Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

MusicalLawyer

Hi there, I am new to this site and would just like a little bit of advice if possible.

I have a few debts, nothing too major, but I want to arrange to re-pay them. I am a full time student studying at University, and I don't work, so I don't have much money to spare.

The debts I owe are:
Catalogue - £655.01
I got this before I went to University, when I was working full time. I haven't paid anything since last year, and they are demanding payment of £501 immediately. I phoned them a couple of days ago offering them a repayment of £15 per month, but they rejected this offer. I informed them that I was a student, and was not working, and they said the minimum they would allow me to pay is £76 per month. Which I simply cannot afford. I read on the CAB website that even if they refuse the payment offer, that I should pay them the amount I can afford - which I have done today, paid them £15, for which I received a confirmation email and reference number as proof.

Are they allowed to refuse this payment? Was it a good idea to start paying them £15 per month even though they have refused it? Would it go in my favour if it goes to court? It is simply all I can afford.

PayPal - £50
I am going to pay PayPal off when I receive my next Student Loans payment.

Wonga - £380ish
I got my Wonga loan in May 2010, and had a few letters from them. It has been about 6 - 7 months since I've heard anything from them, so I am not sure where my debt lies, whether it has been sent off to a debt collector or not.

How do I go about finding out who my debt is with? Should I just leave it and hope they don't get in touch for another 5 and a half years, as under the Limitations Act they aren't allowed to take me to court for it after 6 years has passed under English Law.

I have another debt with Capital One, which I am paying off £15 a month for.

Is it worth seeking proper debt advice from CAB or something, as my Mother (who has cancer) is seeking advice there, and they are dealing with her debts for her.

Thank you.

lyndorset

Hi, I started on a debt management plan with CCCS in May 2010, Black Horse Finance one my creditors seemed to accepting my token payments OK, I have been paying them by sending 3 months worth of cheques at a time to a named person. I noticed that I had received a statement 2 months running, but thought no more of it, because they had said they were happy to carry on as we were. Then out of the blue I started getting phone calls from a debt recovery company DLC, who were phoning several daily and leaving messages on answer machine. Inintially they did not mention Black Horse and the person was speaking quietly, so I was not quite sure what it was about, but it was freaking me out nevertheless. Then on 17th Feb 11 I received a letter from them stating that the Black Horse Debt was now assigned to Hillesden Securities Ltd, trading as direct legal and collections (dlc) requesting I respond, I replied at the earliest opportunity 20th February and the phone calls continued. They were wearing me down. Thenon Saturday morning 26th Feb I got a phone call that I answered. they asked for my full address and date of birth, I stupidly gave them address before I realised that it was a stupid thing to do and intially refused to give my dob. He said that I may as well as I had already given the address and he could not speak to me to resolve the situation and daily phone calls unless I gave him that information to prove I was me. So I did. He told me that I had 5 days to pay the debt or they would take further action. I pointed out that I had replied to their letter and that as I had advised I was in a DMP. I further pointed out that they might have the debt from Black Horse but that Black Horse were in posession of payments up to and including March (these have been banked) and that I had an agreement with Black Horse to continue paying the token amount. He tried to get me to pay the full amount of the debt, I just kept saying that I would not be in a DMP if I could afford to do that. He then suggested I borrow from a friend or family member and got really funny when I said I could not. He requested I send a copy of the income expenditure I did with CCCS, this I have done. Eventually he verbally agreed the following:

1. To continue to accept the token payment
2. To stop the daily phone calls
3. To get my file from Black Horse and send written confirmation of the verbal payment agreement.

I have still continued to receive the phone calls and on 5th March 11 received a red "Notice of Debt Recovery" from DLC This letter advices me I must either pay the debt in full or phone a premium rate number. (I am unable to make phone calls).

My main question is I thought if a dmp was in place they were not allowed to harrass me like this?
I should not be receiveing this phone calls and what do I do about this latest letter that goes against the agreement their rep made with me. Local solicitors do not handle financial debt problems for the free half hour. Please help what do I do now. I am finding this so stressful and it is effecting my work.

