Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

System

scared-sick wrote: »

Can you please tell me when I am officially classed as being on a DMP? When do I start being bound by dmp terms and conditions?
I have got a CCCS reference munber but I haven't signed any of the paperwork and sent it back yet due to needing to open a new bank account and get the details first.

And if I have sent the letters out with my reference number on but cccs have no other details yet, what will cccs do if any of these creditors contact them.

Hi and thanks for your message.

If any of your creditors contact us we will inform them that we are awaiting the return of your paperwork before we proceed.

As we haven’t got your Letter of Authority back we can’t discuss your situation with your creditors yet.

If you have any concerns please give us a call quoting your reference number.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

System

cheshirechick wrote: »

We owe £15k on a credit card and desparately want to get this paid off. Because the interest rate is so high we are finding that paying the minimum repayment reduces the balance by next to nothing each month. Somone has suggested we pay as much as we can off the card each month, we think we can pay £1000 and then use the card for essential living expenses only rather than using our debit card. Currently we pay £350 per month on the card.
That way we can beat the interest charges. Does that make sense?

Hi and thanks for your message.

It would depend on the terms and conditions of the credit card and what the interest rates are on the purchases that you make.

If your credit rating is still good you could look at switching to a zero percent card.

Ideally I would recommend putting a budget together and looking at areas you could cut back on and pay extra off of the credit card or to start looking for ways to boost your income to help pay more than the minimum payment and clear the debt.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

BlushingRose

Dear CCCS advisor.
Could you take a quick look here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3766295 and advise me on what to do? Have had conflicting info (or at least it feels like it) Thanks x

mynameisamy

Hi I need some help.

I owe money to several credit card companies from when I was younger. The problem is I do not remember who exactly I owe the money to or how much. I know I have paid off two of them but I have been chased by others which have been sold to collection agencies and I'm not sure who the original lenders were.

I was just blindly paying one of these collection agencies "Lowell Portfolio" but they never send me statements and I realised this was a bit stupid so I have cancelled my direct debit.

I also received a letter from "Equidebt" saying I owed money to Aktiv Kapital but I KNOW I never borrowed money from anyone by that name so I googled them and found info about them being scammers or something??

I can afford to pay some money each month towards my debt but I need to know exactly how much I owe and to who. I am worried that I've been paying this "Lowell Portfolio" for no reason and they have just been scamming me.

What should I do?

bigt777

Hi all,
I have two credit card debts:

1. MBNA £10k
2. Santander £3k

Got into trouble with payments when our 2nd child was born 2 n half year ago!

Have been making token payments of £1/month for last 2 yrs, recieved letter from MBNA on monday saying outstanding balance has been purchased by Idem Capital Securities Ltd.

My father has offered to help me out if I can obtain F&F settlements which although I would have to pay him back would be a huge weight off my shoulders.

Just wondered if anyone had any ideas on how much to offer? Understand it's a negotiation process so should start low but how low? Have spoken to CCCS so know about only talking by letter.

Also what is best way to sort out my credit rating? Will it take 6yr from agreeing settlement to wipe out defaults? Default notice was sent out bout 18month ago so will the 6yr start from then or will I have defaulted every month with my £1 payments? Does the fact the debt has been sold on affect my credit rating?

Know I have asked alot of questions so any you can help with will be most appreciated. Thanks

edbling

CCCS_Pavan wrote: »

!Hi edbling and welcome to the forum.

It’s definitely worth contacting them – even if they won’t refund any of the charges they should at least look to freezing them now.

You could also get in touch with Payplan as they might contact them on your behalf too.

Kind regards,
Pavan

hi i have filled something in online today and was contacted by a company called bbcdebts.com who told me that an iva is something i should start up right away. i currently have a dmp but they said to stop paying them. they wanted me to start paying straight away but i havent as yet. are they a trustworthy company which will help or are they just another parasite? please help

StepChange_Pavan

Treasure030508 wrote: »

Hi, i'm really concerned about my parents. They are both in their 60's and my mother has been made redundant. She has also had an operation (knee replacement) which went wrong and basically is unable to work still (she is under the hospital for her back and knee).

