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Washalowski

I am considering to use a company called My Debt Lifeline. Is this a DMP? Is it a good idea to consolidate around £13,00 (credit cards mainly). It seems a good idea, but I don't know of other alternatives or iof this company is genuine etc. Can you help?

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magoogy wrote: »

i try my best to help people out when they come to me for advise - this one has me stumped - what can i advise her to do please?

hi hun help required! do you remember back in Nov/dec when the baliff arrived well long story but to cut it short i fuct him off got intouch wtih the company and was fortunate enough to make an arrangement to pay £10 a week which i started doing on the 27th of Nov.. apart from the 9th of jan i havent missed a payment and have paid £70 so far.. anyways today i havve come home to a bailiffs letter saying the full amount outstanding of £206 is now sue to pay and you have 7 days to pay it otherwise we will take goods.. i rang the company and they said i havent stuck to agreement.. i was like i pay £10 a week and missed one and explianed why and the guy said well we are not recieving the payments on time i said but i pay them every friday via post office like i was adivsed oh well we dont get paymetn till 5 days later so they are late.. i then said thats not my prob he said you will have to pay debit card and start friday. i said how much is left he said 206 quid i said how come it was 110 and i thought i just had 40 left he said well you ahve got charges now.. i flipped he said arrangement canceld baliffs coming and put phone down.. what do i do now .. stressed.xx all this for a 30 quid fine that i appealed and heard nowt from.

it was a fine for driving in a bus lane and she said the bailliffs are called phoenix

anyone help please? she is unemployed and a single mother

thanks

Hi and thanks for your message.

If your friend received a magistrates’ court financial penalty for a motoring offence, the court will have issued a distress warrant if it wasn’t paid. The distress warrant instructs bailiffs to attend the property to remove goods.

The bailiff fees can be taken off the original fine if the debt is returned to court. The debt will only be returned to the court if the bailiff can’t seize goods equivalent to the fine. If the debt is eventually returned to the court the bailiff fees will be removed but the courts can view not paying the bailiff as debt avoidance and this can have more serious consequences. These include taking money directly from wages or benefits, clamping vehicles or increasing the fine by 50% or even imprisonment.

If she can’t afford to pay the fine I’d recommend she borrows money from friends or family or speak to her local credit union. She could try to have the instalment arrangement put back in place – if they accept this she must stick to it. I'd recommend she puts together a budget to make sure she can afford any instalments she agrees to.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

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Washalowski wrote: »

I am considering to use a company called My Debt Lifeline. Is this a DMP? Is it a good idea to consolidate around £13,00 (credit cards mainly). It seems a good idea, but I don't know of other alternatives or iof this company is genuine etc. Can you help?

Hi and thanks for your post.

It sounds like you would benefit from some free and impartial advice.

My Debt Lifeline appear to be a fee charging debt management company. If a DMP is the right advice for you we offer this service free of charge (there is no need to pay for a DMP). So that all of the money you pay goes towards reducing your debts.

You might also qualify for other debt solution that you haven't been told about as yet.

The first thing to do is visit our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) to help you find a solution to your debt problem quickly.

Debt Remedy will assist you in completing a financial statement with information on your household, employment, income, expenditure and debts. From this the service will automatically determine your options.

To help you fill in the form, it’s best to gather together information about:

• Your income
• Your expenditure
• The creditors you owe money to

You’ll receive a downloadable advice booklet providing a tailored solution for you based on your current circumstances and advice on ways you may be able to improve your situation.

If you’re not confident with computers or would like to speak to an advisor then you’re welcome to ring our Helpline on 0800 138 1111 (free including from mobiles). We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturdays 9am – 3pm.

If you phone us it may be possible to refer you directly to a debt advisor for immediate advice. Alternatively, we will arrange for an appointment to be booked at a time convenient for you.

You’ve taken the first step to sorting out your money worries and we can support you with free and impartial advice along the way.
I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Mat

DuKord

Hi I have been with debt management company ‘Welcome Solutions Ltd’ who trade as ‘Debtsorters.co.uk’ for about 10 years now, paying religiously every month.
Communications from this company has been I thin on the ground at the best of times and recently have been trying to get hold of the company to find out how much I am outstanding so I can work out an exit date. Unfortunately the phone number given doesn’t work, the website doesn’t work and they don’t reply to my emails. The money is still being taken from my account and none of my creditors are sending me threatening letters so I assume bills are being paid. The lack of communicate is however making me nervous. I know they have recently had a run in with the OFT but I’m not sure how that has affected the debt management side of their business.
I have searched the web and can find no form of communication that appears to work. So please, do you have any up to date information about this company that I am not aware of?

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DuKord wrote: »

Hi I have been with debt management company ‘Welcome Solutions Ltd’ who trade as ‘Debtsorters.co.uk’ for about 10 years now, paying religiously every month.
Communications from this company has been I thin on the ground at the best of times and recently have been trying to get hold of the company to find out how much I am outstanding so I can work out an exit date. Unfortunately the phone number given doesn’t work, the website doesn’t work and they don’t reply to my emails. The money is still being taken from my account and none of my creditors are sending me threatening letters so I assume bills are being paid. The lack of communicate is however making me nervous. I know they have recently had a run in with the OFT but I’m not sure how that has affected the debt management side of their business.
I have searched the web and can find no form of communication that appears to work. So please, do you have any up to date information about this company that I am not aware of?

Hi DuKord and thanks for your question.

I can’t find any up to date information, but this article on the OFT’s website from early last year says that their credit license was revoked: http://www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2013/13-13#.UuJfNxBFCzc.

It’s difficult to say whether your creditors have been receiving your payments if you haven’t had any correspondence from them. I’d recommend that you contact them to be sure and get up to date balances from them.

