Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_Pavan

paddypaws101 wrote: »

Hi, I realise I am entering the lions den in many respects by asking this question here, but do not know where else on the board to post.
(Deep breath)
Ok,A year ago, I lent a friend a substantial sum of money with strict agreement in writing of time of repayment which was to have been completed by jan 2011. She defaulted. After chasing her for months I finally got hold of her 5 weeks ago and she grudgingly, without apology, agreed to a repayment of £100 per month ( 6k outstanding, I am paying overdraft fees on it which she knows and as the sum was actually saved for my tax bill I got hit with a fine) I agreed to give her a second chance and accept this....yet again she has failed to honour the agreement.
I am seriously considering using a Debt Recovery service to help me get this money back as I am myself in severe financial difficulty while this 'friend' is still running what appears to be a profitable company.
Can anyone advise me on this matter?
I have spoken to a company called Daniels Silverman, does anyone know of them?

Hi paddypaws101 and thanks for your post.

Unfortunately advice in this area isn’t really within our remit.

You could go to Community Legal Advice to get some free and impartial advice on your options: http://www.legalservices.gov.uk/public/community_legal_advice.asp

If you go to a debt collection company, it is likely that they will charge you so I’d read their terms and conditions carefully before agreeing to anything.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

fluffy1974 wrote: »

Hi,

GULP!

Myself and my wife have finally had 'the lightbulb moment' and have been advised by friends this is the place to come to take the first steps to sorting our mess out!

Below is our SOA but I would like to add the following beforehand-

Prior to my wife taking maternity leave we were doing ok, arrangement with my wifes work was to go back to 4 days however, due to the financial climate her employer have stated they can only afford to pay for 3 days for the foreseable future.

We shouldnt jinx it but we feel our jobs are as safe as they can be.

Thanks in advance for any advice... we are going to make an appointment with the CCCS soon.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1552.3
Partners monthly income after tax....... 875
Benefits................................ 122
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2549.3

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 594
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 209
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 105
Electricity............................. 66
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 45
Telephone (land line)................... 10
Mobile phone............................ 30
TV Licence.............................. 6
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 18
Internet Services....................... 10
Groceries etc. ......................... 80
Clothing................................ 10
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 5
Car Insurance........................... 42
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 20
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 140
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 8.5
Contents insurance...................... 8.5
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 7
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1579


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 106000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 7000
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 113000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 104000...(594)......5.69
Secured Debt.................. 24700....(209)......8
Total secured & HP debts...... 128700....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................3070......72........0
Barclaycard....................6236......141.......6
HSBC...........................3750......104.......0
Total unsecured debts..........13056.....317.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,549.3
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,579
Available for debt repayments........... 970.3
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 317
Amount left after debt repayments....... 653.3

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 113,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -128,700
Total Unsecured debt.................... -13,056
Net Assets.............................. -28,756

Hi fluffy1974 and welcome to the forum.

From your budget it looks as though you have enough surplus to pay for your debts.

However, there may be areas that you haven’t listed or you’ve underestimated. You’ve already mentioned that you’re going to give us a call. So I’d recommend that you do that so we can discuss your situation in more detail and see what options are available to you.

If you’d prefer 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.

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.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

fluffy1974

Hi Pavan,

Many thanks for your reply

I will visit that link.

keep up the good work!

fordy1979

Hi all...

Have been involved in a DMP for the last 6 months, I currently pay £704 per month to 8 creditors with starting debt of £25,000...

The service rovided to me has been fantastic and very helpful and informative, my only gripe is with the creditors as they have refused to stop the interest added each month...

I should have paid off nearly £5,000 but it has been less than half which is a little demoralising. I understand this is my fault and that they are well in their right to do this however.

My question is that would an IVA be a better option to me as then I have an official end date?

Many Thanks in advance..

mrs_ed

Hello. I'm new to this but just don't know which way to turn, hopefully i'll get a wee bit of advice.

I had a ccj 11/7/2000 the judgement value was £7221. I was paying £60 per month but the court set the repayment at £40 per month. Since then i have never missed a payment. I was contacted by Link saying that the ccj had ran out and that the account was being charged interest.Is this possible? I thought the ccj ran untill the debt was paid, is this the case?
I have received a statement stating that my balannce is now £9873. The debt is now more than the original loan.

