Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

lrmsmith

Hello,
I owe £6,913 through myself and my partners overdrafts, past rent to previous lanlord, various family members. I will be encouring charges soon on my overdraft. I have a job but i dont start until the 6th of sept and I wont be able to afford getting work and living. I wanted to no what would be best a loan a credit or something else to help me. I am not sure weather paying off my enitre debt is best or just getting money to live and pay off my overdraft that will encour charges soon?
Any help would be much appreciated

thanks

nikko64

hi,

this is my story.hope you can help.

i currently run 7 credit cards,which i currently owe the following at the following rates.

virgin £3350 credit limit £5000 @ 17.9%
mbna £2800 credit limit £5600 @ 27.9%
lloyds £2399 credit limit £15000 @ 19.9%
nationwide £3025 credit limit £7720 @ 17.9%
abbey £1580 credit limit £3000 @ 15.6%
halifax £7952 credit limit £9000 @ 19.95%
barclaycard £5454 credit limit £6500 @ 16.9%
+ 2 loans that we pay £275 per month towards which have
8 years left to go

we also have a repayment mortgage which is a fixed rate plan which is up for renewal at the start of the year.which is £572 per month.

we pride ourselves on never having missed a mortgage,loan or minimum payment card payment ,ever.

things are getting a bit tight now and we are just paying the minimum payment each month without making any headway on the actual debt.

i am in full time employment and my wife has two jobs bringing in a total yearly income of £24160 per annum

i`m sure there is a way we could reduce our debts/monthly payments, but not being to savvy in the world of finance (as you`ve probably guessed!!) i`m not sure how.

any advice would be much appreciated.

thanks

lrmsmith

Hi i need help i have no money coming in i start my new job on the 6th of sept but i have mine and my partners overdrafts to think about. I will be encouring charges soon but the debt in total is about £7,000 what would be best a loan or a credit card or something else please help me.

shelovestobuystuff

I have a question for a CCCS councillor please.
A little background and a thanks first before I get to the point if thats okay.
I am on a DMP and CCCS have been very helpful in getting that sorted for me quickly.They are great to deal with,everyone I have spoken to over the phone have been exceptionally nice and considerate,very helpful in getting some of my debts interests frozen etc too.My debt will be clear in just under 5 years.Its going well.
So my situation just now is that I am not in paid employment,I volunteer in a charity shop and do some fundraising,just to keep active and keep my retail experience up to date.I have been thinking lately about going to college to get some more qualifications and have been accepted onto a course.I do not qualify for fee waiver for college and have in the past had fees paid for a higher level course(HNC) so dont qualify for that funding again.The only way to pay my fees would be to apply for a student loan from SAAS and pay my fees from that.Am I allowed to apply for a student loan while on a DMP?
I fully expect the answer is no but I just wanted to double check before I give up on college as it is a loan for education and not a traditional loan.
Oh just to add,I would of course rather not have to take a student loan but the funding rules state that I have to have applied for and if offered taken up any student loan offer first before I am allowed to apply for any other funding from the college such as local grants,bursary or EU grants for students childcare etc

Update-I managed to get someone from my local CCCS office on the phone and they said yes I can take a student loan but it will be classed as income for paying towards debts.I expect I will be able to add college fees and equipment to my DMP expenditure and then probably still have a lump sum of about £1,500 left over the year to throw at debt in extra payments to CCCS.Is it okay to make occassional extra payments to CCCS when theres money available?This should bring my repayment period down by about 8 months.

shezza

I have a question for the cccs counsellor,

I contacted the cccs a few months back and had my initial appointment however, due to trying to sort out other agencies that required payslips (csa etc) I have not been able to respond. Our circumstances have not changed and everything that was discussed at the appointment still stands, what I want to know is can I still send the information required in or will I have to have another appointment.

Many thanks

CCCS_Sue

purpleparrotuk wrote: »

Hello

We have a phone appointment with a debt company next week.

