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cornwood_gardens

Hi, i was living with my ex and 5 years ago he took all our heating out with the idea of putting oil heating in, then he left, so over the past five winters myself and my son have lived in a three bed house with just two open fires downstairs, it has bee said to me to tell council to put more heating in, but im worried as a single working parent that they will charge me the earth and i will be in debt with them forever, please help if you can

Former_StepChange_Rachel

cornwood_gardens wrote: »

Hi, i was living with my ex and 5 years ago he took all our heating out with the idea of putting oil heating in, then he left, so over the past five winters myself and my son have lived in a three bed house with just two open fires downstairs, it has bee said to me to tell council to put more heating in, but im worried as a single working parent that they will charge me the earth and i will be in debt with them forever, please help if you can

Hi there, thank you for getting in touch.

Everyone has the right to a safe, well-heated home, so you should certainly look into this further, especially with winter on the way. If you're nervous about approaching the council, it might be a good idea to have a chat with Home Heat Helpline first. They'll be able to give you some free and confidential advice on what you can do moving forward.

http://www.homeheathelpline.org.uk/

Hope this helps

Best regards

Rachel

stilvoid

Hi, here's the stupid situation I've got myself in to:

I have a bank account with Natwest. Around 5 years ago, I needed a loan to help pay for a holiday with my new girlfriend so I could visit her family in Turkey. I visited the bank and was told I'd have a better chance of receiving the loan and get a preferential rate if I signed up for their Advantage Gold account. So I did.

A week or so later I was told the loan had not been approved so I went into the branch a day or two later to cancel the Advantage Gold; was told by the clerk to sign a piece of paper to confirm I wanted to cancel, did so and left it at that.

A few months pass and I'd married the girlfriend and moved our affairs into a joint account with Barclays. Assuming the Natwest account pretty much sorted (foolish), I more or less forgot about it and ignored the statements etc (more foolish).

A few more months pass and I noticed the Advantage Gold had never been cancelled! I called up to complain and was told I had to visit a branch. I then went on holiday and promptly, blissfully forgot all about it.

Spin on a few years and I remember all about it when Natwest are coming at for debt recovery as I haven't paid anything in to the account for some years!

I promptly raise a complaint with them and receive a response that they've now cancelled the Advantage Gold but don't believe I am owed a refund.

I plan to contact CAB or FOS for info but have recently had a telephone conversation with Natwest where they say they've put me on a default notice and I have 28 days to contact them with what I plan to do.

So my question is, given I have neglected my account for so long, what are my chances of getting a refund of all those charges for the Advantage Gold that I never used and in my opinion was mis-sold and ideally the interest accrued due to being overdrawn because of those same charges, given that:

* I complained once and didn't chase it up for ages
* I complained again and was denied a refund

I hope I've explained everything well. This is a sad tale of neglect and foolishness that leaves me currently with a large bill to settle

Mngr

Hi
I started a debt management plan when I got into 23k in debt with credit cards loans etc..
I have managed over the years to get it down to 3k now and it's annoying me the fact I am and have for years been paying a fee.
I am currently with Harrington brooks and pay £40 fee a month.
I just want to clear it quicker but I know if I increase how much I pay a month the will increase their fee...
I have looked at some comments on getting it for free but when I followed the link for national debt advice I don't qualify as it's under 5k?
Can anyone advise me on where they would accept me if I only have 3k??

What's more sickening is if I had done this years ago I probably wouldn't have 3k left!

Appreciate any advice anyone has to offer.

Thanks

Former_StepChange_Laura

Mngr wrote: »

Hi
I started a debt management plan when I got into 23k in debt with credit cards loans etc..
I have managed over the years to get it down to 3k now and it's annoying me the fact I am and have for years been paying a fee.
I am currently with Harrington brooks and pay £40 fee a month.
I just want to clear it quicker but I know if I increase how much I pay a month the will increase their fee...
I have looked at some comments on getting it for free but when I followed the link for national debt advice I don't qualify as it's under 5k?
Can anyone advise me on where they would accept me if I only have 3k??

What's more sickening is if I had done this years ago I probably wouldn't have 3k left!

Appreciate any advice anyone has to offer.

Thanks

Hi Mgnr,

First of all, congratulations on paying off over £20k of your debt!

You mention you’re looking for alternatives to your existing fee-charging DMP provider, and this is certainly something we can help you with.

