Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

moneymuppet

CCCS_Pavan wrote: »

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

Thanks, I have spoken to them today (someone who actually knew what he was on about!) and it would appear that they are trying to achieve the 35p that the creditors wanted at the start. It has been all sorted and hopefully, next month, we will have cleared the debt. Thank you for your response!

parrapa

Hi all,

Hopefully I can get some help of what to do next but due to a change in circumstances and at long last plucking up the courage to deal with my debts its time to get a grip on them!

After checking my report at Noddle I managed to find out I am in a total debt of around £5500 (I say around as I think there may be some small debts that need to be paid that do not show up on my credit report).

With this in mind the main debt I have is for a car I got on HP around 8 years ago with an outstanding amount of £2843.00. When the car was returned to the company I was told that I would not be chased for any further money and rather stupidly I believed this until some months later I got a letter claiming the amount I owed (I think for car was worth about £1000).

After ignoring the letters for a long time eventually the letters stopped and my credit report showed no update on this matter for around 2 years until again a few months ago I received a letter regarding this debt which I have yet to deal with primarily because although I admit I owe money on the car I would like to know if there is anything I can do to reduce the amount significantly before I start repaying them. (robbing g*%s!)

On top of this there is also an outstanding CCJ showing on my report which says the balance is around £750 however I was paying this off for a long time before I switched jobs and I was left with only a small balance left. When I switched jobs the CCJ was not carried over to continue to take money from my wage and I havent heard anything since (over 2 years ago) - I did however inform the courts of my new job so should they have not claimed the money from my wage?

All other debts are regarding outstanding phone bills a credit card and also a Wage Day Advance loan.

Essential I just need some advice on how to clear all these off and get my credit record improved (which now shows a very poor rating) mainly as I will have to move out of my current accomodation to a rented house which is going to leave me with little disposable income. (im not on a great wage)

I guess ideally I would like to pay as little as possible but over the shortest time possible so I can get my credit rating improved and hopefully move on with my life.

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help and I hope it makes sense!

Col

StepChange_Pavan

Mr_Angry_from_Purley wrote: »

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

Hi Mr Angry from Purley, and thanks for your post.

Payplan would have looked at your income and expenditure in detail in much the same way that we would. If you’d like us to look at your circumstances and the options that are available to you, 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

sickasachip13

Mr_Angry_from_Purley wrote: »

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

Hi Mr Angry,

I'm not a debt counsellor, just one of the forum regulars. I wanted to say that you're definitely not alone and I'm sure that there's lots of support and some helpful suggestions the other forumites could make. Consider putting starting a new thread in the main DebtFreeWannabee forum (the forum which this thread sits at the top of) - lots of other forum regulars will see it there and can offer support.

Best of luck,
SAAC

justiceforcedave

Hello I need some advice,

I had a credit card debt from a long time ago, I fell behind on payment and eventually moved house. Other then setting up a direct debit (over the phone) which I never actually made any payment with (bounced as there was no money in my account) I have never acknowledged the debt in writing in over 6 years and it has totally dropped off my credit report. Does this make it statue barred?

So I recently received another letter from a debt collection agency and replied asking for a copy of a credit agreement and statement under the consumer credit act 1974 enclosing £1 to do so. The company wrote back saying they would look into it but never got back to me.

Then last week I received another letter from a brand new company asking for the same debt on behalf the last collection agency! My questions are as follows.

1. Does it sound like the debt had become statue barred?
2. By requesting a copy of the agreement and a statement does that count as me acknowledging the debt and if so has it become "un-statuebarred".
3. Should I send them a letter telling them I believe it is statue barred or ask for the credit agreement again?
4. If it is not a statue barred debt but they can't supply the agreement where does that leave me?

Lots of questions but thankyou very much in advance for your answers.

Worried and Confused!

so84

Hi There

I wonder if you can help me.

I have started a DMP with Halifax, well i read on here you can write to your creditors get your interest frozen and pay small amounts till you were back above water.....

Well now I have been asked at work to sign the fit and proper FSA papers and it says I hve to declare if im in any payment plans with any creditors..... well its not an offical dmp and its not an IVA but will def show on my credit file. Should i just tell my compliance and see what they say?! can they sack me? I pay all my creditors on time and will be nearly debt free hopefully in about 20 months apart from a few cards.

Help

tbhull

Hi, I'm hoping someone may be able to offer some advice. My wife has got Debts of around £12,500 and has no income other than mine and small benefits. As far as I know we are not financially linked so what options does my Wife have to clear this? The debt is due next week. I believe the debt will qualify for a debt relief order but will that affect me financially as well? I've explored the possibility of a loan but having already taken one out recently to restructure my own finances I cannot get another one to help her out.

StepChange_Pavan

parrapa wrote: »

Hi all,

Hopefully I can get some help of what to do next but due to a change in circumstances and at long last plucking up the courage to deal with my debts its time to get a grip on them!

