Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

Former_StepChange_Rory

sarahfaith399 wrote: »

Good morning, I hope that nobody takes offense to me posting here but I thought you would be the best people to ask.

I have gotten through to the final rounds of interview to be a trainee Debt Caseworker with Citizens Advice.

Firstly I would love any help regarding the interview- such as what questions to expect etc, secondly I would like to know the type of person that you would like to meet who will help you with your debts, for example would it be someone who is non judgemental and understanding and empathetic or would it be someone who would just get stuff done quickly minus the empathetic approach?

I really would appreciate any help

Thank you in advance

Hi sarafaith,

Great to hear about your interview to become a debt caseworker.

It would probably be best to have a look at what the CAB are looking for specifically. They have a volunteer roles page with more information and they might also be able to tell you what questions to expect.

Why not give them a call if you’re unsure? I’m sure they would be happy to help.

Good luck with the interview

Rory

Former_StepChange_Rory

Scrimpers wrote: »

Hi

I am 2 years into a 3 year bank loan and completely up to date with payments. However, my job has gone part-time and I'm really struggling financially. My biggest outlay apart from rent is a bank loan so my hope was to spread the bank loan over a longer period of time and reduce the monthly payment that way. On contacting the bank the only option offered was to take out another loan but as my credit rating is not good enough I was unable to get the extended loan. I was then passed through to their Money Management section where the only help available was something called a No Offer Loan where the loan is apparently frozen but destroys your credit rating for 6 years. Just wondering if anyone had heard of this and what the implications are for going down this route?

Many thanks.

Hi there,

Sorry to hear that your hours have been reduced, I can understand that it can become difficult to pay your debts if you've got less money coming in.

If you’re struggling to repay the loan you already have then it may be useful to get some advice which we’ll be happy to help you with.

No offer loans are something we don’t come across very often so it’s always best to be cautious. If you want to get in touch with us then we can offer you our free, impartial and confidential advice on how best to deal your debts.

You can visit the StepChange website here to find out how to get in touch: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

I hope this helps.

Rory

Former_StepChange_Rory

Mature-Student wrote: »

Hi

I started getting letters from a dca (Arrow Global) around 2 years ago re a M&S £15K loan I had supposedly taken out early 2011. Was mentally unwell at that time (family illness, bereavement and redundancy took their toll on me trying to be everything to everyone else), memory is not great for that time, hence the 'supposedly taken out'. So took a template letter and requested copy info with £1 PO. No reply. Checked credit file and there was a default in AG's name from Sept 11.

Continue to get statements from AG and then in late 2013 I notice the statement says I need to speak to a lawyers called Shoosmiths if I want to discuss the debt. Soon after start getting letters from them. So again requested copy info. No reply. But letters keep coming every couple of months or so. So I take another template letter re debt being in dispute as they have not supplied info so cannot chase, etc. Letters get stronger then last month they served court papers for me to respond by 14/11.

Work has a policy of no CCJs / Decrees for staff (common in this industry sector), so decide to bite the bullet and see what I can pay. Phone up S, explain all and make offer. They do offer to look into 'in dispute' issue but at the moment I just need to sort the current situation. They ask for some income & expense info, then phone back later and confirm offer ok, will be reviewed in 6 months and they will suspend court proceedings (Sist) as long as I keep to payments agreed. Got them to send email too.

So arranged to pay lump sum £1k as agreed, and asked if proceedings now halted. They claim this can only be done after the date I'm due to respond. Have I been naive? Are they having their cake and eating it i.e. getting money out of me then having proceedings carry on with me not responding to papers as they advised (verbally only I've just realised) so likely to go against me.

Sorry for the length of this post. I hope you can help. Thanks.

PS Not sure if relevant but advised S I was planning to pay them in priority of other CC debts (min payments to them), stopping pension contributions and making other financial changes in order to pay them off in around 18 months which they said was an acceptable time frame.

Hi there,

Thanks for your question.

Creditors can apply for a county court judgment (CCJ) at any point after you’ve defaulted on payments to the debt.

Whether or not they decide to go ahead with this or make an informal arrangement with you instead is something you can discuss with the creditor. Sometimes they might decide to withdraw court proceedings if you come to a fair agreement and stick to it, but you should make sure that the payments are affordable and realistic and don’t impact priority payments such as household bills and living costs.

I believe it would be unfair to explain to you that they won’t apply to the court for the CCJ if you make a lump-sum payment and then do this anyway but this is something you could discuss with the creditor.

If you’d like some more specific advice then I’d recommend that you get in touch with us so that we can answer your questions more specifically and talk things through. Because time is now a bit limited, it would be quicker for you and our advice would then be tailored for your situation.

You can find details of how to get in touch on the StepChange website.

Hope this helps, please call us if you’d like some extra advice.

Rory

Mature-Student

Sorry, you have misunderstood the situation.

The creditor has agreed a repayment plan and to suspend court proceedings so long as the repayments are made. They advised that I no longer need to respond to the court papers due to them suspending the process.

However they have now said, after receiving the first payment (a lump sum. ), that they can't apply for the suspension until after the date I am due to respond to the court.

Is this correct or have I been played? As in if they carry on with the proceedings and I haven't responded, it will go better for them. Plus they have also got some cash too.

Thanks.

Naz8

Hi

pretty sure i should have signed up to this page a long time ago but after burying my head in the sand a long time ive finally done it and taken a few steps to dealing wiht my debt. I owe a lot of money (probably around 60k in all, for varying reaosns) not inclouding my mortgage which is about 133k off a 165k property bought 4 years ago.

i have 2 loans that are secured on my property totalling about 28k but these are on low interest rates and kind of take care of themselves at the moment.

i also owe about 15 grand to my parents but they arent chasing me at the moment so again not pressing.

my main problems are credit cards which are currently all maxed out. i have 8 of the poxy things with limits between 500 and 5700. the combined figures are around 15k (none are on 0%)

also, and more pressing matter, i now owe a few different payday lenders the best part of 3200. this is the bit that is worrying me as my current account is at thre moment showing zero.

i have however recently rented out my property so am living back with my parents for free for the time being. i take about about 1900 once i have minused my travelling to get to work. so i can now make a start at getting my debt under control as basically can pay a good chunk of that towards debt.

i tried to take out an extra 5k on my mortgage to lose the payday loans and concentrate on getting the credit card debt sorted out but the lender refused me on the count that i have to many other credit agreements. (this is a real shame as would have only put £30 a month on my mortgage)

At the moment i am 99% up to date with paying things on time but this is now touch and go and by the end of the month i think i am going to be screwed.

I was contempleating asking my parents for (another) loan to cover the payday people (is there anyway of barring myself from taking these things out?) but if possible i'd rather not do this as i owe them so much already.

so i need advice on up front what to do about the payday guys and then whats the best thign to do about my credit card debt? as just paying the minimum payments at the moment isnt clearing anything.

thnaks in advancevice given

Former_StepChange_Rory

Mature-Student wrote: »

Sorry, you have misunderstood the situation.

The creditor has agreed a repayment plan and to suspend court proceedings so long as the repayments are made. They advised that I no longer need to respond to the court papers due to them suspending the process.

However they have now said, after receiving the first payment (a lump sum. ), that they can't apply for the suspension until after the date I am due to respond to the court.

Is this correct or have I been played? As in if they carry on with the proceedings and I haven't responded, it will go better for them. Plus they have also got some cash too.

Thanks.

Hi there,

Sorry for any misunderstanding. There isn't any reason why the creditor needs to do this, all they need to do is withdraw the claim on the basis that you will maintain the payments.

For your own peace of mind it might be useful to have this informal agreement put in writing, should there be any problems further down the line.

You could also check with the court to make sure the judgment has been withdrawn and that the creditor aren't still proceeding with the CCJ.

