Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_Pavan

wantstobreakfree wrote: »

I have had been in debt since 2009. I'm currently burying my head in the sand about it but need the courage to take the first steps to do so. When I finished uni in 2009 I saw no way of how I could get out of my situation. I was going back to study to do my masters degree and never sought advice on how to deal with the situation.
I left the flat I was living in and did not inform my bank that I was moving. (this was where I was recieving letter about my debt from RBS) I moved back home to my parents and since then have been working part time during study and when ever and whenever shifts have become available.
One of my main problems is I have lost communication with my bank, I have not stepped into a RBS bank since 2009 and have not used a bank card since then either as the last time I tried the machine swallowed it. I have only been able to live part of a life as I get paid in cash weekly from my work. I really really want to get out of this cycle and start to take control of my life. It has been affecting my personal relationships as well as my ability to move my career further as I have not told anyone the situation I am in.

What advice I'm hoping for is who to contact first and the best way to go about it. I'm from scotland and have heard about the debt advisory scheme. I'm afraid that if I contact the bank first do they have the power to take everything away? Will it affect my parents lives, will they be forced to pay anything or expect debt collectors on their doorstep. I'm worried my situation will affext theirs. In 2009 my debt(overdraft debt was mounting over £2500) I'm not sure how much I owe now as they were adding charges monthly which also added to my fear of how I was to pay.

PLEASE HELP!

Hi wantstobreakfree and welcome to the forum.

I’d recommend that you get access to your credit file in the first instance so you can see how much you owe and who to. As long as your parents aren’t liable for the debts in any way - for example if they’re named on the debt or acted as guarantors, they will not be affected or chased for the debt.

Once you know exactly who you owe you can come to us for some detailed advice. I’d recommend that you 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 and Saturdays 9am – 3pm.

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.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

cambsno wrote: »

Hi

Finally come to my senses and realised I need help!!! I have been constantly juggling debt around over the last 10 years or so, have generally found enough to pay loans/cards but have kept spending and now its all too much!

So, am mortgaged with a secured loan taken out, so that + mortgage pretty much = house value.

Have a car finance agreement costing 375pm plus 2 loans, one at 300pm, one at 360pm. The 300pm has 11,500 left and I think the other has about 3k left. Have approx. £25k on various credit cards totalling around £500 a month.

What options are available - wife has good credit record with no loans and very small credit card balance but lowish income. I have a much higher income, and pretty much all the debt. Take home pay is around £2500 but the unsecured bills comes to £1200 plus the car, so around £1575 in total.

How would freezing interest and making much smaller payments make a difference or do I need to do something more major. I am aware of IVAs but dont want that affecting my wife or the house.

Hi cambsno and thanks for your post.

If you were to make smaller payments and the interest was frozen the amount you pay should be a lot more affordable.

It’s difficult to say whether this is your best option without looking at your situation in a bit more detail. I’d recommend that you 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 and Saturdays 9am – 3pm.

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.

Kind regards,
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

Rednelly wrote: »

Hi Pavan, please can you tell me how the distribution process you describe above is OFT debt management guidance compliant?

To remind you the new March 2012 OFT guidance says that it is an unfair or impromper business practice:

" 3.43 a. where a debt management plan or other non-statutory debt management option has been entered into, failing to pay creditors at the earliest reasonable opportunity.

In the OFT’s view, this should normally be within five working days from receipt of cleared funds".

This clause hasn't changed materially from the previous guidance.

Hi ‘Rednelly’

The main intention of the OFT guidelines, in relation to the release of client funds by debt management companies, is to prevent such companies making profit from interest earned on money that does not belong to them. As a means to stopping this happening, the OFT stipulate that funds should be released within 5 days.

As previously confirmed, we do hold client payments for longer than 5 days, releasing funds to creditors on a monthly basis. The OFT are fully aware of the way the charity operates and has provided dispensation to allow us to administer client payments in this way.

The reason we're allowed to hold funds for longer than 5 days, even though nominal interest is being earned, is that all funding received by us is used for charitable purposes. All payments to the charity are used to help new people, as well as supporting our existing clients, by providing a completely free service.

