Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

turp987

Hi this is my first time on here so not sure if I am asking this question in the right place...

We have some debt with a credit card, a loan via lloyds tsb and an overdraft with lloyds tsb. 2 years ago we realised that we were in a mess - not huge but big enough for us to worry. So i contacted our local CAB who were brilliant in helping up set up payment plans etc. The credit card has been fantastic and really helpful and understanding. Lloyds on the other hand have not!

We are currently in the situation where we are paying a set amount to each. We have received a letter from Lloyds saying that if we pay £7700 it will clear the loan debt totally - saving us nearly £2500. Curretnly we dont have that amount of money to be able to pay it off (I wish we did) and our current payment arrangement is due to end now. My husband has just been told that his office is closing and they will all be made redundant at some point before christmas. He has a number of years service so should get some redundancy. I am best advising them that we can't pay now and wish to continue the payment plan for the time being and also tell them of the impending redundancy and hope that we get another letter later on requesting a lesser amount which we might be able to pay or simply to request a continuation of the current payment plan as our circumstances have not changed?

I'm not sure what to do for the best.

We have regularly had demanding letters and stroppy to the point of threatening phone calls from lloyds ever since the payment plans have been put into place. I have taken the issue tot he financial services ombuds man more than once so are more than able to stand my ground with them. However with the redundancy looming the stress is getting a bit too much...

You help would be appreciated.

Thanks

DaddyWhitts

I am a 22 year old with a girlfriend and a 9 month old baby.

We dont live together as we cant afford to because our money just seems to disappear.

I work full time on minimum wage and after reading posts on this site i can see that i seriously need to stop spending but im still not completely sure how.

I also have 3 overdrafts that i have slowly found my self in, all of which add up to £1400 (which doesnt sound as bad as some people have but i keep getting deeper and deeper into it all the time as i have no money just over half way through nearly every month so it could get consideribly larger if i dont do something about it now)

i think our main out goings are food shopping and taxi fairs.

We are exchanging taxi's for busses which will help alot but as for food shopping i think it comes down to knowing how to make 1 big shop last a month.

does anyone have any tips or advice on this or anything else that might help us have money left over to save and get our own place?

thanks very much in advance.

P.S i also have this SOA calculation that could help?

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 980
Partners monthly income after tax....... 780
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1760

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 30
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 4
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 30
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 65
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 22
Groceries etc. ......................... 450
Clothing................................ 150
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 320
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 50
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 15
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 8
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
CRAP.................................... 45
meals for work.......................... 40
goodies................................. 45
cosmetic................................ 12
Total monthly expenses.................. 1356


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Overdraft .....................600.......0.........10
Overdraft......................400.......0.........10
Overdraft......................400.......0.........10
Total unsecured debts..........1400......0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,760
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,356
Available for debt repayments........... 404
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 404

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,400
Net Assets.............................. -1,400

newstudent24

Hi I'm new here so if this question has been asked before then I apologise...

I have a flat for sale at 93,000 (my keyboard doesn't do pound signs!), which has been on the market since May. I am about to start a degree course at University as a mature student, and have been unemployed for three months after being made redundant. I have been looking for work but it's not been easy.

In January I phoned my bank, HSBC (who are also my mortgage lender) and asked if I could consolidate all my small loans with them to make it one easy manageable payment each month. I spent the best part of an hour on the phone, with this bloke from HSBC who made it sound so good - I could save 200pounds a month!! So of course I went along with it. This was obviously before I knew I (along with 200 other people where I worked) was going to be made redundant. The loan also meant I could pay off my HSBC credit card, which had about 4000 on it at the time (my limit was 7000). It turned out that I was in fact borrowing 18000 - one and a half times my salary.

So now I'm stuck with a 300pound a month repayment on my loan which I simply can't afford. The mortgage payment protection has paid my mortgage for the last two months, so that's made things a little easier, but now that I'm starting Uni, I obviously can't claim on that anymore. So that's another 300 a month I have to find. On top of all that, I also have the bank charges that HSBC are taking every month because a direct debit gets bounced, or I go overdrawn. I don't have the luxury of an overdraft because I don't have a regular income.

I'm expecting my student loan at the end of this month, but I really don't want to spend all that on loans and mortgage repayments - it'll leave me with very little to actually live on.

