Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

peteuk

Hi

Weve been on a DMP for 6 years now with the CCCS, and over that time things have changed (both for the better and at times for worst) now I am in a job and location that means I am earning more, and my wife is also earning (tax free).

The problem we have is two fold. Firstly it is very difficult to do an update on our budget, certain things are dirt cheap but others are over priced. To shop for decent food costs three times that in the UK. Eaqually the items we need to buy here you wouldnt think of buying in the UK i.e. insect repelant.

Secondly we would like to blast some of our debts, on paper we can live off my wage alone, so do we just pay off one creditor at a time with my wifes wage or should we add it to the CCCS payment. We currently owe 22K to four different debtors (Llloyds TSB holding three accounts) We have two which are just over 1K so in about 3 months we can pay them off.

On paper we could be nearly debt free by the time we return to the UK, instead of the 7 years is going to take us at the present payment.

Pete

StepChange_Pavan

Scully38 wrote: »

I'm really struggling at the moment. I've been trying to sell my house, but it's fallen through 3 times and now I can't afford to live here. I owe my sister 45k as part of my mom's will, she's getting antsy and blames me for the house sale not going through, when in fact i'm desperate to sell.

I've been on JSA for 6 months and can't live like this for much longer, this isn't living. I've literally had no food for 4 weeks and have lost nearly two stone this month. I've just been living on coffee to survive and have no strength left to do anything because i've had no money for food. I've had to use all my JSA money for the last two months to pay for my toilet being broken. I've got no family apart from a sister who is taking me to court for the rest of the will money (she's had 30k cash already). She knows i'm struggling but doesn't care.

Because I own my own home (was my mom's), and no mortgage, I don't qualify for any help. I've been to the cAB and they say I fall through all the cracks because I own property. I've got the Gas, Electric, Water and TV licensing people threatening to take me to court as i've not paid them. The TV liensing people are going to take £93 out of my account on the 23rd December leaving me with £27 for two weeks, £15 of that has to pay for train fares and buses to sign on. I can't even feed my 2 cats. I've sold all my jewelery to last me this long and have no savings at all. I'm at my whits end.

Even speaking with the Elec and Gas people said they have to take a minimum of £30 a month,and with it being winter, I have no central heating, only a gas fire. I've been living and sleeping in the living room with blankets and jumpers on, just to stay warm. Now with the snow making it freezing, I just don't know what to do. I've done an outgoings thing and have no money left for food, what do I do? How can I pay for everyday things?

Gas and Elec £60
Water £15
TV Lic £93 then £43
Insurance £20
Phone and broadband to get a job £55
Train £30 per month to get to job center

Total is £273. I only get £230 a month to live on.

How do I survive this winter? I just don't know what to do.

Hi Scully38 and thanks for your post.

Unfortunately there’s no quick solution to your situation. Ideally if your house was to sell or you were to find some employment you’d be much better off.

Is the house in your sole name only? If any of your creditors (including your sister) were to take you to court, they would see that you don’t have any available money to pay them and it’s likely that they’d secure the debt to the house with a charging order. http://www.cccs.co.uk/InfoCentre/EnglandandWales/Creditoraction/Courtaction/Chargingorder.aspx

It’s important that you try to maintain the current payments towards your priorities and only offer them what you can afford towards the arrears. You need to eat and stay warm so although it’s difficult you need to budget whatever you can for this.

Is there any way you can reduce the phone and broadband costs to help? I understand that you need them for job searches but it’s worth contacting them to see if there is a cheaper tariff for you. You could do the same with the insurance.

If you give us a call we can discuss your options in more detail. You mentioned that you’re not eligible for any help but we can do a benefits check to make sure of this. In the mean time, keep searching for jobs and if your house is still on the market hopefully someone will be interested in it soon.

I’d recommend that you call our free helpline on 0800 138 1111 so we can talk through your options.

