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StepChange_Pavan

ctarry wrote: »

I am just waiting for a couple of statements, before i can send my DMP agreement to you at cccs.

I do have a payment due in just under 2 weeks time, so I will need to send them a token payment

is it better to send a token payment with the letter in the DMP pack letting them know that I am setting up a DMP, or will it be OK just to send them a payment of £5 online, as i do have internet banking account, and mention on the letter that I have sent a payment online?

thanks

Hi ctarry and thanks for your post.

It’s fine to make the payment online as you will have proof of payment.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

jamespir wrote: »

i have a question why do certain debt recovery companies send you letters out with a different name yet it is them

Hi jamespir and thanks for your post.

Unfortunately this is just part of the standard debt collection process where they pass debts on to different departments, that can be named differently.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

strollertoo wrote: »

Hi
I was hoping one of your advisors could help. I am currently using a company called One Debt Solutions with whom for the last 14 months I have not had many issues.
They told me up front that letters and calls would continue and to refer everyone to them.
They also stated that we would be paying them a management fee and explained that the way they operate was to collect payments then offer a settlement on behalf of multiple clients of each creditor.
This seemed logical and I understand that these companies do not operate for free.
I have never seen this one advertise on TV or magazines or papers.
I started to have misgivings when they claimed too much money by direct debit two months in a row and as my bank threatened to apply charges I advised them I had managed to recall that months payment which I intended to keep to cover potential charges.
I also advised them I would change the payment method to standing order and again they agreed to this.
Two days ago I was contacted by a lady from a company called Financial Debt Helpline who claimed our creditors had referred us to them as they were not being paid.
She basically performed a character assassination on One Debt and described how they would keep all our money in a "pot" and at the end of the agreement claim it had been used for lawyers fees and their fees and we would end up in more debt than before.
I emailed One Debt and asked them to provide a detailed statement of how our accounts sit at the moment.
They have responded by making a telephone call to my home taken by my wife who said they explained things in great detail to her satisfaction. I still have my doubts as we are still receiving letters and calls from our creditors saying they are not being paid.
I now have considerable concerns that I am wasting my time and money and even greater concerns that someone seems to have sold on my details to another debt management company.
I have looked through your forums and found some negative oposts about One Debt and one positive one.
I am fully aware that companies of this type would try to infiltrate forums such as this in order to protect their reputation.
I would be very interested to hear what the moerators and advisors have to say about both these companies and how they recommend I proceed
thanks in advance

Hi strollertoo and welcome to the forum.

I can’t comment on the reputation of another company but we (and most forum users) would always recommend that you go to a debt charity or company that doesn’t charge fees.

We can look at your situation as a whole and recommend a solution for you as our advice is free and impartial. If you’d like to get in touch, we can advise you further. You can either use our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) or call our free helpline on 0800 138 1111.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

honeypear

The facts simply put are
Self employed partnership (hubby and I) with good net profit (ie, regular funds available to pay mortgage)


RBS Current account mortgage - Offset mortgage (runs as a current account with a massive overdraft which is the mortgage borrowing)


Large debts (25K loan with same RBS (14K left to pay) + credit card debts (about 35K) no, I’m not a spender, I funded my own business start up with it



Debts = large interest payments which were starting to make it difficult to pay mortgage, which went into arrears (arrears on a current account mortgage are a little difficult to understand as the wording on the statements is “as you are currently behind with your payment plan...” it then advises you to retain a minimum amount each month in order to catch up. In last 3 months wording actually changed to “as you are currently ahead of your payment plan....” which had made me suspicious)


Long meeting with customer relationship manager early this year to see if we could come to arrangement (he had given me the heads up at that stage that the bank were concerned that we were behind with our payment plan)


He advised me to take another loan – refused as thought it was a bad idea taking on more debt


Then he advised to remortgage and bring all debts under the mortgage – we applied and were refused


Situation not improving, didn’t want IVA or bankruptcy as capable of paying both mortgage and debts so entered into debt management scheme.



