Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

System

edward1m wrote: »

Hi, I'm thinking of contacting a debt solution company to sort out my wife and myself growing, uncontrollable debt. Its stressing us both out and affecting not just our private life and kids but our work life as well. We don't know what else to do, we have reduced the amount of spending on grocery shopping and other costs that we can reduce but it isn't enough, we have creche payments to make, loans, numerous credit and store cards, rent, just to name a few. On top of that we've just had a letter from two of our credit card companies saying they're going to increase the interest rate and another from the child tax credit saying that they are reducing our payment by £400. We have recently moved house to be closer to our work place and save on fuel costs but now we're having to move house again to somewhere where the rent is cheaper. Stressed isn't the word.
Is a debt solution company a good way to go and if so what is the best one to go with?

Thanks

Hello,

I wouldn’t recommend contacting a debt solution company, these commercial organisations will usually charge you for solutions they provide.

We are a debt advice charity and we can give you in depth advice about all the different options available free of charge. We provide practical solutions that are based on your actual situation.

If you would like our help, 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 Helpline on 0800 138 1111 (free including from mobiles). 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.

Thanks

Mat

KnowYourEnemy

Thanks for your time. Appreciated

dragonlass

I ran a free credit check today and found that a company who had previously agreed that I no longer owed them money is still showing an outstanding balance of nearly £300 on my credit report! I sent them proof of moving home 3 years ago and didn't hear anything after that, but they are still trying to charge me for Gas for 4 months after I moved! What do I do if they don't accept this proof for the second time? (signed tenancy termination agreement).

It made me consider a couple of letters I've been receiving from debt collection companies.

One is MK Rapid Recoveries who say I owe over £400 to shop direct finance company limited. I didn't even know who this company were till I googled it and apparently it's littlewoods catalogue. Now I did have a littlewoods catalogue, 14 years ago, can they still be chasing me for this? I wasn't even aware of an outstanding balance! And this isn't showing on my credit report.

The other is Mackenzie Hall, for a catalogue debt my ex ran up and then refused to pay off, so I was stuck with it. However, according to my credit report, at last payment 3 years ago, my balance was £300, MH want nearly £500. I'm very wary of contacting this company due to all the stories about them but although I can sign into the catalogue account I can't make payments on it. What do I do?

Any help much appreciated

System

dragonlass wrote: »

I ran a free credit check today and found that a company who had previously agreed that I no longer owed them money is still showing an outstanding balance of nearly £300 on my credit report! I sent them proof of moving home 3 years ago and didn't hear anything after that, but they are still trying to charge me for Gas for 4 months after I moved! What do I do if they don't accept this proof for the second time? (signed tenancy termination agreement).

It made me consider a couple of letters I've been receiving from debt collection companies.

One is MK Rapid Recoveries who say I owe over £400 to shop direct finance company limited. I didn't even know who this company were till I googled it and apparently it's littlewoods catalogue. Now I did have a littlewoods catalogue, 14 years ago, can they still be chasing me for this? I wasn't even aware of an outstanding balance! And this isn't showing on my credit report.

The other is Mackenzie Hall, for a catalogue debt my ex ran up and then refused to pay off, so I was stuck with it. However, according to my credit report, at last payment 3 years ago, my balance was £300, MH want nearly £500. I'm very wary of contacting this company due to all the stories about them but although I can sign into the catalogue account I can't make payments on it. What do I do?

Any help much appreciated

Hi Dragongalss,

Welcome to the forum.

You should not have to pay for an energy bill on a property you no longer lived at and the evidence you have sent them sound quite conclusive proof you didn’t live there. If they are still pursuing you for the debt after this then it might be worth involving the energy ombudsman. Here is a link to their website with details of how to contact them: http://www.ombudsman-services.org/contact-us-energy.html.

If you might have had balance your old Littlewoods account then it would be best to find out more from the debt collector to see if it is your debt. If it is not your debt then obviously you wouldn’t have to pay it. We have an interesting blog post about old debts here: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2011/08/your-debts-written-off-is-it-too-good-to-be-true/.

The Mackenzie Hall debt sounds like one you will need to repay. A debt rising from £300 to nearly £500 in three years isn’t unheard of, but you are entitled to know exactly how the debt has risen so much. The best thing would be to request a detailed statement from them to show how they have arrived at the figure they say you owe.

If you need help working out what to offer as a payment to Mackenzie Hall you might want to use our online debt advice service Debt Remedy http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu, where you can work out a budget and see what you can afford to offer.
Hope this helps.

Mat

System

Morning everyone!

We're having a live twitter event today called #detbday. We are opening our twitter account up to all of our colleagues to let them talk about what they are doing. You can check it out here: https://twitter.com/i/#!/search/?q=%23debtday&src=typd

We’ll be back on the forums tomorrow. If you need immediate debt advice you can use our online debt advice programme Debt Remedy here: http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu)
Thanks

CCCS Moneyaware Team

fatbelly

dragonlass wrote: »

I ran a free credit check today and found that a company who had previously agreed that I no longer owed them money is still showing an outstanding balance of nearly £300 on my credit report! I sent them proof of moving home 3 years ago and didn't hear anything after that, but they are still trying to charge me for Gas for 4 months after I moved! What do I do if they don't accept this proof for the second time? (signed tenancy termination agreement).

It made me consider a couple of letters I've been receiving from debt collection companies.

One is MK Rapid Recoveries who say I owe over £400 to shop direct finance company limited. I didn't even know who this company were till I googled it and apparently it's littlewoods catalogue. Now I did have a littlewoods catalogue, 14 years ago, can they still be chasing me for this? I wasn't even aware of an outstanding balance! And this isn't showing on my credit report.

The other is Mackenzie Hall, for a catalogue debt my ex ran up and then refused to pay off, so I was stuck with it. However, according to my credit report, at last payment 3 years ago, my balance was £300, MH want nearly £500. I'm very wary of contacting this company due to all the stories about them but although I can sign into the catalogue account I can't make payments on it. What do I do?

Any help much appreciated

With my crystal ball I predict the MKRR account was dated 4 October 2010. How do I know this? See this thread for more info

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3173286

I'm also wondering if the MH debt was a catalogue started pre- April 2007 and whether MH would hold a copy of a credit agreement

mum2one

Yipee, my 1st payment went out of bank account to CCCS, at last feels like I'm on the yellow brick road! xx

System

mum2one wrote: »

Yipee, my 1st payment went out of bank account to CCCS, at last feels like I'm on the yellow brick road! xx

Great stuff, I like the idea of a DMP being a yellow brick road. Sadly there won't be a wizard at the end of it, but at least you'll be debt free. :T

kamarshall

Please help, I have a recorded call with a Debt Collection Agency in which the representative states that the default will be removed once I clear the debt do i have any legal standing with this?

System

kamarshall wrote: »

Please help, I have a recorded call with a Debt Collection Agency in which the representative states that the default will be removed once I clear the debt do i have any legal standing with this?

Hello,

The information on your credit history is a series of facts about how you have dealt with your finances. If you have been sent a default notice then this would usually stay on your history for 6 years. Default notices show that a debt is “in default” when first registered, which means that you are currently struggling with the debt. When a debt is cleared the default notice usually remains on your credit history but is updated to show that the debt is now repaid.

It is very unusual for a company to say they will actually remove a default notice from your history, so it might be worth clarifying with them exactly what they mean. In terms of your legal standing, this debt collector is entitled to enter default information onto your credit history, providing it is factually accurate.

Hope this helps.

Mat