I have buried my head in the sand over this but i've received another letter saying they had done a credit check and seen that i had settled a debt recently. I had re-mortgaged 3 years ago and paid a few things off but none were a considerable amount of money.

I'm unsure what to do i haven't spoke to the company yet as i feel i have no knowledge regarding the ins and outs of the ccj and the repayments, but i thought they wouldn't be able to charge interest as the court had set the amount that needed to be paid.

I'm at my wits end now and really dont know how to handle this situation any help will be greatly appreciated.

dally810

Hi not sure if I am in the right place on the forum?
I have been considering a DMP for the last 12 months, but it has got to the point where I have no choice, due to intrest rates and cost of living going up. My total debt is about 27k, I have made an arrangement with MBNA and they have reduced my payments for 6 mths, but still have a Sainsbury Loan, and other CC's like Lloyds and Abbey, I have overdraft at the bank. I have considered a really helpful company to have my DMP with, they charge 35% first mth and second, then 10% monthly, I would have to ay 137.00 per mth into DMP, the debt is all in my name, my partner is not aware, and there is equity in the house so not worth doing IVA. I am looking for the best service, as I am getting really stressed dealing with it on my own, my main worry would be getting a CCJ issued, as our house is in joint name, so this is why I need a good company to look after me, if this should come about. I really need to get this sorted now, so I can move on again, and become debt free eventully

SimpleGuy84

Your advice will be welcome.

Is it better to pay off an overdraft first (thereby getting into the black regularly) or paying credit cards first?

I have a £1450 overdraft facility (of which £200 is interest free, with the rest at 1.17% per month, 14.9% per annum (variable)).

I tend to use up most of this o/d every month but know that from end-September, I'll shave off a bit more every month.

After my bills (inc. rent, taxes, travel debts) etc., I should have some £686.73 to spare (excluding cash withdrawals, lunches here and there).

My credit cards are:
CC1: £2,997.14 @ 24.9% - currently paying £80 p.m.
CC2: £481.68 @ 24.9% - currently paying £20 p.m.

Should I pay off my overdraft first or focus on snowballing my credit cards from September?

StepChange_Pavan

binksieboy wrote: »

Hi Pavan,

Thanks for the advice. I have just checked my bank accounts and found that CFO have taken money from an account other than the one that I authorised them to use... Does this constitute theft?

I'm absolutely hopping mad here :mad: as this is leaving me short of money to live on.

Any advice greatfully received

Thanks,

Hi binksieboy,

I’m not sure why they would have taken money from another account – unless they are connected in any way or you previously gave them permission to do this.

Either way if it has left you with little or no money to live on, I’d recommend that you explain your situation and ask for a refund so that you can afford to live.

If the accounts are linked in any way I’d recommend that you open up a basic bank account elsewhere so they don’t have access to your funds in the future.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

bec99_2

Hi


I have a debt problem and have no clue who to get advice from or what to do about it.


I received a letter today from a debt collection agency advising me that 3 weeks ago they were sold a debt of approx £750 in my name and at my home address for money owing from the period of 1998-2000.


I have spoken to the company who apparently have no further information other than the above details and that it was for a catalogue and for goods ordered in my name and address and delivered to my address.


I have no doubt that it could well have been me ordering from this catalogue but I refuse to believe that I neither paid the balance (considering it is my parents address) or, if I hadn't paid the balance, would have ignored any letters of payment due or even from debt collection agencies nearer the time.


I'm also surprised to believe that they expect me to pay an amount of money this large, with no further information than what I have already been given.


The guy at the company told me I can either contact the catalogue to get more information from them (but will they still have details 11-13 years down the line), or file a police report for id fraud, therefore vindicating one of my family.


I'm am at a total loss of what to do!!


Please help thank you.

footy_fan_2

Hi wondering if someone is able to help and I'm hoping this is the right place. Opening my post today I received a very confusing letter dated 8th August, saying that an account I had was transfered to a company called MKDP LLP. It also said I owed £53.97. I was a little bit surprised, so decided to phone them, when I got through I was asked how I wanted to pay my debt! I told them I was not phoning to pay but to find out what this debt was. The guy on the other end of the phone told me it was for a items I had purchased from a catalogue in 1993. I told them I would seek advice
This is the first I have heard of this debt.No one has ever contacted me about this before. I've got rid of any paperwork going back 18 years, so I am unable to prove or disprove this debt. Can I be held liable for this after all this time, and would this be the reason I have a poor credit rating?