Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

LauraLou1982

Hello,

I have a question about a CCJ...its for a credit card and was issued on the 25th May...I filed an acknowledgement to defend and have asked the debt collectors to send me relevant paperwork to prove its enforceable. However if I have worked it out right I only have till this Thursday before I have to file a defence. I thought that I had 28 days from when I filed the acknowledgment to reply but having read the paperwork again it looks like I have misunderstood and only have till this Thursday...having thought I had longer I didnt send off the paperwork till recently to the debt collectors as I had to wait till I had the £10 to send with the access request. Mucked it all up again it seems, can you tell me what happens if I dont have a reply from the DCA by the time the 28 days rolls around from the court? And also does it matter it was sent off this late? Also, if they come back to me and say it is enforceable will they let me apply to pay in monthly amounts?
Not really sure how I got in this mess, buried my head in the sand again, and your advice so I can deal with this properly would be really appriciated.

Thanks, Laura

CCCS_Sue

Manchester2000 wrote: »

Hello
I lost my job and took another on rduced pay then my mpther was ill for 3 months and I incurred substantaial costs and had to pay her funeral can I delay the start of payments until the end of August once I set a DMP up/
thanks
m

Hi manchester 2000 and thank you for your message

If you have unexpected priority expenses, then you can contact us to delay the start of payments on your DMP.
In the meantime, try to pay your creditors a token payment as a gesture of goodwill rather than paying nothing at all.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sarah

deejayh wrote: »

Hi,

I need some advice regarding the following problem with RBS.

For 20 plus years with RBS, we (my wife and I) have had a Royalties Gold account and I was earning up to 43k per annum. We have had various consolidation loans over this period, and also an overdraft - all covered by PPI with RBS originally, but changed later to Direct Line (still RBS).

Last September I was made redundant and have been unemployed since. The loan and overdraft amount to £12,577.00, payments by the PPI were hard to get and we had to get the ombudsman involved and since the loan PPI has been paid now regularly, though NOT the overdraft.

This causes an issue, as the Loan PPI is paid into the account which is overdrawn and when the DDI for the loan is asked for, it is bounced - with a charge. Then the Loan charge me. Then it goes round and round.

We have opened another complaint with the Ombudsman, which RBS are investigating (again!) and had my local RBS branch send all my statements to Bristol since last September. I had a call from one of them saying that the PPI was in my wife's name only!

This is ridiculous, as I originally opened the account, then changed it to a joint account, I am the first named, also my wife was NOT working then and I have always been the main "bread winner" and all other PPI's are in my name!

Surely this is misselling!! I emailed the Ombudsman stating these facts and I am yet to hear back.

Last Wednesday we had a letter from Triton Credit Services (which we believe are part of RBS) demanding full payment of £12,577 within 7 days. I rang them and explained my position and the history and that we would not be here if the overdraft PPI was paid by RBS. I stated that my wife was earning around £450 per month and I was receiving £0-10p per week Jobseekers allowance (YES .10p!). Seemed fairly happy.

Today at 09:30 between calls from my kids wishing happy fathers day I had a phone call from Triton Credit Services once again demanding the full amount. She was very curt. She would not pass me onto a manager and after saying that they really should not be chasing debt on a Sunday, she said they can call us any time! I refused to talk to them any further. She said you will be taken to court. I replied that I wish they would and looked forward to it!

Any advice and help please,

Thanks,
Dave

Hi Dave,

Thank you for your message.

If you have made a complaint to the ombudsman, I would recommend you wait until you hear an outcome of this.

In the meantime, if you are disputing the debt you could ask the creditor to put this on hold. It does state this in the debt collection guidelines 2.6h (ignoring and/or disregarding claims that debts have been settled or are disputed and continuing to make unjustified demands for payment)

I would recommend that you put this in writing to the collection agency and send it recorded delivery so you have proof of postage.

Hope this helps
Sarah

AndreaW

Hi,
Please could you help. I have around £8500 on various credit cards which just seemed to keep going up and up even though I thought I was being careful with the various deals at 0%. Im now scared Im in over my head. I am considering a consolidation loan to get them paid off as soon as possible, or remortgage but am unsure as to which would be the best. I don't want to keep transfering balances I just want it paid off before I really can't afford to pay them back.

Thanks for your time.

CCCS_Sarah

LauraLou1982 wrote: »

Hello,

I have a question about a CCJ...its for a credit card and was issued on the 25th May...I filed an acknowledgement to defend and have asked the debt collectors to send me relevant paperwork to prove its enforceable. However if I have worked it out right I only have till this Thursday before I have to file a defence. I thought that I had 28 days from when I filed the acknowledgment to reply but having read the paperwork again it looks like I have misunderstood and only have till this Thursday...having thought I had longer I didnt send off the paperwork till recently to the debt collectors as I had to wait till I had the £10 to send with the access request. Mucked it all up again it seems, can you tell me what happens if I dont have a reply from the DCA by the time the 28 days rolls around from the court? And also does it matter it was sent off this late? Also, if they come back to me and say it is enforceable will they let me apply to pay in monthly amounts?
Not really sure how I got in this mess, buried my head in the sand again, and your advice so I can deal with this properly would be really appriciated.

