CCCS advice???

skintflint103

i thought it was common knowledge that they are funded by the banks etc? There is a poster on the IVA thread who's sig reads 'would you let the wolves guard the sheep' now I've had a few run ins with the guy but you got to take the point. An IVA is bankruptcy fullstop. you will be told not so ,and yet for some people they are a silver bullet solution. Depends on circumstances.however no loans, credit cards, or mortgages for 5/6 years in IVA or the same restrictions in BK for 1 yr. In both cases you need to rebuild credit after. If you have a house WITH EQUITY you must look at IVA but you are in a 5/6 year expensive program. Look at the fees in IVA and the money spent advertising them. Also be careful that they don't drag in a partner who only has 2/3k debts. thet try this to double your income so they can get a higher qualifying payment. I've looked at 2 of these just today! You'll be told it don't happen. It does! In my experience the smaller companies seem to be less severe . Also avoid Blair Endersby as they will reveiw your payment every 6 months. they don't do it to help you as they work for the creditors. IVAs have a use but don't think it's a soft option BK dodger.

CCCS_Sarah

blind-as-a-bat wrote: »

Not strictly true CCCS_Sarah, this is not the first time it has appeared that CCCS are steering debtors to other options.

But i think in your defence it is more due to wrong advice, and maybe not your fault, in all cases, we don’t know if the client has given you ALL the details

The problem is your connection to an IVA company that is profit making, at least to the point of covering its costs, maybe if you could clarify that position it would make people less suspicious?

Yet the way you are funded is always going to leave doubt unfortunately, that is unavoidable I am afraid, after all, most that reach the point of having to post here have felt the full force of a unpaid creditor, so it is understandable why they question why the same beast funds you………..what’s in it for them?

I hope you take this post the way it is meant sarah

Hi blind as a bat – of course I wouldn’t take it the wrong way

I have attached a link to the CCCS website that explains about CCCSVA so people can have a read through how it all works

http://www.cccs.co.uk/Services/Individualvoluntaryarrangement.aspx .

I also feel its important to mention that we do actually refer clients to other Insolvency Practitioners and during the call the client is also advised that they can also approach other companies as well.

Sarah

ranchu_2

I consulted with CCCS back in 2008. I had just under £30,000 debt no assets & was advised a DMP paying off about £120pcm. I should of done the maths when entering into the DMP as this would of taken 20 years to pay off at least & interest still being accrued. In Jan/Feb 2009 I realised this was rediculous & phoned CCCS & said I thought I would be better off on an IVA which they confirmed within seconds. Unfortunately I wasn't able to enter into an IVA though as my job security was looking uncertain & indeed several months later I was made redundant from a job I was not even in a year so I had no redundancy money. Now I find myself in a position of being out of work & not having an income to even raise the money for the bankruptcy charges. I feel I was let down big time by CCCS. I should of gone bankrupt back in 2008 & now I would have a life.

fiveyearplan

CCCS were my first port of call (after this forum) and I felt they acted impartially. They recommended BR and mostly non-judgmental - maybe I just didn't want to hear that I was insolvent - what? Moi? insolvent - never! Up to that point I had never thought myself insolvent!

starbies

myself and oh started a dmp with cccs in sept 08 - we were advised how to start a dmp but were also advised it was going to take us an unreasonably long time to pay off the debts and we should consider other options i.e br or iva - 18mths later our situation is no better and our disposable income is about to go down but the advice we have received from cccs is totally the opposite now - I've now been told i wouldn't be eligible for br even though i'm 45k in debt - oh has approx 5k and to pay it off would take at least 8/9yrs on our present income which is about to drop by 500 a month!!!! They haven't suggested an iva - i would presume that's because i have no income from nxt month.

What has just shocked me is the info that they are funded by the banks??!! Maybe I'm naive for not already knowing that butHow can the advice that's being given be 100% independent and in our best interests if that is the case??

fatou256

I first went for adive with the CCCS they didnt want to help me as i didnt earn enough as I wa son JSA . i asked them if i could consider BR they told me no and to come back to them when i will have a surplus of 100 pounds. thewoman i talked too said that Br wasnt an option for me but without discussing why !

FabDee

Hi

got advice from CCC on wednesday, waited 2 1/2 weeks for phone appointment.

