Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

cheapopete

StepChange_James wrote: »

If you receive a CCJ for the debt you've received court papers for then it's likely your credit rating will take a bit of a nosedive though.

Thanks for flagging up the issue you've had with logging onto the website. The guys you've emailed will get back in touch and be able to tell you more about how to get logged in.

Cheers

James

Thanx again for your reply James.
I had e super quick response from Linda on the website issue. (next day email) Unfortunately I'll have to wait till Monday to phone for a solution as I don't check emails at work (factory) and I don't usually get home before 6pm when the SC office closes.
But I must amend the DMP before I can sign up for it as some of my figures are off by a fair margin. (since observing my credit history) ( )

StepChange_James

cheapopete wrote: »

Thanx again for your reply James.
I had e super quick response from Linda on the website issue. (next day email) Unfortunately I'll have to wait till Monday to phone for a solution as I don't check emails at work (factory) and I don't usually get home before 6pm when the SC office closes.
But I must amend the DMP before I can sign up for it as some of my figures are off by a fair margin. (since observing my credit history) ( )

Hi there Pete,

I wouldn't worry too much about needing to take a few more days to get things sorted out. It's more important to get things right, so updating the figures is important. There's a possibility it could change our recommended solution but if it does we'll talk you through the options and help you work out the best route.

All the best.

James

magenta1977

Hi - Advice urgently needed!!

I currently have accounts with Littlewoods and Woolworths (both owned by Shop Direct). I couldnt afford my May payments on both accounts, so I contacted them straight away with a breakdown of my incomings/outcomings requesting if I could have reduced payments for the next 12months (£60 for 12 months) just so I could get back on my feet.

I had contacted them the day the payments were due, within 3 days I had a letter from a collection agency demanding full payment.

I then got a reply to my original email stating £60 was not good enough, they wanted £218 per month.

Ok, this is how I currently sit:

Littlewoods £5154.77
Previous payment £163 per month
What LW now demand £218 per 28 days for 6 months

Woolworths £3546.32
Previous Payment £121
What WW now demand £132 per 28 days for 6 months

Through my Expen. List it is quite clear I can't afford this.

I then asked for £60 per month for 8 months - NO!!

They have been phoning me at least 10 times a day....but they won't accept any of my offers.

What can I do?

I have been advised that default fees and any applicable interest will continued added to my account.

This is really stressing me out...their customer services can be quite aggressive, so I prefer to corespond via email...also I have a paper trial to fall back on!

I am so surprised how quick they got the debt collection agency involved, considering I was willing to negoiate a payment plan!!

Any advice is most appreciated!!!

Former_StepChange_Rachel

magenta1977 wrote: »

Hi - Advice urgently needed!!

I currently have accounts with Littlewoods and Woolworths (both owned by Shop Direct). I couldnt afford my May payments on both accounts, so I contacted them straight away with a breakdown of my incomings/outcomings requesting if I could have reduced payments for the next 12months (£60 for 12 months) just so I could get back on my feet.

I had contacted them the day the payments were due, within 3 days I had a letter from a collection agency demanding full payment.

I then got a reply to my original email stating £60 was not good enough, they wanted £218 per month.

Ok, this is how I currently sit:

Littlewoods £5154.77
Previous payment £163 per month
What LW now demand £218 per 28 days for 6 months

Woolworths £3546.32
Previous Payment £121
What WW now demand £132 per 28 days for 6 months

Through my Expen. List it is quite clear I can't afford this.

I then asked for £60 per month for 8 months - NO!!

They have been phoning me at least 10 times a day....but they won't accept any of my offers.

What can I do?

I have been advised that default fees and any applicable interest will continued added to my account.

This is really stressing me out...their customer services can be quite aggressive, so I prefer to corespond via email...also I have a paper trial to fall back on!

I am so surprised how quick they got the debt collection agency involved, considering I was willing to negoiate a payment plan!!

Any advice is most appreciated!!!

Hi there magenta 1977, thanks for posting.

I'm very sorry to hear of the stressful situation you're dealing with and want to reassure you that we can help. Collection departments can be quite aggressive when chasing for payments, but your most important priority now is staying on top of living expenses such as rent, mortgage, council tax, utilities, food etc.

Please read through our blogposts on what creditors can actually do so you know a bit more about where you stand:

http://moneyaware.co.uk/2011/08/you%E2%80%99re-in-debt-but-what-can-your-creditors-actually-do/

We're a free and impartial debt advice charity. We can give you realistic solutions for your debts based on your living costs as they are most important.

Could you please get in touch with us? Our freephone helpline number is 0800 138 1111 and we're open Mon - Fri 8am to 8pm and Sat 8am - 4pm.

We also have an anonymous advice tool called Debt Remedy that can give you a solution for your debts in just 20 minutes:

http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp

You've taken the first step in seeking help for the debts you're dealing with. Please know that you have support and we will do all we can to help you.