Kind regards,
Pavan

jools182

I’m after some advice on a debt problem
I lost my job due to health problems with stress and anxiety a few years ago. I was out of work for almost 2 years and during that time ran up and overdraft and a credit card bill with natwest. The interest payments gradually grew until I had the credit card taken off me and had to close the current account. (Debts are between 5 and 10k)

I went to see the Citizens Advice Bureau just over a year ago and set up a minimal payment and had the interest frozen as I was still not working.
This year I managed to get work and I recently got more letters from the bank saying they are resuming proceedings
I went to see the CAB again today to do a financial statement. They were very mean on what my outgoings were, for example, I probably spend £60 a week on food, they put down £40 etc and worked out I had just under £200 a month left after outgoings
They are basically saying all this money has to go to the bank as payments which frankly isn’t possible due to, well, life
For example, last month the TV broke, so that was £300, month before I needed work on my car £300, I still need tyres for my car which I haven’t been able to afford which will be £200 as a minimum
Would I be better off seeing a Solicitor?
I will pay the banks back, but I need some money for myself for emergencies, and maybe a day out now and again. I don’t go out for meals or drinking, so my outgoings are low, but I just don’t have the cash they are wanting
The stress and anxiety started showing up again a few months ago too, and I suppose it’s possible I could find myself out of work again

StepChange_Pavan

liquorice27 wrote: »

i have recently recieved a credit collections agency letter demanding £1204 from a previously unpaid credit card or recieve a doorstep visit. I was under the impression this debt had been erased as it has been over 8 years?plz help

Hi liquorice27 and thanks for your post.

The debt wouldn’t be erased but it could be legally unenforceable if it’s ‘statute barred’. This would be the case if, after six years;

• The creditor has not already obtained a county court judgment (CCJ)

• You or any one else owing the money (on a debt in joint names) have not made a payment

• You have not written to the creditor admitting you owe the debt.

If you believe that the creditor is timed out to collect the debt, you may wish to use the template letter below.

Hope this helps.


Kind regards,
Pavan

Without Prejudice

Dear Sirs
Ref
I do not admit any liability for your claim and will not be making any payment towards it, as it is now more than six-years since any cause of action may have accrued. Any claim would, therefore, appear to be statute barred under section 5 of The Limitations Act 1980 and any court claim will be defended on that basis.
In addition section 2.14 of The Office of Fair Trading Collection guidance states that it is unfair to pursue such claims where, as here, the creditor has made no contact during the relevant limitation period.
If, however, you have substantive evidence that your claim is not statute barred then please supply it to me within 21 days. If you are unable to provide such evidence please confirm that no further action will be taken against me.
Yours faithfully
(Signature)
(Print name)

StepChange_Pavan

deemul wrote: »

Firstly CCCS are brillant... I have been on my DMP for 1 year and have been able to sleep, open bills without the fear of lossing my home THANK YOU.

I have a question please advise. I'm on a a budget each month and usually get there however I have approx 4 yrs left, due to having recently having won a PPI claim i have £5200 coming my way to which i have to pay the tax on the interest. so approx £5000 left would i be allowed to keep £1000 in an account for a rainey day, as my car is becoming more and more unrealiable and would use this when the day comes to get another vechile that i do need for work purposes (without which none of my debt would get paid off)
I would then contact CCCS to make an overpayment off 4K or do I contact creditors to see if any would settle for a lesser figure than owed ie. halifax are currently approx 4900 and just might settle for 4000 resulting 900 being used else where to clear other debts.

thank you and PLEASE advise:xmassign:

Hello deemul and thanks for your post.

I’m glad we’ve been able to help you. I’d recommend that you give us a call to discuss your situation and decide what’s for the best. If you do want to settle some of the debts, we have a specialist team that can help you with this.

In some cases the creditor won’t issue you with a cheque and will put it towards the debt anyway.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

peteuk wrote: »

Hi

Weve been on a DMP for 6 years now with the CCCS, and over that time things have changed (both for the better and at times for worst) now I am in a job and location that means I am earning more, and my wife is also earning (tax free).

The problem we have is two fold. Firstly it is very difficult to do an update on our budget, certain things are dirt cheap but others are over priced. To shop for decent food costs three times that in the UK. Eaqually the items we need to buy here you wouldnt think of buying in the UK i.e. insect repelant.

Secondly we would like to blast some of our debts, on paper we can live off my wage alone, so do we just pay off one creditor at a time with my wifes wage or should we add it to the CCCS payment. We currently owe 22K to four different debtors (Llloyds TSB holding three accounts) We have two which are just over 1K so in about 3 months we can pay them off.

On paper we could be nearly debt free by the time we return to the UK, instead of the 7 years is going to take us at the present payment.

Pete

Hi Pete and thanks for your post.

It’s best that you give us a call to update your budget. Although it won’t be a ‘normal’ budget, we can include comments to explain why.