All our clients are made aware of our payment procedure before they begin a debt management plan to ensure they understand how long their payment will be held before being passed to their creditors. Banks and other creditors, in their turn, are happy to operate with this cycle as they value the broad range of free, charitable services provided by us to their customers.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Gimpsdad

Fair enough.

Can you provide for forum readers, a breakdown of the broad range of free charitable services you provide?

sarahsarah1234

Hi, I have a complicated type of situation that I have already posted about in the forum.

I want to look at my credit file and repair it but I am having difficulty because my landlord doesn't appear to have registered my flat on the land registry. All the other flats in the building are registered. I have sent off my details to Experian by post but I am not sure what problems this issue is going to have caused. I am very afraid at looking at my credit report and will not know where to start with it. I have never been to court but I don't even know if I have CCJ's against me from previous properties, if they haven't been able to find me? I cannot even borrow from Wonga so I suspect I am completely blacklisted for any type of credit.

I can't even get past the registration page on Equifax because of this problem!

ILoveAFreebie

Morning,
Can I ask, if we take the route of a Debt Managent Plan, would we still be able to keep my partner's work credit card that he uses for work expenses? It gets paid in full every month and we make sure he claims the expenses back to cover the bill, but the amount varies each month.
Thanks

Dewalt1981

For over a year now I have been going round in circles trying to get a default payment off my credit file.
It is with a company called Lowell Ltd. I have spent hours on the phone to them asking for proof of the debt and all I get is fobbed off with lies about they don't have to prove anything.
They say the debt was bought by them from 3G. I DO NOT OWE 3G or any other company any money! 3G say it's nothing they can do as the debt is now in Lowell's hands.
If I owe money for something I pay it, simple really. I am not a scrounger, I work hard for my money and these clowns didn't even contact me first! It was only when I got turned down for a mortgage I checked my credit file to see a default on there. :mad:
I have used Experian for help but got nowhere. All I got was 'Lowell say the information is correct'. What information? I have seen none whatsoever.
I went to the office of fair trading, the financial ombudsman and both replied back saying it was for the other to advise me on!
This is really taking the p**s now! What can I do?

dofus_kamas

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stwilson1973

Hi Pavan,

Many thanks for your response.

Also, just wondering the following; the debt remedy test resulted in us having a surplus of £287 to repay insecured debt. Once we sign up to this can the creditors, insist we pay more than this. We have been as honest as possible on the test so i was wondering what success rate the CCCS have in getting the creditors to agree to this sum?

Thanks

CCCS_Pavan wrote: »

Hi stwilson1973 and welcome to the forum.

If you’ve already used Debt Remedy and it recommended a DMP, it’s likely that this is your best option at this stage. From what you’ve mentioned, it sounds as though you’re struggling to maintain your minimum payments and a DMP could be the solution to help give you some breathing space and still enable you to pay towards your debts at the same time.

We don’t usually recommend debt consolidation as you tend to increase your debts and it can make the situation worse in the long term. We certainly wouldn’t recommend securing the debt against your house as this would put it at risk if you’re unable to maintain the payments further down the line.

If you’re unsure about a DMP or want to see whether there are any other options available to you, I’d recommend that you contact our web support team with your reference number. They’ll have access to all the information you’ve already input and they’ll be able to give you some more detailed advice.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

Red_Man_2

Hi,

A £5000 loan from Barclays I was unable to pay, has risen to over £10,000 and has now been sold to Apex Credit Management.

I find it very difficult to deal with these people, partly because I don't really know where I stand legally.

I'm now in a position where I have a good job, and can afford to pay back the debt. Obviously though, I'd like to pay as little as possible back. As immoral as that may sound, I think it's also immoral to add around £6000, on a debt of £5000, when I was in a very sticky and stressful financial situation.

So my question is, how am I best to approach this? Is it possibly for me to deal with Barclays? If so, am I likely going to have to pay the £10,000+? or will I be able to shrink this debt? Same question with Apex too, will I be able to shrink the overall debt with them?

Thanks.