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CCCS a blessing

evening all, Well i have had a pretty crap day to be fair but i don't really want to dwell on it all too much.

to cut a long story short i would just like to ask you some questions especially those who have had dealings with CCCS and opening basic bank accounts elsewhere

we have been in a bit of a financial spiral for a few months now and have been effectively robbing peter to pay paul. Anyway i have gone back to college but have had to start paying for childcare for my two children which i was told when i enrolled we would get help with. today i get a letter explaining that we earn too much and therefore get zilcho help with childcare! Add to this my money worries now having to find the extra cash for childcare was starting to panic me. I phone DWP/HMRC and college to see if any further help was available and guess what... it wasn't

So, i contacted the bank as all this started off all the other financial issues again and explained the situation, to be fair they were pretty good waivering account charges that had accumilated etc and provided me with the CCCS number advising that they would look into it further etc

i called them and they have suggested we go on a debt management plan to pay them a sum every month and if its agreed by the creditors we should be debt free in 6 years. It means a possible black mark against our names for finance but i kinda see that as a blessing i.e. no temptation i know we have to save for things we want etc as i am ADAMANT we are not getting in this mess again

anyway, sorry for the waffle. CCCS have told us to set up a basic account somewhere else and transfer our wages and household bills into that account. Does anyone know what banks are the best ones to go for at the moment (we are with lloyds so thats a no go)??

also, has anyone on here had dealings with CCCS and are they as good as they have been to me today?

Have your creditors been funny and tried to issue CCJ's or have they been pretty good under the circumstances

and

has it taken the pressure off your finances?

any advice or hints and tips would be greatly appreciated. I don't want to be a millionaire (although it would be lovely) i just want to climb out of this ditch and feel better for doing it!

thanks

kelly
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Comments

  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 36,128 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    here is an article and list of the basic bank accounts on offer - http://www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk...k_accounts.pdf


    Thanks Tixy for the link.
    If you've have not made a mistake, you've made nothing
  • lxpeanut
    lxpeanut Posts: 8,728 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    anyway, sorry for the waffle. CCCS have told us to set up a basic account somewhere else and transfer our wages and household bills into that account. Does anyone know what banks are the best ones to go for at the moment (we are with lloyds so thats a no go)??

    I'm with coop but its really a case in looking and seeing which one you feel is best for you. My only problem with them is some places wont take the electron card but generally the account is brilliant and just like a normal account without the overdraft facility.

    also, has anyone on here had dealings with CCCS and are they as good as they have been to me today?

    I found CCCS were brilliant for getting advice and its brillint to just be able to quote the reference number at your creditors whenever they hassle you.

    Have your creditors been funny and tried to issue CCJ's or have they been pretty good under the circumstances

    Most of my creditors tried to ignore the DMP and just carry on as usual. They didn't take any action against me though and did stop hassling after a short time. My one problem was that all CCCS do when a creditor wont accept it is keep sending the letters.

    and

    has it taken the pressure off your finances?

    Definitely I don't think I could have gone on much longer in the state I was in when I first went to CCCS. I was heading for a nervous breakdown trying to juggle my finances to keep my head abouve water. Between them and this site I managed to get sorted and am getting closer to paying off all my debts every day.
    "You are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts" - Arthur Schlesinger

    Proud to be have dealt with my debt :D Debt Free Sept 2012
  • Numpty_Monkey
    Numpty_Monkey Posts: 14,196 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    CCCS are:A:j:A
    they have saved a lot of people, me included:o:D:D
    PROUD TO BE DEALING WITH MY DEBT NERD #869
    Numpty,Not sure why but I'm crying :o . Of all the peeps on this board you're the kindest & most supportive of all & I'm :mad: & :( for you all at the same time . Wish I was there to give you a big :grouphug: & emergency hobnobs
    xx
    DFD 5/1/16
  • suze72
    suze72 Posts: 209 Forumite
    Hi Kelly

    I have to echo what everyone else has said about CCCS, they are brilliant!
    Our basic bank account is with th co-op bank and its been fine, but as lxpeanut says there are still a few places that don't accept electron - mostly online shops in my experience.
    Most of our debt is with HSBC and they did hound us for months but with the support of everyone on these forums I stuck to my guns and they have finally passed the debt on to their collections dept who have stopped all charges and interest.

