Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_Pavan

debih wrote: »

We have just started to pull our heads out of the sand and realise that we are struggling with our debts. We have credit card debts of around £25k, two loans for around £20k, our mortgage and a secured loan of £40k.

We have always managed to keep up with our payments with lots of juggling but this month has been a real struggle and some payments have been missed. Therefore we have slipped one month into arrears with the two cards and one loan.

I work part time and my income is taken up with the mortgage.

My husband is self employed and so his income is very up and down. I am worried about how we can sort out some sort of DMP when we do not know exactly what we have coming in each month until it actually comes in - some months can be pretty good and other months can be almost non existent.

I am intending on ringing CCCS at the end of the week when I am not at work - what sort of information should I have handy.

Hi Debhi and thank you for your post.

It is difficult to work out an income when it varies. I’d recommend that you take an average over the last six months or so which would mean you’d put aside money when he earns extra for the months when he doesn’t earn as much.

When you call, it’s useful to have details ready regarding your income, expenditure and creditors, as this can help speed up the referral process. If you have all of the necessary information ready, it may be possible to refer you directly to a counsellor for immediate advice. Alternatively, we will arrange for an appointment to be booked at a time convenient for you.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

Sloley777 wrote: »

Dear DFW Forum,

I am currently in a DMP with the CCCS which my husband and I have been paying into since 2002. Since then we have had 2 children (last one in October 2009) and acculumated 3 catalogues, 2 payday loans and husband has a seperate payament arrangement on a car he wrote off. I now find myself ina position that I cannot keep up with even the minimum payment and was comtemplating going into an IVA. I have noticed your forum suggests an IVA as a last resort and I was afraid the CCCS would cancel my plan with them if I tell them about the additional debt I have incurred. Could someone advise as I don't want to go to an IVA 'hard sell' company without looking at all the options. I have read the IVA guidance leaflet which has now managed to scare me to death..... But I don;t want to get to the stage where bailiffs are knocking on my door or worse: I lose my house. Please help!!!

Hi there and thank you for your post.

I’d really recommend that you call our client support team and discuss your situation with them. They will be able to look at your circumstances in detail and advise you on your next best steps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

JeffMinter

I have been on JBSA at £65 a week for almost a year now. I have been relying heavily on a bank's overdraft facility since I left uni for living expenses, and for a while I was ajust about maintaining the status quo. In October the bank introduced new overdraft fees - £1 daily for being under the arranged limit which was payable, but after a month out of JBSA (was guaranteed new work lined up, but fell through) I was over the limit, meaning I now pay £5 fees daily i.e. £35 a week. I have been trying to sort this out for almost a month now through multiple calls to their call centre, visits to the branch (who told me it could only be dealt with by phone), it was only yesterday that I managed to get a call that wasn't a) a loop of redirects to different departments; b) being given the wrong number; c) being cut off.
After a long phone call (extremely expensive on my "income") I was told the obvious - that they sympathise with my situation but can't do anything as the daily overdraft fees are automatically added. In summary:

£65 a week income (JBSA)
-£35 a week food (no I cannot reduce this further, I already skip breakfast and do not eat much in my meals)
-£5 a month that I have to pay towards another bank's OD... thankfully they are more lenient with their fees (they don't charge if you are within the OD limit).
-£25 phone + internet bill a month - essential for daily job searches and actually have a phone no to be contacted with.

As you can see this doesn't leave me much to pay back the £35/week fees alone... let alone make a dent on my overdraft which is responsible for incurring such fees in the first place. I do want to take responsibility for it so I am not after a miracle grant that will just wipe out the OD... but at the same time, these daily fees are mounting up and completely crippling me with worry and doubt in being able to fund the essentials. It's coming up to 2 months now of the £5/daily charge.... that's £305 already in fees. Who can I turn to for help?

BEAT_THE_DEBT

Hi Pavan re: trans fee i am on dmp this asda card is under dmp but dont know what fee is?

longhairedbloke

Hi,

We've looked at various options (CCCS said IVA or DMP would be best). We decided to try the DMP, partly because it's more flexible and partly because it's our debt and we are trying to be responsible by paying all the money back.

However, we're now getting lots of hassle from our creditors. I have written all the letters and just waiting for the new bank account to be opened before we send the forms off to CCCS.

I'm wondering if this will ever stop, or would it be more official and less hassle to go to an IVA? I know the IVA would be less flexible, but it's also more official. If they keep hassling me I'm tempted to go to an IVA just to stop them getting all their money back!

