Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_Pavan

Rochdale_Guy wrote: »

Thank you Sue.

I am almost in tears typing this....

So, do I ask if they will freeze/lower the payments, or do I make an offer of what I can pay them back each month over the phone. Surely the ball is in their court?

I don't have internet access at home so can only get on here at select times of the day due to work.

Do you in all honesty think I would get accepted for a consolidation loan?

Thank you so much.

Hi there,

When you mentioned you had tried our website, did you mean Debt Remedy?

This will have taken all your circumstances into consideration and suggested the most appropriate action for you.

Your situation is on your control as like Sue mentioned, you can’t give them money that you don’t have.

I can’t say whether or not you will be accepted for a consolidation loan, but this can sometimes make the situation worse.

I’ recommend that you follow the advice given, but if you need more support, please give us a call so that we can talk you through your options and help to put your mind at ease


Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

scrummymummy2011 wrote: »

Hey
Me and my partner are £18,000 in debt with 12 crediters!
At the moment we have been struggling to pay the majority of them (leaving out the ones who dont charge us for not paying!)
This has ammounted to us paying out £300 a month and leaving us with £100 a month left to live on (feed us, tolitries etc) This isnt practical as we also have a little one and a baby on the way so we cant continue this way.
My question is if we go onto a dmp and say pay £15 a month to each crediter totaling £180 would the interest be stopped?
Because if it isnt stopped then we going to get more and more in debt esp with overdrafts (interest being £40) credit cards (interest being £60) and so on. It just depresses me, is there a light at the end of the tunnell :-(
Is it best for me to not pay the minimum for a little while and pay what i can afford before i go onto a dmp, if i carry on paying the full ammount are they likely to question why i cant now and not stop the interest because of this? (ive heard of this in another forum)
Is it best for me to wait till they gone to debt collecters?
Also another question is what happens when i have my baby in april? I will then get £200 child tax and £80 child benifit for my baby, will this be expected to be used for my dmp?
Sorry im just trying to work out what is best for us, i dont want to incur loads of charges and i also dont want to carry on being charged the interest because if thats the case then i may aswell not bother trying to clear it as it will never happen anyway!

Hi Scrummymummy2011 and thanks for your post.

Firstly I’d recommend that you speak to us so that we can look at your situation in more detail and explore all of the options that are available to you.

If a DMP is the most suitable solution for you, there is no guarantee that your creditors will stop all interest and charges. Unfortunately they have the right to continue adding these as you signed the terms and conditions agreeing to them when you originally took the credit out.

However, if you make reduced payments over a long period of time, usually several months, most creditors will eventually stop charging interest and adding late payment charges.

Usually, a creditor will stop interest and charges either after they issue a default notice or they pass it onto a debt collection agency, although this does not always happen.

When you have your baby and your circumstances change, we would need to reassess your situation. No matter what though, these benefits are intended to help with your baby costs and provided that your expenditure is reasonable, this money will go towards your baby and not your debts.

Like I mentioned, if you get in touch with us we can advise you fully on your options and discuss any queries you may have.

To do this 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

StepChange_Pavan

CIS wrote: »

The visit fees are currently £24.50 & £18.00 for council tax.

Thank you for the update on this

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

driver24ian wrote: »

hi, currently have a dmp with cccs, 1 out of the 5 of my creditors has sent out court papers through a solicitor for the arrears on the debt, all the other creditors are fine with what im paying back.

As i dont want a ccj on my file and can now afford to pay a little more into my dmp would it be ok to pay the creditor(NRAM)direct an extra £20 a month to sort this out, i also have a mortgage with them too. i heard you cant be seen to taking preference to creditors but its really going to affect me when it comes to my mortgage term coming to an end and looking for a new one and the thought of a ccj on file worries me.

I am also going to make extra payments some months when my funds allow me to into my dmp so all the creditors will get extra, i just want it gone.

didnt want to get my wrists slapped by the cccs for doing this or should i just keep my mouth shut and not say anything to them.
Thanks

Hello Driver21ian and thank you for your post.

Unfortunately there is always a possibility that you will receive CCJs whilst making reduced payments on a DMP and there is also a chance that any of your other creditors could go down the same route.

You are right that you shouldn’t be showing preferential treatment to some creditors over others. If you get more court papers, you could end up paying extra amounts to each of them to stop the court process from progressing and this could get out of hand.