Subsequently Payplan negotiated with creditors , interest frozen on all debts and scheme appearing to go well since April


Arrears reducing gradually on mortgage due to reduced interest payments and debt management scheme (though we did recently have to pay out a hefty tax bill which put us back again)


Suddenly all accounts frozen
(current account mortgage in joint names, another current account in hubby's name....I removed myself from that account a while back on the advice of Payplan)

no communication /explanation /warning received


Emailed customer relationship manager who ‘regrets’ he ‘can’t help’. He was also rude to me last time we spoke telling me that as I had refused all advice (????) and that as I had gone outside of the bank to sort out the debt problems he could no longer help me


Other thing worth mentioning is that hubby and I don’t have a business account, just the seperate current account, in his name only, for paying in cheques and paying out to suppliers/staff etc...excellent cash flow at all times and not many transactions every month so never felt the need. We then fund the current account mortgage from this other (RBS) account


We had just paid in a substantial amount of money and were about to pay that into the mortgage account but as all frozen we can’t and also we can’t access the money to pay our suppliers now, we have enough to pay everything and bring the arrears down again.


Any advice gratefully received, you see we CAN pay and were managing, but it appears RBS would rather see us get into trouble than help us. The customer relationship manager even has a copy of last years business accounts with him and yet refuses to help us, explanation given earlier this year was that we have ‘fallen off the bottom of his list’ ....meaning we don’t quite earn enough to deserve to be on his list any more!!

Louisa75

I need help and advice..

I have debt of nearly £44000 broken down over a loan, 2 overdrafts, a next account and 4 credit cards. At the current time I am paying £998 to cover mininum payments. I have realistically with 4 children, a husband who travels away for work (and has to pay travel) £700 a month to pay debts. we have little/no equity in our house. I have contacted Cleardebt today and they can do a debt management plan asking us to pay £941 per month to settle all debts within 4 and a half years and (charging a capped fee of £100).....I am worried about that amount and we cannot realistically cover it - however if we paid £700 (£600 to debts and £100 to them) we can clear it in 6 years which is within budget. Do I trust this company or is it better for me to go to my 8 creditors and try and negotiate.... very scared and needing help and not a clue what to do

thelovebader

Hi,
Here is a question for the most knowledgable I would imagine.I am fighting for my PPI complaint, seperate issue, for mis selling.
Last year the 5 years were up on my PPI policy and it was time for First Plus tp pay me £7000+. At this time I was in an IVA. Now, at the time of the PPI payment due date, I contacted FP and they said that the whole lot was going to be sent to my IVA company as it was a windfall. I disagreed and said that my secure loan was with them and not involved in my IVA and even if it was I did not want to sent it to my IVA practioner, as I would like to take the money from my loan and reduce. In fact I wanted to pay the £7000+ back into my ridiculously over the normal interest rated loan from FP. I stated clearly not to send it to my IVA practitioner as my contract was with FP and I had the right to make the call. Even if they thought the money was a windfall and if they were even right, I felt it was my decision to make in terms of if I wanted to take a chance on failing the IVA, NOT their choice.
In any case they defied my request and sent it to the IVA practioner. My IVA has now been completed successfully, so only this great FP loan to tackle, of which I am fighting as you will see from previous posts.
The question is this - should they have done that and what can I do about it?

fresh-start-needed

Hi, I'm new to the site so sorry if this ends up in the wrong place .

I'm about to send my debt remedy in to CCCS but I'm worried because I in the last few months I tried to sort things out myself and told the creditors I earned less (the car needed repair and that was the only way I could pull through the mess).

My debt remedy is totally accurate, please don't judge me too badly. I was desperate. Now I'm ready to face the music with CCCS but I'm worried the creditors will tell them and that CCCS will be shirty with me or refuse to set up my DMP.

Please help.

StepChange_Pavan

honeypear wrote: »

The facts simply put are
Self employed partnership (hubby and I) with good net profit (ie, regular funds available to pay mortgage)


RBS Current account mortgage - Offset mortgage (runs as a current account with a massive overdraft which is the mortgage borrowing)


Large debts (25K loan with same RBS (14K left to pay) + credit card debts (about 35K) no, I’m not a spender, I funded my own business start up with it



Debts = large interest payments which were starting to make it difficult to pay mortgage, which went into arrears (arrears on a current account mortgage are a little difficult to understand as the wording on the statements is “as you are currently behind with your payment plan...” it then advises you to retain a minimum amount each month in order to catch up. In last 3 months wording actually changed to “as you are currently ahead of your payment plan....” which had made me suspicious)


Long meeting with customer relationship manager early this year to see if we could come to arrangement (he had given me the heads up at that stage that the bank were concerned that we were behind with our payment plan)


He advised me to take another loan – refused as thought it was a bad idea taking on more debt


Then he advised to remortgage and bring all debts under the mortgage – we applied and were refused


Situation not improving, didn’t want IVA or bankruptcy as capable of paying both mortgage and debts so entered into debt management scheme.



