Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

joshua2005

Hi, i have just been contacted by a debt free company after filling in a form on line: they are claiming they can reduce my debt by 60% . They said i stop paying my card payments, they contact the companies and say they have taken over. i pay x amount to them per month for 36 months and they strike settlement deals with the comapanies saving me thousands? they wanted all my details and NI number! i owe over £10000 and am struggling , i have 4 credit cards. is this the best way forward , will it effect my credit card score? i cant find anything on forums about these companies..

Former_StepChange_Rory

joshua2005 wrote: »

Hi, i have just been contacted by a debt free company after filling in a form on line: they are claiming they can reduce my debt by 60% . They said i stop paying my card payments, they contact the companies and say they have taken over. i pay x amount to them per month for 36 months and they strike settlement deals with the comapanies saving me thousands? they wanted all my details and NI number! i owe over £10000 and am struggling , i have 4 credit cards. is this the best way forward , will it effect my credit card score? i cant find anything on forums about these companies..

Hi,

I think you’re right to be cautious about handing over details to an organisation you can’t find a great deal of information about.

We sometimes come across organisations that promise more than they’re able to deliver so make sure that you know exactly what kind of agreement you’re entering into. Sometimes if it sounds too good to be true, it might be.

I can understand your need to get your finances back on track. Try not to let your desperation get in the way of making a clear judgement on the best way to deal with your debts.

If you’re still unsure and you’d like to talk to us for free, impartial and confidential debt advice then we’d be happy to help. You can use our anonymous online Debt Remedy tool or talk to us by visiting the StepChange website.

Hope this helps,

Rory

Poorpaulie

Hi all

I have a choice to make please help. I currently have an interest only mortgage with 8 yrs left on term. I also owe approx 20k on credit cards and overdrafts.

I am unable to consolidate my debts in a new mortgage.

Should I now pay all my spare cash on my debts and take out a fixed rate interest only mortgage. Or should I change mortgage to a repayment mortgage on a 15 year deal and pay less on debts? There is a five hundred pound difference between each mortgage option.

Please help

Poorpaulie.

StepChange_James

Poorpaulie wrote: »

Hi all

I have a choice to make please help. I currently have an interest only mortgage with 8 yrs left on term. I also owe approx 20k on credit cards and overdrafts.

I am unable to consolidate my debts in a new mortgage.

Should I now pay all my spare cash on my debts and take out a fixed rate interest only mortgage. Or should I change mortgage to a repayment mortgage on a 15 year deal and pay less on debts? There is a five hundred pound difference between each mortgage option.

Please help

Poorpaulie.

Hi Poorpaulie,

Thanks for posting. It sounds like a tricky decision to make, and I think it's something you might not know the right decision until years into the future.

There are a few things to consider which might help with making a decision though:

• If you stay on an interest only mortgage while you clear these debts will you leave yourself enough time to repay the mortgage after the debts are sorted out?
  
• If you go for the repayment mortgage can you afford the extra £500 and will it leave anything for unsecured debts at all?
  
• Are there any things that will happen in the future which could change things? You can't always predict what's going to happen but it's sometimes possible to anticipate changes to your finances.
  
• Could one or the other of these options impact on the age you retire? (Sorry, I don't know your age, so this might not be a factor.)

There are more than likely other things to factor into the decision but I'd say a good way to look at your options would be to prepare two income and expenditure budgets, based on the two possible options you're looking at.

If you'd like help creating a realistic budget to live off we can help, as well as give more in depth debt advice. You can do this by calling our helpline(http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx) or by using our online Debt Remedy advice tool (http://www.stepchange.org/Debtremedy.aspx).

Kind regards

James

D*G_3

I posted this question below but wondered whether you could help?

I've been sent a court summons for a debt. I don't even know its origin, my thought it that its been passed from one company to another but its definitely one that has passed the 6 year point with regard to any contact with them. Is there anything I can do to stop this from going to court?

Help!

Thanks

nathanv1991

Hi, I am struggling with my credit card debts, and I was just hoping that someone from here could give me a bit of advice. These are the credit cards that I have:

Tesco credit card: balance - £1,980, 0% interest until July 2015, then goes up to 18.9% interest. Minimum monthly repayment - £25.

Lloyds credit card: balance - £1,426, 0% interest until February 2017, then goes up to 18.9% interest. Minimum monthly repayment - £15.

Halifax Clarity Credit card: balance - £1,000, currently 17.9% interest. Minimum monthly repayment - £25.


I am in a real mess and dont know what to do. should I apply for another balance transfer card for the Halifax balance? should i try and get a card with a longer 0% period for the Tesco balance?

I can afford to repay a total of £140 per month, so how much should I pay off of each card?

Thank you.

Former_StepChange_Rory

D*G wrote: »

I posted this question below but wondered whether you could help?

