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Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

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  • CCCS_Sue
    CCCS_Sue Posts: 966 Organisation Representative
    blondeyk89 wrote: »
    Hi

    I am filling out the direct debit form, just a quick question....

    what do i put in the reference box?

    Thanks

    Hi blondeyk89 and thank you for your message

    I'm afraid we don't deal with payments.

    If you ring our support team they will be able to advise you further.

    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
    CCCS_Sue Posts: 966 Organisation Representative
    edited 21 February 2011 at 4:45PM
    zblake wrote: »
    Hi there

    Wondering if you can just give me a bit of advice. I've recently set up a DMP with CCCS and they have said that I should pay my debts off in 44 mths, am going to be £456 a month and my debts are just under £20k. Is this true? Only ask as that I did contact another company, regards dmp's but they wanted me to pay £400 and it would take me 59 mths to pay off the debts also they would take a fee, so i would be paying them just under £4k, so after looking around and reading on here I decided to go with CCCS.

    However when I rang back this other company to confirm that I wouldn't be going ahead with them and that I'd be going with CCCS he proceeded to tell me that CCCS tell me that it will take 44 mths but really it would longer as they do not stop my creditors from piling on the interest and that they (CCCS) actually work for the creditors and not you?! Is he just trying to get me to go back to them and trying it on or he is right?!


    Hi and thank you for your message

    I have attached a link to our website which will explain more about CCCS and our supporters.
    http://www.cccs.co.uk/Corporate/Supporters.aspx

    We offer non-profit debt management plans, meaning all the money you pay goes towards clearing your debts. We are a charitable organisation and we do not charge fees for any of our services.

    With regard to how long it would take to pay off your DMP,the calculation is an average based on the creditors considering stopping interest and charges and the payments being maintained for the term of the DMP.
    Although we do ask creditors to consider stopping the interest and charges whilst you are on a DMP, it is entirely at their discretion whether they agree to or not.
    In most cases, they will once your plan is up and running and they are getting regular payments, but there are no guarantees.
    Although we offer free, non-profit debt management services, there are debt management companies who charge fees to organise DMPs, which are usually added to the monthly total you pay them. Because of this, your debts will take longer to pay off with a fee-charging company than with a non-profit debt charity like us.

    I have attached a link to this site which explains more
    https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2077631


    Hope this helps.

    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
    CCCS_Sue Posts: 966 Organisation Representative
    Flash-bang wrote: »
    Hi,

    My OH and I got the paperwork for our DMP at the start of December, since then there have been a series of problems which has delayed our starting up - OH got stranded in Scotland for 3 days, we had fraudulent payments taken from our account and I broke a tooth. We are planning to start on 1st April after we have taxed and MOTed OH's car. I have a few questions to help me prepare:

    There are a few outgoings and debts that I missed off our original application, can they be added?
    OH is paid a regular basic but also gets commission most months which can vary from 0 to £1000, although usually nearer the 0! Can we work out what we can afford to pay based on his basic (as this is the only amount guaranteed each month) and use the extra to build a small emergency fund (his mother has cancer and if she is unwell he needs to be able to fly out to see her) and put the rest towards lump sum payments? If so, would a letter from his HR department stating his basic pay be ok, alongside one of his payslips?

    Hi flash- bang and thank you for your message

    I would recommend that you contact our client support team so that they can review your situation as if there are additional debts and outgoings missing off your original application, it may change the options available for your situation.
    As for your income, we normally use guaranteed income when putting together a budget. You could then add any extra lump sum payments from additional commission to help pay off your debts quicker. If you received regular commission, then this could also be worked out as an average over the year.

    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 all,

    I'm new to the site and dont have any experience with forums so please bare with me and i apologise for the length of my query especially if you've already answered my questions.

    Basically when I was 18 I was working at a bank and ended up in a lot of debt. Mainly because of my immaturity and naivety but not helped by the easy access to credit. Everything spiralled out of control and it wasnt long before I was paying more than i was earning. I ended up leaving the bank through stress and worry that everyone would know I couldnt pay back what i borrowed.
    I had a loan for 8k, 3 credit cards totalling about 3500, 2 overdrafts totalling about 2k.
    I was so scared that i avoided them like the plague. I tried to fix my problems several times through citizens advice but bankruptcy and other resolutions never seemed do-able for one reason or another. The longer it went on the harder it got to confront my problems and so i've hid from them for far too long.

    It's been a long time since and I've been earning a good wage for a while and really want to put my life on track. I live in a flat and pay all my rent and bills on my own. I have a small amount of money left each month.
    I've signed up to credit expert and I have 1 ccj for £200 which i have no idea about. The loan, two of the credit cards and one of the overdrafts were registered as defaults almost 6 years ago.

    I dont really know the fastest way to repair my credit. I dont have enough money to offer them all a full and final settlement figure. I'm worried paying a small amount monthly will take forever. Will these be erased completely from my file if I was to wait the 6 years as i dont fully understand what I've heard about the 6 year thing?

    I understand I've done some bad things but really want to get sorted. Any help or advice would be much appreciated.

    Thanks in advance
  • This is my first post so I may warble on a bit ...

