Payday Loan Hole - Debt Management Plan

Insomniac666

btw.... you might might be able to get some free months out of Sky if you cancelling and say you can't afford it at the moment? you never know.

Check out the debt free diaries, there are plenty of us on the Payday Roll. LDJ's got a rolling diary with various PD loan companies. I'll post his link now..

you'll get plenty of support on here, if you do not want to wait.

confused76

you could try the national debt helpline, i spoke to them they were very good

Insomniac666

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=2042151

LDJ2009 has (i think) got 3 payday loans, I'm also down to 3 was 4 but one fully paid off and one at £30 p/m. Other 2 I'm working on...

CCCS_Matthew

gwon wrote: »

Yeh, I agree with you both. The reason I'm in this situation is because my income WASN'T this good until recently. So now that I can afford to pay it back, the extension fees are so high that I'm still left with no money and the debt doesn't move.

I spoke to the CCCS, and they have go an appointment for a call back on the 23rd - which to be honest feels like a long way away..

And those ammounts there in the list are just estimates, and I probably spend much less than that. I'm also cancelling my sky subscription.

I am more than happy to live cheaply, I just need to start paying these people in a way that actually reduced the debt, and allows me to buy food each month.

Is there anyone else but the CCCS?

ps: thanks for the advice so far - I just want to feel in control again..

You can always try using our Debt Remedy facility if you don't mind doing things online. That way, you'll get a solution to your problem straight away.

https://debtremedy.cccs.co.uk

Regards,
Matthew.

gwon

CCCS_Matthew wrote: »

You can always try using our Debt Remedy facility if you don't mind doing things online. That way, you'll get a solution to your problem straight away.

https://debtremedy.cccs.co.uk

Regards,
Matthew.

Thanks. I have ran through this, and it basically says 'stop paying so much for sky and smokes' and to call an adviser...Which I did this morning.

gwon

Oh, and a bit of a side question:

Being advised (even by the CCCS) to change banks. If I cancel all DD (can do via online banking) and change my debit card number - can they still access my account? Do I really need to change bank accounts?

DVardysShadow

gwon wrote: »

Oh, and a bit of a side question:

Being advised (even by the CCCS) to change banks. If I cancel all DD (can do via online banking) and change my debit card number - can they still access my account? Do I really need to change bank accounts?

You only need to change bank accounts if you have an unmanageable overdraft or if you have other debts with the bank. Unless I am missing something.

Insomniac666

This is something I'm not 100% about, with my payday loans they used my card details, I havent' got a DD with them so when cancelled card, they had no chance? but someone posted they could still do it but surely that's equivalent of charging a stolen card?

Ames

I'm not sure if they can access your accounts, it depends what info you gave them when you took the loans out.

You can easily cut your electric, I'm in a one bed all electric flat and mine's 33 a month, and I'm not especially hard core about it. Agree with the comments the others have said about your SOA.

Really, waiting till the 23rd isn't too bad, I had to wait about 6 weeks when I contacted CCCS a few years ago. There's CAB, but you'll have to turn up on the day, early, and wait for hours, then wait a few weeks for an appointment with a specialist. There's also Payplan and CAP, but I don't know what their waiting times are. I doubt you'll get in with anyone quicker than 2 weeks.

arlenecanavan

gwon wrote: »

Hey all, looking for some practival advice.

I have got a horrible situation of payday loans, I got one ages ago to try and tide me through...The ease of extensions and massive interest has caused me to enter a spiral of payday loan usage.

I'm now at a position where even just to pay the extension fees I'm getting left with no money to live on.

I was contacted by a Debt Management company (Fresh Start Finance - fsfm.org.uk), who went through my expenditure etc to see how much I was able to afford.

I understand that they're a money making firm, and their aim is to make money out of me..However they have a £300 setup fee, which they work into your early payments, and then charge 17.5% each month.

Now, I understand that they're taking money - but if they do what they say and get the payday loan folk to leave me alone, that price is a drop in the ocean compared to what the payday loan people are charging - and if they're only taking £150/month for 18 months, I can actually afford to start living again.

However, I can't find any real information on the company online so I don't know how trustworthy they are, and if they're really going to pay the creditors etc.

I read the sticky threads on here that massivley advise against that kind of firm....but what are my other options?

I have bad credit so can't get a personal loan. The debt alltogether is probably less than £2k, it's just the way they charge it, it never gets any smaller. I need them to stop taking all my money STRAIGHT AWAY and start paying what I can afford, and this debt management company, if they are to be believed really would help out here...

I think alarm bells started ringing when he said to cancel my debit card and to simply not pay the PayDay loans, and when they call me to chase I should simply point them to fsfm's phone number, give my finance managers name and my client number and not engage further in conversation... This sounds a bit shady... BUT I can see where they're coming from because these payday loan companies are evil and will pull the money out of your account if they can get away with it..

So I think my questions boil down to:

1. Are these debt management companies legit? Do they do what they say they're going to? I'm not concerned about they fee they charge, if I really can get down to £150/month straight away.

2. If this is not the best route to follow, what should I do to stop losing every penny I have every month just to keep the debt at the same level...

Help appreciated.

Under no circumstances should you be using a fee charging debt management company....I work as a debt adviser for my local council. We are a free impartial money advice service, every local council has one or there will be a citizens advice service (or even both in my case) who will do this very same service but for FREE!!!! As i tell my clients, if you dont have the money to pay your debts, then you certainly cant afford to pay some one 17.5% each month to do this for you.....and that isnt including the upfront fees. More often that not these companies do not have your best interests at heart as they will do what makes them the most money. DO NOT send any money to this company, get intouch with your local council asap and get an appointment with their money advice centre.