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money_mouse

Good afternoon,
This is my first ever post on this site.
my question is about what i can do next....
I work 37 hours a week in an office and I do mobile hairdressing the rest of the time, My husband lost his job last year and is now doing temp work.
As a result I have been paying ALL household bills, This has not been easy but with the help of savings we have been managing. The problem now is that our savings have ran out and i have a loan that cost £311 a month.
I have asked about remortgaging but the LTV rate is too high, what should i do?
Thanks in advance for any help!

Sam

mum2one

HelplessH wrote: »

Hi, I have recently been speaking to the lovely people at StepChange and have managed to set up a DMP to sort out my finances but I am now getting phone calls from my creditors at work who are demending to speak to me and when I refused started getting very abusive they said they would call me back after work - I don't know what to do, should I speak to them or refer them back to StepChange which is what I have already done?

Thats brillaint news about the DMP, when the creditors ring you, - ask them not to ring you at work and that you will only communicate in writing,

You will need to put this in writing, if the hassle is a lot I would personally pay £7 for the letter to be sent special delievery, - if they do keep ringing you, write the time down and eventually you may need to involve the FOS.

Firstly I would try the nice approach - ie I am in a DMP with stepchange this is the number.. bye bye.

They shouldn't abusive - although they think there entitled to the money above everyone else.

---
Once you DMP is set up, stepchange will collect the money from you on 1st or 10th (think 10th or 11th) and stepchange pay them around the 25th. Once the creditors have had their 1st payment, this does make a difference, you may get a couple of calls but generally by 2nd month they go away.

I know it is easier said than done, please take care, and try not to worry xxx

shoemaker1948

we to have been speaking to stepchange our worry was same that creditors will keep contacting us and be nasty towards us.stepchange have sent a buget plan to us which we should recieve in next 2-3 days which we will then sign and send back to stepchange they have told us it we get calls from creditors to give them the number stepchange gave us with budget plan and they will speak to the creditors

Debtfree14

Hello,

I have currently got a sum of money to pay off with Triton card services. It was transferred to Triton last week from RBS as I'd fallen behind with my payments.

My partner has offered to take out a credit card at 0%, transfer this debt to his name and I can pay him back.

Does anyone know if you can transfer a Triton account to a credit card? Does it work the same as a credit card?

Thank you in advance for your help

gemnomnom

Hi there,

My BIL actually posted a thread with questions regarding my partner's debt but it seems to be lost in the forum, so I thought I'd post my questions here.

I have actually been on the phone to StepChange and they refused to answer any of these questions as they cannot advise on bailiff avoidance.

However it's worth a shot:

- How do baillifs find out where you live? Is it possible they trace direct debits (he doesn't have any credits and bills aren't in his name) or can find out where you live? These aren't available on credit checks; so what methods are known to be used?
- Are the debts automatically taken back to the court when the bailiffs can't find him? I have read this online and am interested in this happening, as the courts can't enforce bailiff fees.
- He's interested in paying the debt but the fine alone, not the £300 bailiff fees. Do we just ring the court and they tell us over the phone yes/no they'll take it back, or do we have to arrange a hearing so we can argue why they should be taken back?

To make it clear, I don't want to avoid the debt (especially as I am told Magistrate Court Orders for driving offences never go away. Is this correct?) but do not want to pay the extortionate bailiff fees.

Many thanks in advance

StepChange_James

HelplessH wrote: »

Hi, I have recently been speaking to the lovely people at StepChange and have managed to set up a DMP to sort out my finances but I am now getting phone calls from my creditors at work who are demending to speak to me and when I refused started getting very abusive they said they would call me back after work - I don't know what to do, should I speak to them or refer them back to StepChange which is what I have already done?

Hi there,

I think Mum2one's advice was spot one here. Your creditors can contact you about the debt but you're able to tell them how you'd like to be contacted.

I think it's completely reasonable to not want to be bothered at work by your creditors. A letter requesting that they remove your work number from their records would be a good way to get this message to them.

If you do find yourself talking to them then it's absolutely fine for you to just tell them to speak to us at StepChange.

As Mum2one mentions, once your DMP is set up and payments are starting to come through to your creditors they'll often settle down. This bumpy patch at the beginning can be a pain to deal with but it's usual for things to calm down.

I hope this helps, but please give us a call if you're need any advice or support - it's what we're here for.

