Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

System

em80 wrote: »

Hi

How long does it take to find out if my debt relief order has been successful? Also would a student grant for £275 for books and materials count towards the £300 in assets?

Thanks

Hi Em80 and thanks for your message.

Once a DRO has been submitted the DRO Unit should approve it, barring any problems, within approx 24 hours. It should then be on the Individual Insolvency Register within a few hours.

The student grant would not count as an asset as long as it was paid straight away on the items it was intended for.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

sickasachip13

Hey Darren,

I'm not one of the debt advisors, just someone who hangs around the forum sometimes and is a year into their DMP. Its obviously not something to be taken lightly BUT, it's really not as scary as it might seem. Our DMP was set up relatively easily, there's been no talk of bailiffs or courts etc. Our creditors have accepted our payments and, for the first time, our debt is decreasing on a month by month basis.

I am sure, from personal experience, CCCS will give you excellent support and advice and one of their debt people will be along soon. You've taken a massive positive step by acknowledging the problem and deciding that it does need addressing.

You're not alone, that's for sure! It is really quite daunting at the beginning and lots of people feel out of their depth and upset. But, for lots of advice and support it's definitely worth visiting this thread:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2522779

Best of luck.

Mrs_Arcanum

What happens to my Egg card DMP payments when they switch over to Barclacard? Are CCCS and Payplan aware of any potential issues or will there be no changes?

System

trish67 wrote: »

Hi, I moved house last August, I informed my gas company of this, and had everything transferred into my name at my new address, then much to my horror I received a final gas bill for my previous address for £2875.57, it has got me worried sick as I had no idea about it for over a year! I contacted them immediately about it, and I need to arrange to pay it off, I'm currently receiving employment and support allowance at the assessment rate, I have two children and cannot afford to make large monthly payments off this bill, can you tell me if there would be a minimum amount that I could pay off every week or month as I am worried sick over it.

Thanks.

Hi trish67 and thanks for your post.

You might want to request an itemised breakdown of this bill and how costs escalated to such an extent.

The most important thing is to put together and accurate income and expenditure budget that covers all your essential outgoings. We can help you with this.

Any funds that are left over can go towards this bill.

You might want to try our online counselling service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) to help you find a solution to your debt problem quickly. Particularly if you have other outstanding debts.

If you’re unsure please 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.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

StepChange_Pavan

brandybum wrote: »

Hello,

I am trying to help my partner with his financial status and need some advice.

He has about £34,000 of debt that was racked up with his ex wife - they are not yet divorced... He wants to go bankrupt, but is saying it is best to do so after the divorce in case she lands any more debts on him that she has accrued since they split (as they are married he will be liable for them?)

So he has not been working, or paying these debts (not claiming benefits either) he is worried that if he starts earing, the debtors will see this and pounce on him with ccjs and then he cant go bankrupt.

I said, if they do see he's working, they will contact him and ask him to pay a certain amount, to which he can reply with a breakdown of incoming and out goings and offer them a good will payment of £1 a month as that is all we can afford. and they cannot turn it down or take him to court. We then bide our time and wait for the divorce after which he can go bankrupt as cannot afford to pay these monterous debts!

Does this sound right? Am I right or is he? I really need to get him into work as we are really struggling just on my wages, he's just so scared he will have to pay all these debts off that his ex was the one who get them in the first place!

Really appreciate a response, thank you!!

Hi brandybum and welcome to the forum.

It doesn’t matter whether he waits or not - If his ex wife accrues any more debts, she will be liable for them.

You’re right that he can only pay whatever he can afford, but I’d recommend that he seeks some impartial advice, as there may be other options available to him that he hasn’t considered.

If you’re struggling to afford to live it’s important that he can earn some money if possible, because your living expenses would be prioritised over any creditors.

I’d recommend that he gets in touch so that we can look at his situation in more detail to give him some proper advice. He can visit our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) to help him find a solution to the debt problem quickly.

