Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

prettykitty

Hi there

I have got the direct debit form from CCCS and I note that the usual payment date is the 1st of the month, however I am not paid until the 10th. Can I change this (at least until my cashflow improves) or is it set in stone?

Also I am being harassed to the ends of the earth by HSBC (my only creditor) even though I have told them it is in the hands of the CCCS and their calls and texts are causing me distress and embarrassment. What else can I do to get them to back off?!

Many thanks

CCCS_Sue

amonag68 wrote: »

Hello Guys,

I wonder if someone could offer me some advice?

I have 4 charging orders on my former marital home. My ex wife still lives in it. These were put in place before I became bankrupt in Feb 2009. I am now discharged.

Since this I have transfered my beneficial interest to my ex wife as she is keeping the house. This was done through the Official Receiver as they owned my interest. As there was no equity it only cost £1 plus £211 solicitor fee to do so.

As the charging orders were to my beneficial interest only can these now be removed? If so how?

I have also read on here that as the property was jointly owned when the charging orders were made they cannot be classed as full charging orders and only a restriction?

I am getting letters off one solicitor dealing with one of them threatening an order of sale.

Sorry for the information overload!!!

Hope you can advise accordingly.

Regards

Andy

Hi Andy and thank you for your message

You really need to get legal advice regarding this.
Although you transferred your share of the beneficial interest to your ex wife, if you have not transferred the title deeds into her name only,this means that you are still named on the mortgage and
you are still responsible for any secured debts.
If your name is still on the mortgage, your creditors can attempt to get money back from your share of the property.
If they do go for an order of sale, you will need to attend court to put your case forward. You could argue that as the house is still in negative equity, the creditors will gain nothing from the sale of the property. There may be other defences you could put forward, but I would recommend that you seek help from a solicitor.
I have attached a link to Community Legal Advice. They give free legal advice and may be able to help you further
http://www.communitylegaladvice.org.uk/

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

prettykitty wrote: »

Hi there

I have got the direct debit form from CCCS and I note that the usual payment date is the 1st of the month, however I am not paid until the 10th. Can I change this (at least until my cashflow improves) or is it set in stone?

Also I am being harassed to the ends of the earth by HSBC (my only creditor) even though I have told them it is in the hands of the CCCS and their calls and texts are causing me distress and embarrassment. What else can I do to get them to back off?!

Many thanks

Hi prettykitty and thank you for your message

If you ring our client support team, they will be able to advise you regarding your payments. I’m sure you will be able to sort something out.

With regard to the harassment from HSBC, you can request that they remove you from their telephone database and contact you by letter only. They should comply with your request, or you could report them to the Office of Fair Trading

I have attached a sample letter you could use:

To whom it may concern

Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing to ask that you no longer contact me by telephone as your calls are causing me considerable stress due to the frequency, and that they are being made at inappropriate times. Please remove my telephone number from your database and send all future communication in writing to my home address.

I have provided the most recent copy of my income and expenditure to make you aware of my current financial situation. I will continue to make my payment of x on the x of every month and will keep you informed of any changes in my circumstances as I am keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

I understand that following this request if you continue to call I can contact the Office of Fair Trading to make a formal complaint.

Please confirm in writing that your records have been amended.

Yours sincerely

Hope this helps

Regards
Sue

prettykitty

Sue - thanks so much for your quick response, I'll call the client support team today and will do as you suggest re HSBC. Thanks for the template letter, it's very useful.
PK

ste281

hello sue i was wandering what i can do about a payday loan debt i have...i borrowed 500,i didnt pay it back on time now i owe £1125.i have been having poor wages due to lack of work...i have spoke to them and they say they will take £40 a week, but on top of everything else this is just to much....

lacaja79

I am experiencing financial difficulties and had already reduced payments with my creditors. But my employer has now reduced my hours of work due to a lack of business. I now cannot afford the payments and have offered smaller payments. I was wondering if it would be less stressful to go through a debt manage plan with a company.

StepChange_Pavan

ste281 wrote: »

hello sue i was wandering what i can do about a payday loan debt i have...i borrowed 500,i didnt pay it back on time now i owe £1125.i have been having poor wages due to lack of work...i have spoke to them and they say they will take £40 a week, but on top of everything else this is just to much....

Hi Ste281 and thank you for your message.

You can’t pay them money that you don’t have, so it’s essential that you make a realistic offer of payment that you can afford. This way you’re more likely to stick to the agreement, and more importantly you won’t be jeopardising other payments and struggling to pay them.

The best thing to do is to write down all of your income and expenditure in order to work out how much you can afford. You should send them a copy of this to support your offer of payment.

If you would like help to create a budget or need further advice, I recommend that you call our free helpline to speak to one of our trained debt counsellors. You can call free on 0800 138 1111 and lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am – 8pm.

Alternatively you can visit our online debt advice facility called Debt Remedy. Debt Remedy would assist you in completing a financial statement and you would be provided with tailored advice on the best way to deal with your situation. This link will take you directly to Debt Remedy www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu

Hope this helps.

Kind regards
Pavan

StepChange_Pavan

lacaja79 wrote: »

I am experiencing financial difficulties and had already reduced payments with my creditors. But my employer has now reduced my hours of work due to a lack of business. I now cannot afford the payments and have offered smaller payments. I was wondering if it would be less stressful to go through a debt manage plan with a company.

Hi Lacaja79 and thank you for your message.

You may find it less stressful as you will only have to make one monthly payment rather than several different payments to each of your creditors.

It is likely that you will still receive correspondence from your creditors whilst on a DMP but at least you know that you have the support of a debt counsellor at the other end of a phone call should you need it.

I strongly recommend that you go to a free debt advice charity that provides a DMP service such as CCCS. That way, all of your spare money will be used to repay your debts rather than going towards a fee.

Without looking at your situation in more detail, I can’t guarantee that a DMP will be your best option. If you contact us for advice, we will explore all of your options fully before recommending the debt solution that suits you best.

To get advice you can 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.

Kind regards
Pavan

whu_chris

hello,

I have credit card debts totalling about £2500. I am looking to change cards to a 0% balance transfer to cut the cost of my debts. I managed to open one with barclays but they only gave me an £800 limit so I couldn't transfer all my balance but at least it helped as it is 0% for over a year. I am in the position now where I have £1700 on one card which I am getting charged about £25 a month interest which is a lot. I wouldnt say i'm in financial difficulty as I work full time so i'm not struggling to keep up with repayments, I would just like to repay it as quickly as possible. I have since applied for another credit card with a 0% transfer but they didn't accept me. I'm not too sure why as I have never missed a payment, but it could be something to do with the fact that I have borrowed the maximum amount available to me with regards to my current financial situation? I have contacted my current card company who say they cannot do anything for me unless I am in financial hardship but that would affect my credit rating and I do not consider myself to be in such hardship. I do have savings but not enough to cover my £1700 on my card thats charging me interest. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

tomp1862

Hi,

I filled in the online forms for a DMP yesterday and have now received the next email which I need to fill in direct debits etc to CCCS, however I also need to include pay slips and statements from my creditors - it say's to refer to the booklet, however this booklet was online and now I cannot access it through my online ID. Can I find a copy of this booklet online or can anyone tell me what is accepted as statements? Eg is an email from pay day loan companies saying I owe xxx amount enough? And also how do you obtain statements for an overdraft or can I just print a copy of my online statement showing my HSBC overdraft and HSBC loan?

Thanks a lot

Tom