At StepChange Debt Charity there are no fees associated with our DMPs, so all of your money goes towards paying off your debts. There isn’t a minimum amount of debt you need to have to go on a DMP with us either, so it should be fine that you only have £3k left to pay off.

I’d suggest getting in touch with us and speaking to one of our advisors who will look at your circumstances and work out the best solution for you. We offer a range of debt solutions so it could be that a DMP isn’t your only option, and an advisor will be able to discuss these with you. You can call our helpline on 0800 138 1111. It’s free to call from landlines and most mobiles, and is open Monday to Friday from 8am until 8pm and Saturdays from 8am until 4pm.

Alternatively you can book a call back here http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

I hope this helps!

Laura

Former_StepChange_Laura

stilvoid wrote: »

Hi, here's the stupid situation I've got myself in to:

I have a bank account with Natwest. Around 5 years ago, I needed a loan to help pay for a holiday with my new girlfriend so I could visit her family in Turkey. I visited the bank and was told I'd have a better chance of receiving the loan and get a preferential rate if I signed up for their Advantage Gold account. So I did.

A week or so later I was told the loan had not been approved so I went into the branch a day or two later to cancel the Advantage Gold; was told by the clerk to sign a piece of paper to confirm I wanted to cancel, did so and left it at that.

A few months pass and I'd married the girlfriend and moved our affairs into a joint account with Barclays. Assuming the Natwest account pretty much sorted (foolish), I more or less forgot about it and ignored the statements etc (more foolish).

A few more months pass and I noticed the Advantage Gold had never been cancelled! I called up to complain and was told I had to visit a branch. I then went on holiday and promptly, blissfully forgot all about it.

Spin on a few years and I remember all about it when Natwest are coming at for debt recovery as I haven't paid anything in to the account for some years!

I promptly raise a complaint with them and receive a response that they've now cancelled the Advantage Gold but don't believe I am owed a refund.

I plan to contact CAB or FOS for info but have recently had a telephone conversation with Natwest where they say they've put me on a default notice and I have 28 days to contact them with what I plan to do.

So my question is, given I have neglected my account for so long, what are my chances of getting a refund of all those charges for the Advantage Gold that I never used and in my opinion was mis-sold and ideally the interest accrued due to being overdrawn because of those same charges, given that:

* I complained once and didn't chase it up for ages
* I complained again and was denied a refund

I hope I've explained everything well. This is a sad tale of neglect and foolishness that leaves me currently with a large bill to settle

Hi there stilvoid,

Thanks for your message and welcome to the forum!

As you’ve already complained to Natwest and aren’t happy with the outcome, I’d suggest your next step is to contact the Financial Ombudsman Service and ask them to look into your complaint. They resolve disputes between customers and businesses, and their service is free and independent. You’ll need to send them any relevant documents by post, as well as a completed complaint form which you can find here http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm

It’s not possible to say at this point what your chances are of getting a refund. However if you find you are struggling financially, there are ways StepChange Debt Charity can help. You can use our free online Debt Remedy tool to create a budget and personal action plan (http://www.stepchange.org/debtremedy.aspx) or if you’d prefer to speak to someone in person you could call our free helpline on 0800 138 1111.

I hope this helps,

Laura

SimonD323

Bit of a long shot here, but I am having some debt issues here in Germany. Anyone know of any debt consolidation companies there I can contact that know what they are doing?

Oliver_Ryan

Hello Everyone & Anyone willing and/or able to help!

I am 21 years old living with my Girlfriend who is also 21 years old we have been together for almost 5 years now and have been renting together for around a year.

I will keep it shortened and 'lesser' english to make ease of reading. Quick Bio: I have an awful credit rating due to taking 6 months to study chefing & Food & Beverage management in France, leaving data roaming on on my mobile, coning home to all sorts of debt collection notices, etc now have a permeant mark on my Credit Score, this is all paid of now and has been for the last 12 months.

My girlfriend & I both work although her hours have been cut down and now only works 3 days and is frantically grasping at anything going to bring in some extra income. The problem we have is not balancing out goings at all.
I earn 20k & My Girlfriend earns around currently 8k (hopefully soon to be 16k) our problem has arouse from our stupid spending habits when we were younger, including credit cards mainly and putting car insurances on them holidays etc.

We have now made an 11k debt!! we can afford to balance it although what we are paying is basically paying min payments and just covering the interest therefore the money not actually making any form of dent towards our mountain that we have to climb. We are working towards moving out and getting our own place (obviously settling our mountain comes first). we have divided a spread sheet I will attach a screen shot of this below. I am looking for help on how to cut back, where to start paying off to reduce interest payments and things of the nature. We are both over eager and desperately looking for a solution I am currently pulling around 90-100 hours a week put it is not doing much good besides damaging my health but more importantly my relationship with this girl!

Please ladies and gents of the forums, please shed some light of experience and knowledge!!

Many Thanks & Kind Regards,

Ollie Ryan.

here is the link to the screen shot of our spreadsheet (maybe this will help someone else):
file:///Users/Ollie/Desktop/Screen%20Shot%202014-08-15%20at%2000.13.47.png

Former_StepChange_Rory

Oliver_Ryan wrote: »

Hello Everyone & Anyone willing and/or able to help!

I am 21 years old living with my Girlfriend who is also 21 years old we have been together for almost 5 years now and have been renting together for around a year.

I will keep it shortened and 'lesser' english to make ease of reading. Quick Bio: I have an awful credit rating due to taking 6 months to study chefing & Food & Beverage management in France, leaving data roaming on on my mobile, coning home to all sorts of debt collection notices, etc now have a permeant mark on my Credit Score, this is all paid of now and has been for the last 12 months.

My girlfriend & I both work although her hours have been cut down and now only works 3 days and is frantically grasping at anything going to bring in some extra income. The problem we have is not balancing out goings at all.
I earn 20k & My Girlfriend earns around currently 8k (hopefully soon to be 16k) our problem has arouse from our stupid spending habits when we were younger, including credit cards mainly and putting car insurances on them holidays etc.

We have now made an 11k debt!! we can afford to balance it although what we are paying is basically paying min payments and just covering the interest therefore the money not actually making any form of dent towards our mountain that we have to climb. We are working towards moving out and getting our own place (obviously settling our mountain comes first). we have divided a spread sheet I will attach a screen shot of this below. I am looking for help on how to cut back, where to start paying off to reduce interest payments and things of the nature. We are both over eager and desperately looking for a solution I am currently pulling around 90-100 hours a week put it is not doing much good besides damaging my health but more importantly my relationship with this girl!

Please ladies and gents of the forums, please shed some light of experience and knowledge!!

Many Thanks & Kind Regards,

Ollie Ryan.

here is the link to the screen shot of our spreadsheet (maybe this will help someone else):
file:///Users/Ollie/Desktop/Screen%20Shot%202014-08-15%20at%2000.13.47.png

Hi Ollie,

Welcome to the forum.

Firstly, I can understand the situation you’re in at the moment. Quite often you can just about make the minimum payments and it can seem like you’re keeping your head above water. It’s obviously been a difficult time so doesn't feel like you’ll be judged by us, or anyone in the forum for what’s happened.

Thankfully, there are solutions available and we can help you. We can help find the best way to deal with your debts and offer our advice and support. As a charity our advice is free, impartial, confidential and always based on what’s best for you and your partner.

There are two ways you can get help from us:

You can use our anonymous Debt Remedy tool available here. The tool will help you put together a budget which we use to tailor all of our advice to your circumstances. If you get stuck then you can speak to one of our expert advisors over chat, e-mail or phone.

If you’d prefer to talk to someone then you can call our free Helpline by visiting www.stepchange.org/contactus.aspx. Lines are open 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and Saturday 8am to 4pm. Please have details of your income, household bills, living costs and debts when you call as this will save you some time.

I hope this helps, we look forward to speaking to you soon.

Rory

KennethReiswig

I have an experience to share with you guys. Once I was in a remote place, my signal in my phone got jammed, i thought the problem would be with my service provider. After coming back home i gave black and blues to my customer care highlighting my issue. They pleaded me saying that the problem is not with them. Then i browsed through the search engine regarding my issue, i got a remedy for my cell phone, there i came to know the problem called signal jamming that is experienced in most cell phones. They have a product called Cellphone signal jammer could be very useful to get rid of these problems. Check out the details here signal jammers and hope this information would be beneficial. Hope that u would pass this information to all your friends, so that they too would benefited, Stay safe, Cheers