Cheers

James

StepChange_James

money_mouse wrote: »

Good afternoon,
This is my first ever post on this site.
my question is about what i can do next....
I work 37 hours a week in an office and I do mobile hairdressing the rest of the time, My husband lost his job last year and is now doing temp work.
As a result I have been paying ALL household bills, This has not been easy but with the help of savings we have been managing. The problem now is that our savings have ran out and i have a loan that cost £311 a month.
I have asked about remortgaging but the LTV rate is too high, what should i do?
Thanks in advance for any help!

Sam

Hi Sam,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

It sounds like running out of savings is likely to mean you'll struggle with the payments on your loan. In these sorts of situations it's often possible to negotiate lower payments.

If this is the right thing for you then we can help you with trying to convince the bank to lower payments.

The first step is to put together a budget with your income and outgoings listed, so you can see what you've got left over after living costs to pay towards the loan.

Our Debt Remedy tool guides you through this process. Here's the link: http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp. If lower payments are the best option then it will also guide you through the next steps and give you all the paperwork you need.

It sounds like you're working an awful lot at the moment. Before planning out a budget it might be worth considering how sustainable your current work load is. You'll know this a lot better than I do, but it's important not to put your health at risk.

I hope this helps.

James

StepChange_James

shoemaker1948 wrote: »

we to have been speaking to stepchange our worry was same that creditors will keep contacting us and be nasty towards us.stepchange have sent a buget plan to us which we should recieve in next 2-3 days which we will then sign and send back to stepchange they have told us it we get calls from creditors to give them the number stepchange gave us with budget plan and they will speak to the creditors

Good luck with your DMP. Thanks for helping out HelplessH.

It's hard to predict how creditors will react to being notified of a DMP. I've spoken to some clients who've got quite a few calls initially but others who've had virtually no bother at all.

James

StepChange_James

Stourie_Fit wrote: »

Hello,

A quick TLDR overview: I got into around £6000 of debt while dealing with my Dad's estate. I entered into DMPs with two lenders and received defaults from each of them. These were dated Feb 13 and Oct 12. When the estate is (finally) settled in the next few months, I'll be getting my legal fees back and will be able to settle the debts in full.

When I do pay, is it possible to negotiate having the defaults removed from my file? They are aware of the difficult circumstances that led to the debts and I will be paying in full, but it has been over a year since the first one was lodged. If I can do this, what is the best way to go about it? Can I talk to them myself, or is it better to do this through SC (who helped me with my DMPs back when they were CCCS)? Should I ask them about it now or wait until I have the funds to make the payment?

If I do have to keep my lovely pair of defaults (which I expect I will), should I start rebuilding my credit file before they expire or do I wait until they've expired? I already have a mobile broadband contract with no missed payments, I'm on the electoral roll, and I've added notices of correction to my Experian and Equifax credit reports to explain my current situation. I could look into getting one of the crappier credit cards once I've settled my debts, but I'm not sure if it's worth doing this until after my defaults have expired and there's actually a chance of my "rating" improving.

Thanks for reading.

Hello,

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I'd be very surprised if you were able to get these defaults removed. Your credit history is a record of the things that have happened with your accounts over the last 6 years - so because the defaults happened the record should stay on your file.

Putting a notice of correction on is a good idea and all the other steps you've taken should improve how you look in the eyes of a prospective lender.

Spending a small amount on a credit card every month and paying it off in full is said to have a beneficial effect on your credit rating but I'm not sure it will make a great difference if you're currently still making reduced payments to other debts (and therefore accumulating missed/reduced payment markers every month).

I'm wondering if it might be more bother than it's worth.

Once you're able to pay off these debts you should find your credit file is updated to show the accounts have been paid off - this will show that the issue is now in your past and I'd expect your credit rating should start to improve on its own.

Cheers

James

mylittlepumpkin

Hi

Looking for some advice if anyone can help.

Got in a real mess and started a DMP two years ago but since that time our personal circumstances (mine and my Husband's) have changed dramatically. He has been on long term sick (awaiting Tribunal Hearing) and has received his contribution based entitlement to ESA and I closed my business due to no work. I have recently commenced self-employment and this is our sole income. We are struggling to pay the mortgage and everything else.

We had pretty well managed the monthly payment to the DMC until the latter part of last year and have made token payments of £1.00 to creditors for the last three months.

I have read somewhere that DMC's do not check whether these debts are legally enforceable and that you should personally write enclosing a £1.00 postal order etc. to obtain details. Any advice welcome on this. Most of the debts are now with debt collection agencies.

Also two of the creditors are crippling us with interest/charges despite being aware of the situation and it appears that the total payments into the plan are being consumed by this happening.

I feel that we are up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

We have equity in our property of approx. £120K and the debt is approximately £45k.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.