Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

System

allofushere wrote: »

Hi

I have spoken to Payplan recently about the possibility of starting a DMP with them.

I have an endowment which matures in 2017 which has been kept on by my ex and me for our daughter.
Payplan have told me if I have not paid all my debt by 2017, the creditors will take my share of the endowment.

My question is, will they take it all regardless, or will I start my plan with a set amount and as that reduces, so will the amount they can take from my share of the endowment? I'm thinking that if I work really hard to get as much off this plan as possible then they will only take the balance remaining? Or am I being a bit naive?

Hi and thanks for your post.

I’d recommend that you gather details of your income, expenditure, debts and assets and give us a call.

We’d need to know a little bit more about the situation and best solution before we can give advice.

You can call us on 0800 138 1111, the number is free from landlines and mobiles.

Like Payplan all our advice is free and impartial.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

baggyann

hi mat, my dmp is currently with payplan, should i be looking to move now?

lhead123

Hi, my partner had a mobile phone contract. They had his name spelt with an E at the beginning of his surname instead of a B. He had told then numerous times to change it but they never did. He then got a new contract and left the old one to run until it's end. He phoned them 2 weeks before the end and asked for it to be cancelled and they told him he had to give 30 days notice. He argued that it was the end of a contract and he did not want it renewed and therefore he would not be paying anything past the end of the contract date. This had already gone as a DD anyway so we cancelled the direct debit.
We didn't hear anything since and the sim has not been used for over a year (about 6 months before the end of the contract).

A letter came through the door the other day addressed to the misspelled name asking for an outstanding payment of £14. We ignored it as my partner had already told them he would not be paying anything after the end of the contract.

We got another one through yesterday saying the phone had now been cut off (even though this should have happened at the end of the contract) and the debt would be passed on to a collection agency. I sent it back to the send with 'not at this address' written on it as technically no one with that name lives here.

Will they realise their mistake and change the name to chase the debt? Would a collection agency even be bothered by £14? Also will it affect my partners credit file as it's not his name?

Xx

Former_StepChange_Rachel

baggyann wrote: »

hi mat, my dmp is currently with payplan, should i be looking to move now?

Hi there,

The best way we can advise you is to have an in-depth look at your situation as Mat has advised.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Best regards

Rachel

StepChange_James

knmnhsun wrote: »

my son has got into debt with a couple of banks he made agreements over the phone to pay back so much a month, but lloyds tsb keep charging him bank charges and keep phoning and sending letters ive told them he doesnt live here and he is paying what you agreed every month but they wont listen and he wont get in touch with them, they say he is still using his account but its them taking there charges out which can be up to £95 a month any ideas will be a help thanks

Hello,

Thanks for posting.

Firstly, I'd recommend that your son changes his address and telephone number with the bank to his current address. This should mean you're not getting bothered by them and also mean your son is getting letters from the bank on time.

Then the other thing to sort out is what's going on with all these charges. If Lloyds accepted a payment plan and your son has stuck to it then I'd hope they wouldn't add penalty charges to his account.

These sort of problems can sometimes be caused because of computer systems, so I'd recommend your son speaks to someone at the bank if he hasn't already.

If the bank won't remove these charges and your son feels they're unfair then he could consider making a formal complaint to the bank. This is usually best done in writing (nothing fancy, just a short letter stating the facts) and the bank will then investigate the complaint.

If a complaint doesn't solve things then he could escalate his case to the Financial Ombudsman, who can get involved but only once a complaint has been looked at by the bank.

Getting charged penalty charges because of going overdrawn paying the last lot of charges can be very frustrating but there are some understanding people at banks who can help people find solutions.

If your son needs more in depth debt advice then he might want to get in touch with us at StepChange Debt Charity. Details of how to get our help are in my signature below.

