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CCCS_Sue

MPwannasavemoney wrote: »

Hi,

I am completely stuck what to do.

We have over the past few years been spending well above what I have been earning. My wife has not cared and has no income nor seems able to work. All savings basically gone and credit card debts are now £30,000 almost and rising. We are going to split up and get divorced, only reason I have not left yet is that it puts yet more financial pressure on the situation through having to pay additional rent on top. Wife says she can get various benefits for being a single parent (we have 3 kids) but cannot specify how much.

When I tried to get her to see the reality of the situation she just said it is not her fault it is mine for not earning enough. I am not in a position to increase income nor to take on a second job (contractually my employer forbids it and realistically with having to travel around Europe 2 or 3 days every week and having to put in many hours just to manage one job then to look after the kids at the weekend leaves no time to do anything else in the week).

I tried to get debt help. First step seems to be to put a financial statement/budget together. Wife does not care to assist. I tried to do one based on guesswork but it simply confirms what I already know - we spend more than I earn and I cannot see how to cut anything down as wife does all the spending.

Selling the house seems to be a short term option but with the wife's spending habits all the equity released will be wasted.

The only reason we have not reached crisis point yet is that I have managed to put some debt onto a Barclaycard at 6.8%, however we have no card limits anywhere to use. Even then some aspects of this are quite ridiculous as she can go to her beaty treatments whenever she likes but I am scared to open letters in case there is a bill in there, I cannot get a new pair of glasses even though my eyesight prescription has changed and I am scared to put petrol in the car.

I was told to separate the finances so that essential bills get paid and she gets a fixed amount to spend. When I suggested this all I got was abuse back. As I have to work abroad a lot I am worried that she will not manage it at all. The only day she will learn is when she cannot buy food in the supermarket - I can force this situation but it is the kids who will suffer.

I have been struggling for years to find real help on this, originally I did not want to separate/divorce but now it seems to be the only option - provided we both can find solicitors who can be paid over a very long period of time as there is no means to pay them in cash or credit card.

Appreciate any advice you can give.

Cheers

Hi MPwannasavemoney and thank you for your message

First of all, sorry to hear of the very difficult situation you are currently in.

At least you are taking the first steps to sorting it out.

If the debts are all in your name only, then I’m afraid you will be solely liable for their repayment.

If there are any joint debts, then your wife would be joint and severally liable and you would both be pursued for the full repayment.

If you have a deficit budget, which means you have more money going out than coming in, then you really need to look at ways to cut back in some areas and try and maximise your income.

I think your suggestion for you to deal with priorities yourself and give your wife money for essentials would help enormously, as at least you would be back in control of the expenditure in the household. Could you do a big weekly shop yourself to ensure that there was enough food in the house?
You could then give your wife a small allowance to pay for any essentials during the week.

I realise it is not easy when your wife is not cooperating, but you do need to try and stick to a realistic budget.

I would recommend that you call us for an appointment so that we can discuss this in more detail.

We can help you with your budget and we can also give you further advice on your options

The free helpline is 0800 138 1111. Lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00. Monday to Friday.

Kind Regards

Sue

CCCS_Sue

cacadah wrote: »

In brief we have over the years increased our debts to what we thought was manageable. We are paying all of our bills including our mortgage on time every month and have no arrears or late payments. However, we only just have enough money left for the bare essentials, and sometimes not enough for this. Anything out of the ordinary that has to be paid other than regular monthly outgoings goes onto a now very limited credit card, we cannot afford to pay any more than minimum payments on our credit cards.
We have little or no equity in our house due to a secured loan on top of our mortgage. We can only see things getting worse if we don't do anything about this soon, please can somebody advise

Hi cacadah and thank you for your message

The key thing is that you are managing to keep on top of your main priorities such as your mortgage.

If you continue to use your credit cards to fund your living expenses, then your situation could get worse.

If you have not already done so, put together a budget showing all your income and priority expenditure. Include an amount to pay towards any emergencies that might crop up such as car repairs and house maintenance. (If you have some funds in reserve, this may help to stop the dependency on your credit card)

Whatever is left after paying all your priorities is the amount you can realistically afford to pay towards your debts.

