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money_worried

hi all, new to this, so bear with me! first post - I am in negotiation with a debt collection agency re an old debt with Black Horse. They wouldn't make a repayment plan without a full financial statement detailing incoming and outgoing monies, fair enough so I sent that off to them. They queried that I'm married and asked why I hadn't disclosed my husbands incoming and outgoing monies. I replied that the debt was mine and mine alone, in my name, and had nothing to do with my husband. Also that the outgoings I detailed in my statement were half of the outgoings (ie. my share). This was accepted initially but they then stated I had to pay the full amount immediately and that a repayment plan was not an option. I refused on the grounds that I can't afford that, and they now insist that to consider a repayment plan I MUST provide them with my husbands financial details. I am not prepared to drag him into my debt, and to be honest it makes no difference to what I can afford to repay anyway. Do I have to give them details of his finances?? Thanks in advance for any advice, all gratefully received

Jerome_122

Hi there,

I want to try sort out my credit card debts and I am unsure which way to go. I have two credit cards with debt. 1 card with about £5,500 and another card with £2000. So roughly about £7,500 in total.

I have tried to look at a way I could combine what i owe and get rid of the debt with a paying an affordable amount and all i have found at the moment is that I could possibly get a long term loan of £7,500 to be paid back over about 5 years or I could get a new balance transfer credit card to pay off the £7,500 transfered to it from both my old cards by paying roughly about £120 a month for approximately 60 months (I think). I really could do with some professional help as I am terrible with figures and banking but i feel it is getting a bit out of hand with all these minimum payents and I am worried about that.

The most i can afford to pay back a month is really about £150. My current credit cards debts are with Nationwide and Barclays.

Thank you in advance.

matty2712

Received a letter from Barclaycard yesterday telling me that my repayment plan has been cancelled and they need the full monthly payments from now on, I was a bemused by this and contacted them explaining the situ about me being on a DMP, which they already knew. Apparently they have not received any confirmation from CCCS, is this normal practice by CCCS?? Anyhow the lady at BC noted the conversation and froze all interest on the account for 30 days. She finished off by telling me that they need all the documentation from CCCS. which they reckon they have sent.

By the way the 1st payment to CCCS was on the 1st of this month, Cant wait until they have finally started paying off the debts

f0xsplit

Just after a little bit of advice. I have two credit card debts that add to about £8600 in total plus an overdraft of £1800 which I usually hit the limit of by the end of the month. My overdraft only costs £11 a month in interest but the card debts cost £130! I really want to consolidate the debts into one payment but have been refused a consolidation loan on the grounds I have already loaned too much. I also have a car on finance for £15,000 which I pay back at £300 a month. For the other debts I could comfortably afford £300 a month repayments but I cannot get a loan to cover it! This means at the moment I am stuck with hefty interest payments! I have just got a pay rise to £37500 a year so the money is available to clear these debts, I am just struggling to find the best way to do it! Any advice would be greatly received!

Many thanks.

wordsfan

Hi
Hope I dont bore you just wanna be clear so giving you some background.

I am a 40 year old single mum. Currently not working due to a mental health issue. 10 years ago I went back to uni as a mature student. Jan 2006 I had a breakdown. As a student I have incurred a fair bit of debt. Some but not all has been paid off. Have also lost some of the paperwork. I think I currently have hanging over me £1500 credit card debt, 2 overdrafts around £500-1000, student loan, mobile phone approx £400. I also have a ccj against me re council tax for the district I was living in whole time I was at uni, I never worked and was only ever a student and therefore not liable for council tax at any time I was living there. I provided the necessary documentation at the time.

As I'm not working and not likely to for at least a year I cannot pay anything towards these debts.

Whilst morally disgraceful, at this stage I am wondering ... what next?

My sis reckons debts are "written off" after 6 years but I don't know why she thinks this.

Also I live in scotland now but attended uni in england.

Can you please advise?

mum2one

wordsfan wrote: »

Hi
Hope I dont bore you just wanna be clear so giving you some background.

I am a 40 year old single mum. Currently not working due to a mental health issue. 10 years ago I went back to uni as a mature student. Jan 2006 I had a breakdown. As a student I have incurred a fair bit of debt. Some but not all has been paid off. Have also lost some of the paperwork. I think I currently have hanging over me £1500 credit card debt, 2 overdrafts around £500-1000, student loan, mobile phone approx £400. I also have a ccj against me re council tax for the district I was living in whole time I was at uni, I never worked and was only ever a student and therefore not liable for council tax at any time I was living there. I provided the necessary documentation at the time.

As I'm not working and not likely to for at least a year I cannot pay anything towards these debts.

Whilst morally disgraceful, at this stage I am wondering ... what next?

My sis reckons debts are "written off" after 6 years but I don't know why she thinks this.

Also I live in scotland now but attended uni in england.

Can you please advise?

Some debts can be wrote off after 6 years, but there are procedures to follow such as no contact has occured by any party.

Please don't think its morally disgraceful, remember none of us have asked to be in debt, and for what ever reason its happened, please please don't blame yourself for that,
Matt or Pavan are both really brilliant and helpful and there be able to gove you more advice.