So I went to see the Citizens Advice Bureau yesterday and they recommended writing to all my utility companies and offering to pay one pound a month until the flat gets sold, however long that may be, and then repay the full amount on completion. I'm hoping to pay off the mortgage as well and go into rented accommodation as it will be cheaper. They also told me to write to the bank offering to pay as much as I can until the flat gets sold, but I'm just not sure HSBC will be that flexible.

Has anyone ever done this before and did it work?

del_steel

Hi there, I'm looking for a little bit of advice.

A few years ago, my fiancee and I took out a £2000 loan with Blackhorse. Soon afterwards, our monthly income was drastically reduced due to redundancy and we sought help from the CAB. They talked to our creditors and arranged reduced payments.

Despite an agreement to pay £5 a month, Blackhorse have continued to add interest and collection fees. About a year ago we started paying back the loan at double the original monthly payment and have over the last couple of months been paying back £250 per month.

All this time we have had statements sent through from Blackhorse showing our outstanding balance, payments, fees etc etc. Now according to the lastest statement, we only have just over £100 left to pay. My fiancee phoned Blackhorse to confirm the outstanding balance and they have now quoted us a completely different figure from that on the statement.

They claim we owe another £260 on top of the £100 showing on the statement which consists of collection fees over ther years as we have been in arrears!!!! These are in addition to the fees on our statement!!!

Is this legal???? Surley they are obliged to give an accurate statement of account??? Can they set up a side account for charges, fees etc.

I would like to know where I stand before I make the call to argue my case and any help or advice would be much appreciated

josephinems

Hi

Can I have some general advice from anyone who cares to help. I retrained recently and work for myself and am not earning much. I have 2 flats that I rent out that were meant to be an asset and for my pension, but which have proved to be a mistake and actually a liability. They both have mortgages on them as does the flat I live in. I owe a lot on credit cards and my idea was to put the two rental flats on the market as there is enough cash in them to pay my debts off, but of course no one is coming to look at them. I have written to the mortgage company and said could I have a 2 month holday and they said no. I feel trapped and just dont know what to do. Is it worth writing to my credit card companies to ask if I can reduce my payments for a while? I am paying out much more each month than I earn and I am scared. can anyone help?

CCCS_Sue

wee_trevor.2 wrote: »

please can you help.my partners bank of scotland credit card keep adding the interest even though he is on a dept management scheme.they have just added 300 pounds. i think he has spoken to the dept management about it before but the bank is still doing it.also would he be able to get that interest backdated since hes been on the scheme.thanks.

Hi wee trevor.2 and thank you for your message

If he falls behind with his payments or goes over the limit he’s allowed to borrow, he will be charged a fixed penalty by the creditor on top of his normal interest charge.

A creditor has the right to add charges and interest. All charges that can be added are stated upfront in the terms and conditions of the credit application which you are required to sign to take out credit. If you believe a creditor has added the charges unfairly, you may be able to claim these back.

In most cases, there is nothing he can do to stop interest and charges being added.
However, if he makes reduced payments over a long period of time, usually several months, most creditors will eventually stop charging interest and adding late payment charges.
Usually, a creditor will stop interest and charges either after they issue a default notice or they pass it onto a debt collection agency, although this does not always happen.
.
If he is paying a fee for the administration of his DMP, then it might be advisable to go to a non fee charger for further help and advice.

Regards
Sue

marriedworriedmum

Hi all,
I dont post on here v often but I 'lurk' on here most days just looking for a bit of help please!

I've been on a DMP with cccs since Jan so far things have been ticking along ok, however we have had a letter from hubby's Halifax current a/c which he owes £303.83 on: It has now apparently been passed to Blair Oliver and Scott which I am led to believe are an in house debt collection agency? We are going to ring cccs as soon as he comes home but I keep reading and re reading the lettter and everytime I see the threat of "we can instruct one of our local door to door agents to call on you" I feel physically sick.

