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System

stevepotts2010 wrote: »

Good afternoon
After years of badly managed finances, I am contemplating our next move....
As a single young man, I personally had a DMP with CCCS (approx 13 years ago)
after 3 years, agreed some reduced settlements and all was done.

Now in a position with wife and three young children.
We have lived by day to day - using credit upon credit.
We are now at a stage where I need to make some decisions.
Credit is all exhausted.
We owe approx 47K in loans, credit cards, overdrafts
We are home owners (mortgage + secured load) which is about break even, may be on the shade of negative equity for the Mortgage + Secured Loan
We have not missed any payments on the mortgage, any cards or loans yet - however the interest is just killing us beyond belief

Question
I am a Managing Director (NON EQUITY SHAREHOLDER)
One of my line of debts is with Lloyds - which is also the bank where our company banks at.
I was told last time i went into branch (to take out another loan!) That my personal accounts were linked to the company accounts??
Is this correct ?
What effect on the business would occur if I went down the route of DMP?

Question
If I went to CCCS or Pay Plan (would CCCS deal with me a second time?)
What documents would I need to produce to show my income and expenditure?
If bank statements - how far back?

Sorry if the above is a bit of a ramble, heads all over the place at the moment and just trying to clear some questions.

Any advice would be great.....

Steve

Hi Steve and thanks for your post.

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

We’d be happy to help you for a second time.

As this situation is complex I’d recommend that you gather as much detail of your income, expenditure and debts and give us a call on our free helpline.

The documents you’d need to provide would depend on what the best solution was for you. In regards the bank accounts being linked this is something that we would need to look into in detail.

We don’t give business advice but if it becomes clear you need to speak to a specialist we will be able to signpost you to an organisation that will help.

Our free Helpline is on 0800 138 1111. We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturday 9am until 3.00pm.

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,

Mat

System

Badcreditgirl wrote: »

Hi just looking for a bit of advice.

I'm on a DMP with CCCS and have recently moved house. I updated my contact details with CCCS straight away but when I've gone to update with my three creditors I've realised I've lost (hopefully only misplaced!!!!) ALL my paperwork in the move. I've called my three creditors with the hope that I can change my address over the phone as I got my account numbers of my DMP online but I've been told I have to go into branch with proof of ID/address and proof of account which I don't have.

Is there any slim chance CCCS can contact my creditors on my behalf and tell them I have changed address? I'm panicking that I'm getting important letters to my old address and I stupidly didn't set up a Royal Mail forwarding service.

Just a thought, can I simply take a note of my account number on a piece of paper and take that into a branch with me?

Sorry for the rambling !x

(Now realised I can sign up to redirect my mail with Royal Mail from now so hopefully I'll get some stuff off my creditirs and be able to change address easier.)

Hi Badcreditgirl and thanks for your post.

Thanks also for the edit at the end of your message; hopefully you can get this sorted as it’s important that creditors have your correct address.

I’d recommend going in to branch with some proof of ID, your account number and possibly a council tax or utility bill showing your new address.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

System

mondovision wrote: »

Hi,

I have been contacted by one of my debt companies to say they will drop the amount of money I owe by a lot, if I pay it off within the next month.

Would you suggest haggling with them further to get the final amount down further ?

Thanks in advance

Andy

Hi Andy and welcome to the forum

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

You could try and increase the discount if you wish but the important thing is to get the creditor to agree in writing that the reduced figure is in ‘full and final settlement’ of the debt. It’s vital that you have this confirmed in writing before you pay any money over.

If you’d like some more advice on this I’d recommend that you give us a call, particularly if you have other outstanding debts and a lump sum available.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

Hayleydd

I contacted CCCS in May 2010 before my husband and I contacted our creditors to say that we could be having problems in making payments from that moment onwards. Having been so 'upfront and blunt' with our creditors actually helped us - they knew what to expect from us and did not put any unwanted pressure on us. Because we made the first move in contacting them and forewarned them of upcoming problems, they were actually able to assist us in many ways, e.g. they would not call us but would wait for us to call them, encouraged us to go ahead and contact CCCS, etc. Burying my head in the sand and ignoring letters from creditors is not really what I do. I take a deep breath, grimace and open the letter - then I ring the sender, explain my situation and forge some sort of plan with them. No matter how 'scary' the letter may be, it is only a letter with words and phrases peppered with fancy finance or legal related jargon. At the end of the day, a creditor / debt collector, etc, cannot take what is not there to take in the first place.

The CCCS took details of our finances, prepared a budget planner, and put us on a small, temporary debt plan ('tpo') for six months, thus allowing us some reasonable time in which to make cutbacks, make a bit more money, and think about what we wanted to do long-term about our debts. They put us through to Grant Thornton who arranged an IVA for us in March 2011. This was approved at a creditors' meeting in June 2011. The IVA was ideal for us because my husband is a s/e taxi driver and our debts are over £25,000. Plus, the taxi cab is needed as a 'tool of the trade' so it could not be taken away so easily. If we wanted to go down the dreaded 'B' route as I call it, he may have been forced to sell it.

Our IVA payments are between £200 and £300 pcm and we have 10 creditors. Two of our biggest debts were for loans with the HBOS and RBS group, for which we were paying £510 pcm and £330 pcm respectively, so when you think of how much our IVA payment is per month, we are winning. Having to pay so much to 10 creditors prior to CCCS getting involved really did put a huge strain on us. Knowing who to turn to (CCCS) through reading about them in the media really did make a huge difference. :T

If anybody has debts of £10k+ and is worried, please contact CCCS in the first instance. It will alleviate the pressure and if a creditor knows that a client is seeking help with their debts, they will actually want to help and will be genuinely glad that help is being sought.

Remember:- Asking for help is not going to make anybody look bad / stupid, etc. Ignoring the problem would make the debtor look daft.

Gazza1964

Hi -

I need to inform by letter, with token payment, one of my creditors that I am entering a DMP with CCCS -

I havent sent my forms back yet because I am waiting for work to move my wages to a new account -

Is it okay for me to quote my CCCS ref no. in my letter before returning the forms.

Thanks for your help.

System

Hayleydd wrote: »

I contacted CCCS in May 2010 before my husband and I contacted our creditors to say that we could be having problems in making payments from that moment onwards. Having been so 'upfront and blunt' with our creditors actually helped us - they knew what to expect from us and did not put any unwanted pressure on us. Because we made the first move in contacting them and forewarned them of upcoming problems, they were actually able to assist us in many ways, e.g. they would not call us but would wait for us to call them, encouraged us to go ahead and contact CCCS, etc. Burying my head in the sand and ignoring letters from creditors is not really what I do. I take a deep breath, grimace and open the letter - then I ring the sender, explain my situation and forge some sort of plan with them. No matter how 'scary' the letter may be, it is only a letter with words and phrases peppered with fancy finance or legal related jargon. At the end of the day, a creditor / debt collector, etc, cannot take what is not there to take in the first place.

The CCCS took details of our finances, prepared a budget planner, and put us on a small, temporary debt plan ('tpo') for six months, thus allowing us some reasonable time in which to make cutbacks, make a bit more money, and think about what we wanted to do long-term about our debts. They put us through to Grant Thornton who arranged an IVA for us in March 2011. This was approved at a creditors' meeting in June 2011. The IVA was ideal for us because my husband is a s/e taxi driver and our debts are over £25,000. Plus, the taxi cab is needed as a 'tool of the trade' so it could not be taken away so easily. If we wanted to go down the dreaded 'B' route as I call it, he may have been forced to sell it.

Our IVA payments are between £200 and £300 pcm and we have 10 creditors. Two of our biggest debts were for loans with the HBOS and RBS group, for which we were paying £510 pcm and £330 pcm respectively, so when you think of how much our IVA payment is per month, we are winning. Having to pay so much to 10 creditors prior to CCCS getting involved really did put a huge strain on us. Knowing who to turn to (CCCS) through reading about them in the media really did make a huge difference. :T

If anybody has debts of £10k+ and is worried, please contact CCCS in the first instance. It will alleviate the pressure and if a creditor knows that a client is seeking help with their debts, they will actually want to help and will be genuinely glad that help is being sought.

Remember:- Asking for help is not going to make anybody look bad / stupid, etc. Ignoring the problem would make the debtor look daft.

Hi Hayleydd and thanks for your post.

We’re really glad we could help and so pleased to read your comments here.

Hopefully reading about your experiences will encourage others to take the first step and seek help with any debt problems.

Thanks again and all the best for your debt free future.:T

Kind regards,

Mat

System

Gazza1964 wrote: »

Hi -

I need to inform by letter, with token payment, one of my creditors that I am entering a DMP with CCCS -

I havent sent my forms back yet because I am waiting for work to move my wages to a new account -

Is it okay for me to quote my CCCS ref no. in my letter before returning the forms.

Thanks for your help.

Hi Gazza1964 and thanks for your post.

It should be fine to quote your number before returning the forms.

If you have any further issues please get in touch.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

doxybite

My fiance has a debt that he can't seem to pay off. Its small, a £600 od and a £300 od. He gets charged £1/day for using them and his wages just get swallowed into them. So even thought he pays a little money into them each week he still has to use them to pay rent meaning he keeps getting charges and they're hard to clear. Its hard as i keep giving him money but now we have a wedding to save for we need a way to clear this debt faster. I told him to phone the bank to get his accounts frozen to stop the charges but they say they can't do that anymore. We'd get high interest loan but i think that would just cause him trouble too. Does anyone know any other options for us?

System

doxybite wrote: »

My fiance has a debt that he can't seem to pay off. Its small, a £600 od and a £300 od. He gets charged £1/day for using them and his wages just get swallowed into them. So even thought he pays a little money into them each week he still has to use them to pay rent meaning he keeps getting charges and they're hard to clear. Its hard as i keep giving him money but now we have a wedding to save for we need a way to clear this debt faster. I told him to phone the bank to get his accounts frozen to stop the charges but they say they can't do that anymore. We'd get high interest loan but i think that would just cause him trouble too. Does anyone know any other options for us?

Hi doxybite and thanks for your post.

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

I’d recommend that he opens a new basic bank account without an overdraft with a different bank and that he uses this account for his day to day banking.

This way his wage is not being swallowed up and he can then make a regular monthly payment into the old account until the overdraft is reduced and then cancelled.

Before he does this I’d recommend he visits our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu) which will assist him in putting together an accurate income and expenditure budget so he knows exactly what he can afford. Debt Remedy will also offer advice and solutions on his whole situation.

We wouldn’t recommend taking out any further lending as this often makes the situation worse.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

lucylou32

CCCS_Mat wrote: »

Hi Lucy and thanks for your message.

If you ex has secured a debt relief order (DRO) it will be listed in the insolvency service database. You can search by name here –
http://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/eiir/

If DRO has been granted it would be worth contacting to the Official Receiver involved to verify if your ex has included any personal debts owed to you. You should check the amounts listed if they are included. You’d need to speak to the OR dealing with the case if you dispute any amounts or if the debts are not included.

If this is causing you to have financial problems I would recommend that you call our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111. We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturday 9am until 3.00pm.

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

Mat

Thank you for the above. very helpful. In regard to the Debt Relief Order, i did another search again today, and his name is still not showing (i got the letter 2 months ago). How long do you suggest i leave it, before i can 'assume' it wasn't granted? In which case, i guess i can carry on with the 'adjustment of earnings' route through the court?

Thanks for all your help