You take care xx

mum2one

Jerome_122 wrote: »

Hi there,

I want to try sort out my credit card debts and I am unsure which way to go. I have two credit cards with debt. 1 card with about £5,500 and another card with £2000. So roughly about £7,500 in total.

I have tried to look at a way I could combine what i owe and get rid of the debt with a paying an affordable amount and all i have found at the moment is that I could possibly get a long term loan of £7,500 to be paid back over about 5 years or I could get a new balance transfer credit card to pay off the £7,500 transfered to it from both my old cards by paying roughly about £120 a month for approximately 60 months (I think). I really could do with some professional help as I am terrible with figures and banking but i feel it is getting a bit out of hand with all these minimum payents and I am worried about that.

The most i can afford to pay back a month is really about £150. My current credit cards debts are with Nationwide and Barclays.

Thank you in advance.

I know you say you can only pay £150 per month, have you done the budget planner from CCCS, - this goes through all your outgoings and incomings and then shows what is available for debt repayment,

I went down the debt consolidation route and for me and such with others it didn't work, you need to be really disciplined if you go down that route,

Sorry to be nosey but what are your minimum payments at the moment on the cards, - if it is a case of say £20 or £30 a month short on repayments, then maybe a look at your finances, as to whether your paying too much for things, or need to cut some luxuries. On the debt free wanbee board there is a statement of affairs, this lists all outgoings v incomings and everything is broken down for you.

I'd also suggest keeping a notebook and listing all your spending, as you might find that your buying things you don't need, or just out of habit.

Also look at CCCS the debt rememdy - Matt or Pavan from CCCS are brilliant for advice on the board, x

mum2one

matty2712 wrote: »

Received a letter from Barclaycard yesterday telling me that my repayment plan has been cancelled and they need the full monthly payments from now on, I was a bemused by this and contacted them explaining the situ about me being on a DMP, which they already knew. Apparently they have not received any confirmation from CCCS, is this normal practice by CCCS?? Anyhow the lady at BC noted the conversation and froze all interest on the account for 30 days. She finished off by telling me that they need all the documentation from CCCS. which they reckon they have sent.

By the way the 1st payment to CCCS was on the 1st of this month, Cant wait until they have finally started paying off the debts

I'm in the same boat as you with my first payment being made to CCCS on 1st of the month then that will get distributed on the 25th to the creditors, what it could be is that as the DMP is just starting there may be a cut over of the dates, ie - your Oct payment is due before the CCCS payout.

I have had the same from Argos, but I do think that the companies (our creditors) have a lot of people of dmp plans that they sometimes put the paperwork in another section, and its easier to ask us for the money as they think we may well have that hidden money under the matress.

x

mum2one

I thought I would pass a compliment I had from a creditor (Aqua) about CCCS, the agent that I spoke to as my payment schedule means that I needed to pay Sept payment, (I was late paying it!!), he said CCCS was the best to deal with as they pay out on time, and that they get the money from the 1st month.x

StepChange_Pavan

money_worried wrote: »

hi all, new to this, so bear with me! first post - I am in negotiation with a debt collection agency re an old debt with Black Horse. They wouldn't make a repayment plan without a full financial statement detailing incoming and outgoing monies, fair enough so I sent that off to them. They queried that I'm married and asked why I hadn't disclosed my husbands incoming and outgoing monies. I replied that the debt was mine and mine alone, in my name, and had nothing to do with my husband. Also that the outgoings I detailed in my statement were half of the outgoings (ie. my share). This was accepted initially but they then stated I had to pay the full amount immediately and that a repayment plan was not an option. I refused on the grounds that I can't afford that, and they now insist that to consider a repayment plan I MUST provide them with my husbands financial details. I am not prepared to drag him into my debt, and to be honest it makes no difference to what I can afford to repay anyway. Do I have to give them details of his finances?? Thanks in advance for any advice, all gratefully received

Hi there, money worried (hopefully not for much longer!)

Thanks for posting and welcome to the MoneySavingExpert forum

When you try to negotiate directly with a collection agency, there’s a very high chance you will come up against the problems you have been experiencing.

When a collection agency insists on seeing a joint budget, it’s often to see if there’s any more household surplus income that could be put towards your debt. You’re not obliged to disclose this information to them – as long as you have been transparent about your own situation as an individual, then that is absolutely fine. They have no means to force you into disclosing your husband’s situation, so please don’t worry about any enforcement action in regards to this.

Be aware however that your creditors can see your credit file and the arrangements you have with other creditors. If you are offering reduced payments, chances are this collection agency may not co-operate if they see a number of other unsecured debts that are receiving full payments every month from yourself. They will interpret this as ‘preferential treatment’ and it may encourage them to seek further enforcement action

I would recommend you get in touch with us. We’re a free and confidential debt advice charity. You can find out the best debt solution for you by using our anonymous Debt Remedy service online. You can also call our Helpline on 0800 138 1111 Mon – Fri 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sat 9 a.m. to 3 p.m if you prefer to go through your budget over the phone.

Best wishes,

Pav