Thanks, Laura

Hi Laura,

Thank you for your message.

My understanding of this is if you need more information to defend your claim, you complete the Acknowledgment of Service and then file your defence within 28 days of the initial paperwork.

Is this what you have done?

If you do not send the completed defence within the time scales then the judgment would be set.

If the judgment went ahead because you didn’t have all the paperwork back then it may be possible that you could complete a form called an N244 (£75) and ask for a hearing. This will give you an opportunity to give the court evidence.

It’s unlikely that the creditor would have applied for a CCJ without the paperwork. So, if the judgment is set and this is an unaffordable amount, then you could apply for a re determination within 14 days to set this at an affordable amount. After the 14 days you could complete an N245 but then you would have to pay a fee of £35.

Hope this helps
Sarah

CCCS_Sarah

AndreaW wrote: »

Hi,
Please could you help. I have around £8500 on various credit cards which just seemed to keep going up and up even though I thought I was being careful with the various deals at 0%. Im now scared Im in over my head. I am considering a consolidation loan to get them paid off as soon as possible, or remortgage but am unsure as to which would be the best. I don't want to keep transfering balances I just want it paid off before I really can't afford to pay them back.

Thanks for your time.

Hi Andrew,

I would recommend that you have an appointment with the CCCS. We would be able to help you complete a detailed budget and look into your options.

Consolidation loans do not solve the problem, all they do is move the debt from one place to another and increase the overall interest paid.

We would never recommend to secured the debt against your home, as if you got into further difficulties this would put your home at risk. As long as the debt is unsecured, you could always offer reduced payments at an affordable amount.

If you would like an appointment, please call 0800 138 1111.

Hope this helps
Regards
Sarah

CCCS_Sue

patchie50 wrote: »

I have got myself into a real mess financially. Like most small businesses I have been hit by the recession. Unfortunately I have been hit by a very severe depression which means I haven't done things unless i have been forced to and been a proud man I haven't really asked for help (apart from my GP who has been great). It has messed a few things at home but we seem to have sorted most of this out.
Compared to a lot of you I am relatively lucky. But having looked around this site I will be taking a lot of advice and confidence that people can get out of this. I am aware that my illness has not helped me and this is something I want to put over to my creditors but i fear like a lot of businesses they are too hard nosed and insensitive that I will get short shrift.
I owe about £10,000 on business debts and about £1600 on household. I am now only paying myself £100 a week to get the business debts down. As I have said I am relatively OK but the fact of this has made me very suicidal (and I was very close) and very reluctant to face my problems.
I would say that anyone who feels the way i did would be advised to talk to someone Samaritans, GP, friend.

Hi patchie50

Thank you for your message.

It is great to hear that you are taking control of your situation, and that you have been in contact with people who were able to listen and offer support.
Just to add, if your debts are mainly business debts and you would like some further help and advice regarding these, you could contact Business Debtline. They are a charity who offer free advice to self employed people who are struggling with debts.
I have attached a link for you.
http://www.bdl.org.uk/

Regards
Sue

jcorbygas

I have completed the debt remedy on your website and am awaiting my pack from yourselves. How long does this normally take to come through? Also, I need to send some token payments to my creditors - do I word the letter that I am in the process of setting up a dmp with yourselves and therefore enclose a token payment?

Thanks

CCCS_Sarah

jcorbygas wrote: »

I have completed the debt remedy on your website and am awaiting my pack from yourselves. How long does this normally take to come through? Also, I need to send some token payments to my creditors - do I word the letter that I am in the process of setting up a dmp with yourselves and therefore enclose a token payment?

Thanks

Hello,

It usually takes a couple of days for your pack to arrive. In the pack there will be a letter called “notification of debt management plan” you could send your token payment with this.

Good luck with your plan.

Sarah

LauraLou1982

CCCS_Sarah wrote: »

Hi Laura,

Thank you for your message.

My understanding of this is if you need more information to defend your claim, you complete the Acknowledgment of Service and then file your defence within 28 days of the initial paperwork.

Is this what you have done?

If you do not send the completed defence within the time scales then the judgment would be set.

If the judgment went ahead because you didn’t have all the paperwork back then it may be possible that you could complete a form called an N244 (£75) and ask for a hearing. This will give you an opportunity to give the court evidence.

It’s unlikely that the creditor would have applied for a CCJ without the paperwork. So, if the judgment is set and this is an unaffordable amount, then you could apply for a re determination within 14 days to set this at an affordable amount. After the 14 days you could complete an N245 but then you would have to pay a fee of £35.

Hope this helps
Sarah

Thanks Sarah,

I dont think a judgement has been set yet - I think I have till Thursday if I have worked it out right to file a defense.