Phoned Consumer Credit Counselling Service (aka CCCS)...

hardcore_since84

So I called the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (aka CCCS) last night and they said thy're going to send me an info pack through and have a telephone consultation with me next week. Does anyone have any experience with this charity? what do they do exactly to reduce your debt?

Are they likely to be able to help me with my debt (see signature) ?

I know my debts are high but I can still just about afford to pay them every month.

Please post your experiences with cccs

Thanks

hardcore_since84

bump.

anyone?

looby75

I've got a DMP through cccs, they have been fantastic and helped me so much, I can't recommend them enough.

CLAPTON

just briefly : what they do

a. they will ask you for full details of your income, your spending and your debts and assetts... often called a Statement of Affairs (SoA) or an I&E (income and expenditure)

b. based on the SOA they will offer free advice as to what your options are

c. if you choose to do a DMP they will run this for you.

d. if a IVA is considered suitable they will recommend as suitable company

if you would like to post your SOA on this site we will be able to offer advice.

the general format is

An SOA Statement of Affairs

a. list of income
b. a detailed list of spending (include mortgage and secured debt but exclude unsecured debt)
c. a total of spending as above
d. now you can see how much you have to pay debt monthly by forming income minus spending
e. a list of unsecured debts
i.e. debt amount, minimum monthly debt repayment, APR
f. a total of unsecured debt and of monthly unsecured debt repayment
also say if you rent or buying , if so how much is the house worth and how much the mortgage, also your general situation: partner, children, working etc.

Wannabesaver_4

The CCCS are brilliant - i actually posted about them yesterday. I have started my DMP with them this month and they are wonderful. You will have the telephone consulatation (which i was so nervous about that i couldnt sleep) but it was fine and the people are lovely. They will go through everything you owe and then what living costs you need. They will work out how much you can repay and whether you need a IVA, DMP or bankrupcy. We had £30,000 worth or debt and were on a DMP repaying £713 a month to the CCCS which they then distribute to my creditors. I was fully expecting them to want to declare me bankrupt but things are not as bad as you think they are - there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. They say that anything below 10 years repayment is judged as good - we will be debt free in 3 years.

They also gave me the confidence to be strong with my creditors.

Best thing i have ever heard was from someone made bankrupt;
"Just because i have failed does not make me a failure." I say this to myself and i think its 100% true!

Good luck and dont worry - it all gets easier from here! :T

HHH_2

All my telephone conversations with CCCS have been very helpful and on one occasion when I couldnt speak for tears they were very understanding and knid. have started a DMP now and although a long way to go I am now paying off my debts rater than adding to them. Also they seem very realistic about living costs. good luck

Donedoingdebt

hardcore_since84 wrote:

I know my debts are high but I can still just about afford to pay them every month.

Please post your experiences with cccs

Thanks

Surely if you can afford to pay your debts, then you're better off doing this. Once you go down the (Possibly) DMP route, your credit rating's going to be trashed for 6 years.

Wannabesaver_4

I guess it depends on your standard of living - if you can pay your debts but are just paying minimum repayments you will be paying them for years.

The CCCS get most creditors to stop interest on debt therefore allowing you to pay it off rather than maintaining it.

hardcore_since84

Wannabesaver wrote:

I guess it depends on your standard of living - if you can pay your debts but are just paying minimum repayments you will be paying them for years.

The CCCS get most creditors to stop interest on debt therefore allowing you to pay it off rather than maintaining it.

Ok I am in quite a lot of debt (as you can see below)

Don't you have to be in excess of £15k of debt to qualify for an iva?

what is dmp?


Is it likely that I will be able to settle my debt sooner?

I would like to buy a house one day (I'm only 22 and renting at the moment)
How much of a negative impact will a dmp have on my credit rating?

Donedoingdebt

Yes, I agree & I'm not judging anyone. It's just that once you default on your accounts, apart from the previously mentioned bad credit record, you're setting yourself up for all the hassle, phone calls, threats etc from the finance companies & their respective DCAs. I've not dealt with CCCs but it wouldn't surprise me if they advised to pay if possible; my own opinion, obviously!

Donedoingdebt

Sorry, our last posts crossed. I don't know about the £15k figure. A DMP is a "Debt management plan" The sooner you can manage to settle your debts, the better your credit file will appear. Usually, with a DMP the payment period will be significantly longer because the repayment amounts will be less. If you're able to repay the contracted minimum payment amounts, then it's unlikely anyone will agree to a DMP. Any negative info such as defaults, late payments etc will stay on your file for 6 years from the date of entry.