It’s difficult to say what your best option is without looking at your budget in more detail. When you speak to us we can explore all of the available options and refer you to our settlements team if you can save enough to look at this solution.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

jools182 wrote: »

I’m after some advice on a debt problem
I lost my job due to health problems with stress and anxiety a few years ago. I was out of work for almost 2 years and during that time ran up and overdraft and a credit card bill with natwest. The interest payments gradually grew until I had the credit card taken off me and had to close the current account. (Debts are between 5 and 10k)

I went to see the Citizens Advice Bureau just over a year ago and set up a minimal payment and had the interest frozen as I was still not working.
This year I managed to get work and I recently got more letters from the bank saying they are resuming proceedings
I went to see the CAB again today to do a financial statement. They were very mean on what my outgoings were, for example, I probably spend £60 a week on food, they put down £40 etc and worked out I had just under £200 a month left after outgoings
They are basically saying all this money has to go to the bank as payments which frankly isn’t possible due to, well, life
For example, last month the TV broke, so that was £300, month before I needed work on my car £300, I still need tyres for my car which I haven’t been able to afford which will be £200 as a minimum
Would I be better off seeing a Solicitor?
I will pay the banks back, but I need some money for myself for emergencies, and maybe a day out now and again. I don’t go out for meals or drinking, so my outgoings are low, but I just don’t have the cash they are wanting
The stress and anxiety started showing up again a few months ago too, and I suppose it’s possible I could find myself out of work again

Hi jools182 and thanks for your post.

It’s definitely important that your budget’s sustainable and reflects what you actually need to live on a day to day basis. From the figures you’ve given you wouldn’t be able to put aside £300 every month for emergencies but you can save something towards it in case something does happen.

If you’d like another opinion on your levels of expenditure, there’s no need to see a solicitor as we can help.

It’s good that you’re taking hold of it now rather than letting the problem build. Hopefully taking control will help keep your stress and anxiety at bay

If you’d like to discuss your situation you can call our helpline on 0800 138 1111. Alternatively 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.

Kind regards,
Pavan

peteuk

CCCS_Pavan wrote: »

Hi Pete and thanks for your post.

It’s best that you give us a call to update your budget. Although it won’t be a ‘normal’ budget, we can include comments to explain why.

It’s difficult to say what your best option is without looking at your budget in more detail. When you speak to us we can explore all of the available options and refer you to our settlements team if you can save enough to look at this solution.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

I bit the bullet so to speak and got as much of my house in order as possible, there is still one or two gaps. I phoned CCCS later in the evening and went through as much as I could. Obviously they didnt like the £750 on food, but thats how much it costs! Simple.

Everything is sorted though and the new payments start in Feb. Still looking at paying it off early though!

Pete

cinders012

Hi. I have a total unsecured debt of around £8000 between credit cards (£3500 lloyds tsb, £500 egg) payday loans (total of £450 between 3 lenders) and an overdraft (£3000 lloyds tsb).

I was managing my originally small debt up until about 3 years ago when my personal circumstances changed and my debt began to grow.

I am not a homeowner, a entitled to no benefits and am struggling to meet minimum repayments on my credit cards along with interest on these, overdraft and loans AND pay all my bills (hence the continued use of payday loans). I'm tired of having to borrow in order to live

Is a dmp right for me? How will this effect my credit rating (which is already very poor)?? The thought of having a dmp worries me but so does the way my debt seems to be spiralling out of control.

StepChange_Pavan

cinders012 wrote: »

Hi. I have a total unsecured debt of around £8000 between credit cards (£3500 lloyds tsb, £500 egg) payday loans (total of £450 between 3 lenders) and an overdraft (£3000 lloyds tsb).

I was managing my originally small debt up until about 3 years ago when my personal circumstances changed and my debt began to grow.

I am not a homeowner, a entitled to no benefits and am struggling to meet minimum repayments on my credit cards along with interest on these, overdraft and loans AND pay all my bills (hence the continued use of payday loans). I'm tired of having to borrow in order to live

Is a dmp right for me? How will this effect my credit rating (which is already very poor)?? The thought of having a dmp worries me but so does the way my debt seems to be spiralling out of control.

Hi cinders012 and thanks for your post.

It’s difficult to say whether a DMP is the right option for you or not without looking at your income and expenditure.

The DMP itself won’t affect your credit rating, but because you will be defaulting against your agreements and making reduced payments this will be marked on your file. Having said this, your credit file has already been affected and you probably won’t want to take anything further out at least until your existing debts are cleared. Everything that’s on there will clear after 6 years.

It’s good that you’re looking at your options, and although the thought of a DMP might worry you, at least you’re taking control of your situation.

I’d recommend that you get in touch so that we can look at your circumstances in more detail and explore all of the options that are available to you.

You can use 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.

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


I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan