Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_Pavan

wandering_star wrote: »

Hi

I'm not sure if I am in the right place?
I left my full time job in february this year due to stress/depression and have been working as a supply teacher. However the work has dried up and I have no income to pay my mortgage, car, loans, food, bills etc. I have tried to get JSA but as I choose to hand my notice in I am not eligible. I now have a new full time job from September which will begin to pay in October.
I am not able to meet any payments or afford food bills for the next 3 months and I cant get an advance on my pay.
What can I do I am really worried as I have never missed payments or fallen behind during the past?
Any advice welcome

Hi wandering_star and welcome to the forum – you certainly have posted in the right place.

Have you had a full benefits check as you should be entitled to something even if you’re not eligible for JSA?

It sounds as though you need a bit of breathing space until your job starts in September, but your main concern is to make sure that you have some income to be able to eat and maintain your priorities.

If you haven’t already had an entitlement check, we can do this for you. We can also look at your situation in a bit more detail to see what your options are. From what you’ve said we will probably recommend that you put a budget together and send this to your creditors to explain your situation. You may need to offer token payments until you can afford more once your job starts.

You can call us on 0800 138 1111 and we can discuss your situation thoroughly and help you with your budget.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

gutsache

Hi all,
been in debt for years, just know i'm starting to clear it up. DLC is one off my collection agencies i have to deal with... i opened up a letter from them saying i owe them £1,268. I then sent an email saying i dont know where this debt was from, they then replied saying it was a debt from a sister agency called Ruthbridge Ltd who was collecting on behalf of Barclays Bank PLC and i got the debt down to £376 in April 2006 which i remember, but on asking how they come to £1,268 they dodged the question and said my new balance is £376. That was too easy, so i asked them for proof off original agreement or any statements, they replied saying "Due to the length of time that has passed since we acquired your account we are no longer able to request copies of previous statements from the original lender, Barclays Bank plc." how do i know tackle this?

cheers
j

Carrie273

Hi,
Can anyone tell me if it's legal for a CCJ to be sold to a third party company who are now asking for more money, hassling me at work and generally being very forceful? If the CCJ - which was for £1 per month has been sold to another company and I haven't signed with the other company how do I stand legally? Does anyone have any info on this?

Much appreciated.......

michelle45_2

Hi

Im unable to get throught to CCS on the phone, as its very busy. My question is is that ive got most of my statements just waiting for Barclay Card whichs should be here in the next week or so. Can I send all the paperwork in which I have now so that they can make a start on my DMP or wait until I get my last statmenet and send it through all together.

I am anxious as even though I have written to the companies and told them what was going on and paid a token payment (only one payment in arrears) they have written to me to say that they are sending my account to the debt collectors.

Thanks

Michelle

skintsmiffy

I have ongoing debt problems and in particular a large credit card debt that i cant service due to the interest and ongoing monthly charges. I make the monthly payment every but the interest then takes me back over my credit limit and i get charged so the debt is actually increasing. I have spoken to the company and asked if they would freeze interest and charges for a period of 3 months and i would pay £250/month to get my balance down to a managable level. (I have done this with other debts i owe and had a great response). The girl i spoke to on the phone was very unhelpful and quite frankly rude. She said that she couldnt do anything as my account was not in arrears and insisted i contact a debt management company to negotiate on my behalf but i do not want to go down this route as that will be a last resort.

Can you advise another course of action or if there is something i should say to them. I understand that they have no obligation to enter an agreement but the other companies i have dealt with were very helpful and willing to understand.

Thanks
Smiffy

greenback

Hi

I am currently repaying a credit card debt to Lowell Portfolio (originally M&S) I have been making consistent monthly payments since 2009 and have four more to go before the debt is cleared. I recently looked at my credit file and there is nothing recorded on this account except the default which was recorded in 2007. There is nothing to reflect that I have been making payments to the account. Can I ask the creditor to update the status of my account? I am aware that the default will stay on for 6 years.
Thanks for your advice.