    I suggest that you take a look at the DMP mutual support thread on here for some really helpful advice and support from others in the same situation - they have been a godsend for me.

    Good luck, Sue.x
    Debt free Olympic Contender # 134
    DMP Mutual Support Thread member # 250
    DMP March 2010 [STRIKE]£9786 [/STRIKE] now £990 :)
  • Deep_In_Debt
    Deep_In_Debt Posts: 8,579 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Photogenic Mortgage-free Glee!
    Yep, I'm on a dmp with CCCS and have been since January last year and every thing has been going pretty well.

    You have to ride the storm for a while, as things get a bit hairy with creditors for the first 2 or 3 months until things settle but you learn to deal with this and with the support of this forum and CCCS - we can help you through it.

    I've not had a creditor ring me since August last year - I've gained a lot of confidence since being on this site and can deal with them now, so do keep posting on here.

    I opened a Natwest Step account on line but you need to make sure that they are not linked to any of your creditors. The link that RAS put up should help with that.

    Good luck.
    Debt 30k in 2008.:eek::o Cleared all my debt in 2013 and loving being debt free :)
    Mortgage free since 2014 :)
  • TWINKLE
    TWINKLE Posts: 176 Forumite
    I agree - CCCS have been brilliant! They are the voice of hope in the middle of a mess (along with MSE of course).
    LBM - August 2009:eek: DMP started - Jan 2010:o
    Total Debt - [STRIKE]£13,000 [/STRIKE] [STRIKE]£11,000 [/STRIKE]£9,750
  • DGJsaver
    DGJsaver Posts: 2,777 Forumite
    Hi all

    i have seen a user on here who has the signature "dont deal with the cccs , would you vote for xmas if you were a turkey"...or something along those lines at least

    We have done a debt remedy with the cccs this afternoon and are going to call them later...can anyone tell me why they might best be avoided ? or not !

    Thanks
  • Rainy_2
    Rainy_2 Posts: 432 Forumite
    I didn't go into a DMP with them as I'm doing it on my own as a long hauler (more fool me!)

    But the advice and support that they gave me in my early days of dealing with all my debts I have to say that they were great and went out of their way to find help and solutions for me.

    The debt remedy really helped me to get things together and they're always on hand to give advice when I need it.

    Hope that is some help!
    Pround to be dealing with my debts! DFW Nerd # 1201
    Coloured Squares 506/900 :eek:

    The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese ;)
  • I've been with the CCCS for 8 months now and will be using them for a longtime to come. They have always been very helpful when I've need to speak to them and they have given me the peace of mind that my creditors are being paid on time every month.

    Now that I have gotten over the initial bit and everything has settled down I'm now taking more control over my accounts and starting to chase our 1 remaining creditor that won't stop the interest charges and I WILL convince them that they need to do this or I'll never pay them back.

    Therefore the way I view things is CCCS are there to help with the day to day things of running your DMP, but ultimatley it's down to yourself to keep an eye on it and chase/ deal with things as they crop up.
    LBM: 20/01/09 Total Debt: £104,050
    Curr Bal (25/08/12): £46,109 (55.6% Paid):j
    DMP Start Date: 01/03/09
  • I am only my first month with CCCS.

    They have been FANASTIC on the phone, they have given me untold relief at a very difficult time and i feel like my head is above the water now.

    As I say I have only made my first payment this month - So far I have had 3/7 creditors telling me they have stopped interest and are happy with CCCS payment proposals. A further two of those are joint accounts so I expect there is going to be some hounding to the EX on those perhaps. The other is an overdraft and another the gang of robbing gits formally known as Marbles who have been charging me more interest than they have been taking as minimum payment for the last year!!

    I opened a Step account with Natwest online but it was a very long and stressful process for me - others have had it fine though! Its all fine now i'm sorted and have rung round everyone setting up direct debits because they didnt bother to move them as I asked.

    I have a Visa Debit card so no problems with acceptance.

    Anyhoos - so far so good for me. :)
    Hey, Soul Sister
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