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Former_StepChange_Rachel

hopskotching wrote: »

Hello,

Many thanks for your reply the other day Pavan. I wonder if I could update my situation and get some more advice.

Payday came, and payments were made - just. This will definitely be the hardest month, but I've wiped out my payday loan which was crippling me so rather proud of that (and embarrassed about dealing with such a company in the first place).

I still have my council tax debt. There was a mixup over payment dates, and my case was referred immediately to a bailiff. The company now refuse to deal with me - this seems crazy to me, considering the money is sat in my account and ready to go.

I have spoken with the bailiff and he seems reasonable enough at this stage. I explained that I thought there had been an administrative error in the case being referred onwards to him. We agreed to continue the payment plan as it was. However, a payment that was due on the 28th was not made because he is an absolute nightmare to get hold of by phone. And suddenly, also on the 28th, a 'NOTICE PRIOR TO REMOVAL OF GOODS' dropped through my door, informing me bailiffs would be "working at the property" in the next seven days.

This situation has gone very suddenly in an unneccessary direction, and instead of clawing myself one step closer to credit, it feels like everything has just got even more messed up.

I am now in the bizarre situation of having £500 in my account to give towards the debt - the council won't deal with me to take the payment, their third party collectors won't either, and the bailiff doesn't pick up his phone or always tells me to call back later.

Hi there Hopskotching, thanks for posting.

if you're struggling to deal with the bailiff directly because he's difficult to reach, it may be worth calling in to the bailiff office (it should be a local one in your area and the address will be on any correspondence from the bailiff) and seeing if you can make the payment directly to them.

Ultimately, bailiffs would sooner have cash from you then go through the mutual hassle of entering the property, levying goods and then selling them at auction for a fraction of what they're worth. You are proactively trying to sort this out, and you're by no means avoiding the debt, and that really does work in your favour.

To reiterate advice given to you by Pavan, I do feel it would be a good idea to go through your budget with us and see if there's something more we can do to help you long-term. you can find a link to our online advice tool Debt Remedy in the signature below.

Best regards

Rachel

AlexEFC

Hi there

I have a DMP with stepchange. all was going well i was budgeting and paying off and debts were reducing. i then got a job which required a lot of travelling and overnight stays which got me in a complete muddle. i have ended up over the last 6 months getting myself in to the trap of payday loans again. I have now finished that job and i am feeling worried that i can not afford to pay these loans as well as everything else and i am ashamed to call stepchange to speak to them about it as i know one of the things they say is not to take out any more credit.

is it worth transferring my dmp from stepchange to another free company such as payplan to include these extra debts? i am really at a low end here and i am struggling to come to terms with the fact i have got myself in to this again

StepChange_Pavan

AlexEFC wrote: »

Hi there

I have a DMP with stepchange. all was going well i was budgeting and paying off and debts were reducing. i then got a job which required a lot of travelling and overnight stays which got me in a complete muddle. i have ended up over the last 6 months getting myself in to the trap of payday loans again. I have now finished that job and i am feeling worried that i can not afford to pay these loans as well as everything else and i am ashamed to call stepchange to speak to them about it as i know one of the things they say is not to take out any more credit.

is it worth transferring my dmp from stepchange to another free company such as payplan to include these extra debts? i am really at a low end here and i am struggling to come to terms with the fact i have got myself in to this again

Hi AlexEFC and thanks for your question.

You’re right that we advise against taking out extra credit when you’re on a DMP – as you’ve found, the extra repayments can be unsustainable.

It’s up to you whether you decide to go with another company but I’d recommend that you get in touch with us as there may be other options available to you. It’s understandable that you started to struggle with your job so it’s best that you give us a call and we can chat through your options.

Please try not to worry as we’re here to help:)

Pavan

sandra-c_3

Good afternoon stepchange

I have just finished arranging a dmp with yourselves online and I have a few questions if that's ok?

I was due to pay a payday loan of £89 today (£300 o/s) but do not have the funds for this until I get paid this friday. (11 missed calls so far!). I stupidly agreed with them over the weekend to pay installments and signed an online agreement which I think included continious payments from my bank. I know I need to cancel this with my bank as I am concerned they will take the whole amount come this payday which would leave me nothing but as I have just done the dmp should I call them and tell them what I plan? worried this will make things worse and I'm not confident speaking to them anyway. I have only just started a new job and due to the cut off date will only get half pay as it is. Any suggestions? thank you!

WorkFromHome

Hi I was wondering if you'd be so kind to offer some advice.

I have for the past 2 years been in and out of temporary or part-time jobs. Currently in a job that stated full-time flexible but they're only giving me just over 28hrs a week! This has caused me to get into debt.

I've had to live on my overdraft and credit card in order to pay my bills.
Credit Card -£3000
Overdraft -£2000

Roughly what I owe, possibly more. Early this year I had to miss a payment on my credit card because a was out of work. I tried getting a loan last year to pay off my debt, hoping that the interest on that would be less than what I'm paying now but I was refused - I don't earn enough.

I can't see a way out and it's crippling me.

