Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

oneway81

I have entered a DMP with CCCS, i wrote letters to all my creditors as request but have already received this emai from one of the payday loan companies:

Thank you for your letter advising us that you are entering into a debt management plan. I need to advise you that this is in breach of the terms and conditions of your loan and that our normal collection procedures and interest will continue until such time that we have accepted the arrangement & receive the first payment from the debt management company, we will then review your account.

We do take these matters seriously and are happy to discuss your account and agree to a sensible repayment plan with you. Many debt companies charge fees to join and monthly handling charges so you in actual fact are increasing your debt when you may have been able to agree payments with creditors yourself.

Whilst we appreciate you may think this is the best option and wish to continue with them we would like to advise that if the Debt company offer to us too small of a payment, or　less than £10 per month, we will reject this as it would not be cost effective for us to manage, this could also effect any other creditors you wish to pay.

I am happy to assist you if you choose to set something up with us directly, please let me know either way.


Kind regards

Should i set up a seperate payment plan with them ? Or should i still leave it with CCCS to pay them ?

gem31

I owe £8000 over three credit cards and the APRs are 29%+ so because of interest i am paying £220 a month dead money as only about £28 is coming off the debt each month so ill never clear it, My husband is sole earner and we have three children, i can't handle the stress of paying out money that will be never ending that we also struggle to pay ( i know i should of thought about that before i got into debt! but like many people i never :-() My credit rating is bad. I don't know whether to take out equity on my mortgage to clear the debt or go through payplan, but am frightened that doing that will somehow effect my mortgage when it comes to renewing. Any advice would be much appreciated. Someone mentioned payplan but don't know alot about it. Thanks in advice

CCCS_Sue

gordy76 wrote: »

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

Hi gordy76 and thank you for your message


In order for us to be able to provide you with advice on your financial situation and the options available, you will need to either use our online advice facility Debt Remedy, or ring our free Helpline to book a telephone appointment with a counsellor.

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.
In the meantime, do not be pressured into paying more than you can realistically afford. Make sure that your priorities such as mortgage/rent/council tax/food/ utility bills are paid first.

Regards,
Sue

CCCS_Sue

joanne2008 wrote: »

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.

Hi joanne2008 and thank you for your message

Your mum and brother would need to continue paying their catalogue accounts.

Your catalogue debt should be included on the DMP.

If you need further clarification, you can call our client support team who have all your details, and will be able to advise you further.

Kind Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

sickasachip13 wrote: »

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.

Hi sickasachip and thank you for your message

With regard to the tax rebate, I would recommend that you call our client support team for further advice. They have all your details and will be able to advise on the best way to distribute it among your creditors. If you have any priority arrears, it may be better to clear these first.


The second question is more difficult as it depends on the type of account you have with the bank. Are you able to transfer the fund to another bank?

The bank can use their right of offset to take funds from your account and any savings you have. This is why we normally recommend that you change to a basic account elsewhere to put you back in charge of your finances.

As this is a pension fund and you are unable to draw on it until retirement, I am not sure whether or not they would be able to withdraw funds from it.

You could check the terms and conditions of your agreement with them or you could try contacting the Financial Ombudsman.
I have attached a link for you:
http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/


Kind Regards

Sue

CCCS_Sue

gem31 wrote: »

I owe £8000 over three credit cards and the APRs are 29%+ so because of interest i am paying £220 a month dead money as only about £28 is coming off the debt each month so ill never clear it, My husband is sole earner and we have three children, i can't handle the stress of paying out money that will be never ending that we also struggle to pay ( i know i should of thought about that before i got into debt! but like many people i never :-() My credit rating is bad. I don't know whether to take out equity on my mortgage to clear the debt or go through payplan, but am frightened that doing that will somehow effect my mortgage when it comes to renewing. Any advice would be much appreciated. Someone mentioned payplan but don't know alot about it. Thanks in advice

Hi and thank you for your message

Unfortunately, if you can only afford the minimum payment on your credit cards, it will take a very long time to repay the debt. Even paying a small amount over the minimum payment can help reduce the debt quicker.

If you are struggling to make ends meet and using your credit cards for everyday living costs, then it would help to put together a budget to see where your money is going every week. Have you already looked at areas where you might be able to cut back on expenditure?
For example, have you shopped around for the best deals on car and house insurance, utility bills, mobile phones, etc.
Is there any part time work available to boost your income?
Using secured lending to pay off unsecured debts is not always the best solution, because if you fall behind with payments, then your home could be at risk.

If you would like advice on your debt situation, then it is advisable to use a non fee charging organisation such as CCCS, Payplan or CAB.


CCCS is an independent charity and all our help and advice is completely free and confidential.


You could either use our online facility called Debt Remedy or call for an appointment.
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. This link will take you directly to Debt Remedy www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu

To speak to a counsellor, you can call free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00 Monday to Friday.