BellaFiga

When MKRR did not reply with a copy of the credit agreement I sent them the template letter that you kindly provided me with here. On Friday I received a letter from them with copies of my old bank statements saying that they intend to pursue me for the debt. What do I do now?

CCCS_Sue

nobodysdriving wrote: »

Hi,
my story is quite long but I will try to make it as short as possible....
HMRC has miscalculated my tax for 2 years when I suddenly started working a lot more hours through the same employer but in a separate job. Although the job was separate it was for the same big NHS employer (same hospital) and I was paid through the same payroll number through the same PAYE code too, they should have picked up on all earnings alright and indeed they adjusted all my NI contributions all those years to a 'T' but never my tax, indeed I was 'fooled' thinking all deductions were taken care for as I saw NI contributions going up and down in both wage slips and my employers said this was being done as the two job pays were amalgamated.
Anyway, last March to my surprise I received a letter telling me I OWE THEM £5500 as a result of THEM not doing their job properly. I have NO savings, no assets, never worked as self employed, never failed to declare any income that did not go through PAYE as I never had any, any money I earned went through them! this is ALL THEIR WRONG DOING! I have struggled with debt for the past 14 years! I just cannot ever get out of it! I pay one loan and I land into another one, it's 14 years I live my life on the line and count each penny coming in going out!

As a result of this 'tax mess' now it meant that I have gone into the 'higher tax rate payer' and some of my earnings are taxed at 40%! so they have 'rightly' adjusted my tax code and it was a SHOCK as all of a sudden my income has gone down by £300 a month!!! needless to say I had to cut down and get rid of EVERYTHING i could get rid of in my life! you name it it's GONE! my son does not get any games/videos/cds (he's 15) we do not get any holidays, we don't go to the cinema anymore, no take aways, we stopped our cable tv, I stopped my professional contributions (I am a midwife), I stopped my life insurance payments, I stopped everything I could stop in my outgoings!

after ALL THE CUTS I could do in my spending I STILL had to find money to pay the TAX debt! I told HMRC my debt situation, I called them with a break down of my income and expenditure and told them I could pay them £20 a month, I explained that once I paid off 2 huge loans I have which are due to be paid off in 2 and a half years then I can pay them £450 a month (these 2 loans together are £440 a month). They threatened me with sending an officer to my house to seize ALL my goods even though I did not refuse to give money, I was offering £20 a month, then they said, after going through my expenditures that I have £100 disposable income a month (which is not true as they did not take into consideration my 2 huge overdrafts for which I get charged £50 a month in fees/interest for both put together) and as my disposable income is £100 then I can pay £100 a month to them! They abruptly ended the call by saying the expect that from me end of story!

Sorry for the long story but what I want to know is:

- Can they leave me with NO disposable income AT ALL?
- Can they really send an officer to my house to 'seize' my goods even though I have offered £20 a month? where do I stand 'legally'??? what can I do?

this has now began to put a real strain on me, I have been working 6 days a week (legally I am only obliged to work 37.5 hours a week and I work 50 since 2 years ago to pay my debts as I made a decision NOT to go on a debt management plan or IVA and NOT to go bankrupt) and now because of this I HAVE to work my annual leave too as I have no money left at all and I honestly don't think I can leave my life working like a slave and not even buy myself one treat or my son something, also my car needed 2 new tyres this month and broke down too and had to spend £350 to fix it and had to take 2 weeks annual leave AND work them to pay for it!!! like this I will never rest, will I get ill one day? I am really really beginning to get stressed now
AND they are even still charging me interest on the tax owed, I know that in theory they can but THIS IS THEIR MISTAKE, it was not me not paying in the beginning or hiding information, it was their wrong-doing!

I really feel like I have been treated VERY badly/unfairly! help!

Hi nobodysdriving and thank you for your message

I can understand how frustrating this all must be for you.