I’d really recommend that you call us to update your budget and offer what you can through your DMP. Although this will affect your credit file, this will have been explained to you before the start of your DMP.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

trying_hard wrote: »

Hello,

I have a DMP with CCCS which has been ticking along for the past 5 years. I think the CCCS are great and have been very kind to us.

I am now not working due to gov cuts (no redundancy as ongoing contract came to an end) and I am setting my self up as self-employed on ebay. I have been selling loads of our personal stuff and as I cant't seem to get a job anywhere I though I would go self-employed. My aim is to bring in the same wages as what I was on eg £400.

What I would like to know is how do I tell the CCCS or prove what I am earning at the next review?

Thank you for reading.

Hi there and thanks for your post and kind feedback.

As proof of income, you could provide us with bank statements or Paypal account information to show an average of your income.

Hope this helps, but just give us a call if you’re unsure.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Rochdale_Guy

CCCS_Pavan wrote: »

Hi there,

When you mentioned you had tried our website, did you mean Debt Remedy?

This will have taken all your circumstances into consideration and suggested the most appropriate action for you.

Your situation is on your control as like Sue mentioned, you can’t give them money that you don’t have.

I can’t say whether or not you will be accepted for a consolidation loan, but this can sometimes make the situation worse.

I’ recommend that you follow the advice given, but if you need more support, please give us a call so that we can talk you through your options and help to put your mind at ease


Kind regards,
Pavan

Thanks Pavan,

Sorry I meant the debt remedy.

I now only have whats left of today and tomorrow (as at meetings on Monday at work) to decide if I am gonna try for a consolidation loan as no net access at home

If I went for £7,500 that would cover the MBNA and EGG balances at a much lower rate APR than what I'm paying. I probably wouldnt even get accepted and know theres no point applying for a £15k loan to pay off it all (nearly).

Any final tips please re: a new low rate loan v new fixed low rate credit card application?

As said earlier, I last applied for credit in June 2010 and was turned down for that fixed low rate Halifax c/card....

P.S. Does being say a week behind with your council flat rent affect your credit status? My flat rent is due every Monday but sometimes I can't pay it until say the next Monday? I never thought this may somehow alter peoples decisions? Does it?

Sorry to cross post, but my original plea for help is below, thank you:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2509367=

Snugglebunny8

CCCS_Pavan wrote: »

Hi Snugglebunny8 and thank you for your kind words about the answers we provide on this thread!

I’d really recommend that you contact them and come to an arrangement. The worst thing you could do is to ignore it.

They may be willing to accept instalments. Taxaid is a charity that helps you to understand tax and gives you information on what to do if you can’t afford to pay it. They have a free helpline and they should be able to advise you.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Thank you very much for your reply, will do as you suggest and get my husband to give them a call today, and I will have a look at Taxaid in the meantime, really appreciate your advice xxx

kier333

I received a final notice from Bryan Carter Solicitors and also one from Fredrickson International just before Christmas for an outstanding debt from 2007 to o2 for the sum of £288.30. I contacted Bryan Carter's in January and agreed a full and final settlement with them for the debt at £145.

I received a letter dated 12th Jan 2011 stating:

Proposed settlement £145 for full and final settlement on the above account...

Payment to be made no later than 31st Jan 2011

However having spoke with Lowell who the debt stands with they inform me that they pulled the debt back on the 24th Jan and that if i make a payment to Bryan Carter then i will sill owe them the remainder of the balance.

I have since spoke to Bryan Carter who say as i have a F&F offer providing i make the payment then there is nothing Lowell can do and they will issue a receipt showing the o2 account balance at £0.00

Can you please advise as to my position and what i should do, as i had planned to make this payment to Bryan Carter's on the 31st.

I just don't want to owe Lowell money also?

runiu

Hi,

I've recently had to take payday loans...and quite a lot of them...

In total I took £1760 and I've to repay £2200...I can't afford to repay it next month so I'll have to extend those loans...
I'll have to pay interest of £440 just to extend them...

I also have other debts but I'm handling them ok...

Can't take any more loans, credit cards and overdrafts...

I'm pretty much stuck...

Is there any help for me...

Thanks

Tom

graemepaul

Hello all I am new here and want some more information on it.