Subsequently Payplan negotiated with creditors , interest frozen on all debts and scheme appearing to go well since April


Arrears reducing gradually on mortgage due to reduced interest payments and debt management scheme (though we did recently have to pay out a hefty tax bill which put us back again)


Suddenly all accounts frozen
(current account mortgage in joint names, another current account in hubby's name....I removed myself from that account a while back on the advice of Payplan)

no communication /explanation /warning received


Emailed customer relationship manager who ‘regrets’ he ‘can’t help’. He was also rude to me last time we spoke telling me that as I had refused all advice (????) and that as I had gone outside of the bank to sort out the debt problems he could no longer help me


Other thing worth mentioning is that hubby and I don’t have a business account, just the seperate current account, in his name only, for paying in cheques and paying out to suppliers/staff etc...excellent cash flow at all times and not many transactions every month so never felt the need. We then fund the current account mortgage from this other (RBS) account


We had just paid in a substantial amount of money and were about to pay that into the mortgage account but as all frozen we can’t and also we can’t access the money to pay our suppliers now, we have enough to pay everything and bring the arrears down again.


Any advice gratefully received, you see we CAN pay and were managing, but it appears RBS would rather see us get into trouble than help us. The customer relationship manager even has a copy of last years business accounts with him and yet refuses to help us, explanation given earlier this year was that we have ‘fallen off the bottom of his list’ ....meaning we don’t quite earn enough to deserve to be on his list any more!!

Hello honeypear and thank you for your post.

I’d recommend that you go in to your bank and speak to them to see if they will release the funds you need. It’s not clear why they have frozen all your accounts if you have sufficient funds to pay your mortgage on time.

Payplan may have access to more of your information and you could contact them to see if they can give you any further advice.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

Louisa75 wrote: »

I need help and advice..

I have debt of nearly £44000 broken down over a loan, 2 overdrafts, a next account and 4 credit cards. At the current time I am paying £998 to cover mininum payments. I have realistically with 4 children, a husband who travels away for work (and has to pay travel) £700 a month to pay debts. we have little/no equity in our house. I have contacted Cleardebt today and they can do a debt management plan asking us to pay £941 per month to settle all debts within 4 and a half years and (charging a capped fee of £100).....I am worried about that amount and we cannot realistically cover it - however if we paid £700 (£600 to debts and £100 to them) we can clear it in 6 years which is within budget. Do I trust this company or is it better for me to go to my 8 creditors and try and negotiate.... very scared and needing help and not a clue what to do

Hi Louisa75 and thanks for your post.

From what you’ve said, £900 is far more than you can afford and the fees of £100 per month could be paid towards clearing your debts quicker.

There are debt charities such as us that can administer a DMP for your completely free of charge. We would of course need to look at your situation in more detail to look at your budget and see if a DMP is your best solution - but it seems like it would be.

I’d recommend that you get in touch so we can discuss your options. 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.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

thelovebader wrote: »

Hi,
Here is a question for the most knowledgable I would imagine.I am fighting for my PPI complaint, seperate issue, for mis selling.
Last year the 5 years were up on my PPI policy and it was time for First Plus tp pay me £7000+. At this time I was in an IVA. Now, at the time of the PPI payment due date, I contacted FP and they said that the whole lot was going to be sent to my IVA company as it was a windfall. I disagreed and said that my secure loan was with them and not involved in my IVA and even if it was I did not want to sent it to my IVA practioner, as I would like to take the money from my loan and reduce. In fact I wanted to pay the £7000+ back into my ridiculously over the normal interest rated loan from FP. I stated clearly not to send it to my IVA practitioner as my contract was with FP and I had the right to make the call. Even if they thought the money was a windfall and if they were even right, I felt it was my decision to make in terms of if I wanted to take a chance on failing the IVA, NOT their choice.
In any case they defied my request and sent it to the IVA practioner. My IVA has now been completed successfully, so only this great FP loan to tackle, of which I am fighting as you will see from previous posts.
The question is this - should they have done that and what can I do about it?

Hi thelovebader and thanks for your post.

I’d recommend that you speak to your IVA company – it could be that they knew you would be due this money at the time of drafting your IVA, and it was written into the proposal that the money would be paid to them. It could also be part of their standard terms and conditions.

If it was, unfortunately First Plus has done the right thing by paying the money to your IP.

If not, you would need to complain to First Plus and follow their standard procedure.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan