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Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

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  • Hope someone can help in regards to an unknown address listed on my credit file, appeared mid October 2011, couple weeks after starting a DMP with CCCS. Rang the creditor it is listed against and after finally speaking to someone helpful on the 3rd attempt over the phone had my address changed back to what it should be. Any advise on how to have the address removed from my files as I have never lived there, its the other end of the country to where I live! The lady I spoke to said she wasn't able to see how it was changed, either phone or post, so I am totally bemused as to how it has happened.

    Hello and thank you for your post.

    The creditor would need to remove the address - as it’s easy to prove, this shouldn’t be a problem.

    This leaflet gives you some more detailed information about how to go about it on pages 19-20: http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf.

    I hope this helps.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • Hi,

    My partner and I currently live together and he has recently asked me for help to sort out his finances. He has £9000 of debt between 3 credit cards, an overdraft and a personal loan. He was looking to get a personal loan over 2 years to consolidate his payments and reduce the amount of interest he is paying. However, he has recently gone back to college and is now struggling to get a loan from any lender. I have no debt and he has asked me to apply for a joint loan with him, which he will pay. We are hoping to buy the house we are currently living in at the end of this year, which obviously means applying for a mortgage. My concern is that having this loan outstanding will affect our ability to get a mortgage. I earn roughly £1500 take home pay each month, and my partner earns about £900, including his £400 bursary. Are there any alternative ways that we could clear his debt that may be more effective?

    Thanks

    Hi DebtFreeBy33 and thanks for your post.

    You’ve already had some fantastic advice from other posters and it sounds as though you’ve made a sensible decision.

    I’d just add that it could be a good idea to draw up a budget and check it regularly to make sure you’re still on track. You might find this article useful too as it explains how credit files work and if you want to improve it how you can go about it: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score.

    Good luck with everything.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • Sangels wrote: »
    Hello,
    I'm hoping someone can help me please. Me and my partner are in a lot of debt. (Over £50,000) We are a homeowner but have no bad debt/credit, never missed a payment etc. But it has come to that time now that I am really stuggling to cope with the fact that the debt isn't really going down. We have 2 loans which will be paid off in 5 years (nearly £20000) I don't really want to change these. After doing a budget and looking at the money we have left over after paying the loans aswell we have £400 left to pay everything else (Store cards, Credit Cards and Overdrafts.) No where will consolidate this for me due to the amount of debt I have already I'm guessing, not that I am saying a consolidation loan is the best option. Its just I don't know what other options I have, borrowing anything on the morgage isn't an option. None of my debt is secured either. Do I do a DMP or an IVA I just don't know where or who to turn to as ideally we don't want to end up with a bad credit rating as our credit rating is great. I want this debt gone ASAP (3-5 years) as in a few years I would really like a bigger house and to start a family but can't see this happening with all this debt and its ruining my life. Hopefully someone can help. Many thanks

    Hi Sangels and thank you for your post.

    It’s tricky because there isn’t a debt solution that won’t affect your credit rating. Unfortunately the only way around this would be to maintain the payments and look at reducing your outgoings or increasing your income to pay more towards the debts and clear them quicker.

    Consolidation loans can sometimes make your situation worse in the long term but this blogpost looks at the things you would need to consider: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2011/04/to-debt-consolidate-or-not-to-debt-consolidate/.

    When thinking about your credit rating, you might also find this useful: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2011/06/i-don%E2%80%99t-want-my-credit-rating-to-be-affected/.

    We would need to look at your situation in more detail but we are free, confidential and impartial so it’s worth contacting us so that you can explore all your options.

    You can visit our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) or call our free helpline on 0800 138 1111.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • moneymuppet
    moneymuppet Posts: 2 Newbie
    edited 13 February 2012 at 11:09PM
    My husband and I were in an IVA which finished in November of last year after 66 payments of what was set out in the original court agreement. The Debt People who were looking after our IVA hadn't been in touch and when I asked them why we hadn't heard anything they said that they would do the last review and would be in touch. I received a phone call today (I couldn't really talk at the time as was out with my mum and dad!) and the bloke said that I would need to make 2 more payments for the creditors to get their 35p in a £ payment. Is this legal of them as it was all set out in the court proceedings and up to today I had asked the question could anyone make a claim against us and they had said no. I have a feeling that something is going on with the figures as when you add up what they projected we would pay it seems that there is a £1500 difference, but there also seems £1500 more on their expenses than was at the start of the agreement as well. Hope that you can help as very worried as they are asking for money that I thought that we had fully paid off as we kept our side of the agreement. Can creditors ask for more money after the start of the agreement, even though we were told they can't? Also I thought that they couldn't ask for more as the DP had already been in touch with everyone and they themselves had said that once the IVA had started they couldn't then come back with a larger claim. I think an RBS credit card hadn't staked a claim and they had taken the last figure on our credit card statement. Thanks :mad:

