Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

mrsiwannabefree

Hi

I've just completed a debt remedy on your CCCS website. My advice booklet suggests either an IVA or a DMP with my surplus of £197 per month.

As I have a mortgage, which I obviously don't want affected, which would you suggest I choose?

I should be able to up my payments by the summer as my mortgage rate reduces too. Can I pay more per month on a DMP or IVA?

Thanks in advance for your help

k_moor25

Hiya i am in the stages of setting up with cccs I have recieved your pack and signed my agrement and direct debit form but im still waiting on 5 creditors to sent me a statment , shall I wait till they send me them or send what I have now at the moment? Im hoping to be set up for 1st feb payment

Balmore

Hiya,
I was made redundant in May of last year. I had planned for this reasonably well, but not as well I as I would with hindsight. Anyway, to cut a long story short: I am still out of work and as a result I will no longer be able to make the minimum payment on my credit card. I currently owe £5,500. I am in receipt of JSA at around £65 a week. My questions:

1) What do I say to my credit card company?
2) What action can they take against me - can they for example get some sort of court order to remove all my possessions or something? Sorry if this sounds like a daft question...

I should add that I live in Scotland if that affects any of the applicable rules and regulations.

Any help or advice would be gratefully received.

Needless to say this is proving a salutory lesson. I had never for a second thought I would be out of work this long, so even though I had a good survival plan for six months things are now at breaking point...

StepChange_Pavan

mrsiwannabefree wrote: »

Hi

I've just completed a debt remedy on your CCCS website. My advice booklet suggests either an IVA or a DMP with my surplus of £197 per month.

As I have a mortgage, which I obviously don't want affected, which would you suggest I choose?

I should be able to up my payments by the summer as my mortgage rate reduces too. Can I pay more per month on a DMP or IVA?

Thanks in advance for your help

Hi mrsiwannabefree and thank you for your post.

It’s difficult for me to explain your options in more detail as I don’t have access to your information.

You would be able to pay more through a DMP, and also potentially through an IVA but we would need to discuss this with you and weigh up the pros and cons of both solutions.


I’d recommend that you call or email our Debt Remedy Support team as they will be able to access your information and discuss this properly with you. Their contact details should be in your Debt Remedy booklet.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

k_moor25 wrote: »

Hiya i am in the stages of setting up with cccs I have recieved your pack and signed my agrement and direct debit form but im still waiting on 5 creditors to sent me a statment , shall I wait till they send me them or send what I have now at the moment? Im hoping to be set up for 1st feb payment

Hi there and thanks for your post.

I’d recommend that you wait for your statements as we do need them in order to set up your DMP (as proof of the debt and so we know where to make the payments to). I’d recommend that you contact our DMP support team so that they know when to expect your information.

If you don’t receive them soon, you may have to make token payments for February and start your DMP in March.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

Balmore wrote: »

Hiya,
I was made redundant in May of last year. I had planned for this reasonably well, but not as well I as I would with hindsight. Anyway, to cut a long story short: I am still out of work and as a result I will no longer be able to make the minimum payment on my credit card. I currently owe £5,500. I am in receipt of JSA at around £65 a week. My questions:

1) What do I say to my credit card company?
2) What action can they take against me - can they for example get some sort of court order to remove all my possessions or something? Sorry if this sounds like a daft question...

I should add that I live in Scotland if that affects any of the applicable rules and regulations.

Any help or advice would be gratefully received.

Needless to say this is proving a salutory lesson. I had never for a second thought I would be out of work this long, so even though I had a good survival plan for six months things are now at breaking point...

Hi Balmore and thank you for your email.

It’s very difficult to plan this type of situation, especially when the job market is as it is. You have done really well by keeping on top of things until now.

I’d recommend that you put together a budget, showing your income and expenditure. Whatever surplus you have left, if any, can be offered to your credit card company. If there is little or no money available, you should offer them token payments of £1 per month as a gesture of goodwill until your situation improves. You can send the budget as proof of your situation and include a letter explaining your circumstances.

You can read all about the Scottish debt collection procedure on our website.

If you would like help in compiling your budget or need more detailed advice, you can 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.

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.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

phoenix5

Hi, I have been looking into a dmp to ease my situation - in short this is the breakdown after having worked out my income and outgoing:
£184 approx left which i can put toward debts of just under 20k.
I have a mortgage and around 100k equity on the property. Live with my husband and 3 kids.
2 credit cards and 2 loans. For the loans, I arranged to lower the payment temporarily just before xmas but am accruing arrears as they won't freeze the interest.

If anyone has any advice on the best way forward out of this I would be really grateful - am not sure if a dmp is the right solution.

Many thanks in advance x

clareb2010

LLoyds have transferred one of our debts to wescot, i have written to them to advise we are with you and updated the details online is that akk i need to do?

Dorsetdave

Hi I've got the CCCS DMP pack and I'm getting all the proof together. Still waiting for current statements from creditors. I've included the Overdrafts for 2 bank accounts.
My question is: The 2 accounts are joint accounts, does this mean I've got to set up a joint DMP? My wife's got a separate account, admittedly with the the same bank (LloydsTSB) but I don't want her getting "tangled" up with my DMP, she knows all about it, but doesn't have any debts in her name.
Also what is meant by "sign and date the back of the agreement"? Do they mean the 2nd page?
Thanks in advance.

Curious123

Hello

Sorry to bother you but am hoping you can give me some advice. Husband announced to me in June 2008 that he was 000s in debt (£60k+) while I was on maternity leave. He then entered a Debt Management Plan with Money Worries. We've been paying into this plan for 30 months now at £405 a month (more than £12k paid).

He says the plan is 'open-ended' and will 'finish when the debts are paid' but at this rate that'll be years and years and I'm not comfortbale with continuing to pay when realistically we could have paid off some of the smaller debts by now.

Perhaps an IVA would be a better ideal although the high fees put us off - would a dmp with CCCS be a better idea (and perhaps more reputable?)

Thanks for any advice you can give.