Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

CCCS_Sue

skippyTT wrote: »

Hi, I owe £36k & am making payments into a DMP of £400/month. I have recently started living with my girlfriend who was unemployed when we met. She has an income of approx £500/month & I am not sure how this affects my DMP?

On the face of it, it seems like as a couple my girlfriends income should be added to mine, but this seems harsh on her as non of my debts were her responsibility.

Would my DMP payment have to increase to the full £900 available or does Cccs consider them just my debt so it's just my income considered?

Hi skippyTT and thank you for your message

We may not need to include her income, but we would need to know how much she is contributing to the bills now that she is living with you, so you do need to update your budget.
The expenditure on the budget will also be updated to take into account there are now two of you.

I would recommend that you make an appointment to speak to one of our client support team for further help and advice.

Regards

Sue

Homershairdo

Hi Sue,

I've a question please!

My partner has a new job, and the income means that I do have income left at the end of the month, so a dmp is currently less likely to be accepted.

I'm thinking about contacting my credit card companies, asking them to

1. Close the account
2. Freeze the interest
3. I will continue to make the contracted payments until the debt is settled.

Do you know whether a proposal like this would be accepted, and if it is, it is likely to impact my credit rating somehow?

Thanks for all your help!

H

CCCS_Sue

robert_m wrote: »

Hi,
Just looking for some advice as to what my 'situation' holds for me further down the line.
Summary would be i seperated from my then partner May 2007, leaving me in a pretty bad way mentally and with various debt which i have not been able to make payments to, and considering the attitude of the banks and the hooooge penalty charges that they hammered me with when i was down and almost out, i quite probably wont be making any payments to.
There was a couple of credit cards for 2 or 3 thousand each which i have not heard from (last payments prob April 2007) and the main one of an unsecured loan with about 23,000 still outstanding.
Recieved court summons in Feb this year talking me to court over this and i decided to pay the £80 to defend it for the sheer annoyance factor before going BR. After remembering something from a radio money prog i realised i 'might' have a get-out-clause with the 2007 amendment to the 1974 CCA and turned up at court to defend myself. After 6 months of getting new court dates i got to the stage of the Sheriff going for a debate under Rule 22 which i dont really understand, but the pursuers dropped it a few days beforehand.
Dont think it makes that much diff apart from that i wont 'have' to go BR.
My query mainly revolves around what next.
I am in Scotland so i believe the debts become statute barred after 5 years from date of default. Will they still show up in credit checks at that point? Can the pursuers restart court proceedings for the 23,000 within this timescale? does the lack of a CCJ count for anything in rebuilding credit record??
Your advice appreciated.

Hi Robert and thank you for your message

In Scotland, under the Prescription and Limitation Act, there is a time limit of five years or 20 years on taking legal action to claim money owed.
It really depends on the type of debt you have and whether any of the following apply:-

The creditor has not already obtained a decree against you;
You or anyone else owing the money (on a debt in joint names) have not made a payment on the debt during the last five years;
You have not written to the creditor admitting you owe the debt during the last five years.

If the creditor has been to court they will usually have up to 20 years to start ‘enforcing’ the decree and you cannot use the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act to dispute you owe the debt.

If the creditors have issued a default, they could start court proceedings.

Defaults do show on your credit file for 6 years from the date of the default, so your file will be affected whether you have CCJs or not.
I have attached a link to a booklet called ‘Credit Explained’ which explains your credit file in more detail.
http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documents/library/data_protection/practical_application/credit_explained_leaflet_2005.pdf
If you would like to discuss your situation further with one of our counsellors, you can call for an appointment free on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open from 08.00 until 20.00. Monday to Friday.
Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

Homershairdo wrote: »

Hi Sue,

I've a question please!

My partner has a new job, and the income means that I do have income left at the end of the month, so a dmp is currently less likely to be accepted.

I'm thinking about contacting my credit card companies, asking them to

1. Close the account
2. Freeze the interest
3. I will continue to make the contracted payments until the debt is settled.

Do you know whether a proposal like this would be accepted, and if it is, it is likely to impact my credit rating somehow?

Thanks for all your help!

H

Hi H and thank you for your message.

If you are able to maintain the minimum contractual payments, it is unlikely that the creditors will agree to stop the interest and charges, or close the account.

If you would like a counsellor to look at your situation in more detail and discuss all your options, you could call for an appointment free on 0800 138 1111.

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
Regards
Sue

helena83

Hi

So I sent all the CCCS letters to my creditors last week. I got a letter back from MBNA today saying that they understand my financial difficulties but want me to call them to go through income and expenditure to look at reduced payment plan. Am I right in thinking this is what CCCS is going to do anyway? Should I just file it away and carry on waiting for CCCS to sort everything out. Also, how long is it likely to take before I hear anything back from CCCS about the DMP? What happens next?

sickasachip13

Hi,
I've read lots of bits and pieces of information and my head is spinning.... but I need help! I'm not sure if I should simply try and negotiate / become involved with CCCS / set up a debt management plan (not sure how the last two are related either). Any advice gratefully accepted as I am really frazzled.

