Advice needed

helen01234

I am asking this on behalf of someone else, I am already on a debt management plan!!

They are struggling at the moment and have been advised that they need to go on a debt managaement plan themselves. Now the problem being they have a disabled daughter who relies them to transport her for shopping etc in their car (she does live in her own home but is blind and unable to go places herself)
Now because this car is on finance they have been told it will have to go. Now is this case or do they have a good enough reason to keep the car with having to transport a disabled person, as without this they wouldnt be able to afford a new car as they dont have enough income coming in to get an older one or anyother car!

Also one person is named on their dad's bank account as he has dementia and she was advised to become a named person on the account. They have been told they could therefore look at this account. Is this correct as she is just a named person?

Also in the mean time whilst all this is being set up am I correct in thinking they should write to all overdrafts, credit cards etc to say they can only make a token payment of £1 a month at the moment as they are going on a debt management plan?

Any help would be very much appreciated

Thanks
Helen

Hannah_10

Sadly to the best of my knowledge it doesn't come down to if they have a good reason to keep *a* car, it comes down to there being a secured loan on *that* car. The best reasons in the world wont change the T's & C's of that loan. I hope I'm wrong and someone cleverer comes along to say something a bit happier, but I fear I might not be wrong.

Tixy

Hi Helen

It depends on their cicumstances and finances but certainly some people keep secured debts and vehicles on finance in a DMP.
In this circumstance the mortgage and any other secured debts are paid at full rate before the amount available for debt repayments is calculated.
The only reason I can think they would be advised they could not keep the car is that if after basic living expenses, any mortgage and the car finance they did not have any money left at all to distribute to creditors.

Do you know who they have spoken to for advice on their DMP? If they haven't already they need to speak to one of these - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2077631

pure_dead_dopey

Hi Helen

I have a car on a DMP. My contract at work says I must have a car which is less than three years old, no car, no job. CCCS put the car down as a secured loan and no one said a word!

I think your friend's need is even greater than mine, so I would go back and argue the case if it is one of the charities and if not, change to one of the charities.

Good luck I hope it works out.

RAS

Hi

From whom have they taken advice? A debt charity or a fee-charging company?

helen01234

They have been to the citizens advice, but to be honest he wasnt that helpful to them. They ran out of time and he didnt actually say what he thought was best for them!!

RAS wrote: »

Hi

From whom have they taken advice? A debt charity or a fee-charging company?

Tixy

In that case it might be worth them trying talking to CCCS. They could complete the online debt remedy as a starting point and then discuss it further over the phone.

RAS

Did they speak to a CAB advisor or to one of the trained CAB debt advisors, who would be better informed.

Also, why does the daughter not have a motability car?

Tixy

helen01234 wrote: »

Also in the mean time whilst all this is being set up am I correct in thinking they should write to all overdrafts, credit cards etc to say they can only make a token payment of £1 a month at the moment as they are going on a debt management plan?

Just realised you hadn't had an answer to this - yes this is the sensible thing to do in the short term. I would use this template as a starting point - http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=21937969&postcount=52

If they bank with a bank they owe money to the its sensible to set up new accounts with a bank they do not owe money to first and have their salaries moved across to those accounts - this is to protect them from the banks calling in any overdrafts or using money from these accounts to make debt repayments.