    I am struggling to see how myself and my partner can work our way out of our current debt. I know that there is a way and I know that it is possible, it's just that it all gets rather overwhelming ... Especially when you spend the majority of your life worrying about everything anyway!

    Right, here goes ...

    Total outgoings (both)...

    Rent £250 (it's my Mum's house and she kindly does us a deal)
    Council Tax £121
    TV £12.37
    British Gas & Electric £60
    Water £39
    Phone/Broadband £26
    Sky £65

    Pet Insurance £25
    Mobile Phone no 1 £50
    Mobile Phone no 2 £40
    Car Insurance £25
    Petrol £30
    TV Payment £20
    Season Ticket £35

    My Credit card no 1 £30
    My Credit card no 2 £20
    Store Card no 1 £12
    Store Card no 2 £20
    Store Card no 3 £30
    Overdraft £30
    My Loan £167.34

    His Credit Card no 1 £300
    His Credit Card no 2 £200
    His Credit Card no 3 £50

    We currently earn £1226 and £1218 each month so total income £2444. As it currently stands, this leaves us £616 a month spare (before food).

    We would obviously have even more spare if we could consolidate our debt payments as we currently pay £859 in debt repayment every month. (ouch...)

    We both have our own current account at the moment, both with overdrafts, mine of £1250 and his of £1000. Those items in blue all come out of my account and the other items all come out of his. At the moment, he transfers £300 into my account to pay for his half of the bills.

    I am currently in the 2nd year of a 5 year £5000 loan, and I owe £4000 on top of that (including my overdraft). (I also have my old student loan but I understood that I don't need to worry about this as the money comes out of my salary before I even see it?)

    My fiance however owes £25000 on the 3 credit cards and overdraft.

    I think as it currently stands, we are both paying an awful lot back on the cards due to interest but it's obviously not touching the total amount owed. We had a search on the net and found a couple of unsecured loans that seemed to be a good idea so applied for one, got refused then applied for another, that also got refused. These were both only applied for in my partners name rather than mine so I guess they only took into account his income not our joint income? It frustrates me SOOO much becuase the majority of this debt came from my fiances first marriage - a very unhappy one, debt caused by both etc - and he's been so good at always paying his payments when due that I can't imagine he has a bad credit rating because of missed or late payments. (Mine might be slightly worse but not bad)

    So ... where do we go from here?!! He's thinking DMP, IVA or Bankruptcy all of which scare the absolute **** out of me. I didn't realise until he applied for the last two loans that everytime you apply for something it affects your credit rating!! Is that fair?!

    My debt doesn't concern me so much, I looked into it and in theory I could get a loan to pay off the existing load and my debt for about £200 per month which would obviously free up some of our money but I don't know if this is the right thing to do?!

    Would we be more likely to get a favourable loan if we get a joint account, pay all our money in and out of that then apply again based on the joint income? Or do we apply for a joint DMP? Or does he apply on his own?

    We're getting married next Summer and want to start a family as soon as possible ... (it worries me that if we wait to long it might be too late - there's a bit of an age gap - he's 36 i'm 25, seriously, I worry about everything) and we both want this sorted, or at least manageable with an end in site, when we have children.

    It also concerns me that any DMP or IVA will result in us not being able to get a mortgage in future ... Would that mean it makes more sense for him to have any DMP or IVA in his name only?

    Also, (sorry!) is it true that they can take any savings you might have? (We don't have any at the moment but we need to put a bit aside for our wedding)

    Finally, what do they consider to be reasonable to leave you with every month?

    Sorry, it seems that once I started writing it all down I couldn't stop!

    I really would be interested to have some feedback from anyone that can help, even a little bit!

    Thank-you all for your time in advance...
  • Hello all,

    I have just done the CCCS DMP and it seems I'm able to get help.

    I just need to double check a few things with my wife as regards some of the debts but just want to know a few things.

    1, Will a DMP affect my credit rating ? I'm not applying for any credit cards or loans but I'm worried about my mortgage renewals.

    2, How will my mortgage company react with a DMP ? Or does the DMP only affect the loans and credit cards I have ?

    thanks

    TMH

    Hi TMH and thanks for your post.

    A DMP will affect your credit file as you will be making reduced payments to your creditors and this means you are defaulting against the agreement that you signed. A DMP isn’t a legally binding solution and the creditors can go down the standard debt collection process.

    You can read more about how credit files work here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

    With regards to your mortgage, this shouldn’t be affected provided that you keep up to date with your repayments and on any secured loans. You’re right that your DMP will only include your unsecured debts.

    Hope this helps.

    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
  • gambit27 wrote: »
    Hi, I currently owe credit card and mail order debt, all accounts defaulted 4 years ago when my relationship ended, partner moved out, and I was left with a hefty mortgage, car loan, personal loan, and credit card/mail order debt we had taken on jointly, under my name unfortunately, along with 2 children to bring up without maintenance. I wasn't able to continue paying the debts as my money was stretched to the limits, and my ex refused to let me sell the house.

