Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

CCCS_Sue

cardiffforthefacup wrote: »

This is my problem, I got a letter today from SSE gas asking to contact them, basically I owe £637 from November 2008. Don't know what to do or my rights but I am with Ebico for gas which was on a payment meter where I paid weekly approx £3. So this amount is a total shock!!! Anyway the gist of it is an error took place that switched my meter to a credit meter (quarterly billed), I received a letter with a card (prepay) and it said that if I wished to stay as a credit customer to do nothing and they would send bills each quarter. I phoned up at the time to confirm this. However one thing led to another and being depressed never chased them up for bills so today got a letter. so now they want £4 a week (they asked for £15) which I haven't got with all my other bills this would leave me severely short. What is my position, would I be able to get a crisis loan for this amount or am I stuffed. I have a daughter of 15. Can this debt be written off as good will? or am I forced to pay it back despite them not contacting me since nov 2008

Hi cardiffforthefacup and thank you for your message

I have attached a link to the Home Heat helpline. The free help line number is 0800 33 66 99.
http://www.homeheathelpline.org.uk/how-can-we-help
They may be able to give you further help and advice on where you stand regarding this.

If you require any assistance in working out a budget to see how much you can realistically afford to pay back, you can use our online debt advice facility, Debt Remedy. http://www.cccs.co.uk/ref/drcu

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

arichardson9 wrote: »

Good Morning,

I was hoping you maybe able to shed a little light on a query I have. After checking my credit profile on Experian, I now know that there are several defaults (some quite small) on my credit history report. If I were to write/communicate with these companies re paying off the outstanding debts, would they be in a position to wipe the defaults off my profile, or could I negotiate with them to have this done?

Many thanks for your help in advance.

Very Best Regards,

Mr A Richardson

Hi Mr Richardson and thank you for your message

There is no obligation for a creditor to remove a default notice from your credit file.
Creditors have to ensure your credit file is an accurate history of your credit.

However, some lenders will remove defaults if you pay the outstanding debt off, but there are no guarantees.

Once a default has been added, it remains on your file for 6 years from the date of the default.

I have attached a link to a booklet called ‘Credit Explained’ which explains this further:
http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf

You could try writing to the creditors but there are no guarantees I'm afraid.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

lookingforthelight wrote: »

Hello,

I have gone thru my budget with Payplan and have £550 spare to pay to 7 creditors under a DMP.
However, I have mortgage arrears and have arranged with the mortgage company to pay £500 until March 2011. Until then I can only pay token payments to my creditors.
Payplan have advised they cannot take on the DMP until my mort arrears are clear as I don't have enough leftover to pay creditors.

I was hoping to start the DMP with token payments via Payplan then increase payments once mort arrears cleared.

I am now scared the creditors (6 CC's & 1 unsec loan) will cause trouble as they will have to wait another 6 months before getting any meaningfull payment.

Would CCCS also need me to clear mort arrears before arranging a DMP for me?

Thankyou

Hi and thank you for your message

CCCS would ensure that your mortgage arrears were dealt with first

Your mortgage is your main priority and if you do not keep up the payments, you could lose your home.
Therefore, it is essential you make sure that any arrears are dealt with first before you start to repay any unsecured debts.

The token payment you offer to your creditors is a goodwill gesture until you are back on top of your mortgage payments again.

Regards
Sue

busvcur12

Hi

this is my first post, I have got myself into a complete mess!!

I know I have been unbeilevably stupid but I could use some advice.

I ran up some debts while in university the biggest being a student overdraft. £4000 over half in fees :(

I have recieved a letter from Mackenzie hall demanding payment, the pursuers are named as capquest I have checked my credit file and it says the default was registered in jan 2005

I really do not want a CCJ but I have no way of paying this debt, my mother has just died and I have moved into her rented property, this wasnt the best idea as I really cant afford a house alone (she had lived there all her adult life so I didnt want someone else in the house) am paying so much in bills I cant really even afford food.

I dont know what to do? should I ignore the letter, offer to pay a really small amount each week or what??

I am really worried and dont think i can deal with debt collectors

Any help would be greatly appreciated

CCCS_Sue

datlex wrote: »

Back in 2002/3 I took out a loan with my bank for about £8,000. I encountered financial problems and came to an agreement with them whereby they transferred the outstanding debt which included preloaded interest to my current account which was about £10000 and an amount was agreed to be repaid of the balance each year with a review of this each year. The account accrues interest at 1% above the base rate on the outstanding balance. I have now paid off enough to cover the initial capital. However, I have still a balance of about £6,000. What I need to know is how much I legally am required to repay. Is it the original loan amount including interest or am I still required to pay off the full remaining £6000 plus any interest incurred?

Hi and thank you for your message

It would depend on the kind of interest being added and the terms and conditions of the agreement.

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.

I would recommend that you check the terms and conditions of the agreement you signed when you took the loan out. This may explain how the interest is added to the loan and what you are required to pay.
You could also write to the creditor if you feel these have been charged unfairly.
If you do not get a satisfactory response, then you could ask the Financial Ombudsman to investigate further.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

FormandFunction wrote: »

Hi there,

I hope it's ok to ask a slightly unusual question here but I'm looking at starting an IVA as I have £40,000 of unsecured debt and changes in circumstances over the past year together with the banks increasing the repayment amounts beyond that I can service (and not accepting reduced payments) mean I'm struggling to pay.

I have carried out the CCCS online tool but did not include the main current account I use although it does have a small overdraft attached to it. If I make separate arrangements to pay this off (I am currently on a step-down repayment with them back to £0 anyway) do I have to include it in the IVA or can I leave it out and as long as I don't request further credit or use the associated credit card (which is on £0 at present and will remain there) that's not a problem for the IVA?

The main reason for wanting to keep the account is it covers my self-employed work, is linked to my partner's account for immediate transfers etc. and is unrelated to any of the unsecured debts I hold elsewhere so wouldn't be prey to "offsetting".

Thanks for your help with this and hope it's not a ridiculous question - it's not the end of the world to keep it but it would be much easier to deal with it separately.

FandF

Hi F and F

Thank you for your message.

This is not a ridiculous question but an important one.

You would need to include all your debts in an IVA, or DMP, as paying off your overdraft separately could be seen a preferential treatment over your other creditors.
If an IVA is the best option for dealing with your debts, then before it can go ahead, there would have to be a meeting of creditors. They would not agree to the IVA if you were paying one of your creditors separately.

If you require any further clarification, then you can contact our Debt Remedy team who will be happy to discuss this with you.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

robwin wrote: »

Hi, I wonder if you can help?

About 3 years ago my husband had a balance of around £300 outstanding (from car finance, I think) with Black Horse. He changed his bank account but forgot to update the direct debit details with Black Horse. (Obviously this was his fault.) It was several months before he remembered (we assume that BH sent him letters but he had moved flat around the same time) and when he called BH to rectify the mistake he was told the debt had been written off. He was confused by this and ended up offering to pay the outstanding balance over the phone, which they allowed him to do.

The problem is, his credit report now shows the BH account as having been written off as bad debt and as a consequence his credit score is very low. This hardly seems fair, given that he actually paid the balance in the end!! Is there anything we can do about this?

Thanks in advance

Hi Robwin and thank you for your message

I have attached a link to a booklet which explains what you need to do if you think the information on your credit file is wrong. First of all you would need to write to the creditor and explain that you think it is unfair when you have paid the balance off.
You can also write to the credit reference agency and explain why you think the information is wrong.
If after writing to your lender and the credit reference agency, the information is still incorrect, then you can contact the Information Commissioner.
All the details and addresses are in the booklet.

http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf pages 19 and 20

Hope this helps

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

maz1964 wrote: »

hiya Sue

i would like clarification that you say above that as long as you have not written admitting the debt - but what about if you have sent a letter asking for information regarding the debt or for a copy of the credit agreement does that mean it would still be statute barred after 6 years as long as nothing is admitted for the debt?

cheers maz

Hi Maz

You are entitled to a copy of any files the creditor has containing the history of your account under the Data Protection Act 1998. A request for the file would not mean you were admitting the debt.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

busvcur12 wrote: »

Hi

this is my first post, I have got myself into a complete mess!!

I know I have been unbeilevably stupid but I could use some advice.

I ran up some debts while in university the biggest being a student overdraft. £4000 over half in fees :(

I have recieved a letter from Mackenzie hall demanding payment, the pursuers are named as capquest I have checked my credit file and it says the default was registered in jan 2005

I really do not want a CCJ but I have no way of paying this debt, my mother has just died and I have moved into her rented property, this wasnt the best idea as I really cant afford a house alone (she had lived there all her adult life so I didnt want someone else in the house) am paying so much in bills I cant really even afford food.

I dont know what to do? should I ignore the letter, offer to pay a really small amount each week or what??

I am really worried and dont think i can deal with debt collectors

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Hi and thank you for your message

Sorry to hear of your sad loss.

First of all you need to put together a budget showing all your income and expenditure. This will show how much you can realistically afford to offer your creditor after paying your priority bills.

If there is no surplus, then offer a token payment of £1 as a 'gesture of goodwill' until your circumstances change.

Send a copy of your budget with your offer of payment and a covering letter asking them to consider stopping interest and charges.

Then stick to your offer and do not be pressured into paying more than you can afford.

If you would like further help with your budget and also to look at your options, you can use our online debt advice facility 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

Regards
Sue

BEAT_THE_DEBT

Hello, i started a dmp in July payments of £207 the first payment i couldnt make in full so paid £20 as cccs advised me , Aug paid £207 (struggled) then Sept because of school uniform i paid £107. I have revised my budget and i have tp pay £20 extra to c tax arrears and arrears on gas and elec £20 per month and i do more milage now for work so extra £10 per month. I have emailed them this as i cant get them on phone always busy and i am aware its an 0845 num. What will happen do i just have to carry on or could it be reduced by the £50?
Thanks for reading i look forward to your reply