I've been sent a court summons for a debt. I don't even know its origin, my thought it that its been passed from one company to another but its definitely one that has passed the 6 year point with regard to any contact with them. Is there anything I can do to stop this from going to court?

Help!

Thanks

Hi D*G,

The best thing to do first is to find out what type of debt this is for and why you've been sent a court summons.

The 6 years you’re referring to is something called the Limitations Act and 'statute barred debts' - something we've talked about in our blogpost here.

The Limitations Act doesn't apply to every type of debt so it's important to know what the debt is for before offering more specific information.

By finding out what the debt is for first, you should have a much better idea of what to do next. I'd make sure that this doesn't delay any court summons though as the last thing you want to do is make the situation more difficult.

If you’re still struggling with the debt and you’re not sure what to do then you can contact us for free advice and help. We'll be happy our help once you have more information on the debt.

I hope this helps,

Rory

Cannings

Hi,

I currently have 3 cards outstanding

Capital One: Maxed at £2393.51
Barclaycard Visa: Maxed at £1058.18
Barclaycard Mastercard: Maxed at £2435.60

I am starting a new job this month on a salary of 26k and have started a second job delivering pizzas 5 nights a week to bring in what I think will be another 400 a month ish

Ideally what I need to do is get these companies to freeze the interest and accept a payment plan to clear them off removing the credit facility. My credit rating is in the toilet and I dont think can get much worse (quite a few missed payments no defaults though)

What is the best advice you can give me?

Thanks

Paul

Former_StepChange_Rachel

Cannings wrote: »

Hi,

I currently have 3 cards outstanding

Capital One: Maxed at £2393.51
Barclaycard Visa: Maxed at £1058.18
Barclaycard Mastercard: Maxed at £2435.60

I am starting a new job this month on a salary of 26k and have started a second job delivering pizzas 5 nights a week to bring in what I think will be another 400 a month ish

Ideally what I need to do is get these companies to freeze the interest and accept a payment plan to clear them off removing the credit facility. My credit rating is in the toilet and I dont think can get much worse (quite a few missed payments no defaults though)

What is the best advice you can give me?

Thanks

Paul

Hi there Paul, thanks for posting.

From what you've told us, it certainly sounds like it would be a good idea for you to get some free, confidential and impartial debt advice.

When it comes to these debts you mentioned, the best thing to do is to take a realistic look at your budget to determine what you can afford to pay at the moment. This is something we can help you with. We are a debt advice charity and we provide solutions based on your circumstances.

If you would like to discuss your situation further and see what your options are moving forward, there's two ways we can help:

You can put together your personal action plan via our online advice tool Debt Remedy.

Alternatively, call our Helpline on 0800 138 1111. We're open Mon - Fri 8 am to 8pm and Sat 8am to 4pm

Best regards

Rachel

Baybeeboo

So here it is, my credit rating is shocking! (226 I believe) I have had a problem with debt since the day I turned 18! Now nearly 8 years on, they really are out of hand.

Recently I have came out of a long term relationship and have been abandoned with my 2 children, no child maintenance as of yet and have been forced to apply for pay day loans, to my suprise I was accepted by a few, pounds to pockets, Mr Lender, Wage day advance, and Jeremy Lawrence.

So late today I will be receiving a lump sum of £6000. I am currently in a DMP for some other debts (Some are DCA) I have spoken to the people who deal with my DMP and they have advised that they offer a settlement service, but will charge a minimum of £50 or 18% of what they save me. They are going to send the info out to me.

I don't know how to go about settling my debts, I will list what I have on my credit file...

Capital One Balance: £201.08 paying £1.84 a month in DMP
EOS Solutions Balance: £245.79 paying £2.19 a month in DMP
Idem Capital Services Ltd Balance: £2,622.01 paying £23.94 a month in DMP
Moorcroft Debt Recovery Ltd balance: £362.04 paying £3.34 a month in DMP
NCO Europe Ltd balance: £261.18 paying £2.38 a month in DMP
Provident Personal Loans balance £1955.28 paying £12.02 a month in DMP
Reliable Collections balance: £201.58 paying £2.79 a month in DMP

The pay day loans are not in DMP:
Pounds to pockets £548 - in arrears
Wageday advance £209.49 - in arrears (this is the balance as of today)
Mr Lender £328 - Not in arrears but that is the settlement balance as of today
Jeremy Lawrence £150 - not in arrears.

Total: £7084.45

I also have council tax owing for the past 5 years which total £2,200. but i have an attachment on my earnings, so not sure whethere i should worry about this one?
Would also like to pay my water bill, (£150)

With the above totalling: £9434.45.

Over 3 grand I will have! So I have no idea how to prioritise..

I really would appreciate any help or advice!