Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

blue_pixie

Hi I have a similar problem to fabz. I had a debt with British gas for around 900 pounds, I had a debt collector at the door and paid some monthly payments but then I moved and lost track of things and I can't remember who the DCA were that I was paying, very very stupid of me I know. I never heard anymore about it. Now that I'm trying to sort myself out I have checked my credit report and its there listed as sitting with British gas so I emailed them and they emailed back saying my debt was with CCS collect who I phoned, but they have no record of me? What do I do to sort this out now? Thanks for reading :-)

whazzo

Hi I wonder if I can get some advice. Basicly my situation is that I am in debt with several credit card firms up to a lever of 8k. not that much but I cannot make the minimum payments. I am getting to the point that I need to take serious action.

The plus point is that I do have an inheritence coming at some point that will completly clear my debts. If I go to my debtors and explain all of this are they likely to bear that in mind?

StepChange_James

cheeseoatcake wrote: »

Hi,
After years of juggling my credit cards around it's time to try and sort things out.
I have just over £40,000 on credit cards, £7000 Overdrafts and £2,500 on a loan. All unsecured.
I have about £60k equity in my house and a mortgage on it for £113,000.
I,m self employed, but trade as a ltd company.
1. The company has no debts and Banks with Lloyds but I have £15k on my lloyds CC, Will lloyds bank access my ltd co account for funds?2. My wife is only on a low wage so I don't want her in the plan but she is named on a joint account with barclays which is overdrawn will this cause a problem? Should I transfer money from a CC to pay the overdraft off before my plan is in place?

Kind regards

Hi there,

If the bank account is in the name of the limited company only then they shouldn't take any money from that account for personal debts in your name (assuming you've not got direct debits set up or anything similar).

I'd recommend you don't draw cash off a credit card to bring down the overdraft. If the credit card company get a request to reduce payments and stop interest shortly after a big cash withdrawal I think they'd be a bit miffed.

There's no harm in leaving the debt where it is. If it's in joint names then something like a debt management plan(DMP) in your name would deal with your liability for the overdraft. If your wife wasn't included in the DMP then the bank would probably ask her to contribute to the debt too.

I should add that a DMP isn't the only way to deal with a debt problem. It's one of a few different debt solutions and the best one for you will depend on your circumstances.

To work out what is right for you I'd suggest using our Debt Remedy advice tool: http://www.stepchange.org/debtremedy.aspx?domain=www.MoneyAware.co.uk. If a DMP is the best option then it will let you download the application pack once you've put in your details.

I hope this helps.

James

StepChange_James

notechno wrote: »

I've filled in the Debt Remedy tool on Step Change, but am wondering if I've done something wrong. It's suggesting I should only be spending £9 a month on clothing and shoes - this is for two people, so that only works out at £54 per person for the whole year. The food, clothes and toiletries was similarly very low

Hi there,

It sounds like something has gone wrong there. Those figures are definitely too low. The figures in Mum2one's reply sound much more like what I'd expect to see in there.

I'd recommend that you use the live chat option or phone number on the Debt Remedy screen to get in touch and we can get it put right.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

nervousnelly wrote: »

Hi there, my husband got sacked for gross misconduct last Tuesday and his career is not looking good because of that bad mark on his record. We are now looking at earning minimum wage to get by, with 3 children to raise. We have tried claiming all the benefits we can at the moment with no income, but were told we may be sanctioned for 13 weeks because he was sacked for gross misconduct. It is a very precarious situation indeed.

Problem is I've still got £1700 to pay off on my credit card, with a minimum payment of around £50 a month at present. I'm not quite sure what to do with it. We still have some cash on us - about £750. But with a £540 rent and utility companies deducting a total of nearly £100 a month from his bank account by Direct Debit, I really can't see how I'm going to be able to pay this month's minimum payment on my card.

This past week, we have both sent of lots of CVs and asked at local restaurants and takeaways if they need help. Not had even a single call back from them and it's starting to look like it will be really difficult to find a job now. I haven't been working for 11 years nearly, because I was a stay at home mum for 3 children, so that makes it worse.

I'm worried about getting a bad credit score as that might affect our chances of renting a new place in future - I know lots of letting agencies do a credit check first before letting to you.

So what would you advise we do at the moment?

Hi there,

It sounds like a rough time at the moment. I hope I can offer some help.

I'd say that the money you've got should be prioritised towards the most important expenses. By this I mean things like food and household bills rather than debt payments.

If you're in a situation where there isn't enough money to cover all of your outgoings then it's a matter of working out what you should pay less to. Generally this will mean reducing payments to unsecured credit debts.

This is likely to mean your credit rating will take a bit of a knock (how bad will depend on your creditor's reaction and how long you make reduced payments). Generally speaking it's worth sacrificing a good credit rating to make sure there's food on the table, etc.

We can give you advice on the best ways to approach your credit card company and offer lower payments. We can do this through our online Debt Remedy advice tool: http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp.

If you were really keen to avoid making reduced payments to the card then it might be worth looking to see if there are any ways you can generate a bit of extra money to cover the payments in the short term.

There are some good boards on the MSE forum for help with things like selling unwanted things you've got lying around the house. The problem with this plan is that it will only be a short term solution (unless you have an awful lot of stuff you don't need).

I hope this helps and good luck with the job hunting.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

whazzo wrote: »

Hi I wonder if I can get some advice. Basicly my situation is that I am in debt with several credit card firms up to a lever of 8k. not that much but I cannot make the minimum payments. I am getting to the point that I need to take serious action.

The plus point is that I do have an inheritence coming at some point that will completly clear my debts. If I go to my debtors and explain all of this are they likely to bear that in mind?

Hi there Whazzo,

There's certainly no harm in letting creditors know that you're expecting a lump sum shortly but some can be a bit cynical about promises of future payments. Most companies are more interested in what you can afford right now, rather than about how things will be in a few months time.

Having said that, it will show that you're not expecting them to take small payments from you forever and that you'll be in a position to clear the debts soon.

I don't know enough about your situation to be sure, but it sounds like proposing a short term reduced payment plan could be a way to deal with these debts.

Most companies will want to see your income and expenditure details to see you're struggling and will then expect a fair share of the money you've got available after you've covered living costs.

You can put together and download this sort of stuff (and template letters if needed) using our Debt Remedy advice tool here: http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

blue_pixie wrote: »

Hi I have a similar problem to fabz. I had a debt with British gas for around 900 pounds, I had a debt collector at the door and paid some monthly payments but then I moved and lost track of things and I can't remember who the DCA were that I was paying, very very stupid of me I know. I never heard anymore about it. Now that I'm trying to sort myself out I have checked my credit report and its there listed as sitting with British gas so I emailed them and they emailed back saying my debt was with CCS collect who I phoned, but they have no record of me? What do I do to sort this out now? Thanks for reading :-)

Hi Blue Pixie,

This sounds like a frustrating situation.

As this debt is showing on your credit history it sounds like it still exists. It might be worth going back to British Gas and explaining the CCS collect don't have any record of the debt.

British Gas might be able to give you a reference number for CCS Collect or something that will help locate the account on their systems. If the debt genuinely isn't with CCS collect then British Gas might still have the account.

I'm afraid I can't really offer up more advice than that. If you feel like you're not making any progress you could start making complaints to the companies involved and sometimes that will help get a positive response.

All the best.

James

whazzo

StepChange_James wrote: »

Hi there Whazzo,

There's certainly no harm in letting creditors know that you're expecting a lump sum shortly but some can be a bit cynical about promises of future payments. Most companies are more interested in what you can afford right now, rather than about how things will be in a few months time.

Having said that, it will show that you're not expecting them to take small payments from you forever and that you'll be in a position to clear the debts soon.

I don't know enough about your situation to be sure, but it sounds like proposing a short term reduced payment plan could be a way to deal with these debts.

Most companies will want to see your income and expenditure details to see you're struggling and will then expect a fair share of the money you've got available after you've covered living costs.

You can put together and download this sort of stuff (and template letters if needed) using our Debt Remedy advice tool here:

Kind regards

James

Thanks for that James. Would you suggest I call these firms before or after going through this with step change?

StepChange_Private_Messages

whazzo wrote: »

Thanks for that James. Would you suggest I call these firms before or after going through this with step change?

Hello,

Debt Remedy only takes about 20 minutes and should give you an idea about the best approach - so I'd recommend contacting your creditors after you've done that. You should then know more about what your next steps are going to be.

Good luck.

James

blue_pixie

StepChange_James wrote: »

Hi Blue Pixie,

This sounds like a frustrating situation.

As this debt is showing on your credit history it sounds like it still exists. It might be worth going back to British Gas and explaining the CCS collect don't have any record of the debt.

British Gas might be able to give you a reference number for CCS Collect or something that will help locate the account on their systems. If the debt genuinely isn't with CCS collect then British Gas might still have the account.

I'm afraid I can't really offer up more advice than that. If you feel like you're not making any progress you could start making complaints to the companies involved and sometimes that will help get a positive response.

All the best.

James

Thanks so much that's really helpful. Can I ask another question. I had a ccj about 4 years ago. I remember filling out a form and sending it back, but I never did anymore than that. In january I phoned the court and asked them about it. They said I was to phone the creditor and arrange to pay. So I emailed and asked them about it and they accepted a monthly payment. I set up a SO for 25 per month. Is this really all I have to do? Even though I haven't dealt with it in over 3 years.? Has it just been sitting waiting for me to pay it?
Thanks :-)