The CCCs calculator says the DMP will currently take longer than 6 years to settle and an IVA would be quicker and I feel like we're being harrassed because we are trying to give them all the money back.

We are quite desperate and I think even going bankrupt might be a better option. We own a house that we rent out and are renting somewhere else (had to move due to job relocation). We are in negative equity due to a secured loan, so selling would make us worse off. I read somewhere that if you are in negative equity and go bankrupt you can buy the beneficial interest in the property back so won't lose the house. Is this guranteed, or very probably? Also, would that mean we just need to keep paying the first mortgage, or would the secured loan still need to be paid?

We have received one letter saying that the 'reduced payment plan' would leave a default on the credit file for the life of the account and then a further six years! Would that be the same for an IVA, or once the IVA has completed would it be removed more quickly?

One final question : I realise our credit score has already been affected, but is an IVA much less severe than going bankrupt if we ever get back on our feet and want to get another mortgage, etc?

Thanks,

LHB.

longhairedbloke

Hi,

Sorry, I have another question. It states on your forms that you need the payment around the 1st of each month. I get paid on the 10th of each month, so this would be a better date for me to set up the payment for. Is that possible?

If not, we would have to delay setting it up for a month while I 'save' the money in the account for the following month (if you see what mean), but are keen to get this started so the creditors get the contact from yourselves.

Thanks,

LHB.

Bumear

Hi,

I am due to make my first DMP payment on the 1st December and was wondering if it is possible to postpone this until 1st Jan if I was to make token payments to my creditors?

Thanks

CCCS_Sue

JeffMinter wrote: »

I have been on JBSA at £65 a week for almost a year now. I have been relying heavily on a bank's overdraft facility since I left uni for living expenses, and for a while I was ajust about maintaining the status quo. In October the bank introduced new overdraft fees - £1 daily for being under the arranged limit which was payable, but after a month out of JBSA (was guaranteed new work lined up, but fell through) I was over the limit, meaning I now pay £5 fees daily i.e. £35 a week. I have been trying to sort this out for almost a month now through multiple calls to their call centre, visits to the branch (who told me it could only be dealt with by phone), it was only yesterday that I managed to get a call that wasn't a) a loop of redirects to different departments; b) being given the wrong number; c) being cut off.
After a long phone call (extremely expensive on my "income") I was told the obvious - that they sympathise with my situation but can't do anything as the daily overdraft fees are automatically added. In summary:

£65 a week income (JBSA)
-£35 a week food (no I cannot reduce this further, I already skip breakfast and do not eat much in my meals)
-£5 a month that I have to pay towards another bank's OD... thankfully they are more lenient with their fees (they don't charge if you are within the OD limit).
-£25 phone + internet bill a month - essential for daily job searches and actually have a phone no to be contacted with.

As you can see this doesn't leave me much to pay back the £35/week fees alone... let alone make a dent on my overdraft which is responsible for incurring such fees in the first place. I do want to take responsibility for it so I am not after a miracle grant that will just wipe out the OD... but at the same time, these daily fees are mounting up and completely crippling me with worry and doubt in being able to fund the essentials. It's coming up to 2 months now of the £5/daily charge.... that's £305 already in fees. Who can I turn to for help?

Hi JeffMinter and thank you for your message

First of all, you need to change to a basic bank account elsewhere.

This will stop the bank taking money from your account to pay off their debts without your permission and will also put you back in charge of your finances.

I have attached a link to a booklet which lists the basic accounts you can apply for.
http://www.moneymadeclear.org.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

Once you have your new account set up, you can make an arrangement to pay the overdraft at an amount you can realistically afford.

If you would like further help and assistance with this, you can either use our online facility Debt Remedy, or call free for an appointment to speak to one of our counsellors on 0800 138 1111.

Kind Regards
Sue

StepChange_Pavan

BEAT_THE_DEBT wrote: »

Hi Pavan re: trans fee i am on dmp this asda card is under dmp but dont know what fee is?

Hi there,

If you’re unsure about what it means, I’d recommend that you call ASDA and they should be able to help.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

Bumear wrote: »

Hi,

I am due to make my first DMP payment on the 1st December and was wondering if it is possible to postpone this until 1st Jan if I was to make token payments to my creditors?

Thanks

Hi Bumear and thanks for your post.

This would be possible, but you’d need to phone our client support team to make them aware and explain the situation.

Kind regards,
Pavan