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


If he’d prefer to speak to an advisor then he can ring our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111. We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

System

lellybean wrote: »

i need some advise as over 3 year ago i signed up for buy bye credit to help me with my credit card as they said they could get it settled as i had beeen misold PPi. they said i needed to pay £1050.00 as a fee but if they did not win i would recieve the money back on my card, they passed it to a solicitor called watson solicitors in Llandudno. whilst i was trying to contantly ring buy bye credit and getting no where i was then approached by a firm called CMC who saidthat MBNA had passed the debt to them and they wanted the money back i told them of buy bye credit and they informed me that they are rogue traders and that i should be settling a payment scheme with CMC to pay my debts off. i told them that Watson solicitors are dealing with it as they were ringing 4/5 times a day with threats. when i trid to speak to watson solicitors andrew waton was always busy and never returned my calls, ANDREW WATSON an experienced solicitor with a broad range of knowledge who specialises in litigation with the main focus being on the Consumer Credit Act.
he said eventually when i did speak to him because i had been missold PPi that it had been passed from buy bye credit i would have a case??? i did not hear anything for ages
now in the past month CMC have called to ask for my address, dob, surname as the said they have not heard from watson solicitors and when they have tried to ring watsons its a dead line. i have called watson solicitors and left again messages for andrew to call me back and guess what? it hasnt returned any of them. i dont know what to do as am being called agian 4/5 times a day from CMC debt management and in the same predicament i was in 18 months ago and lost alot of money becuase of the scam i fell for with buy bye credit !!!

Hi Lellybean and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you would benefit from some free and impartial advice.

Please call 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.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

System

Mrs_Arcanum wrote: »

What happens to my Egg card DMP payments when they switch over to Barclacard? Are CCCS and Payplan aware of any potential issues or will there be no changes?

Hi MrsAcanum and thanks for your message.

We can’t speak for Payplan but you may need to provide us provide us with any updated statements that you receive from Barclaycard.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

StepChange_Pavan

Darren65 wrote: »

Hi There,
I've just joined this forum and I'm after some advice from people who have pushed the next button on the CCCS website and set up a DMP , I'm really struggling with debt both mentally and physically, I've always been hopeless with money and the last few years I've been sticking my head in the sand and hoping it would go away, which everyone on this site knows it wont. Its now got to the point where I cant afford to buy basics. My main question is what happens when I set up the DMP? will i be bombarded with letters asking for money and will once the creditors don't get their money will I be took to court and have what little I have taken from me. Should I transfer ownership of expensive goods or would that be too obvious, I'm house sharing at the moment will the other person have any bad credit against them because of me, how long will my credit be bad, but most of all I'm panicking about courts and bailiffs, that scares the living daylights out of me, I really don't know what to do at the moment everywhere I turn there's someone wanting money, should I carry on and struggle for foreseeable future or should I press the button?

Hi Darren65 and welcome to the forum


Sickasachip13 has already given some really reassuring advice which I hope has helped to put your mind at ease.

Pressing the ‘next’ button itself just submits your details to us so we can send you some more information – it doesn’t tie you into anything and you’re not obliged to continue at any point.

If you’re struggling, it’s important that you deal with the situation sooner rather than later. If you continue as you are, it could get worse especially if you can’t pay for the basics. It’s also important that you put realistic figures into your budget to make sure it’s sustainable.

There’s no need to transfer any goods as a DMP wouldn’t take them into account. If you do get letters asking for more money, you can just explain that you’re on a DMP with us (if that’s what you choose to do) and you’re already paying as much as you can.

In terms of your credit file, if you start to miss or make late payments, these will affect your credit file for six years. Although your main priority would be to clear your debts first as you won’t be looking for any further credit at the moment. It won’t affect your house mate unless you have any joint credit agreements or accounts.

Provided that you’re up to date with all your priorities, you won’t get bailiffs at this stage. You can read more about the debt collection process, but you would have to have court paperwork before it could get to the bailiff stage.

If you have any more questions, please just get in touch.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Hightower13

CCCS_Pavan wrote: »

Hello Laura and thank you for your post.

I can’t guarantee whether you will receive a refund but it is worth putting in a claim.

There is a very useful guide on this site which will help: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/ppi-credit-card-insurance

Kind regards,
Pavan

Thanks Pavan - Just wondered if it would be a good idea (as I do not have any paper work for it at all because I have lost it) to contact ARGOS to ask for my Policy number and the date I began the PPI and maybe how much I have paid so far ?? and then continue into the reclaiming part.

Thanks again, Laura

StepChange_Pavan

Hightower13 wrote: »

Thanks Pavan - Just wondered if it would be a good idea (as I do not have any paper work for it at all because I have lost it) to contact ARGOS to ask for my Policy number and the date I began the PPI and maybe how much I have paid so far ?? and then continue into the reclaiming part.

Thanks again, Laura

Hi Laura,

If you don’t have any information then it’s a good idea to contact them to get this.

Thanks,
Pavan