Very short synopsis:
July 2009 - made redundant, took a few months out to finish a masters, now been searching for work for six months (unsuccessfully).
I have no income at all (failed to get JSA)
My partner works (earns around £12k pa take home)
We get some help with rent, money off the council tax and tax credits (although the TCs are not high as they still take into account some of my previous wage - I was on £31k pa).
We'd spent fairly recklessly but always managed to pay as I was on a decent wage - after redundancy the money ran out quickly despite us adjusting all our outgoings. Since then we've been living off the credit cards.
I now owe around £20k on credit cards. My partner owes around £10k. Our payments on our debts alone outstrip his monthly income.
My key question - we've now reached the end of all borrowing options, family included, I am still searching for work. I have no income, his income isn't very high. We need to negotiate with lenders but will they negotiate with us as we would be making such low offers of repayment for the time being?
This is all just making me so miserable and stressed.
Any advice would be great.
Thanks.

CCCS_Sue

helena83 wrote: »

Hi

So I sent all the CCCS letters to my creditors last week. I got a letter back from MBNA today saying that they understand my financial difficulties but want me to call them to go through income and expenditure to look at reduced payment plan. Am I right in thinking this is what CCCS is going to do anyway? Should I just file it away and carry on waiting for CCCS to sort everything out. Also, how long is it likely to take before I hear anything back from CCCS about the DMP? What happens next?

Hi helena83 and thank you for your message.

If you are waiting for a DMP to be set up with CCCS, and you have sent your creditors a copy of the notification of DMP with a token payment for this month, then you do not need to do anything further.

They will receive a copy of your income and expenditure from us when we write to them with an offer of payment.

We will contact you shortly to let you know how the setting up of your plan is progressing. If we need further information, we will let you know what we need.

If we have all the information from you that we require, then your plan should be soon up and running.

However, if you don’t hear from us, and you received your advice via Debt Remedy online, you can ring the free helpline number to speak to an advisor.

If you do not have the number, send me a PM and I will forward it to you.

Regards
Sue

CCCS_Sue

sickasachip13 wrote: »

Hi,
I've read lots of bits and pieces of information and my head is spinning.... but I need help! I'm not sure if I should simply try and negotiate / become involved with CCCS / set up a debt management plan (not sure how the last two are related either). Any advice gratefully accepted as I am really frazzled.

Very short synopsis:
July 2009 - made redundant, took a few months out to finish a masters, now been searching for work for six months (unsuccessfully).
I have no income at all (failed to get JSA)
My partner works (earns around £12k pa take home)
We get some help with rent, money off the council tax and tax credits (although the TCs are not high as they still take into account some of my previous wage - I was on £31k pa).
We'd spent fairly recklessly but always managed to pay as I was on a decent wage - after redundancy the money ran out quickly despite us adjusting all our outgoings. Since then we've been living off the credit cards.
I now owe around £20k on credit cards. My partner owes around £10k. Our payments on our debts alone outstrip his monthly income.
My key question - we've now reached the end of all borrowing options, family included, I am still searching for work. I have no income, his income isn't very high. We need to negotiate with lenders but will they negotiate with us as we would be making such low offers of repayment for the time being?
This is all just making me so miserable and stressed.
Any advice would be great.
Thanks.

Hi sickasachip13 and thank you for your message

I can understand how you must be struggling to decide what to do next!

You can't give your creditors money you do not have.So if you can only afford a token payment, then this is what you should offer.

However, you do need to back your offer up with a copy of your income and expenditure

We can offer help, but 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

josscotgrave

Hi my name is Jon, im 27 and have got myself in a situation (due to being an idiot and ignoring my debt).

I have today (monday) recieved a letter from PENHAM EXCEL LTD (enforcement agents) stating that the arrears due to authority are £735.77 and an additional cost of £24.50 for a first visit. I recieved a letter form the council awhile ago and completely forgot about it to be honest as I was out of work for 18months and was deducted from my jobseekers allowance.

I phoned them to discuss a payment option of about £100 a week now im working and was told I have 2 options either pay the full amount now or the only way they can discuss a payment set up is allowing a baliff to enter the premises and itemise my belongings I dont have much as I live with my parents (so everything in the property belongs to them)due to me losing my job and long unemployment. So i have next to nothing in terms of possessions and I dont want to let baliffs walk about my parents house and take their stuff.

If anyone can give me any advice I would GREATLY appreciate it as according to the letters i have 4 working days and according to the guidance notes they can take anything but nothing is mine.

Its my own stupid fault for letting it get this far any help on what would be my best course of action I would really appreciate. Then i have to start tracking down other debts i know I have(approx £2000).

your faithfully,

Jon Wilkie

sugar9

Hi there, just some advice please. We are currently in the process of setting up a DMP with CCCS. We received our pack last week and on Thursday sent out letters to our creditors with token payments and also asking for up to date statements (all sent recorded delivery btw). When we spoke to the CCCS advisor he said we could possibly set this up for 1st November. Will CCCS accept creditors names and account numbers for now until they send us any up to date statements or do we have to wait until we have all up to date details before we send them to CCCS? We would really like to get started on the DMP on 1st November. Many thanks for your help.