Hubbys unsecured creditors come to a total of £38,000

Mine come to a total of £4,000 plus a hire purchase for a car which £2000 is remaining.

We also have a joint secured loan with approx £55,000 remaining and the mortgae with £120,000 remaining.

My question is I was under the impression that we could both apply for a joint IVA together since the total unsecured debts are approx £42,000. But this morning I have read that you actually apply individuall so obviously they would not approve me since I don't owe enough.

I know they don't incude the mortgage and the the secured loan in the IVA payments but since these are both joint debts do they still count towards the total?

Will hubby have to apply for an IVA on his own and I have DMP or can we still go joint IVA because of the secured loans?

Hi purpleparrotuk and thank you for your message

Before you consider applying for an IVA, it is important to first find out whether it’s the best option for you.
It is possible to do an interlocking application for an IVA but without knowing your full financial situation, I am not able to say whether this would be suitable for you.

If you want to know if an IVA is suitable, you can use our online debt counselling service, Debt Remedy http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcuwhich will provide you with the most appropriate solution to your debt problem. Alternatively contact our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

Unhappy_01 wrote: »

Over the past 18 months I have got myself deeper and deeper into debt with payday loan companies. It's now at the point where I cannot and do not want to borrow from any others but the monthly payments I am making to these companies each month, approx £860 plus my rent, general living expenses and bills I am in a minus figure in terms of my monthly finances. I have managed to keep my head above water with regards to rent & bills but am now starting to struggle with these and need to take action before I fall into arrears on my priority payments.

The £860 figure is only covering the interest of the loans and I am unable to make even a small dent into the capital payments, in total I owe these companies £5000 and am becoming more and more depressed each month and cannot see a way out of the problem.

In terms of my other monthly spending I am down to a bare minimum which covers rent, bills, food, transport costs and other household items and am in no way leaving beyond my means. These debts mounted up due to my previously living beyond my means and is something I have been forced to remedy due to having no spare cash whatsoever.

Due to my circumstances I cannot enter into an IVA and am unsure if a DMP would take into account payday loan companies. I have looked at a couple of websites of companies offering this service but cannot find a clear answer to this.

I have just completed the CCCS Debt Remedy online form and will call them on Tuesday to discuss my situation.

Has anyone else fallen into the payday loan trap who could offer advice how I can get out to it ?? I am hoping an DMP will help but as I say I am unsure if these cover debts to payday loan companies.

Any help / advice would be greatly appreciated.

EDIT : I should add that i could reasonably afford to pay £350-£400 per month towards the debt which unfortuantly only half of what I am currently paying in "interest" payments alone :-(

Hi Unhappy and thank you for your message

Payday loans are designed to help out until pay day, when ideally, they should be paid back in full.
If you are not able to do this, then the interest can be ‘eye wateringly’ high and you can end up in a downward spiral getting deeper and deeper into debt, especially if you take out further loans to pay off existing ones.

First of all, you need to make sure that all your priorities are kept up to date.
Whatever surplus is left, is the amount you can realistically afford to pay towards any unsecured debts.
It may help to change to a basic bank account elsewhere and have your money paid into this account, especially if you have gone overdrawn and owe money to your bank as well. I have attached a booklet which lists basic accounts you could apply for:
http://www.moneymadeclear.org.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

If you have taken advice from Debt Remedy and the option was to do a DMP, then the payday loans could be included.
If you have an appointment today, then the counsellor will be able to answer any further questions you have.

Hope this helps.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

Cartman69 wrote: »

I have sent a private message aswell.. with contact details etc..

I have done threads and i now have my cashminder account with co op and cancelled bank debit card

I owe around £1500 to payday loans.

I was supposed to pay few them off yesterday but couldn't even afford to pay one of them..