I have googled them and I believe they can be v difficult to deal with, can any one advise what to do please? to avoid them coming to our home, I know we've been silly in the past and I am paying for it dearly, I probably have no right to whine but the idea of them coming to our home, touching our things especially our little ones and having our neighbours see what mess we've got ourselves into, well its making me feel physically sick
very many thanks - sorry for the dramatics but im feeling particualry low about it all today! xxx

london2008

Hi there

My partner has been offered a new job in the USA. I will be going with them but under the rules of the visa I will not be allowed to work.

I'm currently on a DMP via CCCS and pay £570 per month and as I'm unable to work my partner has said he will continue to pay this amount for me. The DMP is only in my name as it all relates to my own debts before I met him. We do not have joint finances.

As I'm sure you can appriocate I would rather continue to work but I don't really have an option.

The questions I have are - Do I have to tell CCCS that I i'm going aboard and can they stop me if I'm going to continue to make the repayments

CCCS_Sue

turp987 wrote: »

Hi this is my first time on here so not sure if I am asking this question in the right place...

We have some debt with a credit card, a loan via lloyds tsb and an overdraft with lloyds tsb. 2 years ago we realised that we were in a mess - not huge but big enough for us to worry. So i contacted our local CAB who were brilliant in helping up set up payment plans etc. The credit card has been fantastic and really helpful and understanding. Lloyds on the other hand have not!

We are currently in the situation where we are paying a set amount to each. We have received a letter from Lloyds saying that if we pay £7700 it will clear the loan debt totally - saving us nearly £2500. Curretnly we dont have that amount of money to be able to pay it off (I wish we did) and our current payment arrangement is due to end now. My husband has just been told that his office is closing and they will all be made redundant at some point before christmas. He has a number of years service so should get some redundancy. I am best advising them that we can't pay now and wish to continue the payment plan for the time being and also tell them of the impending redundancy and hope that we get another letter later on requesting a lesser amount which we might be able to pay or simply to request a continuation of the current payment plan as our circumstances have not changed?

I'm not sure what to do for the best.

We have regularly had demanding letters and stroppy to the point of threatening phone calls from lloyds ever since the payment plans have been put into place. I have taken the issue tot he financial services ombuds man more than once so are more than able to stand my ground with them. However with the redundancy looming the stress is getting a bit too much...

You help would be appreciated.

Hi turp987 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. If you do decide to call us, please have details ready regarding your income, expenditure and creditors, as this can help speed up the referral process. If you have all of the necessary information ready, 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.

Regards,
Sue

CCCS_Sue

DaddyWhitts wrote: »

I am a 22 year old with a girlfriend and a 9 month old baby.

We dont live together as we cant afford to because our money just seems to disappear.

I work full time on minimum wage and after reading posts on this site i can see that i seriously need to stop spending but im still not completely sure how.

I also have 3 overdrafts that i have slowly found my self in, all of which add up to £1400 (which doesnt sound as bad as some people have but i keep getting deeper and deeper into it all the time as i have no money just over half way through nearly every month so it could get consideribly larger if i dont do something about it now)

i think our main out goings are food shopping and taxi fairs.

We are exchanging taxi's for busses which will help alot but as for food shopping i think it comes down to knowing how to make 1 big shop last a month.

does anyone have any tips or advice on this or anything else that might help us have money left over to save and get our own place?

thanks very much in advance.

P.S i also have this SOA calculation that could help?

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 980
Partners monthly income after tax....... 780
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1760

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 30
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 4
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 30
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 65
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 22
Groceries etc. ......................... 450
Clothing................................ 150
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 320
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 50
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 15
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 8
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
CRAP.................................... 45
meals for work.......................... 40
goodies................................. 45
cosmetic................................ 12
Total monthly expenses.................. 1356


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Overdraft .....................600.......0.........10
Overdraft......................400.......0.........10
Overdraft......................400.......0.........10
Total unsecured debts..........1400......0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,760
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,356
Available for debt repayments........... 404
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 404

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,400
Net Assets.............................. -1,400

Hi daddywhits and thank you for your message

I think that you need to take a look at the high spending on food, clothing and travel, and see if you can cut back in these areas.

You could also change to a basic bank account and have your wages transferred to this account.
This would put you back in charge of your finances and enable you repay the overdrafts at an amount you can realistically afford.
If you would like help to put together a budget, you can use our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy.
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, you can call for an appointment on 0800 138 1111.

Regards
Sue