After checking my report at Noddle I managed to find out I am in a total debt of around £5500 (I say around as I think there may be some small debts that need to be paid that do not show up on my credit report).

With this in mind the main debt I have is for a car I got on HP around 8 years ago with an outstanding amount of £2843.00. When the car was returned to the company I was told that I would not be chased for any further money and rather stupidly I believed this until some months later I got a letter claiming the amount I owed (I think for car was worth about £1000).

After ignoring the letters for a long time eventually the letters stopped and my credit report showed no update on this matter for around 2 years until again a few months ago I received a letter regarding this debt which I have yet to deal with primarily because although I admit I owe money on the car I would like to know if there is anything I can do to reduce the amount significantly before I start repaying them. (robbing g*%s!)

On top of this there is also an outstanding CCJ showing on my report which says the balance is around £750 however I was paying this off for a long time before I switched jobs and I was left with only a small balance left. When I switched jobs the CCJ was not carried over to continue to take money from my wage and I havent heard anything since (over 2 years ago) - I did however inform the courts of my new job so should they have not claimed the money from my wage?

All other debts are regarding outstanding phone bills a credit card and also a Wage Day Advance loan.

Essential I just need some advice on how to clear all these off and get my credit record improved (which now shows a very poor rating) mainly as I will have to move out of my current accomodation to a rented house which is going to leave me with little disposable income. (im not on a great wage)

I guess ideally I would like to pay as little as possible but over the shortest time possible so I can get my credit rating improved and hopefully move on with my life.

Thanks in advance to anyone that can help and I hope it makes sense!

Col

Hi parrapa and thanks for your post.

Unfortunately there’s no quick way of improving your credit file, particularly if you still have amounts outstanding.

Your first priority is to start making payments towards your CCJ so you should contact the courts as soon as possible and make an arrangement to pay.

With the other debts, you will need to put together a budget to work out how much you can afford to realistically pay each month. You could ask for a run down of the amount owed for the HP car to work out how much is interest and charges. You could offer to settle the debt at less than it’s worth but this depends on whether you have the money available to do this.

We would need to look at your situation in more detail to determine the best way of dealing with your debts. If you’d like us to do this, 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.

With regards to improving your credit file, this article is a really useful guide on how to go about this: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Ldot1981

Hi

I have just completed an online cccs debt remedy questionnaire and have been advised I should go forward with a DMP to help clear my debts at a more realistic rate as currently some are being paid and others aren't.

Can you tell me whether I can include Payday Loans on a dmp? I'm worried that they will have some ready prepared loop hole which will exclude them from a DMP in which case I am no better off.

Also if I went ahead with the DMP would I need to change banks completely? I don't owe my current bank any money but I would need a new bank account. Could I not just ask my bank to close my current account and set me up a new one?

Thanks

StepChange_Pavan

justiceforcedave wrote: »

Hello I need some advice,

I had a credit card debt from a long time ago, I fell behind on payment and eventually moved house. Other then setting up a direct debit (over the phone) which I never actually made any payment with (bounced as there was no money in my account) I have never acknowledged the debt in writing in over 6 years and it has totally dropped off my credit report. Does this make it statue barred?

So I recently received another letter from a debt collection agency and replied asking for a copy of a credit agreement and statement under the consumer credit act 1974 enclosing £1 to do so. The company wrote back saying they would look into it but never got back to me.

Then last week I received another letter from a brand new company asking for the same debt on behalf the last collection agency! My questions are as follows.

1. Does it sound like the debt had become statue barred?
2. By requesting a copy of the agreement and a statement does that count as me acknowledging the debt and if so has it become "un-statuebarred".
3. Should I send them a letter telling them I believe it is statue barred or ask for the credit agreement again?
4. If it is not a statue barred debt but they can't supply the agreement where does that leave me?

Lots of questions but thankyou very much in advance for your answers.

Worried and Confused!

Hi justiceforcedave and thanks for your post.

In setting up a direct debit you admitted the debt so it would depend on how long ago this was. It’s also important to remember that if it was statue barred, it would only make the debt unenforceable and they can still chase you for the debt.


If you think they might be timed out to collect the debt, you can use the template letter below. Sending this wouldn’t admit liability for the debt.


I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan



From:
Name:
Address:
Postcode:
Date:
To:
Creditor‘s Name:
Account/Agreement No:
Without Prejudice

Dear Sir / Madam

You have contacted me regarding the above account.

The last payment of this debt was made over six years ago and no further acknowledgement or payment has been made since that time. Unless you can provide evidence of payment or written contact from me in the relevant period under Section 5 of the Limitation Act 1980, then you will no longer be able to take any court action against me to recover the alleged amount claimed.

Any court claim will be defended on this 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 you have 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