Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_Pavan

cazmax wrote: »

hi my partner and i have around 45k in debt. we were using debt advisory line who really didnt help us and with some of our debts we are worse off then when we started. my husband is self employeed and doing a small part time job to make ends meet. we looked at cccs website and this recommeded bankruptcy which we really dont want to do is there any other solution.
my husband seems to shrugge everything off but i cant and really worry about ours and our childrens future.
please help

Hi cazmax and thank you fro your email.

It’s difficult to say what your options might be as I don’t have access to your information.

As you’ve already completed Debt Remedy, you can contact our web support team quoting your web reference number and they will be able to advise you fully. Their contact details will be in your advice booklet.

Kind regards,
Pavan

System

lend_me_a_tenner_bud wrote: »

Hello this is my first post hope this is the right thread.

Just wanted some advice I sent a letter to Barclays on the 11th of May offering a token payment for my loans. I have still not recieved any reply to my offer by post.

Although the phone is red hot from Barclays Collections :mad:. I read somewhere to ignore these calls if that is right?.

Just wanted to know if anyone had any advice on this, do I send another letter to Barclays or will they ignore it like they have probably done with the last one?

Any ideas, anything that doesnt involve phoning, I hate phoning!!
Cheers

Hi lend me a tenner bud and welcome to the forum.

I’d recommend you send the letter again recorded/registered delivery and request that they only contact you in writing and also request that they remove your telephone numbers from their contact list.

If you send it registered/recorded you have proof that they have received it.

It might take a while for them to update their systems.

You can use the template letter below if you like. It’s important that you also enclose your income and expenditure so the creditors can see why you are making the reduced payment.

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

I hope this helps.

Kind regards
Mat

nnop72

Hi, I was wondering whether anyone could help me with a query.

I am currently unemployed and living in the UK. I have 6 creditors with unsecured debts of c£48k in total. I was briefly on a DMP through CCCS before being made redundant in November 2010. Since then I have been making token payments to 4 of the 6 accounts, the other 2 have not responded to my offer. As of April, 2 of these accounts are in default, the other 4 are in arrears, one has engaged an external debt collector but not sold the debt. All have either suspended or reduced interest. However, this does mean that I am significantly in arrears on these accounts.

I am currently looking for work, and there are some opportunities in Australia, which I have a chance of getting. If that were the case I am not clear on how to proceed with repaying my creditors in the UK.

It is entirely possible (but not at all certain) that I may earn a salary with enough disposable income to make contractual payments on the loans, 3.5% on the credit cards and 5% on the overdraft account.

I would presumably be able to maintain an account in the UK from which to make these payments. I would not be willing to make payments by direct debit or debit card, and sending cheques / postal orders would seem impractical.

If this hypothetical scenario were to arise, would a debt charity or failing that, a DMC be prepared to take on my case? My goal would be to make the contractual payments rather than overpaying, but would be prepared to accept using all my disposable income to repay unsecured debt if it were the appropriate thing to do as it would at least mean clearing the debt faster.

The alternative would be to self manage payments which would have significant difficulties considering the distances and communication costs involved.

Many thanks,

Neil

alicat_101

Hello

I have had a DMP now for approx 5 years and am paying back £200/month to repay approx £14K. The DMP company takes £60/month.

The creditors have all frozen interest charges. This is obviously going to take years to repay. Do you have any other suggestions? If I try and repay a little more each month, the DMP company is only going to take a cut of that too aren't they?

Any advice you can offer - greatly appreciated!

Tixy

alicat_101 wrote: »

Hello

I have had a DMP now for approx 5 years and am paying back £200/month to repay approx £14K. The DMP company takes £60/month.

The creditors have all frozen interest charges. This is obviously going to take years to repay. Do you have any other suggestions? If I try and repay a little more each month, the DMP company is only going to take a cut of that too aren't they?

Any advice you can offer - greatly appreciated!

Hi

I'd suggest you switch to one of the free DMP providers such as CCCS (or one of the others) that will put another £60 towards your debts each month.
Obviously if you can then reduce some of your other outgoings so that you can pay more than £200 a month then that will get you debt free even quicker.

If you want advise of cutting back on outgoings then people on the DFW board are very good at spotting where you might be able to switch providers etc to save money.

Nayma12

I am about to embark on a dmp and am very concerned that our current mortgage provider Santander may not allow us to continue with a tracker or let us take out another fixed rate deal. Is this something they can do. Do people on dmp's get any kind of deals at all? We have never defaulted on our mortgage as despite my own debts that has been our priority. We are not due to re-mortgage for 2 years but am really worried as the dmp is going to start in the nect month or two. I am desperate for some advice. :j

Trawler_83

Hi

I have approximately £9,000 worth of debt over several credit cards and a £400 overdraft. Recently I have been going over my pre-arranged overdraft limit, thus incurring extra fees which makes me more overdrawn the next month... this is getting out of hand now and I don't know the best place to turn. I have a poor credit history and this is making me very depressed.

Please can you advise?

Thanks
-Trawler_83

SAINTJ

Hi there, I am a bit stuck at the moment over which direction to take regarding an old debt from 2004 and wondered if you are able to offer any advice?

The debt is being chased by HFO Services. It defaulted in 2004 at £650 and they have now written to me out of the blue trying to claim £1150. I have learnt from the forum that this debt should essentially be statute barred now however my worry is that I can't remember if and when I last made any token payments to them. My gut feeling is that if I did make any it was around 2005 which means it is due to become statute barred any moment (which I assume would explain them suddenly chasing me for it?)

They have threatened me with court action so I am wondering whether to send off the statute barred letter I have written and hope that the 6 years is up or whether there is another letter I could send in the meantime, both in order to buy me a bit of time and confirm exactly what I am paying as I actually thought I had sorted all my debts out years ago.

I am scared of sending anything that may be seen as an acknowledgement of the debt but at the same time would really like to know exactly where I stand with this.

Any advice much appreciated.
SJ

Iam.me

I'm a little confused at the moment & really need some help with a debt that has reared its head from when I was married to my ex.

I've been told by my mum tonight that my ex told her '2big guys' turned up this morning looking for me with a warrant at our former marital home. My ex apparently said I didn't live there & he had no idea where I was....he said he even had to show them our divorce papers (now I'm not too sure how much of the tale I believe as he always was one to add things on) anyway they said they were going to remove things from the property regardless.

I have since found out that my ex has been getting phone calls & letters for me for ages now but has only recently passed one on to my mum:mad: I'ts from a company saying I owe £501.58 but I can pay just 15% if I pay it in full and they will clear the other 85%. the date for this agreement has now passed as he didnt give her the letter until 6 weeks later :mad:

I'm not sure what this one today is all about (maybe its the same one) I can only think of one thing and thats a capital one card that I stupidly got way back in early 2000/2001 ish but we got into money troubles and I cant remember the last time I made a payment on it ......Ive been seperated from my ex since 2004 so its at least that long, and I was guilty before then of burying my head & hoping it would just go away

What can I do? I'm registered disabled, my health is not great, I don't have any savings and I'm getting really stressed about it now as my money is tight as it is.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give

Amanda18_2

Hi

Sorry if i'm in the wrong place with this request for advice.

My partner and i are considering applying for a joint mortgage. He has an excellent credit rating, however i have somewhat of a history and am currently in an arrangement with two credit cards owing a total of approx' £3,500. My credit report states that my rating/score would improve if i owed less. My partner thinks that if we completely clear my debt, there wouldn't be a problem applying for a joint mortgage.

My question is, how soon after paying off debts would a rating improve? I have a feeling that it will still have a massive affect on credit applications.

My concern is that my partners rating would be affected as soon as we're joined financially?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.