System

sandra-c wrote: »

Good afternoon stepchange

I have just finished arranging a dmp with yourselves online and I have a few questions if that's ok?

I was due to pay a payday loan of £89 today (£300 o/s) but do not have the funds for this until I get paid this friday. (11 missed calls so far!). I stupidly agreed with them over the weekend to pay installments and signed an online agreement which I think included continious payments from my bank. I know I need to cancel this with my bank as I am concerned they will take the whole amount come this payday which would leave me nothing but as I have just done the dmp should I call them and tell them what I plan? worried this will make things worse and I'm not confident speaking to them anyway. I have only just started a new job and due to the cut off date will only get half pay as it is. Any suggestions? thank you!

Hi Sandra-C,

Welcome to the forum.

Yes, make sure the CPA is cancelled - here is an article explaining how with a template letter to use. You should send one to the bank and the lender.

Then contact the payday lender and inform them you’re going on a DMP with us. You don’t have to speak to them you could write a brief letter and send it recorded delivery or email them. Give them your reference number and keep any correspondence.

If you do call there’s no need to be scared or intimidated – just update them about your situation. If they’re rude (which they probably won’t be) simply put the phone down.

If you’re worried about your pay, or anything else, give us a call with your reference number.

Take care,
Jess

Bradleymcq91

Been reading this page for a while now.

My first payment for my DMP has been paid so now on the road to been debt free by early 2016 !.

Once i contacted StepChange, i missed a few payments with my creditors and i informed them of me starting a DMP some were okay with it and wanted information passing but 1 of my creditors was a bit tricky to get to agree to stop my continuous payment but it was all sorted in the end !

i'm now looking forward to getting debt free !!

beeboo5791

Hi

I am new to forums so apologies if I ask something that has already been answered and am also not really up to speed with lots of the financial jargon so again I may be a little slow!

My question is this...

I currently have a debt of 11517 with HSBC which is currently being pursued with Moorcroft. However, this debt probably dates back about 8-9 years from when I defaulted I think.
I also owe 2500 to HSBC credit cards which is being pursued by Keynes Collections. Again the default would have been back in 2005-06.
The other debt I have is about 550 originally from Barclaycard which I have not received any correspondence from recently.

All of these I am trying to sort out repayment plans. I have had plans in the past and have been unable to maintain and really need to sort things out now. They are all threatening legal action now.

I have been and looked at all 3 credit reference agency files today and the only debt that appears on there is the Barclaycard which shows as a default in 02/2009 and then the MKDP who I presume originally bought the debt from Barclaycard which shows as defaulted again 02/2009.

My question is why do the big debts not show on my report anymore? Do I have any chance of lowering the balance of these debts and I presume they can still take me to court to obtain the money from the debts that don't show on my credit report? These debts were accrued from the break up of a relationship and I got left with it all as was all in my name. I just want to get things sorted though.

Any advice would be appreciated. I just want to be able to maybe try and get a shared ownership property and want to increase my potential for being able to get a mortgage and sort my life out and give my children and secure and happy future and not have to worry so much about this financial situation any more.

Thank you for any advice and kind regards

System

WorkFromHome wrote: »

Hi I was wondering if you'd be so kind to offer some advice.

I have for the past 2 years been in and out of temporary or part-time jobs. Currently in a job that stated full-time flexible but they're only giving me just over 28hrs a week! This has caused me to get into debt.

I've had to live on my overdraft and credit card in order to pay my bills.
Credit Card -£3000
Overdraft -£2000

Roughly what I owe, possibly more. Early this year I had to miss a payment on my credit card because a was out of work. I tried getting a loan last year to pay off my debt, hoping that the interest on that would be less than what I'm paying now but I was refused - I don't earn enough.

I can't see a way out and it's crippling me.

Hi,

Welcome to the forum. We can give you the help you need.

If you’re unsure how much you owe you can get a copy of your credit file from Noddle or Experian. Also if you have debt with your bank you may want to open a basic bank account elsewhere – a bank can withdraw money if you are in debt with them. So if you switch banks to somewhere you're not in debt with you'll be in a much stronger position.

Your credit card and overdraft are unsecured debts – you should only be paying them each month from money you have left after you’ve paid your priorities (rent, household bills, living costs).

We can go through a budget and recommend the best way to manage your debt. Use our online Debt Remedy advice tool or contact us to speak to an advisor.

I know it might seem hopeless at the moment but there is a way out of this situation. We just need to make sure you have enough to pay your priorities and then look at your options for repaying your debt.

Do Debt Remedy or give u a call.

Take care,
Jess

System

Bradleymcq91 wrote: »

Been reading this page for a while now.

My first payment for my DMP has been paid so now on the road to been debt free by early 2016 !.

Once i contacted StepChange, i missed a few payments with my creditors and i informed them of me starting a DMP some were okay with it and wanted information passing but 1 of my creditors was a bit tricky to get to agree to stop my continuous payment but it was all sorted in the end !

i'm now looking forward to getting debt free !!

Hi Bradleymcq91 - that's great! Good luck with it - you're on your way