Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

dexter555

Hi pavan, i sent the sample letter to the collection agency on the 10th oct and have not had any responce from them should they have sent some kind of letter to me as its is now over the 21days ?

Youngatheartnanny

Hi, this is the first time I have ever posted although I have been lurking for a while.
In 2004 my ex husband and I bought a 3 piece suite through finance in my name, a few months later we separated and although my husband kept the suite, I agreed to make the payments, which I did through direct debit. In late 2008 I received a letter from a debt collecting agent saying I owed £148 (the payments were £48 a month) as far as I was concerned the payments were finished earlier that year. I rang them immediately and told them the finance had been completed but they insisted there was one payment missing. I rang my bank who informed me that in January 2005 the finance company had not requested the direct debit so it had not been paid. I never heard anything about this because if there were any letters sent they would have gone to my ex husband's house and he did not let me have them. I rang the debt collection agency and paid the debt over the phone and they assured me it would not affect my credit rating. I applied for a credit card and it was declined so I requested my credit report only to find a default on it with the debt collection agency. I want to buy a house next year and am worried this will affect it, I have had a notice of correction put on my file but don't know what effect that will have and I have also written twice to the company to explain my situation and ask them to consider taking it off but they have not replied. I am at a loss what to do now and would like to know if it automatically comes off my credit file 6 years from when it was first defaulted i.e. Jan 2005, or is it 6 years after they got in touch and I paid it i.e. Oct 2008.
Many thanks

StepChange_Pavan

simon31leeds wrote: »

Hi Pavan,

Sorry - we still seem at crossed wires. I'm talking about an informal 'arrangement to pay'. I've never signed an agreement in this regard particularly, this was just when I fell behind with my payments, they asked if I could come to an arrangement to pay to catch up with the payments. This is now over 3 years and I am up-to-date and more with payments but they will not remove the 'arrangement to pay'. Because it is marked on my credit file as an 'arrangement' this is hampering my ability to obtain credit elsewhere.

All I want to know is, can I do anything to force pressure on RBS to remove the 'arrangement to pay' bearing in mind I have paid all payments under the arrangement for over 3 years and I just want to revert to paying them normally, not under an 'arrangement to pay'.

This doesn't relate to interest rates or agreements signed, it is simply classed by them as an 'arrangement to pay' and reported on my credit file as an arrangement. The arrangement is causing me to be unable to obtain a loan to consolidate my credit and I am wanting to know where I stand.

Please help and ask if you need anything clarifying further.

Hi there,

I understand your points, although the arrangement to pay is at the lender’s discretion and because you have fallen behind with payments in the past they are under no obligation to remove it.

If you feel this is unfair, I’d recommend that you write to them outlining your concerns, and ask them to remove it from your credit file. Unfortunately, RBS do not have to agree to the removal as they have to record your payment history accurately.

If you are not happy with the decision that RBS give and you wish to dispute it, you could try contacting the Information Officer. Details can be found on pages 19 to 22 of this credit explained booklet.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Candy757

Hi,
In 2004 being young and stupid, I ran up a credit card bill of £4000. The bank I had the credit card with have passed the debt onto a debt company. The company have been sending letters to my parent's house but I have been on speaking terms with them for a long time so have not seen the letters until recently. I can't afford to pay the debt off all at once but could afford a repayment plan. I'm scared if I get in contact with the company, they will want the amount in full, please advise.
Many thanks
C

ando51

Hello. I have got into some problems with debt due to my working hours being cut back to two days a week two years ago. I now have a full time job again but am unable to get a consolidation loan in order to make my outgoings more manageable as I now have a poor credit record, in spite of having a secure income. Any advice would be appreciated.

joanne2008

Hi i have just entered into a DMP with CCCS and have been instructed to open a new bank account i took one out with Halifax and have just found out it is part of the same group (RBS) as my old bank (Natwest) will they be able to take my money from my new account to my old?
Im really worried

StepChange_Pavan

badchancellor wrote: »

Hi. I'm emerging from years of having my head in the sand over the family finances; for various reasons I've taken over management of them from my partner. I've been really shocked at what I've found and the biggest shock has been the tens of thousands owed on three credit cards for which we are paying extortionate interest. We are paying off the minimum each month and hopefully will be able to afford to pay off more than that soon, but even so with an average 28.3% APR it's not going to disappear very fast, if in our lifetimes! There is no real "room" on the cards and we've avoided any CC spending for some time. I think the money on the cards may be from balance transfers themselves from some time back. Have made a couple of applications for new cards with 0% periods and been turned down; not sure if this is because of the extent of the debt or poor rating (we haven't ever missed payments, but have unwittingly gone over overdraft limits a few times). Is there any chance these card providers might lower the rate? Or what would you advise would be the best way of going about finding a card/cards with a lower rate to transfer to? I'm working my way through the advice on this board but still finding it hard to pick out the information that seems most applicable to my situation. Look forward to hearing from you...

