Not, to Help With Debt?

Mumofthreeboys_2

Hi, I'm new to posting, but not to MSE, so apologies in advance if this posting is in the wrong place.

But I have been reading (and been inspired by all of you) to become debt free (probably won't be till 2020 tho)!!! However, I would like your advice on whether to go down the CCCS route or whether it's best to deal with debt yourself, i.e. moving balances, getting cheaper loans, etc.

Brief explanation: Husband was out of work for three months, but now has a new job (thank God), but it doesn't pay as much as we need (sound familiar)?

Any help gratefully received.

cal1978

Hi,

I am using CCCS and they have been great, I think that even talking it through with someone impartial take a bit of the fear out of dealing with debt.

Good Luck :j

mom23

Hi mum
Welcome to MSE
It depends really on the amount of debt you have v your income etc,
although new to this myself i am managing to snowball my debts, and have cut down on a lot of monthly expenses.
You need to post an soa (statement of affairs) and then there will be plenty of people able to help you chip away at it and advise on the best course of action!!
Good luck

Mumofthreeboys_2

Thank you for your replies and advice. I thought I would just add to my posting by telling you about the bank charges we keep getting since we've not been paying in the usual amount. On average we've been recieving about 3 or 4 a week at £30 each!!! God knows what the full amount we've paid is.

We have been furious about this for ages, but didn't really know what to do about it.

So imagine our surprise when I read MSE tips yesterday about how to reclaim unfair bank charges (he must be phsycic). We have fired off the relevant letter telling them they have 40 days to comply, etc and I will let you know the outcome.

kathfisch

I hope you have luck with the bank charges!!!

The question of whether to contact cccs or do it yourself depends on the seriousness of your situation. If you can keep up with payments by cutting back spending and maximising income then that is great! Also if you have a relatively good credit score you could try applying for a 0% or low life-of-balance card to reduce the interest being charged. I think most on here would advise against a loan because they are so inflexible most of the time and, by having a fixed repayment amount, don't provide any incentive to be more frugal as the term can't be reduced.

If you can't manage even minimum payments then a debt management plan might be needed which is where cccs or similar would be very helpful. Obviously a DMP does affect your credit score so is to be avoided if possible.

Why not post your SOA and we can take a look?

Best of luck

Kath

Cantdance_2

I'd say ring them up (or PayPlan) anyway, to talk it through with them. It won't cost you anything and there's no obligation to go through with anything.

Although we eventually ended up deciding to go it alone, talking through our situation with PayPlan certainly showed us what the options were and also most critically made us realise exactly how much we were spending per month...



James

Mumofthreeboys_2

Thanks for your advice and I will put an SOA on here when I get my act together! Does CCCS frown on everything you do once your plan has been agreed i.e. if you go on holiday for instance?

kathfisch

I've not been through a DMP or anything with these companies but I believe that they try to work out a realistic budget for you, to include annual spends broken down into monthly bits if you see what I mean. I know some people are surprised that the amounts suggested by payplan etc are actually higher than they would have budgetted (in some categories). I doubt that an extravagant foreign holiday would be encouraged but I'm sure a family break in this country could be budgetted for. All you can do is phone and discuss things with them. The important thing to them is that your budget is realistic for your circumstances because then you will be less likely to fall of the wagon (as it were) and take out more debt for things you want/need. Obviously this has to be balanced with paying a fair amount to your creditors as the budget/soa has to be agreed by them too.

I will be sure to have a look at your SOA when you post it!

Best of luck