As today stands..i owe around (approx)-

£530 to wonga
£200 to Payday UK
£330 to Gothia (payred or whatever they're called)
£350 to Tooth Fairy Finance

That's an estimate, and they're building up as we speak.. i tried to speak to one of them yesterday on live chat to put them on hold and they said they wouldn't unless i entered a DMP .. i tried payplan but they said minimum is £8000

i don't want this to get out of control.. i really think i need a DMP so i can just pay something off monthly or whatever needs be so that i can just get rid of these payday companies for good.

p.s i tried a loan to solve the debt.. but i was conned by yes loans and down a further £70 please get back asap..

Hi Cartman69

I have replied to your message in Private Messages. If you require any further help, then let us know.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

lrmsmith wrote: »

Hello,
I owe £6,913 through myself and my partners overdrafts, past rent to previous lanlord, various family members. I will be encouring charges soon on my overdraft. I have a job but i dont start until the 6th of sept and I wont be able to afford getting work and living. I wanted to no what would be best a loan a credit or something else to help me. I am not sure weather paying off my enitre debt is best or just getting money to live and pay off my overdraft that will encour charges soon?
Any help would be much appreciated

thanks

Hi Irmsmith and thank you for your message.

I would recommend that you look at changing your account to a basic bank account first of all.
This puts you back in charge of your finances and stops the bank taking money from your account to clear any debts you have with them, without your permission.
You can then start to repay the overdraft at a realistic amount you can afford.

I have attached a booklet which lists basic bank accounts you can use.
http://www.moneymadeclear.org.uk/pdfs/bank_accounts.pdf

Taking out further credit to pay off existing debt is not always the best solution.
You could end up in a worse position.

Put together a budget showing your income and expenditure.
Whatever is left after paying all your priorities is the amount you can realistically afford to offer your creditors until your circumstances change.
Send your offer with a copy of your budget and a list of all the other creditors you have.
If you would like some further help and advice regarding this, you can use our on line debt advice facility Debt Remedy. Click here: http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu
Alternatively, you can call for an appointment to speak to a counsellor free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00. Monday to Friday.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

nikko64 wrote: »

hi,

this is my story.hope you can help.

i currently run 7 credit cards,which i currently owe the following at the following rates.

virgin £3350 credit limit £5000 @ 17.9%
mbna £2800 credit limit £5600 @ 27.9%
lloyds £2399 credit limit £15000 @ 19.9%
nationwide £3025 credit limit £7720 @ 17.9%
abbey £1580 credit limit £3000 @ 15.6%
halifax £7952 credit limit £9000 @ 19.95%
barclaycard £5454 credit limit £6500 @ 16.9%
+ 2 loans that we pay £275 per month towards which have
8 years left to go

we also have a repayment mortgage which is a fixed rate plan which is up for renewal at the start of the year.which is £572 per month.

we pride ourselves on never having missed a mortgage,loan or minimum payment card payment ,ever.

things are getting a bit tight now and we are just paying the minimum payment each month without making any headway on the actual debt.

i am in full time employment and my wife has two jobs bringing in a total yearly income of £24160 per annum

i`m sure there is a way we could reduce our debts/monthly payments, but not being to savvy in the world of finance (as you`ve probably guessed!!) i`m not sure how.

any advice would be much appreciated.

thanks

Hi nikko64 and thank you for your message

In order for us to be able to provide you with advice on your financial situation you will need to either use our online advice facility Debt Remedy, or ring our free Helpline to book a telephone appointment with a counsellor.

Debt Remedy will assist you in completing a financial statement which includes information on your household, employment, income, expenditure and debts. All this information is used as a basis to determine the options available to you to deal with your situation.

Once you’ve followed the process through and completed all the required information you will immediately be presented with an advice booklet, which will provide tailored advice for you based on your current circumstances. It will also provide advice on ways you may be able to improve your situation.
If you would like to get immediate advice on your situation, follow the link to go directly to Debt Remedy: http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu
Alternatively if you would prefer to talk to a debt counsellor about your situation, you can book a telephone based appointment by calling our helpline free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00.

Regards,
Sue