Kind regards

James

System

lhead123 wrote: »

Hi, my partner had a mobile phone contract. They had his name spelt with an E at the beginning of his surname instead of a B. He had told then numerous times to change it but they never did. He then got a new contract and left the old one to run until it's end. He phoned them 2 weeks before the end and asked for it to be cancelled and they told him he had to give 30 days notice. He argued that it was the end of a contract and he did not want it renewed and therefore he would not be paying anything past the end of the contract date. This had already gone as a DD anyway so we cancelled the direct debit.
We didn't hear anything since and the sim has not been used for over a year (about 6 months before the end of the contract).

A letter came through the door the other day addressed to the misspelled name asking for an outstanding payment of £14. We ignored it as my partner had already told them he would not be paying anything after the end of the contract.

We got another one through yesterday saying the phone had now been cut off (even though this should have happened at the end of the contract) and the debt would be passed on to a collection agency. I sent it back to the send with 'not at this address' written on it as technically no one with that name lives here.

Will they realise their mistake and change the name to chase the debt? Would a collection agency even be bothered by £14? Also will it affect my partners credit file as it's not his name?

Xx

Hi,

The important thing with this is that you asked for the contract to be cancelled at its end and it wasn’t – this is what you want to dispute. Although they may state that there is a notice period and this is what you are being charged for.

The fact the name is wrong would not make the debt unenforceable – it is an inconvenience as it caused confusion but if you signed the agreement and the terms and conditions were correct the debt stands.

A collection company would chase a £14 yes – they can potentially add charges for managing the debt. The debt would register on your partner’s credit file as credit details are linked to a person through other details like date of birth.

I would write to the debt collector saying you are disputing the debt as it was for a contract you asked to be cancelled. Send it recorded delivery so you have proof when they receive it. They may then send it back to the original creditor.

In your letter say your next step is to go to the Financial Ombudsman - if you are not satisfied with the response you should complain to the Financial Ombudsman who can take up the complaint on your behalf.

Your partner can have any deemed inaccuracies on his credit file amended so it does not affect it.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,
Jess

hanario

Hi,

I have recently moved home and received a letter through from 1st Credit Limited. After reading some of the things on various forums they don't sound like the nicest people!

After checking a report on noddle, it would seem like a genuinely do have debt with this company. AND another. however I have never heard of them, and certainly haven't been paying them.

I believe that this would have related to credit cards taken out in my name around 2003. (i don't want to claim fraud, but as its in the family i'm not pursuing that)
I have already have direct debits set up paying back another couple of cards including Lowell Financial.

Yet finding these 2 against my name and on my file is definitely worrying myself and my partner who is convinced debt collectors are now going to appear at the door.

I keep reading about statute barred debts however i have no idea how to go about finding if these have reached this stage?
I keep reading conflicting advice on the internet, concerning sending them a CCA etc.
I only received the letter 2 days ago, and i want to find out the best way to contact them and how to find out this information, without being 'bullied' into anything.
Absolutely any advice would be appreciated!
As i said, the wealth of internet advice is only serving to confuse me!

Thank you

System

hanario wrote: »

Hi,

I have recently moved home and received a letter through from 1st Credit Limited. After reading some of the things on various forums they don't sound like the nicest people!

After checking a report on noddle, it would seem like a genuinely do have debt with this company. AND another. however I have never heard of them, and certainly haven't been paying them.

I believe that this would have related to credit cards taken out in my name around 2003. (i don't want to claim fraud, but as its in the family i'm not pursuing that)
I have already have direct debits set up paying back another couple of cards including Lowell Financial.

Yet finding these 2 against my name and on my file is definitely worrying myself and my partner who is convinced debt collectors are now going to appear at the door.

I keep reading about statute barred debts however i have no idea how to go about finding if these have reached this stage?
I keep reading conflicting advice on the internet, concerning sending them a CCA etc.
I only received the letter 2 days ago, and i want to find out the best way to contact them and how to find out this information, without being 'bullied' into anything.
Absolutely any advice would be appreciated!
As i said, the wealth of internet advice is only serving to confuse me!

