CCCS advice - confused!!!!!!!!!!

cril01

Hi all

I have finally bitten the bullet after burying my head in the sand for many many years and contacted CCCS regarding our debt.

After going through all the figures the debt remedy advice was to contact all my creditors and arrange temporary payments £1 each etc.

This has left me really confused as it also calculates that my monthly outgoings (without payments to my creditors (cc, loans etc.) is £542 more than my income.

If I am £542 short how can I afford another £12 to pay all my creditors with. I haven't paid any of the creditors for some time now.

I have considered selling the house but in its current condition (needs new kitchen, garage roof pours in) it would cost more to sell.

I was certain they were going to suggest bankruptcy, which I would rather not do, but have kind of got my head round.

At the time we ran up all this debt we were both earning decent salaries, due to ill health I had to give up my job after being on long term sick. I have had a few jobs since including starting my own business, but to be perfectly honest the pressure gets too much and I end up really ill and unable to function.

I have come to the conclusion that I need to take a part time job, with no responsibilities, just to bring some income in without the pressure of the jobs I seem to find myself in. How long this will take though is anybodies guess.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

curly04

Hi - do you own your home?
if so is there any equity in the property?

Your situation sounds the same as me any my ex husband, we allowed our house to be repo'd was a hard choice but we could never have got all the work done, it was falling down round us.

This is how we got our BR fee's by not paying the mortgage or the secured loans

I was told by CCCS to make token payments but never did 2 reasons postal orders and postage would have doubled the cost

IF

Hello cril01, Also please try another Debt charity for a second opinion.

Main recommended sources of help:

• National Debtline - Website: National Debtline Telephone: 0808 808 4000
• Citizens Advice Bureau - Website: Citizens Advice or visit your local CAB centre (find nearest)
• Consumer Credit Counselling Service - Website: CCCS Telephone: 0800 138 1111
  

Others:

• Business Debtline - Website: Business Debtline Telephone: 0800 197 6026
• Christians Against Poverty
• PayPlan
• TaxAid - Help with tax debts.

And do remember we’ve all been through this and anything you don’t understand don’t be afraid to ask.

Best wishes
If...x

cril01

Thanks curly04.

We have a little equity on our home, prob about £10k ( if we were going for a quick sale) but we have a charging order on it for a similar amount.

We were paying creditors for some time. When we started struggling contacted them all but they would not accept any of the payments we offered.

We are completely up to date with the mortgage and have never defaulted on it.

The only way we could raise the bankruptcy fees would be to stop paying this and then put any money towards renting a property. We would have to pay 6 months up front to rent anywhere as we would not pass a credit check. We could rent somewhere nice for about £200 less than our mortgage.

cril01

Thanks ifwisheswerehorses........

I will try one of the others tomorrow.

curly04

I didn't have to pay 6 months rent up front, we went for a private let rather than few an agent.

i think you should speak to a different company like IF has said to see what they say

debtinfo

I think im right in saying that the CCCS debt remedy is simply a computer algorithem so it is bever going to be always right in all circumstances, always best to speak to a real human if possible

debt_doctor

curly04 wrote: »

Hi - do you own your home?
if so is there any equity in the property?

Your situation sounds the same as me any my ex husband, we allowed our house to be repo'd was a hard choice but we could never have got all the work done, it was falling down round us.

This is how we got our BR fee's by not paying the mortgage or the secured loans

I was told by CCCS to make token payments but never did 2 reasons postal orders and postage would have doubled the cost

Thats a great short post Curly.

I would add that it appears that BR would be a good option for you whether you wanted to keep the house or move in to rented. I must admit that I often do not go with the 'pound a month' thing either - for reasons given, a pound to each creditor can be rather a lot and even harder to actually pay.

DD

StepChange_Pavan

debt_doctor wrote: »

Thats a great short post Curly.

I would add that it appears that BR would be a good option for you whether you wanted to keep the house or move in to rented. I must admit that I often do not go with the 'pound a month' thing either - for reasons given, a pound to each creditor can be rather a lot and even harder to actually pay.

DD

Hi cril01,

I’d recommend that you give our Debt Remedy support team a call to discuss your situation in more detail (they will already have access to the information that you’ve put in so you won’t have to go through all this again). You also have the option to use instant chat if you’d prefer not to speak to anyone in person.

From what you’ve said, bankruptcy could be your best option but the main reason you were given ‘token payments’ as a solution is because you’re in such a large deficit each month. Your advice booklet will have explained that this isn’t a long term solution and it’s more of a gesture of goodwill to show that you’re acknowledging the debt until your situation changes.

Renting a cheaper property could be an option as this will reduce your outgoings and mean that bankruptcy is a more viable solution. Alternatively you may be able to keep your property but we would need to discuss this with you in more detail - you would still need to make changes to your budget in order to balance it.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Pavan

cril01

Thanks Pavan

I have just called the Debt Remedy team to be told the only advice they can give me is to pay £1 each month to all the creditors and keep reviewing it.

I am really struggling to keep a lid on everything at the moment as it is and to be told there is no help available is just crushing. I have finally built up the courage to deal with it all and to be told there is no hope has left me feeling much worse than when my head was buried in the sand!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have just been successfull in getting a new job too, only part time and variable hours, approx. 5-10 per week. This could bring an additional £200 - £400 per month in but it is not enough to break even. I am still looking for additional work to fit around this.

I am selling everything I can to just try and survive each month, not sure how much longer we can carry on to be honest.

Ineedaname

Have you tried contacting one of the other debt agencies? Often it can help to speak to another one for a different point of view, I'd try the CAB at least. Token payments are just an interim measure and is usually advised to try and appease creditors a little whilst DMP/BR etc is sorted out.