    After about 6 months of battling through courts, the house was sold, mortgage cleared without default, and I used my share of the profit to pay off court and lawyer fees, and car loan were paid in full, as was the personal loan, the personal loan had defaulted but states satisfied on my credit file. I didn't have enough to cover the credit cards, but am now paying these off at a manageable amount each month, and the first is due to be paid in full by September woohoo!

    I got a copy of my credit file to deal with the mess in December, and am now paying off everything on my file, and hope to have it all paid off by the end of next year.

    My 1st question is, do the default notices stay on my account for 6 years from the date of default? Or from the date I clear the debt?

    Once I have paid off the debt I would like to keep saving the money I'm paying out for debt each month for a deposit so I can get back on the property ladder, but at the moment, with the defaults on my account I can't even get a high interest card to start to try to repair my credit.

    So my 2nd question is, how, and when, can I begin to repair my credit rating?

    Thank you :)


    Hi Gambit27 and thanks for your post.

    Congratulations on being so close to becoming debt free! :j

    Your defaults will remain on your file for six years from when you defaulted.

    This article gives you lots of useful information on how credit files work and how you can improve it: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

    I hope this helps.

    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
  • jamie_22 wrote: »
    Hi all,

    i am new to this and was hoping someone could help me,

    Telogram have send me a letter asking if i am the person who lived at a previous address, yes i am but that was in 2005 does anyone know much about these people, as i dont recall owing anybody, i did have a captial one account but it was cleared before i moved.

    Hi Jamie and welcome to the forum.

    I’d recommend that you get a copy of your credit file to find out if you have any outstanding debts. This credit explained booklet gives you information on how to do this.

    If you do have an outstanding debt, your file should detail who the debt is held with and you can look into it further. If there isn’t anything outstanding from 2005, they may be asking the wrong person.

    Get back in touch if you need further help in dealing with this.

    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
  • Hi Sue and Pavan,

    My DMP is running pretty smoothly now (three months in). Most creditors have accepted very small payments, a few have passed us onto DCA who have accepted the payments, only Virgin remains a bit of a mystery - they wrote immediately saying that rejected the DMP (back in Nov) but have continued to take the payments and have stopped the interest. We're just waiting to see what happens.

    I am currently unemployed and my partner works on a low-wage. We're paying relatively small amounts due to our small income and we're finding being on the DMP very hard work in terms of managing on what's left and have been relying on selling things to make ends meet. Obviously when I get work the DMP payment will increase significantly and in relation to that I have a couple of questions:

    1. Will the DMP increase to the extent that essentially we'll be living on exactly what we do now - that essentially every penny of any income I own will be absorbed by it?
    2. I have no clothes to take up a new position as I have significantly lost weight since I last worked. My child absolutely needs new shoes and a coat. Also my car is going to need new tyres and a new exhaust system before I can start commuting properly. Given this, would it be acceptable for me to keep my first month's wages and undertake the review ready to start the new increased payment in the second month of my working?
    Thanks.
    SAAC13

    Hi SAAC13 and thanks for your post.

    It’s good to hear that your DMP is up and running well.

    If your income increases, you are right that your entire surplus will still be used to repay your debts.

    However, it sounds like you would need to review your budget anyway if you are struggling. One option could be to update your income once you are back on your feet like you have suggested, or you could look at increasing some of your expenditure in areas such as clothing and spares and servicing. This would have less of an impact on the term of your DMP if your income has increased.

    I hope this answers your questions but if you’re unsure it’s always best to give our support team a call so that we can discuss your options with you.

    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
  • hi. dont know if i posted my query on wrong thread so am putting my question here as well. we are not on a dmp as i have been dealing with our debts and trying to pay them off, having problems with this one though so hopping you can help.
    advice needed please,

    my dh was informed he owed money to a merchant last year,his work is hit and miss at the moment due to this blasted recession.he cant afford to pay it back in one go . we had a few visits from a couple of heavies who said they had vested interest in the company and had been sent to collect the money. we offered to pay them back at £100 month by standing order and if things improve it could be increased or if we had extra if they gave me there details i would pay extra into the account, form wasnt recieved, spoke to them again on numerous occasions and was told form would be sent. couple of weeks ago i sope to accounts and said again what we could afford at the moment and she said she would get back to me. sat dh received a letter saying no communication had been made on our behalf and no offer made and that if after 7 days they didnt here from him, doorstep collectors would come around and they would add 8% above the basic bank of england rate to the debt.
    no credit agrrement was signed on this account so i sent them a letter from a template on here,
    i want this paid off whether the account was set up right or wrongly, just want them to agree a plan .
    i had a phone call message this morning saying dh had stole from them. i phoned them and he put the phone down on me.accounts then phoned me saying that my offer wasnt enough, i informed her of my letter and she said she hadnt seen it and would go and look at it. the two men that came around intimidated me , i dont want them coming around again.they would have had at least £600 by now if this had been done in the begining.

    what can i do?

    so if this is garbled im shaking like a leaf.
    MAKE £2022 in 2022 no 29 £2022/£434.10
    Mortgage@ 1/1/2022 £17540 / £1601.39
    pay all your debts by xmas 2022 £15000/ £1865.29

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/680889456637403
    you tube channel never too old
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