System

gutsache wrote: »

Hi all,
been in debt for years, just know i'm starting to clear it up. DLC is one off my collection agencies i have to deal with... i opened up a letter from them saying i owe them £1,268. I then sent an email saying i dont know where this debt was from, they then replied saying it was a debt from a sister agency called Ruthbridge Ltd who was collecting on behalf of Barclays Bank PLC and i got the debt down to £376 in April 2006 which i remember, but on asking how they come to £1,268 they dodged the question and said my new balance is £376. That was too easy, so i asked them for proof off original agreement or any statements, they replied saying "Due to the length of time that has passed since we acquired your account we are no longer able to request copies of previous statements from the original lender, Barclays Bank plc." how do i know tackle this?

cheers
j

Hi j and welcome to the forum.

They may not be able to provide the original documentation, this doesn’t mean that they can’t chase the debt.

They should be able to provide you with a written statement of how much is exactly owed and any interest and charges that have been added.

I’d recommend that you request this statement in writing from the company before you come to any arrangement to pay.

If you need help on making payments arrangement you might want to give us a call or use our online advice tool Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu there could be debt solutions available to you that you are not aware of.

Once you do enter an arrangement with this company you need to keep all statements and paperwork they send you, even when you have paid off the debt in full.

I hope this helps

Kind regards

Mat

rubyjam

Hi, I'm starting a DMP with CCCS and have just sent off copies of the template letter they provided to credit card and loans companies but I'm not sure what to write to my bank. It is overdrawn - I have cancelled all my direct debits and stopped using it but I'm not sure what to write. Is there a template letter I could use? And should I offer a token payment to clear it?

System

michelle45 wrote: »

Hi

Im unable to get throught to CCS on the phone, as its very busy. My question is is that ive got most of my statements just waiting for Barclay Card whichs should be here in the next week or so. Can I send all the paperwork in which I have now so that they can make a start on my DMP or wait until I get my last statmenet and send it through all together.

I am anxious as even though I have written to the companies and told them what was going on and paid a token payment (only one payment in arrears) they have written to me to say that they are sending my account to the debt collectors.

Thanks

Michelle

Hi Michelle and thanks for your message.

You can send in everything now if you wish, although we would need the Barclaycard Statement before we can get started,

It’s normal for the creditors to react this way and make you feel anxious. Passing your accounts to debt collection agents would mean just other people ringing you.

Take comfort in that you are making your best efforts through us to repay what you can reasonably afford.

I hope this helps

Kind regards

Mat

System

skintsmiffy wrote: »

I have ongoing debt problems and in particular a large credit card debt that i cant service due to the interest and ongoing monthly charges. I make the monthly payment every but the interest then takes me back over my credit limit and i get charged so the debt is actually increasing. I have spoken to the company and asked if they would freeze interest and charges for a period of 3 months and i would pay £250/month to get my balance down to a managable level. (I have done this with other debts i owe and had a great response). The girl i spoke to on the phone was very unhelpful and quite frankly rude. She said that she couldnt do anything as my account was not in arrears and insisted i contact a debt management company to negotiate on my behalf but i do not want to go down this route as that will be a last resort.

Can you advise another course of action or if there is something i should say to them. I understand that they have no obligation to enter an agreement but the other companies i have dealt with were very helpful and willing to understand.

Thanks
Smiffy

Hi Smiffy and welcome to the forum.

It’s common that it’s sometimes easier to make deals like this when you actually get into arrears. Whilst you are maintaining your full payment and covering interest and charges the credit card company will be very happy.

You could look at your budget and see if you can make cut backs to actively pay this debt down as quickly as possible, or look for ways to maximize your income to help clear the debt as soon as you can.

In a debt management plan we would use your money to pay your creditors on a fair pro rata basis. If you are trying to clear the debt yourself you could make the minimum payment to one creditor and pay bigger sums to the creditors who charge more interest and that add extra charges.

I would recommend that you call them again and go through your situation in detail. You might find you get someone helpful the second time.

I hope this helps

Kind regards

Mat