    Just looked through the last letter of the annual review that we had and there seems to be a change from the meeting with the creditors that was agreed what payments that we would make to the "current position" that seems to have added these two lots of payments to our IVA. Can they just change things like that and add more money on to cover their costs?
  • Hi Looking for some Advice

    I owe around 10k about 8k on 3 credit cards & 2k on store cards and its only gettin worse, i just kept borrowing to try pay off more debt but it has only got worse and am at the point where i really need to sort it out..

    i would just like to no the best way to sort this as all credit cards are very bad apr (bad credit rating) iv thought about debt management company's but never heard a gd thing about them, i seem to be paying around £350+ on my debts every month but it just goes in interest so its not helping in anyway and i can't afford to pay more

    what would u suggest to someone like me... i have no idea about what is out there for me to get this sorted :( and its getting me quite depressed now so any help would be very appreciated thanks.
  • Hello.

    I am receiving letters from debt collectors chasing me for things I have no recollection of from many years ago.

    I have purchased a FULL credit report and my credit is shocking. However, my report does not show any outstanding debts that have yet to be cleared etc etc. Why is this? Why is my credit SO bad for a report with settled agreements?

    Do I have to put ALL my previous addresses on? If so, how do I do this?

    Thank you in advance.
  • sim11
    sim11 Posts: 621 Forumite
    Looking for some clarity, on something for a friend. One owes money to Halifax, they have a joint account with Lloyds. According to CCCs website, Halifax can use the offset rule on the current account. But everything i have read is contrary to that.
    Companies house have them both registered as separate.
    FSA compensation scheme has them as separate.
    Payplan has them as separate.
    So if everything i have read is true, then CCCs is incorrect. This will not be an issue.
    If CCCs is correct, then only one payment missed. When would it become an issue, ie how many missed payments before it would be an issue?
  • My husband and I were in an IVA which finished in November of last year after 66 payments of what was set out in the original court agreement. The Debt People who were looking after our IVA hadn't been in touch and when I asked them why we hadn't heard anything they said that they would do the last review and would be in touch. I received a phone call today (I couldn't really talk at the time as was out with my mum and dad!) and the bloke said that I would need to make 2 more payments for the creditors to get their 35p in a £ payment. Is this legal of them as it was all set out in the court proceedings and up to today I had asked the question could anyone make a claim against us and they had said no. I have a feeling that something is going on with the figures as when you add up what they projected we would pay it seems that there is a £1500 difference, but there also seems £1500 more on their expenses than was at the start of the agreement as well. Hope that you can help as very worried as they are asking for money that I thought that we had fully paid off as we kept our side of the agreement. Can creditors ask for more money after the start of the agreement, even though we were told they can't? Also I thought that they couldn't ask for more as the DP had already been in touch with everyone and they themselves had said that once the IVA had started they couldn't then come back with a larger claim. I think an RBS credit card hadn't staked a claim and they had taken the last figure on our credit card statement. Thanks :mad:

    Just looked through the last letter of the annual review that we had and there seems to be a change from the meeting with the creditors that was agreed what payments that we would make to the "current position" that seems to have added these two lots of payments to our IVA. Can they just change things like that and add more money on to cover their costs?

    Hello moneymuppet and thank you for your email.

    Any changes will have been outlined in the proposal, any modifications made by creditors at their initial meeting, your terms and conditions or any variations made at variation meetings. It’s best to speak to your IP as they will know your case and will be able to advise you further.

    I hope this helps.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • Nate84 wrote: »
    Hi Looking for some Advice

    I owe around 10k about 8k on 3 credit cards & 2k on store cards and its only gettin worse, i just kept borrowing to try pay off more debt but it has only got worse and am at the point where i really need to sort it out..

    i would just like to no the best way to sort this as all credit cards are very bad apr (bad credit rating) iv thought about debt management company's but never heard a gd thing about them, i seem to be paying around £350+ on my debts every month but it just goes in interest so its not helping in anyway and i can't afford to pay more

    what would u suggest to someone like me... i have no idea about what is out there for me to get this sorted :( and its getting me quite depressed now so any help would be very appreciated thanks.

    Hi Nate84 and thanks for your post.

    We would need to look at your situation in a bit more detail to be able to advise you on your options.

    The first thing to do is 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.

    You’ve taken the first step to sorting out your money worries and we can support you with free and impartial advice along the way.

    Kind regards,
    Pavan
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy
  • Hello
    Same problem as other posters, 50k in credit card debt and wife doesn't know. Looked into pay plan but figures didnt work out with xx kids it left me £200 a month to survive - unrealistic.
    Behind payments on cards (15) mortgage ok. Going down hill fast, looking for a better job. Vicious circle. Only good part is i dont seem to be alone which helps state of mind a little
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