Kind regards

Rachel

simmomoney

Hello, I'm at a bit of a loss on what i should do at the moment, for history:

In 2011 with an attempt to get out of debt i entered into a debt management scheme with First Step Finance. Thing seemed to be going well with monthly reports and phone call updates for a good two years. sometime this year they had a bit of a management change and their company was re-named Debt Help and advice, still seemed to be going well for the last 7-8 months with few letters from my creditors apart from the monthly one that was sending me letters saying they had received no payment, every month, with a balance... that was reducing with each letter. Again this wasn't something for me to worry about and the letters have since stopped after talking to an adviser.

Yesterday while eating tea i had a phone call, it was somebody in a call center of a non-profit debt management company asking if i was already in one etc. When I mentioned the name the cold caller told me that First Step finance/Debt Help and Advice had gone into administration. I asked him to let me talk to them to see what is happening etc and it turns out what he was saying was true. I'm very confused now as i have not heard anything from the company, that i have been with for 3 years, paying them £158 pounds a month. I was hoping somebody could give me some advice on what i should do? I have already stopped my standing order but I'm worried that all my creditors will start to call me all the time and the money that i have already paid into this debt plan is ... well I don't know...

StepChange_James

simmomoney wrote: »

Hello, I'm at a bit of a loss on what i should do at the moment, for history:

In 2011 with an attempt to get out of debt i entered into a debt management scheme with First Step Finance. Thing seemed to be going well with monthly reports and phone call updates for a good two years. sometime this year they had a bit of a management change and their company was re-named Debt Help and advice, still seemed to be going well for the last 7-8 months with few letters from my creditors apart from the monthly one that was sending me letters saying they had received no payment, every month, with a balance... that was reducing with each letter. Again this wasn't something for me to worry about and the letters have since stopped after talking to an adviser.

Yesterday while eating tea i had a phone call, it was somebody in a call center of a non-profit debt management company asking if i was already in one etc. When I mentioned the name the cold caller told me that First Step finance/Debt Help and Advice had gone into administration. I asked him to let me talk to them to see what is happening etc and it turns out what he was saying was true. I'm very confused now as i have not heard anything from the company, that i have been with for 3 years, paying them £158 pounds a month. I was hoping somebody could give me some advice on what i should do? I have already stopped my standing order but I'm worried that all my creditors will start to call me all the time and the money that i have already paid into this debt plan is ... well I don't know...

Hi there,

We've published an article on our blog today for customers of Debt Help and Advice Ltd. http://moneyaware.co.uk/2014/05/debt-help-and-advice-ltd-ceases-trading/. It's got the contact number for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and links to where you can get you advice about how to move things forward with your debts.

The FCA have said they're going to try to contact all the creditors that are affected and ask them to take a sympathetic view while things are getting sorted out.

The most important thing is to stop making payments, which you've already done. Then I'd recommend coming to us for advice on how best to tackle the debts.

All the best, and please feel free to post again if there's anything else you're not sure about.

Kind regards

James

nitty

I would like some advice please we are currently in a dmp with stepchange have been since dec 2013 everything was going ok until tsb took over lloyds and are now charging overdraft interest on the account which is never going to get paid if they carry on charging this any help would be appreicated because we are doing our best to pay off the debt but when tsb do this it is dishearting

Historybuff

I also have an overdraft question. I informed the bank I was in financial difficulty and had consulted SC. On their advice I contacted all my creditors to inform them, request them to freeze charges and interest and arrange payment plans. All agreed to this...or so I thought. I sent in the budget plan with all the creditors and pro rata payments on to my original bank as they requested and they put me on the payment plan. However, I find that they have not stopped charges and interest and the agreed payment will take me over the authorised overdraft amount each month because they are reducing the overdraft by the same amount each time! So all that will happen is that the overdraft will go up by £50 plus unauthorised charges each month! Instead of reducing, it will just keep on growing bigger. And they say they are helping me reduce my overdraft! If it takes ages to sort out I'm worried I'll end up owing much more than I can afford to pay back! I'm gutted!

sourcrates

Historybuff wrote: »

I also have an overdraft question. I informed the bank I was in financial difficulty and had consulted SC. On their advice I contacted all my creditors to inform them, request them to freeze charges and interest and arrange payment plans. All agreed to this...or so I thought. I sent in the budget plan with all the creditors and pro rata payments on to my original bank as they requested and they put me on the payment plan. However, I find that they have not stopped charges and interest and the agreed payment will take me over the authorised overdraft amount each month because they are reducing the overdraft by the same amount each time! So all that will happen is that the overdraft will go up by £50 plus unauthorised charges each month! Instead of reducing, it will just keep on growing bigger. And they say they are helping me reduce my overdraft! If it takes ages to sort out I'm worried I'll end up owing much more than I can afford to pay back! I'm gutted!

You need to get yourself a new basic bank account, possibly with the coop, close your original account then treat your original bank account as just another creditor.

Historybuff

Thanks sourcrates, I've got a new bank account all up and running the old account has nothing going in or out apart from the payment they agreed for me to make and the ridiculous interest and charges they are still applying.