Thank you

Hi,

A statute barred debt is one that is non-enforceable because the limitations period has passed. In other words where no payment has been made in 6 years, you have not admitted the debt in writing and there has been no county court judgement (CCJ) registered against you. If you believe the debt is statute barred you should send a letter to 1st Credit Limited. You should ask them to show evidence that you have either made a payment, admitted the debt or have a court judgement – if you don’t the debt is non-enforceable.

At the top of the letter write ‘Without Prejudice’ – this is a legal term so that the letter cannot be used as evidence you are admitting the debt.

Say that under the Limitation Act 1980 you believe debt is statute barred – you are requesting proof of the debt or of the last payment made.

Send this recorded delivery so that you can prove they received it and keep any correspondence. If they still pursue you for the debt you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman. You shouldn't make any payment to 1st Credit Limited in the meantime as that would start the 6 year limitations period again.

If you are liable to pay the debt or you need any advice on managing the other debts you mentioned we can give you free, impartial debt advice. For a budget assessment and personal action plan with clear advice you can use our confidential online tool - Debt Remedy.

Just to let you know if a debt collector does call at your house (which is unlikely, it is often used as a threat) you are under no obligation to let them in – they are not bailiffs and cannot force entry or take goods.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,
Jess

GlamGirlie

Hi there, I had an IVA which ended with the 60th repayment in June 2012 (commenced July 2007).

I received my certificate in July 2013 (inefficiency on the aprt of Debt Free Direct) and all defaults but two disappeared from my credit files.

Nationwide credit card was the first, I wrote to them, sent a copy of the certificate, they deleted it from my internet banking a week or two later my Noddle credit report showed it had disappeared.

The second was an HSBC loan. It was included in the IVA, but the default date is wrongly shown on Noddle as October 2008.

I have written to HSBC on several occasions and have received no response. I have called but was told someone would have to call me back and never does.

How can I get this corrected, please?

I have asked Noddle but they say I need to speak with HSBC!

AlexKid_2

URGENT Help needed! Just about to be cut off by E-ON
Ok so my electricity is about to be cut off, they came round today to take the fuse out but my neibour stalled them, I also contacted them and they want me to pay today 100 pounds or they will cut me off tommorow.

I owe 4660 pounds.

Im on job seekers allowance, and im on housing benifit, but I dont get enough housing benifit to pay my rent so I have to pay my rent out of my jobseekers, I also have to pay council tax out of my jobseekers money, and that leaves me just enough to eat if im lucky.

No way can I even pay the 100 pound useage a month and 5 pound off my debt they offered me for me to stay connected. Its just impossibe! I cant borrow it either. Its literally impossible. (it also seems to have gone up drastically Im pretty sure I dont use 100 a month)

Basically I have owed EON money for a while and they are about to cut me off, they have sent me no end of warning letters, the debt collector knocks on my door all the time so its at that point where they legally have the right to cut me off theve given me tonnes of chances already and they are all exhausted.

The reason I havnt paid for so long and havnt worked for so long is because im a chrocnic procrastinator I write to you know sitting on top of a pile of rubbish, you get the picture.

Im getting treatment for my procrastination and anxiety with a link worker that my Dr refered me to. Would I be able to stop EON cutting me off if I was able to get a DRs note? Or is that not a good enough reason? Would I have to be on disability allowance for that? Would it have to be more serious? (People tend to not understand what procrastination is its not laziness and its reaslly life depleating if you have it)

Also are they not allowed to cut me off over the winter months? Because winter is almost here? I think thats why they want to cut me off so badly now, they dont want me using their electricity for free for another year.

Do you have any ideas on how I can keep electricity without paying for it?

I want to have a normal life a job and to be able to pay my bills, but I cant atm and hopefully after my treatment, I will be a functional human being.

Any idea on how to keep the electricity supply going before they cut me off? They seem really underhand im getting lies from them left right and centre so I feel like I cant trust them to do the right thing if I told them I have a DRs note, I get the impression that would make them cut me off even faster!

Oh im from the UK btw, and them knocking loudly on my door all the time dosnt help my anxiety much to say the least.