Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

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blue_pixie wrote: »

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 :-)

Hi and thanks for getting back to us,

If the creditor is happy with the payment and you can afford to repay that amount then that sounds fine.

If you need more help please let us know.

Kind regards,

Mat

cheeseoatcake

StepChange_James wrote: »

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: stepdebtremedyIf 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

Thanks James I appreciate the advice.

I tried the debt remedy tool but it says i need to speak to an adviser.

I've got a call back lined up for Friday. One concern I have is if it's decided a Dmp is the way to go once a CC company is contacted what will happen if they won't help.
At present I have an excellent credit rating no arrears, missed payments, ccjs or anything.

The recent recession has left my income more than halved and a couple of bad debts haven't helped either.

Problem is looking at what I'm earning at the moment it only leaves about £150 p/mth spair after mortgage etc.
With £52,000 debts to clear and I'm 46 yrs old it might narrow the options somewhat.

I've got to sort something out the worry is making me ill.

Thanks for any advice.

mum2one

cheeseoatcake wrote: »

Thanks James I appreciate the advice.

I tried the debt remedy tool but it says i need to speak to an adviser.

I've got a call back lined up for Friday. One concern I have is if it's decided a Dmp is the way to go once a CC company is contacted what will happen if they won't help.
At present I have an excellent credit rating no arrears, missed payments, ccjs or anything.

The recent recession has left my income more than halved and a couple of bad debts haven't helped either.

Problem is looking at what I'm earning at the moment it only leaves about £150 p/mth spair after mortgage etc.
With £52,000 debts to clear and I'm 46 yrs old it might narrow the options somewhat.

I've got to sort something out the worry is making me ill.

Thanks for any advice.

Don't worry I had to speak to an advisor when I started my DMP journey, there really helpful,
At least your doing the right thing, if the DMP is the right route, your sent templates through for your creditors - and if they ring you just say this is my CCCS reference - and thats about it. For me, I had a couple of calls, a couple of letters but bar that its settled down, the only time I get a letter is been 6 months with a couple of the creditors to confirm they are accepting the payment been offered to them.

At first I was worried sick, but it took time to realise that you can't get blood out of a stone, and by going with a company such as CCCS gives more clout than you trying to self manage. x

cheeseoatcake

Thanks mum2one,

I'm just hoping they don't come after my Home as we have enough equity to pay it all off but then we'd be homeless..

Kind Regards

Former_StepChange_Rachel

cheeseoatcake wrote: »

Thanks James I appreciate the advice.

I tried the debt remedy tool but it says i need to speak to an adviser.

I've got a call back lined up for Friday. One concern I have is if it's decided a Dmp is the way to go once a CC company is contacted what will happen if they won't help.
At present I have an excellent credit rating no arrears, missed payments, ccjs or anything.

The recent recession has left my income more than halved and a couple of bad debts haven't helped either.

Problem is looking at what I'm earning at the moment it only leaves about £150 p/mth spair after mortgage etc.
With £52,000 debts to clear and I'm 46 yrs old it might narrow the options somewhat.

I've got to sort something out the worry is making me ill.

Thanks for any advice.

Hi there,

I can appreciate how much stress and unanswered questions you must be dealing with at the moment. Once we go through your situation in more depth with you on Friday, we'll be able to give you much more solid long-term advice on how to put things right.

DMPs are not the only solutions we offer, but please know that we do our best to help everyone that gets in touch with us. We'll do all we can to make this more manageable for you. In the mean time, persevere with the advice James has given you and be confident that you've done the right thing in being proactive and seeking help.

Best regards

Rachel

Former_StepChange_Rachel

mum2one wrote: »

Don't worry I had to speak to an advisor when I started my DMP journey, there really helpful,
At least your doing the right thing, if the DMP is the right route, your sent templates through for your creditors - and if they ring you just say this is my CCCS reference - and thats about it. For me, I had a couple of calls, a couple of letters but bar that its settled down, the only time I get a letter is been 6 months with a couple of the creditors to confirm they are accepting the payment been offered to them.

At first I was worried sick, but it took time to realise that you can't get blood out of a stone, and by going with a company such as CCCS gives more clout than you trying to self manage. x

Hi mum2one

Thanks as always for your consistent support and kindness to your fellow forum members. Keep up the great work!

Best regards

Rachel

FrugalMama

Hi, apologies if this is not really the correct thread- I'm a complete newbie!
I have a question for you- my partner and I opened a joint account with NatWest approx 5-6 years ago and as part of their 'customer service' they offered to contact all our direct debit companies to inform them ofour change of bank details. At the time I thought this was a brill idea as it saved me time of trawling though all those bills/ phone calls.
What we realised soon after the bank switch , however was that the bank had arranged for all our d/ds to go out prior to our wages going in, they said this would be fine and even coerced us into having a £2000 overdraft (despite my reservations) which I now think was intentional as we are constantly overdrawn on that account because every household bill came out before anymoney had ever gone in and we have never been able to catch up with it!
On occasion we try to cut down our spending (tricky as that account is purely for bills) or try to put £200-300 in if we can spare it but we are still 'in a mess' with that account and now have three children so not much spare cash to get us out of the red.
So my question is- is there anything we could do to make the bank pay for this balls up so long after the event? I feel so cross that we were so niave to let it happen but can't see away out of it without paying more of ourmoney into the bank!
Thanks 😀

ExDebt

Hi Debt advisors,

I was wondering if a person gets a DMP, would costs towards paying for contact with children be seen as an essential cost?

I am a parent with residence but I have been paying towards the contact costs for the non-resident parent (this was agreed 8 years ago and is also a court order). However, circumstances have changed. The other parent moved far away 4 years ago and I have much less available income than I used to, and a lot of debt to clear. I still get demands to pay a 'fair share', regardless of ability to pay, which means I'm usually spending more than I earn in order to do so.

In a debt-management plan, what would your advice be?

SkintStudentGirl

Hi, I am looking for some advice regarding my overdraft.

I have a £3k student overdraft with Barclays from my undergraduate degree (I graduated in 2010) and have gone on to post-graduate study with the same account. However, now I am paying for the facility and being charged £42 per month. I spoke to Barclays some time ago regarding having a student account as I was back in education and was told that this would be possible but I would not be granted the full £3k, it was likely I would be permitted £1k and so the remainder would become immediately repayable. This panicked me and I plodded on paying the charges but am now wondering if there is anything I can do.. ?

I don't really use the overdraft as I live from a small amount of wages and my bursary so could I somehow relinquish £2k and repay this in small installments each month? Or is there simply a better way to manage this as I feel I'm being taken advantage of!

I would really appreciate any help and advice.

Thanks!

sparkovic

My mum who passed away in November, stayed with my sister.They had bought my mum's council house some year's ago for £20k (approx value now £80k). This was done via an endowment mortgage but my sister informed me that they were having financial difficulties + had cashed in the endowment a few years ago + the mortgage is due to be paid in 4 year's. This was fine as i am able to help + will pay £445 into my sister's credit union account which will mean she will have the £20k to pay off the mortgage.
My sister has just informed me that her debt situation is much worse than she was admitting - she owes a further £38k in various credit cards + unsecured loans. She has used "Village Money" to set up a payment arrangement paying the creditors £5 / month which doesn't look enough to be agreed long term.
Unfortunately I am unable to help with any more than the £445 but I should be able to continue paying this even after the mortgage is paid off.
My sister would only be able to pay about £150 / month towards her debt but the main worry is the house. Even if she sold it, it would not give her enough money to buy a new place + pay off the debts.
Are you able to provide some advice on how she would be able to stay in her home + resolve her debt situation. The only options I can see are :-
(1) Sell House - wouldn't be enough left to buy anywhere else ?
(2) Bankruptcy - would that mean she would lose house ?
(3) Trust Deed (Scotland) - can you do this when you own house ?
(4) Long term payment arrangement - I would estimate 15 years at £200/mth ???

Any advice would be much appreciated.