If you have less than the minimum amount you need, then you may need to look at making reduced payments to your creditors until your circumstances improve.

You can use our online facility, Debt Remedy to help you further.


Debt Remedy will assist you in completing a financial statement which includes information on your household, employment, income, expenditure and debts. All this information is used as a basis to determine the options available to you to deal with your situation.

Once you’ve followed the process through and completed all the required information you will immediately be presented with an advice booklet, which will provide tailored advice for you based on your current circumstances. It will also provide advice on ways you may be able to improve your situation. If you would like to get immediate advice on your situation, follow the link to go directly to Debt Remedy: http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu

Alternatively if you would prefer to talk to a debt counsellor about your situation, you can book a telephone based appointment by calling our helpline free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00.

Kind Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

whybother? wrote: »

Hi There

I'm another one who feels a little hard done-by for trying to face up to my (ir)responsibilities and do the right thing only to have been strangled by loopholes.

I had to enter into DMP conditions a number of years ago with 6 creditors...my mess but felt I should at least pay back what I owed.

I thought I understood the implications at the time, the fact that my creditors would default my accounts and this would be reflected on my records for the next 6 years or so. Indeed, 4 of my creditors did so almost immediately, whilst MBNA chose to action an Arrangement to Pay (Jan 2003). Cahoot on the other hand, whilst at one point showing a 3 on my Credit History initially, neither defaulted nor APed me...and actually began registering 0s against me as CCCS paid on a monthly basis.

By 2008, my debts were repaid, settled and the initial Defaults finally dropped off my Credit History. However, on checking through Experian and Equifax, I noticed that (a) in the month that my settlement with Cahoot was finalised, they registered my account as Default; (b) my MBNA records contined for a full 5 years to be registered as AP until settlement in January 2008.

Obviously my issue is that both the AP and Default will remain on my record until 2014 which I believe is unjust considering I approached them to repay my full balance rather than running away from my debts and only paying a proportion of them.

Surely Cahoot's registration of Default at the point they did so is morally unfair? I have written to them but received nothing in reply.

As for MBNA, they did reply stating that had made me aware of the implications of AP and that this will remain on my record until 2014 regardless of the fact that the balance was satisfied. For my part, I KNOW I received no such notification but I have no proof of such and it would be a case of their word against mine which I would expect to get nowhere with. However my chief grievance is the fact that the AP will remain on my records for this length of time and I would actually have been better off if they had defaulted me too. I feel heavily penalised for doing the right thing. Also, I thought that AP was supposed to be recorded for short periods of time rather than 5 years!

Is there anything I can do to address these situations? Since entering DMP in 2002, I have not missed or underpaid anything.

Thanks

Hi whybother? and thank you for your message

I can understand your frustration regarding this.

The amount of time an ‘arrangement to pay’ stays on your file depends on the terms of the arrangement made with the lender.

If you have a dispute regarding anything recorded on your credit file, then the first thing you should do is to put the grievance in writing to the creditor or the credit file company.
(However, the credit file company do normally write to the lender to investigate the complaint, so you may save time by writing to your lender first)

If you do not get a satisfactory response within 28 days, then you could contact the Information Commissioner for further help and advice.

I have attached a link to a booklet called ‘Credit Explained’ which gives you a contact address and further information. (Pages 19 to 24)

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf

Hope this helps

Kind Regards

Sue

stutech

Hi, i already have a DMP and was advised to send a letter to my creditors and ask for the interest to be frozen or reduced on my loans.
Can anyone suggest a template or advise a 'good' way to get results.

thanks in advance. Stu

joanne2008

hiya im in the process of getting all my paperwork together to send to cccs, I have opened a new bank account with Halifax and dont want to go any further with CCCS until i can change all my incoming money (benefits and tax credits ) to my new account as i am off sick at the moment. I have cc debt with my bank as well as a 2500 overdraft nearly up to the limit i am so scared they will freeze my account so i wont have any access to my money (i have a 9 yr old child and pregnant ).
I am waiting for my card and info from Halifax (i applied online thursday)
Also i have heard that if i have entered into a payment agreement with my bank another bank wont want you as a customer ?
i dont know what to do for the best

CCCS_Sue

stutech wrote: »

Hi, i already have a DMP and was advised to send a letter to my creditors and ask for the interest to be frozen or reduced on my loans.
Can anyone suggest a template or advise a 'good' way to get results.

thanks in advance. Stu

Hi Stu and thank you for your message

If your DMP is with CCCS, then you can call our client support team for further help and advice regarding forwarding a letter to your creditors asking them to consider stopping interest and charges.

