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lucifer1306217

Hi,

This might turn out to be a long one, but I'll try to keep it short and sweet, and not too complicated and I'll start from the beginning.

I have two mortgages, one on a property that my mother lives in and one that my H and I live in. The mortgage on mum's property is in joint names with me and Mum. The mortgage for our house is in joint names with me and H.

We are currently in quite a bit of debt, about £9.5k on a unsecured loan, and £15k on credit cards. We have a photography business which is paying us back the money that we spend on the loan, but it's new and isn't bringing in much yet and probably won't for a while.

Currently it looks like H might be made redundant, if not, then will be in a part time role which will mean we'll lose half if not all of his income soon. It already feels a struggle to pay the CC bills as the interest is so much, and whilst we will just about manage to make the minimum payments if H is made redundant, it will likely mean we'll have the debt for years, and will not be paying much more than the interest.
A debt counsellor that we don't really know, who is a friend of a friend suggested that we call up the CC companies and get the interest frozen, but say that we can still meet the minimum payments.

H thinks this is a brilliant idea, but I am worried that this will screw up our credit rating even more. Both of our mortgages are currently on SVR, I don't think we'd get a good rate at the moment as my credit rating has taken a bit of a hit by 3 at the moment.

heatherks

climbintheladderouttadebt wrote: »

Hi,
Not been on in awhile. Cleared a lot of debt over a couple of years. Last one left, with a DCA, is just over £1,000. I've tried offering the £381 I have saved but they want double that, which I just don't have at the mo. I'm not refusing to pay, I'm trying very hard to get this sorted. I am just wondering, can the DCA take child benefit into account when they work out your income? An Edinburgh-based DCA have done so in my income-expenditure form and I wanted to be sure of where I stood? Many thanks!

CAB included my child benefit and carers allowance when doing my income /expenditure form

mum2one

heatherks wrote: »

CAB included my child benefit and carers allowance when doing my income /expenditure form

I had cb, dla, and ctc included in income, but on the other side of the coin some of my expenses would be in realtion to the income.

CB, CTC - child needs shoes, clothes, food etc.

So whilst it may look like you have more coming in, when you have done an income + expenditure some will get spent, for example, I'm disabled and can't walk far, so my petrol bill is more than next persons, but theres a reason why, xx

climbintheladderouttadebt

Thanks guys, thats really good to know. The DCA did my income & expenditure over the phone and didn't include many things I later thought of such as school uniform allowance to be added into clothing, and the cost of school meals etc. Think I'll fill in my own and actually put down what we spend, along with a nice letter letting them know that I know more than they think I know about these things!
Really appreciate you taking the time to reply. Have a great day!

StepChange_Pavan

ssgtsnelly wrote: »

Hi,

I am currently going through the process of sending my signed plan agreement to CCCS and have two questions please.

1) Can I send a payslip for proof of income and if so how many do you require?

2) If I have outstanding payday loans can I take a screen shot of the outstanding balance from my PC as proof of debt as I do not get any sort of paper statement from them?

I thank you in advance

Hi ssgtsnelly and thanks for your question.

One payslip would be fine as long as your income remains the same each month (if it fluctuates, you’d need to send in a few so we could work out an average).

If you receive any benefits, we’d also need proof of these – copy of a bank statement or a letter from the benefits agency for example.

A print out of a screen shot should be fine as long as the date, account number and balance are all clearly visible.

If you’re unsure or you have any more questions, please feel free to give us a call.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

climbintheladderouttadebt wrote: »

Thanks guys, thats really good to know. The DCA did my income & expenditure over the phone and didn't include many things I later thought of such as school uniform allowance to be added into clothing, and the cost of school meals etc. Think I'll fill in my own and actually put down what we spend, along with a nice letter letting them know that I know more than they think I know about these things!
Really appreciate you taking the time to reply. Have a great day!

Hi climbintheladderouttadebt and thanks for your post.

Like the others have said, we’d recommend that you include all your income, but similarly include all your expenditure.

It’s a good idea to sit down and work out all your figures realistically – it’s easy to forget things over the phone which will make the budget harder to stick to.

Go through a few bank statements to remind yourself of everything that you pay out for on a regular basis. And don’t forget the things that don’t come round every month, such as car tax/MOT and dentist costs for example.

You can use our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) which will help you to compile a budget and explore the solutions that are available to you.

