CCCS Advice.

craigi

If anyone could give me some advice on the Pro's and Con's of using a debt management plan with CCCS I would very much appreciate it.

Before Xmas I bought a shared ownership property. It wasnt an ideal time as at that point I already had around £8000 outstanding debts, which I was able to keep up repayments on as I was living with parents. The oppurtunity to buy the property which was a way of me getting on the property ladder at a lower cost came up and I had to go for it. unfortunately I underestimated just how expensive the process would be. My level of outstanding debt is now around £14000 and costimg around £450 pm to repay. I am a single person mantaining the home on a single income and am finding that I have little ot no money left over each payday.

My credit rating has got quite bad so am unable to take out personal loans or as I live in a shared ownership property am unable to take out a secured loan to consolidate. So out of desperation I contacted the consumer credit councelling service who are in the process of setting up a DMP for me to pay my non priority debts (credit cards and personal loans) They have told me that as none of the debts are secure the only way I could end up having Baliffs at the door is if a CCJ is taken out against me and I do not meet those repayments.

Please could someone advise me as to what action creditors are likely to take against me for offering reduced payments and whether the course of action I am taking is the most sensible one? Also if anyone knew how taking out a debt management plan would effect increasing a mortgage for a shared ownership home? I would very much appreciate knowing.

Thanks to anyone who can help (or just to anyone who managed to read through all the above)

CLAPTON

you would need to give more details of your financial position

I would suggest you post a Statement of Affairs (SoA) here and people will give advice.

If you browse the bulletin board you will see examples but the general format is

: statement of income:

: statement of expenditure
this should be quite detailed but excluding debt repayment
: a subtotal to save us all having to add it up

: statement of all debts including:
for Credit cards show: outstanding amount, monthly repayment , APR
for loans/HPs show outstanding amount, monthly payment, APR and number of months still to pay;
Say whether you are paying PPI on your debts

a subtotal of the total debt and of the total repayments, to save us having to add it up

also add a brief details of your situation, partner, any children, rent or own property, value of house and mortgage, any special circumstances that are relevant

craigi

Thanks for your advice, as you can probably tell this is the 1st time I have posted on here.

Income pm £1350

Expenditure

Mortgage £475
c tax £88
Utilities £82
contents ins £10
landline £11
internet £17
car ins £45
car costs £90
food £120
Tv £26
phone £50
Subtotal £1014

Debts

HSBC loan o/s £3440 repay pm 62
HFC loan o/s £2405 repay pm £100
virgin c card o/s £3700 repay pm£100
amex c card o/s £1400 repay pm £40
Cap 1 c card o/s £450 repay £25
Cahoot c card o/s £1000 repay pm £20
style store card o/s £900 repay pm £35
next acc o/s £200 repay pm £10
Dell finance £80 repay pm £23

Subtotal o/s £13575. repay pm £415

Im afraid at this point I cant quote the APR for each creditor as I do not have statments with me, but hopefully ive given the genral idea

dottyanne

Judging by your SOA you have more going out than coming in so this is something you need to address asap. Can you get some stuff on e-bay or get a part time job to cover the shortfall?

Is there any way you can cut back on anything?? i.e. phone £50 per month??

dotty xx

moozie_2

Hello and welcome

You've done the right thing by contacting CCCS and by coming here :T One observation from me, your utilities figure seems very high. What does it cover and can you try to reduce it by changing suppliers?

EDIT: Agree with Dottyanne - phone £50? :eek:

Other will be here to give you more advice. Hang in there

craigi

At this point I work about 10 hrs a day + weekends quite often and really dont think I'd be able to find time for a part time job. Setting up a debt management plan seemed to be my only alternative at the moment but I have never defaulted on any payments before and to be honest I do find the thought a bit daunting.

I am looking to take in a lodger at some point to help but I feel this might take a while and do not think I will be able to cover all payments in the coming months.

craigi

Thanks everyone for the advice thats starting to come in.

I will get in touch with orange to have a look at my price plan and see if its cheaper to use my land line a bit more instead.

The utilities does cover gas water and elec. To be honest I just started to (Stupidly) pay the rates powergen suggested as this is the 1st time I have had to pay them and did not really know what the cost should be.

Beccal_3

£120 on food a month just for you???? what do you eat?? we spend that per month between us, and feed a dog!

stop eating ready meals, premade food etc and go back to basics. you could half that amount!

CLAPTON

currently
income is 1350
expenses 1014
leaving 336 to pay the loan repayments
however loan repayments are 415 leaving a shortfall of £79 permonth

you should be able to reduce your outgoings by
reduce food,
are you claiming the single person council tax (get 25% off if only one person)?
phone at 50 is expensive ...what does this include?
do you need the car for work also what is included in car expenses

however having said that, you budget lacks any flexibility, emergency fund, going out etc

increasing your income is your best bet....could you get a lodger, depending upon where you live this can bring in a fair bit although there may well be some costs

if not then see what CCCS come up with..but make sure you do not agree to a plan you can't stick with for many years...you must allow something for household emergencies , yearly bills , even going out occasionally etc etc.