If your DMP is with another company, I would recommend that you contact them to see if they have a template letter you could use.

Kind Regards

Sue

CCCS_Sue

joanne2008 wrote: »

hiya im in the process of getting all my paperwork together to send to cccs, I have opened a new bank account with Halifax and dont want to go any further with CCCS until i can change all my incoming money (benefits and tax credits ) to my new account as i am off sick at the moment. I have cc debt with my bank as well as a 2500 overdraft nearly up to the limit i am so scared they will freeze my account so i wont have any access to my money (i have a 9 yr old child and pregnant ).
I am waiting for my card and info from Halifax (i applied online thursday)
Also i have heard that if i have entered into a payment agreement with my bank another bank wont want you as a customer ?
i dont know what to do for the best

Hi joanne2008 and thank you for your message

You have done the right thing by changing to a basic account elsewhere as this will put you back in charge of your finances.

With regard to the bank taking money from your account to pay off overdrafts and other debts you have with them, if your income is made up of welfare benefits, then you can ask them to return the money.

This is because benefit income is the amount the government states an individual needs to live off without suffering financial hardship.

Normally, there should not be any problem opening a basic bank account. You are not asking for any credit, just somewhere to put your money and pay your bills.

The main thing is to try and set your new account up as soon as possible.

If you do encounter any problems at all with changing banks, please do not hesitate to contact our client support team.

Kind regards

Sue

sickasachip13

Hi Sue and Pavan,

We're just getting the DMP set up with yourselves (first payment probably going to be Dec). A couple of queries:

a) It looks like my partner is going to get a tax rebate - it is likely to be enough to pay off the two smallest amounts owed to creditors - can we do this without completely disrupting the DMP process?

b) I owe Barclaycard money for a CC debt. They've written warning that they will take what is owed from anything else that I have with the group as a whole. Many years ago I was one of the people who opted out of SERPS so the contributions started being paid into a bank account. There is a lump sum (which varies year on year) in this account with Barclays. I can't have access to it and have been told that either it stays sitting there or could be subsumed into a private pension, if I set one up. Question -> can Barclays take this money?

thanks.

gordy76

about 4 years ago i had a couple of credit cards and lost my job and went through a bad patch, i could not afford to pay, and i moved away, i just forgot about them, silly i know,

then last week had a letter from Lowell Financial Ltd
saying i owed £2600 to barcleycard
so i phoned them and agreed payment plan and paid them £80 which i could not afford
then a few days later another letter arrived saying i owed Hbos £12000
i phoned them to tell them there was no way i owed so much money and at max was £2000, they told me it might be charges. £10000 bank charges ????????
they procceded to to tell me there was more aswell another for barclycard for £3500 told them i only ever had one. but would not listen
and Tmobile £350
i only had credit limit of £2500 on hbos
and only had 1 barcleycard with limit of £1000
how is it possible that i could owe £18000 for the sake of maybe £2000 debt
what can i do to be debt free again ?
i am unemployed and have children i could not afford to pay any more than £50 per month
i have no assets or savings
my car and possessions are not worth more than £800
i have looked at a iva but could not afford to pay £200 per month
i have looked at a DRO but says has to be less than £15000. could i contest the outrageus charges to bring down to less than £15000 then could i go for a DRO ?
or would i need to go bankrupt and do they take everything like bailiffs do ?
it would take me 30 years to pay off at £50 per month
i really want to sort this
if someone could point me in the right direction would be gratefull

joanne2008

Entering in a dmp with youselves -
I have debts with various creditors
I have £800 of debt with a catalogue company, my brother has an account with the company of £300 as does my mum of £120 what happens to there side of the payments they dont know about my debt and dont really want to tell them unless i have too just not sure what will happen.
All accounts are separate with separate account numbers and there addresses are also there
The £800 debt is in my name the other debts are in mum and brothers name.