My father is working but doctor has told him his kidneys are in a bad way and needs to come off pain killers and have both knees replaced this year. My Dad works full time (which he struggles with his bad legs) and only earns about £16k per year.

My parents are in debt and can't afford to both be out of work, they already downsized to pay off their mortgage last year but they still have a loan which has about £19k (3 years to run still) and I know they have credit card debt too (7500 on one card and 3800 on other). Total debt must be about £30k! (obviously they didn't forsee my mum loosing her job).

They are worried sick and I just don't know what their options are. I have heard about IVA's etc and equity release but not sure where they stand as they do own their home.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I am posting this without even speaking to my mum as she won't approach anyone for help as feels terribly guilty for being in debt and is very hard on herself.

Thanks for reading.

Hi Treasure030508 and thank you for your post.

Unfortunately, it’s really difficult to say what their options are without looking at their income and expenditure. They would need a surplus to be able to consider an IVA and equity release could be an option if they have significant equity.

If she’s reluctant to contact us herself, you could sit down with them and help them to use our online advice debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu). This way they’ll be able to enter all their information without having to speak to anyone in the first instance, and they can consider all the options.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

System

BlushingRose wrote: »

Dear CCCS advisor.
Could you take a quick look here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3766295 and advise me on what to do? Have had conflicting info (or at least it feels like it) Thanks x

Hi BlushingRose thanks for your post.

I’ve answered your query on the other thread.

If you need any more advice please get in touch.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

StepChange_Pavan

MrsSLS wrote: »

Trying not to type in too much of a panic.
Long story short - about three years ago I had racked up over £3000 in charges at Nationwide. I tried to reclaim but didn't succeed and the charges effectively were an unauthorised overdraft, which Nationwide pursued me for. They passed my debt over to Moorcroft Debt Recovery and I have been slowly but surely paying them off at £50.00 a month. My last payment was made today and I should feel elated!

HOWEVER

I got my (first) credit report today via CreditCheck and for the past three years, Nationwide have registered a default against me for the current account. There is no record of any payments being made to them.

I have previously spoken to the debt collector who deals with my case and about two years ago he assured me that payments were being passed on to Nationwide, but that they were slow to update their records. There is NO record of any of the money I have given to Moorcroft being sent to Nationwide?

I'm quite upset as I had really hoped my finances were starting to straighten out. I've asked the debt collector to call me this afternoon to explain what is going on.

Nationwide have my current address details, but haven't provided me with a current account statement for a long time.

What should I do please? How do I firstly establish that all the money I've paid to Moorcroft has gone to Nationwide, and secondly, how do I sort my credit record out to show that payments have been made faithfully for over three years?

Sorry for the ramble/rant - I'm just so disappointed!

Thanks so much

J

Hi MrsSLS and thanks for your post.

Tixy has already raised some important points, but if you need any more help please let us know.

Kind regards,
Pavan

System

mynameisamy wrote: »

Hi I need some help.

I owe money to several credit card companies from when I was younger. The problem is I do not remember who exactly I owe the money to or how much. I know I have paid off two of them but I have been chased by others which have been sold to collection agencies and I'm not sure who the original lenders were.

I was just blindly paying one of these collection agencies "Lowell Portfolio" but they never send me statements and I realised this was a bit stupid so I have cancelled my direct debit.

I also received a letter from "Equidebt" saying I owed money to Aktiv Kapital but I KNOW I never borrowed money from anyone by that name so I googled them and found info about them being scammers or something??

I can afford to pay some money each month towards my debt but I need to know exactly how much I owe and to who. I am worried that I've been paying this "Lowell Portfolio" for no reason and they have just been scamming me.

What should I do?

Hi mynameisamy and welcome to the forum.

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

Lowell and Aktiv Kapital are both debt collection companies.

The first thing to do is get access to a copy of your credit report so that you can see who you owe the money to and how much you owe.

After you have done this we can offer advise on what the best solution to your situation is.

We can also assist in putting together an accurate income and expenditure budget so you can make payments that you can realistically afford.

The article below explains how you can access to your credit file.

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score

Once you have done this you can call our free helpline number on 0800 138 1111 or use our online advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) to help you find a solution to your debt problem quickly.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat