We're aware that some users are experiencing technical issues which the team are working to resolve. See the Community Noticeboard for more info. Thank you for your patience.
📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

Options
1133134136138139399

Comments

  • CCCS_Sue
    CCCS_Sue Posts: 966 Organisation Representative
    suziq5001 wrote: »
    Hi, Sorry in advance - this is going to be a bit of a long post ... I'm hoping you can help me decide what to do about a letter I've had from the RBS. It's a bit of a long story but the short version is that they took me to court four years over a debt I had to them of £28,000 - they won and I now have a CCJ and they have a charging order on my house against this debt. I have kept up the agreed repayments of £124 monthly since the CCJ and they have just written saying the following:

    'You are now able to have the remaining arreas added as a fixed term loan account, repaying these over the remaining terms.
    Terms available:
    Equity release over 19 years, payments of £159.54 secured against your property or
    Fixed Term loan over 15 years at £191.64'

    They go on to tell me that the advantages are (a) I'd be able to apply for 'new borrowing or alter your current Mortgage package' and (b) any default registered in relation to the account will be removed within 40 days (c) the account wouldn't be owned by Credit Management services "therefore removing the risk of litigation and reposession" as long as payments are kept up.

    My question is, do you think there is any advantage to me to take up this offer?

    At the moment I'm not paying any interest and if I did what they suggest I would be agreeing to pay around £8000 interest over the term of the loan if I took option 1. I could just about manage the repayments on this one. There's no way I could manage to find £191 per month for option 2 so I have to rule that out - but option 1 is secured on my home so I would still have the 'risk of litigation and reposession' that I do now surely?

    Regarding the default - from the advice you kindly gave me a few months ago, I think I'm right in saying that this will be removed from my credit reference files after six years anyway. And also, I have other debts which are in a DMP with Payplan - is having a DMP just as damaging to my credit rating as a CCJ? If it is then, again, it seems that I won't be in any better position by taking up the RBS' offer.

    The only thing that makes me wonder whether to go for their loan is the part about altering my Mortgage package. The RBS is my mortgage provider and I'm pretty sure that in my current position there's no way that anyone else would have me. So I am stuck with (a) the RBS and (b) the high interest rates that I've got which I guess is because I'm seen as someone who's likely to default.

    OK, I think I've said everything I wanted to - sorry it's all a bit long and garbled. Any advice you could give me at all would be really gratefully received! Thanks in advance.

    Hi suziq5001 and thank you for your message

    You are right to be wary and to take advice before signing any agreement to make sure you are doing the right thing.

    As I see it, if you are not paying interest at the moment and you maintain the payments of £124, then taking into account the payments you have made so far over the past 4 years, it would probably take you about the same amount of time to pay it off anyway. This is providing they didn’t start adding interest again.

    If you were unable to maintain the payments on a secured loan, then your house would be at risk anyway.
    As they have said, ‘they would remove the risk of litigation and repossession as long as payments are kept up.’

    Your default would be removed from your credit file after six years anyway.

    Before you enter into any agreement with them, I would recommend that you call us for an appointment to speak to one of our specialist debt counsellors.
    You can call free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00 Monday until Friday.

    Kind Regards
    Sue
    I am a CCCS Debt Counsellor and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on CCCS in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • Hi,

    My wife has racked up a debt of around £18000 (credit cards and a loan) over the past few years and is now really making an effort to get it sorted.
    Ideally she would like to get one loan to cover all her debts as her friend has done so recently and says it's been a god send as she is finally getting her interest paid off and debt reduced.
    Unfortunately my wife doesn't own a property and so is unable to find a lender who will give her such a big loan (she did try using the loan advice section from MSE).
    What's the best thing to do in order to get this sorted.
    She does have a decent credit rating having never defaulted on payments.
  • Another question. As i have equity on the house would it be an option to try to remortgage? Pay off all my debts in one go and then have one payment a month.

    Hi again,

    This could be an option although we don’t usually recommend it as you are turning unsecured debt into debt that is secured against your property. If you are then unable to maintain these payments, your house would be at risk.

    If you would like impartial advice on your situation, you can still contact us on our Helpline or use Debt Remedy like I mentioned before.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • CCCS_Sue
    CCCS_Sue Posts: 966 Organisation Representative
    Sweetie427 wrote: »
    Recently i have been looking at getting an equinox or experian credit report done to see what debts i have and what is outstanding as years ago i got out of control but then moved, every time i moved they found me and hounded me and i was not in a position to pay anything back. now i am and i want to see what is owed but am living at an address with my partner and he has said he doesn't want them all sending stuff to his house. i want to get a credit report done so i can contact them all directly and pay them off without giving them that address. thing is the credit report requires your most recent address and i don't want to put that down if every other company, including ones i may well owe, can see it and start hounding me again. Do they give the details to other companies and can they access the new address i give?



    Hi sweetie427 and thank you for your message

    Remember that there are three credit reference agencies you need to check, although they do share information. Some information can appear on some reports and not on others.
    The three are Experian, Equifax and Call Credit.
    I have attached a link to a booklet called ‘Credit Explained’ that has the addresses;
    http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf

    If you are wanting to clear your outstanding debts and come to arrangements with your creditors, then you it would be better to put your current contact address.

    It should not affect your partner unless he has joint debts with you or he has acted as a guarantor for your debts.

    Kind Regards
    Sue
    I am a CCCS Debt Counsellor and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on CCCS in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • PUREHOMES wrote: »
    Im on a DMP with CCCS at the moment............the best decision ive made, wish i had done it sooner!

    Anyway 7 months in with 49 to go!

    My question is.........my mortgage is up for renewal in December.........what is the best course of action here? Normally i would obviously shop around and get the best deal, however due to the DMP, i expect i should stick with my original lender on their standard rate?

    Thanks

    Hi PUREHOMES and thanks for your post.

    It’s good to hear that your DMP is going well :)

    You could still try shopping around for a better deal, although you’re right that your DMP may affect you.

    If you have any problems, just give our client support team a call and they’ll be happy to help.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • CCCS_Sue
    CCCS_Sue Posts: 966 Organisation Representative
    Hi, I just need some more reassurance.

    Basically we have just started our dmp, OH and myself. first payments due to go to creditors on the 25th of this month.

    All have been fab, however halifax have passed OH account to Blair Oliver and Scott. I have been reassured by CCCS that all the information has been to BOS. However, we received a 3rd rather scary letter headed notice of intended court action:eek: stating papers are now being prepared, you need to call and make a payment now etc etc etc.

    I have rung BOS as OH sent a letter to them last friday explaining everything and giving me authority to talk on his behalf. When I rang BOS just now however, no letter has been received/processed as yet.

    So I rang and spoke to a lovely lady at CCCS who advised that BOS are one of the better creditors and dont go down the court action route. She explained that they do take a while to process paperwork/payments anyway, and that I was to ignore the letter. She also advised me not to ring BOS again.

    Whilst I do accept what I was told earlier, I still feel very very worried and sick! my heart is still racing and I feel very shakey. Can you advise please?

    thanks

    Hi jasperconran and thank you for your message

    It can be very scary when you are trying to sort out your debts and doing all you can, but still receiving threats from your creditors.

    They will do their best to try and get as much money from you as they can.

    They will receive their offer of payment shortly, and in the meantime try not to worry!

    You are doing everything you can. :)


    Kind Regards
    Sue
    I am a CCCS Debt Counsellor and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on CCCS in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • CCCS_Sue wrote: »
    Hi suziq5001 and thank you for your message

    You are right to be wary and to take advice before signing any agreement to make sure you are doing the right thing.

    As I see it, if you are not paying interest at the moment and you maintain the payments of £124, then taking into account the payments you have made so far over the past 4 years, it would probably take you about the same amount of time to pay it off anyway. This is providing they didn’t start adding interest again.

    If you were unable to maintain the payments on a secured loan, then your house would be at risk anyway.
    As they have said, ‘they would remove the risk of litigation and repossession as long as payments are kept up.’

    Your default would be removed from your credit file after six years anyway.

    Before you enter into any agreement with them, I would recommend that you call us for an appointment to speak to one of our specialist debt counsellors.
    You can call free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00 Monday until Friday.

    Kind Regards
    Sue

    Dear Sue,

    Many thanks for reply which was really helpful - and pretty much confirms what I was already thinking! Just a couple of questions if you don't mind - first, is it OK to call the CCCS as you suggest when I have a DMP with Payplan? Or should I ring them? Also, you don't mention whether a DMP is just as damaging to my credit file as a CCJ - that might make a difference to me so I'd be grateful for advice on that. Thanks again.
  • mikon
    mikon Posts: 638 Forumite
    Hi everyone,

    I have been on a DMP with CCCS since last June. We have worked well with CCCS and kept in regular contact with our creditors and the majority have stopped interest and the remaining 2 have reduced interest charges. We are now finding it very difficult to manange on the money we have left at the end of each month after our DMP payment has been made.

    We are considering going back to CCCS and asking for a review to reduce the monthly payment due to increase in cost of living and my job location has moved so i incur higher monthly petrol costs and also parking fees, our monthly food bill has increased.

    My two questions are :

    How would CCCS view me reducing the monthly payment to creditors?

    How would the creditors view the reduction? Will they re-instate interest charges and start the phone calls again. They have been very quiet and that has been good I don't want to start being pestered by calls etc. But we are struggling at the end of each month.

    Has anyone reduced their monthly payment and what advice can anyone give me?
    Thank you
    Mikon Riding the DMP Rollercoaster full of ups and downs but i will get to the end. :T
    LBM April 2010. DMP Start June 2010 - 11% of debt paid at June 11 to 11 creditors
    DFD In the Far Far Distant Future.
    :j
    DMP Mutual Support Thread No: 410 / DMP Without a Paddle No: 30
  • Still not 100% to set up CCCS DMP. Waiting for a few statements. 2 are with Northern Rock. They ignored my requests and I've now got a letter from 1st Cretins (only for one of the loans though).
    Is it worth sending them your "I'm entering a DMP.." letter? Technically I don't suppose I am at the moment.
    Alternately I don't want to be accused of not communicating with them and judging from some other posts they are amongst the worst to deal with!
    Is it worth mentioning the 2nd loan in any letter? It may be wishful thinking but could they loose the details? Northern Rock only ever chased me for the one loan account, and they're both in default.
    I don't want to shoot myself in the foot and "Tip" them off!
    Any advice appreciated.
  • stassy23
    stassy23 Posts: 404 Forumite
    hi currently setting up dmp with cccs after being with a company that charged it is supposed to be set up in time for first payment on the 1st of feb but cccs wrote and needed more infk which i sent and they received yest. my question is will it be set up in time for the 1st or wilk i have to send token payments again

    thanks for reading this
This discussion has been closed.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350.8K Banking & Borrowing
  • 253K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.5K Spending & Discounts
  • 243.8K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 598.6K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.8K Life & Family
  • 257.1K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • 37.6K Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.