Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

kev1987

Hi,

I have a big problem.

I am currently a student but on a placement in Germany.
I used to live in a house share with 3 others in Manchester. When our contract terminated we left the house, none of us even thought to cancel the electricity bill.

My old housemate went to pick up a parcel that was delivered by accident to the old house and found that there was a letter from a debt collectors agency 'Morecroft', because we were paying quarterly a bill arrived when we all left.

The sum of the bill seems trivial now, but round abouts £40. But now Eon have passed on this unpaid bill to the debt collectors and has amounted to £1000 +.

I was wondering if there is anything I can do about this matter? Or have any advice?

Because I am in Germany at the moment, I am finding it to deal and sort this matter out.

Please could you help me.

Kind regards.

K

clare1510

Hi everyone

I am looking for any help someone can give me.

I got into a lot of debt about 3 years ago through the wonders of being offered credit cards and stupidly not thinking of how to pay it back especially on the salary I was on.

I have received numerous letters over the years threatening action but luckily none has been taken so far. But I really dont want it to get to that stage.

I am currently living on payday loans as when I applied for my first one it took too much of my salary and hence had to reapply and hence the cycle has continued. Therefore I am not able to repay any debt.

Please help me get out of this vicious cycle. My boyfriend and I are looking to the future and I want to be able to get out of debt and plan for a mortgage etc

Thanks very much for any help in advance

Twins

Hi all,

I just wanted to say I made that first BIG step and contacted the CCCS who were brilliant. Really helped me sort out the mess and sort out the figures which I owed. So the recommendation is that I go on a DMP and they also gave me valuble advise about opening a new bank account so that the account I have can't take away my wages (as I owe them overdraft & loan).

I'm very nervous and to be honest embarassed to start down this route but I have to swallow my pride and just do it. I can't afford to go under and let this effect my children and also our lives.

So here goes.......

I am so glad this forum exists otherwise I'd be extinct without it!!!

Keep you posted.

FormandFunction

Thank you for your previous help... I have just one more question.

If I go ahead and take the IVA option which is being suggested through the CCCS debtremedy tool, will that prevent me getting a company credit card? The company I work for requires all employees in certain jobs (of which I hope to be one of those in June) to have a company credit card to pay for expenses etc.

Does a company credit card A. Breach an iVA or B. Require a good credit history or is it based on the company and not the individual?

Thanks for your help in advance!
FandF

lins192

I am struggling with credit card debt. I owe approximately 10k on credit cards but my interest free periods on two cards has elapsed. I meet minimum monthly payments but am now paying high interest fees and thus the outstanding balance is barely reducing. I have attempted to find a "balance transfer" but have been rejected. I have also tried to apply for a loan to pay off the debt but this has also been declined. I have checked my credit rating and it is deemed "excellent" but I am basically credited to the max. Can anyone offer me any advice so I can start to crawl out of this mess??

StepChange_Pavan

Ellabelle wrote: »

Hello,

I have just phoned you lovely people at CCCS for a review as my income has reduced. This has resulted in my monthly payment being reduced on my DMP.

Do you contact my creditors to make a reduced payment offer or do I need to do that?

Thank you for your help.

Eb.x.

Hi Eb and thanks for your post.

We will contact all your creditors on your behalf – you’ve done your bit by letting us know about the change in your circumstances


Let us know if you need anything else.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Birdstarr

Hello, I was so relieved when Barclaycard accepted me for their 0% interest for 20months card and yesterday I successfully completed three balance transfers to this card (Lloyds TSB credit card, Capital One Credit Card and Dorothy Perkins store card.)

Now I am wondering shall I close these accounts down? I have already cut the cards up but I was wondering for my credit rating is it best to have credit available on these cards or would it be best to close the accounts down?

Thank you

StepChange_Pavan

AnotherMakes3 wrote: »

Hi I am so worried atm with our finances and our debt and don't know what to do next.

We owe around £8k to various credit card companies but dont have a good credit history due to a few missed payments here and there.

We have never missed a mortgage payment or any normal utility bill and in the last 6-8months we have managed all the minimum payments to credit cards but the debt isnt going anywhere. With the high interest (some are 29%) any payment we make is only just covering the interest. We initially wanted a loan to get rid of the debt, cut the cards up which would give us more money spare per month but no one apart from those 9000% interest places would touch us.

We have a small mortgage (26k on a £135K house) but as my other half earns a crap wage (10k and no chance of a job anywhere else atm) and I dont work we dont think they will lend us any more even though on paper we pay out £220 per month on minimum payments and their loans are half of that over 10 years.

Any ideas how we can start to actually eat away at what we owe properly rather than just keeping them from knocking on the door for payments? With normal household bills etc there is pretty much nothing left and I budget well!

Hi AnotherMakes3 and thanks for your post.

I can understand that this must be frustrating for you.

We don’t usually recommend taking out further credit as it can make your situation worse further down the line. From what you’ve said though, it does sound as though this option would be limited for you anyway.

I’d recommend that you get in touch with us so that we can look at your situation in a bit more detail. We will go through your budget with you to see what changes you can make and what options are available to you.

You can either use our online advice facility Debt Remedy, or ring our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111 to book a telephone appointment with a counsellor.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

rdchick wrote: »

Hiya, I'm pretty young at only 22, and I have some quite scary debts after living with someone who couldn't handle their own finances I found myself not only supporting him but also dragging myself into the same situation - thankfully I am in a new healthy loving relationship only he knows nothing of my financial situation. I have just left uni and have a full time job earning around £1000 a month. I have a massive overdraft of £3000 (thanks to being a student and then having Halifax transfer my money into another account that wasn't a graduate one so I now pay interest of around £60 a month (eek)) I also have a loan which was £3500 when I took it out last year and pay around £96 a month for it so it's probably near £3000 now. Then I have a credit card which is only small at £500 but I only manage to make minimum payments on it each month and it's with my bank too. I have a store card of £130 and owe my parents nearly £2000 for a car but they just accept payments as and when I can. I pay around £500 a month for all my rent, bills and food (my Boyfriend pays 2 thirds of the bills as he earns much more than me and there is no way I am going to sponge off him as I know how that feels!) What can the CCCS offer me as I am getting somewhat worried about it all now. Thanks!

Hi rdchick and thanks for your post.

It sounds as though you’d benefit from compiling a realistic budget including all your essential expenditure and what you’d like to contribute towards the household. This will help you to work out what you can afford to offer towards your creditors.

We can help you to do this and explore all of the options that are available to you.

If your income is going into the bank where you owe money, I’d recommend that you open up a basic bank account elsewhere. This will prevent the bank from taking your money for themselves, leaving you with little or nothing to live off.

If you’d like us to look at your situation in more detail 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.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

System

sparky1966 wrote: »

hi i have no idea if i am doing this right,i am in dire financial straights ,in danger of losing my house and nobody seems able to help me ,after always working i was laid off for over 18 months and as i had to try to pay the mortgage with my redundancy it didnt last long i finally managed to get another job but cannot seem to afford to work anymore no money for diesel and debt up and above my neck,is there really no help out there or am i going to lose everything i have worked for for nearly 15 years

Hi sparky1966 and thanks for your message.

We’ll try our best to help you find a solution to your current situation.

I’d recommend that you contact us as soon as possible so we can help you asses all the options.

To contact us 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. If you do decide to call us, please have details ready regarding your income, expenditure and creditors, as this can help speed up the referral process. If you have all of the necessary information ready, it may be possible to refer you directly to a counsellor for immediate advice. Alternatively, we will arrange for an appointment to be booked at a time convenient for you.

Kind regards
Mat