If you’re being charged for your DMP we’d also recommend that you consider switching to a free provider such as ourselves. Once you know how much you owe you can use our online advice tool Debt Remedy (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) for some tailored advice. Or if you’d prefer you can call our free Helpline on 0800 138 1111.

I hope this helps,
James

ErnieBecclestone

Hi, please forgive me but im new here and the only other post that i have made is a full version of the same question giving more detail. I can't work out how to link so will just give a short version.

Pre1998 Student loans sold to Thesis/Link DCA, have followed the SAR , CCA template letter route and recently sent a 'Account in dispute - Section 10' notice. On the 29th day of the 30 day due reply link sent a 'Holding letter' asking for more time. On the day after the due response date ie: day31 i received a 'Final Response' that did not address many of my complaints and i was wondering as to what i need do next as the template letters stop at this point?

Regards,

Ernie .

stateline

Im just after some advise please;

I have recently recieved a letter from Nat West, with regards a CC debt.

In July 2006 they issued a fomal notice to a CC debt i have with them. They are now saying unless a repayment is put in place they will use legal right to set off to clear the debt by transfering funds from other bank accounts held in my name.

Is this legal, im sure in the past this same bank sold the debt to another company.

Are they still able to claim for a debt that is more than 6 years old.

Im currently on ESA.

many thanks

yumbone

Before I begin, I'll say that I know I'm irresponsible and financially inept! I'm also about to be in a lot of financial trouble.

Ok, here goes. I work for myself in a workshop behind the house. It's a small time manufacturing operation that grosses 20K a year. Every year, I pay for my raw materials (about 5K) on 0% credit card to bank account deals (3.5 to 4% fee). Instead of paying them off each year, I roll them over into a new 0% deal. Over the years, I've been living off my gross while allowing the debt to rack up.

So here I am, 35K in debt, 9K being a bank loan at 6.1%, and the rest at 0% on maxed out cards. There is nowhere to go for the next 0% deal, and my monthly bills are now over 500 pounds at month. I'm only just making the minimums each month, and as soon as the next 0% deal runs out next month and no where to roll it over, the house of cards comes tumbling down. If I have to pay interest, I won't be able to afford my monthlies. I knew this was coming but I put my head in the sand, refusing to think about it.

My only assets are my tools, which I need to keep working.

My wife holds the mortgage in her name, as well as everything else. My expenses are the food bill, car bills including petrol, electricity (the workshop uses a lot of power) and house repairs. I also have to service my debts which takes up half my monthly income.

My credit is good, no late payments or anything negative, except for having too much credit and near maxed out cards...so getting another card at 0% will probably be impossible.

We do have a joint current account, which I pay into every month, but never take out of. I have my own accounts for the business. Although I am registered as a business and pay my taxes, I don't have a business account, only a personal one.

That's my mess. I don't know what to do. I owe this money, so don't want to do an IVA. I looked into a DMP but I don't want my bad choices to affect our joint current account. My 6.1% loan is with First Direct, which is who our joint account is with. Do I have to declare ALL debts in a DMP?

Any advise will be appreciated!

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stateline wrote: »

Im just after some advise please;

I have recently recieved a letter from Nat West, with regards a CC debt.

In July 2006 they issued a fomal notice to a CC debt i have with them. They are now saying unless a repayment is put in place they will use legal right to set off to clear the debt by transfering funds from other bank accounts held in my name.

Is this legal, im sure in the past this same bank sold the debt to another company.

Are they still able to claim for a debt that is more than 6 years old.

Im currently on ESA.

many thanks

Hi,

The ‘Right of Set-off’ is a right a bank has to withdraw money from your account if you bank with them and owe them money (for an overdraft/loan/credit card). It is legal and they don’t even have to give you notice. You are best to open a basic bank account at a different bank and use that so your money is safe. You can then clear the debt in instalments you can afford.

Creditors are able to claim a debt over six years old, a debt is only non-enforceable (statute barred) if you have not made a payment/admitted the debt in writing or had a CCJ in the last six years. Here’s how to deal with non-enforceable debts http://moneyaware.co.uk/2013/10/statute-barred-debt/

If you’re on ESA you should only be paying a small amount towards your debts from money you have left over after paying essential living costs.

The best way to see what your options are is to get free debt advice. Our online advice tool, Debt Remedy, can make recommendations in 20 minutes using your budget info, income, assets and debt amounts.

We can then provide a solution and answer any specific questions you have.

You can also contact us if you’d prefer to speak to an advisor.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

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ErnieBecclestone wrote: »

Hi, please forgive me but im new here and the only other post that i have made is a full version of the same question giving more detail. I can't work out how to link so will just give a short version.

Pre1998 Student loans sold to Thesis/Link DCA, have followed the SAR , CCA template letter route and recently sent a 'Account in dispute - Section 10' notice. On the 29th day of the 30 day due reply link sent a 'Holding letter' asking for more time. On the day after the due response date ie: day31 i received a 'Final Response' that did not address many of my complaints and i was wondering as to what i need do next as the template letters stop at this point?

Regards,

Ernie .

Hi Ernie,

If you feel that the contact from Thesis/Link DCA is malicious or unlawful and they haven’t responded to your letter referencing s10 Data Protection Act then you could escalate your complaint to the Information Commissioner.

If you have a CCJ from 2002 it is still enforceable. If you’ve been paying it you should continue to do so – if the creditor wants you to increase the amount they should apply for a variation through the court. If you’ve never paid towards the CCJ you need to contact your local county court and ask to be sent an N245 form – this will allow you to make an offer towards the debt.

If you need budgeting help or some expert debt advice use our online tool, Debt Remedy or contact us to speak to an advisor.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,