Kind Regards
Sue

xxrobzyxx

Hi,
This is my first post on here and i would really like some advice.
Me and my boyfriend are living in a privatly rented flat. He's 22 and i'm 21. Both of us have individual debt mine are about £5000 roughly and his are at least £9000. He is currently on a debt management plan paying £18 per week but they only cover his major debt and even then the company are taking about 5% for themselves. He has just recieved paperwork from the courts as one of his creditors has taken him to court and he just seems to have more and more people coming forward for money. He only works part time and even then his bank takes most of his wages for their charges because he has used the unplanned overdraft (not his choice to go into it they wont take it off his account and they keep taking charges which puts him in it that earns more charges) so he cant afford to pay much and the debt management company have told him he needs to pay more to add more debts which i dont think is fair as they know the situation. he has sent the creditors e-mails offering £5 and £10 per month but i dont know if he will be able to keep it up as money is always tight in our house.

As for myself i am paying all of the bills and only have about £50 per month to spend on food and no money to pay towards my debt. I tried going with the same debt management plan as my boyfriend but they told me it was going to cost me £80 per month which i cant afford. they also took £250 set up fee and then told me i couldnt have it back when i found i was unable to pay them. So right now none of my creditors are getting any money what so ever and i am now worrying that they will take me to court. I have been relying on payday loans to keep me going when i need extra cash and have to use them every month just to keep going. I do have a well paid job i get £937 per month but after bills its nearly all gone. And everyone I have tried to get help from has told me I earn too much money to qualify.

I feel so depressed all the time and I am always in tears because I dont have any money or a life. We have both considered going bankrupt but cant afford the court costs and it will take forever to save up.

Please somebody help me. I'm only 21 and i dont want to be in this situation anymore. I want to settle down and start a family but dont want to bring a child into this povety we live in. Everything is the cheapest i can get (Tesco's own brand of everything).

P.S sorry for the essay

StepChange_Pavan

xxrobzyxx wrote: »

Hi,
This is my first post on here and i would really like some advice.
Me and my boyfriend are living in a privatly rented flat. He's 22 and i'm 21. Both of us have individual debt mine are about £5000 roughly and his are at least £9000. He is currently on a debt management plan paying £18 per week but they only cover his major debt and even then the company are taking about 5% for themselves. He has just recieved paperwork from the courts as one of his creditors has taken him to court and he just seems to have more and more people coming forward for money. He only works part time and even then his bank takes most of his wages for their charges because he has used the unplanned overdraft (not his choice to go into it they wont take it off his account and they keep taking charges which puts him in it that earns more charges) so he cant afford to pay much and the debt management company have told him he needs to pay more to add more debts which i dont think is fair as they know the situation. he has sent the creditors e-mails offering £5 and £10 per month but i dont know if he will be able to keep it up as money is always tight in our house.

As for myself i am paying all of the bills and only have about £50 per month to spend on food and no money to pay towards my debt. I tried going with the same debt management plan as my boyfriend but they told me it was going to cost me £80 per month which i cant afford. they also took £250 set up fee and then told me i couldnt have it back when i found i was unable to pay them. So right now none of my creditors are getting any money what so ever and i am now worrying that they will take me to court. I have been relying on payday loans to keep me going when i need extra cash and have to use them every month just to keep going. I do have a well paid job i get £937 per month but after bills its nearly all gone. And everyone I have tried to get help from has told me I earn too much money to qualify.

I feel so depressed all the time and I am always in tears because I dont have any money or a life. We have both considered going bankrupt but cant afford the court costs and it will take forever to save up.

Please somebody help me. I'm only 21 and i dont want to be in this situation anymore. I want to settle down and start a family but dont want to bring a child into this povety we live in. Everything is the cheapest i can get (Tesco's own brand of everything).

P.S sorry for the essay

Hi there,

Just to let you know, I've just answered your question on our bankruptcy forum. Let us know if we can help you with anything else.

Kind regards,
Pavan

oneway81

Not sure if this was missd earlier....I have entered a DMP with CCCS, i wrote letters to all my creditors as request but have already received this emai from one of the payday loan companies:

Thank you for your letter advising us that you are entering into a debt management plan. I need to advise you that this is in breach of the terms and conditions of your loan and that our normal collection procedures and interest will continue until such time that we have accepted the arrangement & receive the first payment from the debt management company, we will then review your account.

We do take these matters seriously and are happy to discuss your account and agree to a sensible repayment plan with you. Many debt companies charge fees to join and monthly handling charges so you in actual fact are increasing your debt when you may have been able to agree payments with creditors yourself.

Whilst we appreciate you may think this is the best option and wish to continue with them we would like to advise that if the Debt company offer to us too small of a payment, or　less than £10 per month, we will reject this as it would not be cost effective for us to manage, this could also effect any other creditors you wish to pay.

I am happy to assist you if you choose to set something up with us directly, please let me know either way.


Kind regards

Should i set up a seperate payment plan with them ? Or should i still leave it with CCCS to pay them ?

skintoflinto_2

Hi there
We've got a DMP with CCCs and have just received a CCJ. I have spoken to a CCCS counsellor who was very helpful and I understand the process now. Today I have received a letter from another debt management company who know all about the CCJ - my question is, how have they found out and I am now going to be bombarded with companies wanting to 'help' for a fee?? Thanks for your time.