House won't sell at all, outstanding mortage 136000, house not worth much more than that if it would have sold, taken off market. 70ish thousand CC's and loan debt. both wages not covering everything even now and CCC said I could not hand in the keys, move out and I'd be liable for mortgage and shortfall, before anyone made us bankrupt, we are in Scotland. She said we can't do that, I said well one of the CC's or the loan will make us bankrupt at some point, why can't I just move out and let things all move at a faster pace and won't ever at this rate be able to pay full mortage or the debts back. She was not pleased and didn't like the fact I said we i've been told on this site that if I do hand the keys back and don't sign anything and let the mortgage company or one of the other creditors make us bankrupt its over anyway. She wasn't much help really, I've more help and advice on here reading and she didn't even tell me to contact the council and put our name on the waiting list. Now I see why, wanted us to keep on paying full mortgage didn't even suggest half for now. I'll use the pack she sents for the £1 token letters but not much help otherwise.

I'll sort it myself and contact accountants in bankruptcy myself and ask questions even if I have to phone them several times a week, at least I'll get the right info.

FD

Manoona

I went to the CCS first, and they are reassuring and I found like above I used teh letters to send out to advise of my £1 token payments, but thats about it. I dont have a disposable income and so I wasnt offered a DMP, my creditors wont stop charges or interest until the letters come form the CCCS directly which as I said the won't do as I have no surplus income thats the reason for the 'token' payments in the first place! I seemt o be going round and round in cricles, BR wasnt even mentioned or offered as an option!!

But they have been very helpful in the past and so I dont want people thinking that they wont help - It really does depend on your circumstances, they were just unable to help me, I have since e mailed National Debt Helpline and will wait to see what they advise! but like many others im struggling to even find teh finances for paying the court costs etc involved with bankruptcy!

Rach2007_2

I didn't have a good experience with CCCS. They suggested a self managed DMP, allowed just over £300 a month for groceries for a family of four (with a baby)....conversation about budgeting went a bit like this:

CCCS: "Do you buy newspapers?"

Me: "Not really no".

CCCS: "How about on a Sunday. Do you ever buy a Sunday paper?"

Me: "Well, um, I suppose so, once in a blue moon maybe."

CCCS: "Well, I'll put down once a month then. Right that's another £1.80 off your housekeeping that you can offer towards your creditors."

And so on. We lasted 3 months on the self managed DMP, living, in my opinion, below the poverty line before we sought advice from the CAB who couldn't believe what they had suggested as we have no assets to speak of, and advised bankruptcy.

And another thing. The advisor at the CCCS was judgemental of our situation, his tone on the telephone was hostile and he offered no practical advice at all.

I can't rate the CAB highly enough but then that's just my experience, perhaps he was having a bad day, we all have em!

Rach

super7

Might as well add my voice to the others on this thread.

"Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay its creditors."

Bearing this in mind I approached CCCS with my situation £105k of unsecured debt, no assets, no income and little credit left having used most of it to meet monthly payments. To my mind I fitted the above definition perfectly but the CCCS told me I would not be allowed to go bankrupt by the judge as I had no income and the likelihood would be that I would get myself back into more debt. (Quite how that would work as a bankrupt I don't know:rotfl:) I would be wasting my fees.

Having got me to complete a budget plan to "ascertain what my surplus income was" they suggested the £1 a month to each of my creditors route. Their plan was that this would ultimately result in the various creditors "passing the debts onto DCAs who would then be easier to deal with and we could set up a repayment plan".

Now I'm/was (believe it or not) a financial adviser and not quite as green as I look. To my mind if the solution looks like an IVA, walks like an IVA, and sounds like an IVA there's a fair chance it is an IVA. I challenged this and was told to go away and come back when I had some income so that I could start to negotiate with my creditors.

I also contacted NDH, several solicitors dealing with insolvency, an insolvency practioner (I became quite adept at getting half an hours free advice), companies that will fill in you forms for you and several of those promising to write your debts off via the uneforceable contract route. To a man they said I was bankrupt and I had no other choice. One of the solicitors said "if you've still got some credit draw out your fees and get it done". Her advice was, "that strangely the OR does not hold it against you if you use credit to pay their fees":rotfl:.

Armed with this info I re-approached CCCS for assistance with completing my SOA only to be told once again that they could not advise me to take the bankruptcy route until I had surplus income. I again voiced my opinion that I felt I was being pushed down the route of an IVA and was sent away with a flea in my ear. Quote "there's not a judge in the land that's gonna grant you bankruptcy when you don't have any income"

Needless to say a week later having completing my forms under my own steam (after some studious research on MSE) I was granted a BRO.

Thanks to fannying around with th CCCS I'd wasted 6 months, got a CCJ, had Blackhorse literally drag my car off my drive in front of my neighbours at 10.30 pm and my debts had increased to £135K.

The lesson is, do your research, knowledge is King.