Your tax debt is one of your biggest priorities and you need to try and pay this off as soon as possible.
If your loans are not secured, then these are non priority debts and you need to concentrate on paying off your tax debt first.

You need to change to a basic bank account elsewhere, where you have no debts and have your income paid into the new account. This will put you back in charge of your finances and enable you to pay off the outstanding overdraft at an amount you can realistically afford and stop the bank taking money from your account to pay off their debts without your permission.

In order to give you detailed advice on all your options, I would recommend that you call us for an appointment to discuss your situation with one of our debt counsellors.

The counsellor will help you to work out a realistic budget and an amount you can realistically offer to clear your tax debt.
All our help is completely free and confidential.
The free helpline is 0800 138 1111. Lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00 Monday to Friday.

I have also attached a link to Tax Aid which is a charity. They offer free help and advice regarding tax issues and may be able to help you further.

http://taxaid.org.uk/

Kind regards
Sue

tenpence_shy

Hi

i've just one quick question,
i've setup a DMP with CCCS and the first DD is due to be taken on 1st April
how soon will i get the logon/password to access my DMP account online
and can i 'up' the payment to you online, if i feel able to after a month or so?

tenpence

CCCS_Sue

Snugglebunny8 wrote: »

Hiya, I wonder if I can ask for some help as Im worried sick!.

My husband has an oustanding bill on a chargecard, which is overdue. We have kept in touch with the card company and kept them informed. We are in a position to pay the amount shortly.

On 1st March a letter arrived serving Notice of Default, the letter was dated 24th February.

The letter states that the amount must be paid within 14 calendar days of the letter date. It states that if the amount is paid within the 14 days no further action will be taken. It states this in upper case, bold and underlined.

We rang this morning to advise them of when we will be able to pay, to be told the matter has already been refered to a debt collection agency.

My husband has said he will call back Monday to speak with somebody in charge, but my question is re the following;

The letter states very clearly the date of 24th February and that payment must be made within 14 calendar days. It clearly states no further action will be taken if the amount is paid before that date.

Surely they are in breach of the Notice of Default by having already refered it? I do not know what date they refered it, but the letter dated 24th Feb arrived Tuesday 1st March, and 14 days even including the 24th itself, is 9th March, and today is only the 5th.

Surely they are in breach? please could you advise us on this as Im very upset and concerned and also very worried now about incurring a lot of extra charges which would then give us more problems than the ones we are sorting out.

Many thanks for your help.

Hi snugglebunny8 and thank you for your message.

If you pay back the arrears amount stated within fourteen days, no further action should be taken.
If you have the money, then I would recommend that you make the payment as soon as possible.
If you feel that they are in breach of the default notice, then you could contact Consumer Direct for further help and advice

http://www.consumerdirect.gov.uk/
Consumer Direct is funded by the Office of Fair Trading and delivered in partnership with Local Authority Trading Standards Services.

Kind Regards
Sue

StepChange_Pavan

Lucy111 wrote: »

Hi, would appreciate a little help from the CCCS people on here. Thanking you in advance.

I am in quite a considerable amount of debt, but I have stopped burying my head in the sand and am trying to sort it out myself before going down the route of an IVA. I do have extra income at the end of the month, but I need to pay less on the debts to try and clear the overdraft. I have already successfully got one loan reduced for one year to a more affordable amount. I have 2 other smaller loans and a credit card. I intend to write to these companies asking them to reduce my payments and freeze all charges for a year. In the meantime as the direct debits come out my overdraft is increasing each month. Can I cancel the direct debits for the debts before sending the letters or will that just really upset them? Should I wait until they receive my letters and consider what I have to offer?

Thanks

Hi Lucy111 and thanks for your question.

If you have an overdraft with the bank you’re with, it’s best to cancel all the direct debits and open up a basic bank account elsewhere. This will prevent your bank from taking money that you owe them from your income that you may need to live off.

This way you can also treat the overdraft in the same way as your other debts and pay it back at a rate that you can afford.