Hi badchancellor and thank you for your post.

Firstly I’d recommend that you check your credit file to try and establish why you may have been turned down for these cards. This article also has some useful tips on how to improve your credit rating.

You could consider writing to your credit card providers and asking them to reduce the interest rate. However, there aren’t any guarantees that they will agree to this as they are within their rights to charge the rate that you have signed for.

If you find that you’re struggling to maintain the minimum payments, you may wish to get some free and impartial debt advice to find out what your options are. You can do this by either using our online advice facility Debt Remedy, or calling our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

dexter555 wrote: »

Hi pavan, i sent the sample letter to the collection agency on the 10th oct and have not had any responce from them should they have sent some kind of letter to me as its is now over the 21days ?

Hi Dexter555 and thanks for your post.

Sorry we missed your earlier one; it was camouflaged under our responses!

As per your request, they should have responded to you by now. Did you send the letter recorded delivery? You could write them another letter explaining that you are now assuming that no further action will be taken but that you would appreciate confirmation of this from them (in writing).

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

malboul wrote: »

Hi, this is the first time I have ever posted although I have been lurking for a while.
In 2004 my ex husband and I bought a 3 piece suite through finance in my name, a few months later we separated and although my husband kept the suite, I agreed to make the payments, which I did through direct debit. In late 2008 I received a letter from a debt collecting agent saying I owed £148 (the payments were £48 a month) as far as I was concerned the payments were finished earlier that year. I rang them immediately and told them the finance had been completed but they insisted there was one payment missing. I rang my bank who informed me that in January 2005 the finance company had not requested the direct debit so it had not been paid. I never heard anything about this because if there were any letters sent they would have gone to my ex husband's house and he did not let me have them. I rang the debt collection agency and paid the debt over the phone and they assured me it would not affect my credit rating. I applied for a credit card and it was declined so I requested my credit report only to find a default on it with the debt collection agency. I want to buy a house next year and am worried this will affect it, I have had a notice of correction put on my file but don't know what effect that will have and I have also written twice to the company to explain my situation and ask them to consider taking it off but they have not replied. I am at a loss what to do now and would like to know if it automatically comes off my credit file 6 years from when it was first defaulted i.e. Jan 2005, or is it 6 years after they got in touch and I paid it i.e. Oct 2008.
Many thanks

Hi Malboul and thank you for your post.

The default will remain on your file for six years from the date of default – so whenever this entry was made on your file.

You could consider writing to the creditor once more (and send it recorded delivery) and explain that if you don’t get a response you will make a complaint to the Information Commissioner. There’s no guarantee that they will remove the default but it’s worth trying. Pages 19-24 of this credit explained booklet give you a bit more information on what to do and what the Information Commissioner does.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

Candy757 wrote: »

Hi,
In 2004 being young and stupid, I ran up a credit card bill of £4000. The bank I had the credit card with have passed the debt onto a debt company. The company have been sending letters to my parent's house but I have been on speaking terms with them for a long time so have not seen the letters until recently. I can't afford to pay the debt off all at once but could afford a repayment plan. I'm scared if I get in contact with the company, they will want the amount in full, please advise.
Many thanks
C

Hi Candy757 and thanks for your post.

It’s likely that the collection agency will ask for the amount in full, but you can’t give them money that you haven’t got.

I’d recommend that you put together a budget, which shows all of your income and expenditure. If there is any money leftover after you have paid your priorities, this is what you should offer them. You can then send them this budget as proof of why you can’t offer them any more. You don’t have to speak to anyone, you can correspond in writing only if you prefer.

If you’d like help to do this or need any further advice, you can use our online debt advice tool, Debt Remedy or call our free helpline to book an appointment with a debt advisor. You can call 0800 138 1111 and lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00.

Hope this helps to put your mind at ease.

Kind regards,
Pavan