Alternatively you can discuss your situation with a debt counsellor by calling our free helpline on 0800 138 1111. We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

lucifer1306217 wrote: »

Hi,

This might turn out to be a long one, but I'll try to keep it short and sweet, and not too complicated and I'll start from the beginning.

I have two mortgages, one on a property that my mother lives in and one that my H and I live in. The mortgage on mum's property is in joint names with me and Mum. The mortgage for our house is in joint names with me and H.

We are currently in quite a bit of debt, about £9.5k on a unsecured loan, and £15k on credit cards. We have a photography business which is paying us back the money that we spend on the loan, but it's new and isn't bringing in much yet and probably won't for a while.

Currently it looks like H might be made redundant, if not, then will be in a part time role which will mean we'll lose half if not all of his income soon. It already feels a struggle to pay the CC bills as the interest is so much, and whilst we will just about manage to make the minimum payments if H is made redundant, it will likely mean we'll have the debt for years, and will not be paying much more than the interest.
A debt counsellor that we don't really know, who is a friend of a friend suggested that we call up the CC companies and get the interest frozen, but say that we can still meet the minimum payments.

H thinks this is a brilliant idea, but I am worried that this will screw up our credit rating even more. Both of our mortgages are currently on SVR, I don't think we'd get a good rate at the moment as my credit rating has taken a bit of a hit by 3 at the moment.

Hi lucifer1306217 and thanks for your question.

You could try contacting your creditors to see if they’ll be willing to freeze interest and charges. However, there’s no guarantee that they’ll agree to this especially if all your payments are currently up to date.

If you’re worried about affecting your credit rating, then your only option really is to maintain your minimum payments.

If your husband does lose his job, you may need to explore which debt solutions are available to you. It’s likely that this will affect your credit rating though.

If you’d like us to look at your satiation in a bit more detail to see what your options are, you can visit our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) to help you find a solution to your debt problem quickly.

Debt Remedy will assist you in completing a financial statement with information on your household, employment, income, expenditure and debts. From this the service will automatically determine your options.

To help you fill in the form, it’s best to gather together information about:
• Your income
• Your expenditure
• The creditors you owe money to

You’ll receive a downloadable advice booklet providing a tailored solution for you based on your current circumstances and advice on ways you may be able to improve your situation.

If you’re not confident with computers or would like to speak to an advisor then you’re welcome to ring our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111. We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm.

If you phone us 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,
Pavan

regret70

HI

i am hoping someone can advise me. I was in a DMP with cccs, however I tried to do the DMP on my own but, well, its all gone wrong.

I admit i am at fault and although ive not taken out additional debt, i have had bank charges applied which have stacked up considerably. I feel i am in the worst position ever and i am struggling to pay all my utility bills.

this month i cannot pay a lot of my bills and i only got paid today, i have only got 150 left to last me 5 weeks.

could anyone tell me whats the likelyhood of cccs accepting me back?


thanks

mum2one

climbintheladderouttadebt wrote: »

Thanks guys, thats really good to know. The DCA did my income & expenditure over the phone and didn't include many things I later thought of such as school uniform allowance to be added into clothing, and the cost of school meals etc. Think I'll fill in my own and actually put down what we spend, along with a nice letter letting them know that I know more than they think I know about these things!
Really appreciate you taking the time to reply. Have a great day!

I would redo your SOA, either use the CCCS or the one on the sticky as a base, like you say clothing uniforms, glasses, sounds daft but as there one off expenses you don't think of them.xx

StepChange_Pavan

regret70 wrote: »

HI

i am hoping someone can advise me. I was in a DMP with cccs, however I tried to do the DMP on my own but, well, its all gone wrong.

I admit i am at fault and although ive not taken out additional debt, i have had bank charges applied which have stacked up considerably. I feel i am in the worst position ever and i am struggling to pay all my utility bills.

this month i cannot pay a lot of my bills and i only got paid today, i have only got 150 left to last me 5 weeks.

could anyone tell me whats the likelyhood of cccs accepting me back?


thanks

Hi regret70 and thanks for your post.

You didn’t mention when you left your DMP or the reason for it.

If it’s because you tried to administrate it yourself and you’re struggling again, this shouldn’t be a problem.

Depending on when you left your DMP, you might have to start from scratch again. I’d call our Helpline on 0800 138 1111 and have a chat with them – if you can remember your client reference number they should be able to point you in the right direction.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan