Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

System

nnop72 wrote: »

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

Hi Neil and thanks for your post.

We do look after debt management plans for clients who are living abroad.

You might want to look at your income and expenditure once you are in Australia as I suspect it would be difficult to work out what you can afford to pay until you know what your daily essential costs are going to be.

We have an outside the UK contact line also which we can provide you with.

If you could make the full contractual payment to the creditor I would suggest that you maintain an account here and fund it from abroad on a monthly basis and that you pay the creditors by standing order from this account. In the days of internet banking I would imagine that this is fairly straightforward to manage.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Mat

System

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 alicat_101 and thanks for your post.

As Tixy has suggested we can provide a debt management plan for free which would help you clear your debt in a shorter time frame.

However, dependent on your circumstances there maybe other debt solutions you may not have considered.

I’d recommend that you try Debt Remedy our online debt tool or contact our helpline number.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Mat

System

Nayma12 wrote: »

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

Hi Nayma12 and thanks for your post.

A debt management plan would always take into account changes to your mortgage payments if you were on a variable rate.

You would really need to take some further independent financial advice in regards to what mortgage products would be available.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Mat

System

Trawler_83 wrote: »

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

Hi Traweler_83

We’d be happy to offer you some free and impartial advice.

I recommend that you contact us so that we can give you the best advice for your situation.

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

System

SAINTJ wrote: »

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

Hi Saintj and thanks for your message.

Without knowing exactly when you made the last payment it’s difficult to say.

It is worth nothing that debts that are or become subject to the Limitations act do not disappear, they remain as debts but are just unenforceable.

Creditors are unable to legally pursue you for the debt if, after six years;

• The creditor has not already obtained a county court judgment (CCJ)

• You or any one else owing the money (on a debt in joint names) have not made a payment

• You have not written to the creditor admitting you owe the debt

If you believe that the creditor is timed out or about to be timed out, you may wish to use the template letter below. This asks them to supply evidence that the debt is not barred.

I hope this helps
Kind regards
Mat

Example letter – limitations act

From:
Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Date:
CCCS Client No:
To:
Creditor’s Name:
Account/Agreement No:

Without Prejudice

Dear Sirs
Ref
I do not admit any liability for your claim and will not be making any payment towards it, as it is now more than six-years since any cause of action may have accrued. Any claim would, therefore, appear to be statute barred under section 5 of The Limitations Act 1980 and any court claim will be defended on that basis.
In addition section 2.14 of The Office of Fair Trading Collection guidance states that it is unfair to pursue such claims where, as here, the creditor has made no contact during the relevant limitation period.
If, however, you have substantive evidence that your claim is not statute barred then please supply it to me within 21 days. If you are unable to provide such evidence please confirm that no further action will be taken against me.
Yours faithfully
(Signature)
(Print name)

System

Iam.me wrote: »

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

Hi Iam.me and thanks for your post.

I’d recommend that you check your credit file to see exactly who you owe the money to first and if this debt is still enforceable.

This booklet should help explain how to do that.

Once you have established who you owe the money to and when you made the last payment we should be able to establish the best course of action.

Feel free to get back in touch when you know the details of the situation.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Mat

System

Amanda18 wrote: »

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.

Hi Amanda18 and welcome to the forum.

I think the following link from Martin Lewis will help you understand how to improve your credit rating Credit Rating How it works and how to improve it ...

If you clear these debts and you are both accepted for a mortgage product and you maintain payments towards the mortgage your partner’s credit rating should not be affected.

However, prior to getting a mortgage the credit scoring will take both of your histories into account. I’d recommend that you seek independent financial advice in regards to what mortgage products will be available.

I hope this helps

Kind regards

Mat

Iam.me

CCCS_Mat wrote: »

Hi Iam.me and thanks for your post.

I’d recommend that you check your credit file to see exactly who you owe the money to first and if this debt is still enforceable.

This booklet should help explain how to do that.

Once you have established who you owe the money to and when you made the last payment we should be able to establish the best course of action.

Feel free to get back in touch when you know the details of the situation.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Mat

Thankyou so much for this advice, I will take a look & pop back when I know more information

Sorry to be a pain
I've just had a look at the booklet (thanks) and I'm in a bit of a quandry what to do. Its a little complicated..... when I divorced I ceased contact with my ex (it was a bit nasty) I also changed my name by deed back to my maiden name.

Looking at the booklet how to get this info I may need to give proof of who I am (I'm no longer who I was....but do have my deed poll certificates) ALSO If I do a search I would have to give my current address for communication, and would that be recorded so other people i.e the debt people could find it? and I'm scared of opening up a can of worms and these 'BIG GUYS' coming here.

How do I know from the search if a debt is still enforceable? I'm sorry to ask so many questions but I'm just really worried at the moment.:(

Thanks

LouiseG1

Hello there,

I am new to the forum and would appreciate any advice you can give me on the above. Basically my debts have spiralled out of control and i am in the process of trying to make arrangements with creditors. I am having to do this independently as myself and my ex partner have a Together mortgage with Northern Rock which means that part of the mortgage is on an unsecured element. I wanted to go down an IVA route, but was advised i couldnt just put my personal debt in ie credit cards and loans and would have to put the unsecured part of the mortgage in too if i wanted to go down this route.
Unfortunatley he works in financial services and therefore as this is in a joint name he cant have any bad credit at all as is credit checked annually and would lose his job.
Anyway we have recently broken up and i need to move out and start renting a flat on my own. He will not be able to remortgage into his name and take me off the mortgage as we are in negative equity. Therefore for the near future i will have to stay on the mortgage.

Some of my debtors have said that the only way for me to come to an arrangement is for the account to go into default and there collections will contact me to arrange a suitable payment.

I just needed to know how gas and electricty companies viewed defaults and if i would still would be able to get these utilites (without a meter) with defaults showing on my credit file.

Any help at all is much appreciated

Thanks in advance.

System

Iam.me wrote: »

Thankyou so much for this advice, I will take a look & pop back when I know more information

Sorry to be a pain
I've just had a look at the booklet (thanks) and I'm in a bit of a quandry what to do. Its a little complicated..... when I divorced I ceased contact with my ex (it was a bit nasty) I also changed my name by deed back to my maiden name.

Looking at the booklet how to get this info I may need to give proof of who I am (I'm no longer who I was....but do have my deed poll certificates) ALSO If I do a search I would have to give my current address for communication, and would that be recorded so other people i.e the debt people could find it? and I'm scared of opening up a can of worms and these 'BIG GUYS' coming here.

How do I know from the search if a debt is still enforceable? I'm sorry to ask so many questions but I'm just really worried at the moment.:(

Thanks

Hi Iam.me and thanks for getting back to me.

I have replied privately to your message to give you more detailed information.

I hope this helps

Kind regards
Mat