It’s best that you cancel the payments as soon as possible, even if this means they won’t receive the letters first. If you’re struggling already, this will ensure you have enough money to pay your priorities this month.

I hope this helps, but if you need to discuss it in more detail, just give us a call.

Kind regards,
Pavan

CCCS_Sue

KellyKing1987 wrote: »

Hi there, I am new to this site and would just like a little bit of advice if possible.

I have a few debts, nothing too major, but I want to arrange to re-pay them. I am a full time student studying at University, and I don't work, so I don't have much money to spare.

The debts I owe are:
Catalogue - £655.01
I got this before I went to University, when I was working full time. I haven't paid anything since last year, and they are demanding payment of £501 immediately. I phoned them a couple of days ago offering them a repayment of £15 per month, but they rejected this offer. I informed them that I was a student, and was not working, and they said the minimum they would allow me to pay is £76 per month. Which I simply cannot afford. I read on the CAB website that even if they refuse the payment offer, that I should pay them the amount I can afford - which I have done today, paid them £15, for which I received a confirmation email and reference number as proof.

Are they allowed to refuse this payment? Was it a good idea to start paying them £15 per month even though they have refused it? Would it go in my favour if it goes to court? It is simply all I can afford.

PayPal - £50
I am going to pay PayPal off when I receive my next Student Loans payment.

Wonga - £380ish
I got my Wonga loan in May 2010, and had a few letters from them. It has been about 6 - 7 months since I've heard anything from them, so I am not sure where my debt lies, whether it has been sent off to a debt collector or not.

How do I go about finding out who my debt is with? Should I just leave it and hope they don't get in touch for another 5 and a half years, as under the Limitations Act they aren't allowed to take me to court for it after 6 years has passed under English Law.

I have another debt with Capital One, which I am paying off £15 a month for.

Is it worth seeking proper debt advice from CAB or something, as my Mother (who has cancer) is seeking advice there, and they are dealing with her debts for her.

Thank you.

Hi KellyKing1987 and thank you for your message


You can’t give your creditors money you do not have so the first thing you need to do is put together a budget showing all your income and expenditure.
Whatever is left after paying all your priorities such as rent/ council tax/ utility bills etc is the amount you can offer your creditors.
If there is nothing left, then you may have to offer a token payment until your circumstances improve.
If they refuse your offer, send it anyway.
If your creditors do go to court for a CCJ, then the judge would take all your living costs into consideration and would assess what was affordable after paying your priorities.

To find out who the debt is with, you could check your credit file
I have attached a link which has the names and addresses of all three credit reference agencies

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf

Leaving the debt unpaid is not a good idea as if a CCJ is issued and you don’t pay it then the creditors could take further action such as sending bailiffs.
Also, a debt is not statute barred if a CCJ is issued within the 6 years.

I would recommend that you contact us for further help and 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.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

lyndorset wrote: »

Hi, I started on a debt management plan with CCCS in May 2010, Black Horse Finance one my creditors seemed to accepting my token payments OK, I have been paying them by sending 3 months worth of cheques at a time to a named person. I noticed that I had received a statement 2 months running, but thought no more of it, because they had said they were happy to carry on as we were. Then out of the blue I started getting phone calls from a debt recovery company DLC, who were phoning several daily and leaving messages on answer machine. Inintially they did not mention Black Horse and the person was speaking quietly, so I was not quite sure what it was about, but it was freaking me out nevertheless. Then on 17th Feb 11 I received a letter from them stating that the Black Horse Debt was now assigned to Hillesden Securities Ltd, trading as direct legal and collections (dlc) requesting I respond, I replied at the earliest opportunity 20th February and the phone calls continued. They were wearing me down. Thenon Saturday morning 26th Feb I got a phone call that I answered. they asked for my full address and date of birth, I stupidly gave them address before I realised that it was a stupid thing to do and intially refused to give my dob. He said that I may as well as I had already given the address and he could not speak to me to resolve the situation and daily phone calls unless I gave him that information to prove I was me. So I did. He told me that I had 5 days to pay the debt or they would take further action. I pointed out that I had replied to their letter and that as I had advised I was in a DMP. I further pointed out that they might have the debt from Black Horse but that Black Horse were in posession of payments up to and including March (these have been banked) and that I had an agreement with Black Horse to continue paying the token amount. He tried to get me to pay the full amount of the debt, I just kept saying that I would not be in a DMP if I could afford to do that. He then suggested I borrow from a friend or family member and got really funny when I said I could not. He requested I send a copy of the income expenditure I did with CCCS, this I have done. Eventually he verbally agreed the following:

1. To continue to accept the token payment
2. To stop the daily phone calls
3. To get my file from Black Horse and send written confirmation of the verbal payment agreement.

I have still continued to receive the phone calls and on 5th March 11 received a red "Notice of Debt Recovery" from DLC This letter advices me I must either pay the debt in full or phone a premium rate number. (I am unable to make phone calls).

My main question is I thought if a dmp was in place they were not allowed to harrass me like this?
I should not be receiveing this phone calls and what do I do about this latest letter that goes against the agreement their rep made with me. Local solicitors do not handle financial debt problems for the free half hour. Please help what do I do now. I am finding this so stressful and it is effecting my work.

Hi lyndorset and thank you for your message

If you are on a DMP with CCCS then you should explain that we are dealing with the payments and there is no more money. You should not pay them any extra than the amount you are paying through your plan.
They should certainly not be suggesting that you borrow money from family and friends to repay their debt and they should not be continually harassing and phoning you.
You can send them a letter requesting that they no longer contact you by phone and that all correspondence should be done in writing only.

I have attached a sample letter you could use:-

To whom it may concern
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]
Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to ask that you no longer contact me by telephone as your calls are causing me considerable stress due to the frequency, and that they are being made at inappropriate times. Please remove my telephone number from your database and send all future communication in writing to my home address.

I have provided the most recent copy of my income and expenditure to make you aware of my current financial situation. I will continue to make my payment of x on the x of every month and will keep you informed of any changes in my circumstances as I am keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

I understand that following this request if you continue to call I can contact the Office of Fair Trading to make a formal complaint.

Please confirm in writing that your records have been amended.

Yours sincerely

As the letter says, if they continue to harass you then you can report them to the OFT.
You don’t have to phone them. This can be very costly and most of the time you are usually kept on hold.
Put any correspondence in the post to us, especially any that say you have been passed to another debt collection company so that we can start paying them on your behalf. Send them as soon as you receive them. We do not need any default notices you receive.

Do not to be pressured into anything and remember you don’t have to put up with harassment. You are doing all you can to repay your debts.
If you have any more problems with these creditors, you can contact our support team who will advise you further.

Kind Regards
Sue

Lucy111_2

CCCS_Pavan wrote: »

Hi Lucy111 and thanks for your question.

If you have an overdraft with the bank you’re with, it’s best to cancel all the direct debits and open up a basic bank account elsewhere. This will prevent your bank from taking money that you owe them from your income that you may need to live off.

This way you can also treat the overdraft in the same way as your other debts and pay it back at a rate that you can afford.

It’s best that you cancel the payments as soon as possible, even if this means they won’t receive the letters first. If you’re struggling already, this will ensure you have enough money to pay your priorities this month.

I hope this helps, but if you need to discuss it in more detail, just give us a call.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Hi, Pavan, thanks for your reply. I already have opened an account with another bank and swopped the direct debits to here. I have my salary paid in here. I also have a couple of payments to me in the overdraft account, plus my mortgage and car payments come out of it. Would I be better transferring all payments in and out to the basic account then and work at paying small amount off the overdraft? Also if I cancel my direct debits can the companies take me to court without me arranging or asking to reduce payments?

It has been a bit of a process but I am getting lots of info off here and I am making progress. I want to pay what I owe if possible, I borrowed the money. Its just going to take longer. Hoping they work with me.

Thanks