Hope this helps,

Rory

Former_StepChange_Rachel

Naz8 wrote: »

Hi

pretty sure i should have signed up to this page a long time ago but after burying my head in the sand a long time ive finally done it and taken a few steps to dealing wiht my debt. I owe a lot of money (probably around 60k in all, for varying reaosns) not inclouding my mortgage which is about 133k off a 165k property bought 4 years ago.

i have 2 loans that are secured on my property totalling about 28k but these are on low interest rates and kind of take care of themselves at the moment.

i also owe about 15 grand to my parents but they arent chasing me at the moment so again not pressing.

my main problems are credit cards which are currently all maxed out. i have 8 of the poxy things with limits between 500 and 5700. the combined figures are around 15k (none are on 0%)

also, and more pressing matter, i now owe a few different payday lenders the best part of 3200. this is the bit that is worrying me as my current account is at thre moment showing zero.

i have however recently rented out my property so am living back with my parents for free for the time being. i take about about 1900 once i have minused my travelling to get to work. so i can now make a start at getting my debt under control as basically can pay a good chunk of that towards debt.

i tried to take out an extra 5k on my mortgage to lose the payday loans and concentrate on getting the credit card debt sorted out but the lender refused me on the count that i have to many other credit agreements. (this is a real shame as would have only put £30 a month on my mortgage)

At the moment i am 99% up to date with paying things on time but this is now touch and go and by the end of the month i think i am going to be screwed.

I was contempleating asking my parents for (another) loan to cover the payday people (is there anyway of barring myself from taking these things out?) but if possible i'd rather not do this as i owe them so much already.

so i need advice on up front what to do about the payday guys and then whats the best thign to do about my credit card debt? as just paying the minimum payments at the moment isnt clearing anything.

thnaks in advancevice given

Hi there Naz8, thank you for getting in touch.

From everything you've told us, it sounds like you would definitely benefit from getting some free and confidential advice from us.

It seems that you are overcommited with the debts you owe, and borrowing further money - whether from your parents or another source - is unlikely to fix the overall problem in the long run. The other problem you have is that payday lenders have what's called Continuous Payment Authority (CPA). This means that they can take the full payment owed out of your bank account, regardless of whether this money is meant for other expenses. You can read more about CPA's - and how to cancel them - on our blog.

The best thing moving forward would be to take a look at your entire situation and work out a debt solution from there.

Your living expenses are most important. We need to prioritise these so you can have a better idea of what you can truly afford to pay to things such as your credit cards, payday loans and other unsecured debts.

Our anonymous advice tool Debt Remedy can help you put together a personal action plan in approximately 20 minutes. You can also call our Helpline (free from landlines and most mobiles) and go through your budget over the telephone. Visit our contact us page for more information.

Best of luck

Rachel

Amylea123

Hi im new to this but cant find how to post my own topic. My problem is with seperation. My now EX boyfriend of 6 years had just passed his driving test, he had previous drink driving ban and no insurance where entertaining him. I have my own car (only a 2 seater) but for his sake we both put to and bought a second car just a cheap runaround, i insured this in my name and put him as the second driver, we both used the car due to it being bigger and cheaper to run and kept mine for weekend use. Anyway cut a long story short, 4 months into the policy he cheats on me we break up, i want nothing more to do with him. I sign the cheapo car over to him and tell him to sort his own insurance out. Leaving me with a problem with the insurance. Now im a push over, and its pathetic but i offered him to keep paying the monthly car insurance installments if he wanted to in order to still be able to use the car, he agreed and didnt pay up, no money in my account as i dont get the best wage (am also running my own car and have a debt management plan in place which is almost finished) so what did i do? Cancelled the direct debit...... bearing in mind this was around 6 months ago now, i moved back to my mums house and told him to contact if any letters came re the insurance as i was expecting them... no contact came from him whatsoever so im thinking,,, there musnt have been a cancellation fee or somthing as surely they would have been in touch or even called my mobile by now..... anyway last week i get an email from collections insurance bureau saying they have not recieved a response from any letters (which i havent been made aware of! Ex has my number and address) and i now owe...wait for it....1200 for the remainder of the policy... now... im in a heck of a mess, i cannot pay this or the 6 monthly installments of 200 they asked for, i am also due to go on maternity leave in 3 months and i will be on basic 140 a week.... if i cannot pay this where will it come from? surely if he was a named driver he has some kind of liability also? i am making an appointment at the citezens advice bureau because surely if he would have gave me my letters earlier then the cost wouldnt be so high? Or is this just my bad luck as im the policy holder and il have to pay it all. I have worked out my finances and if i pay it along with my other bills i will be left with £10.00 a week, not enough to buy food. Im trying to save for a baby that im going to be supporting on my own, i havent got my own place yet and am still at my mums, surely there must be something that can be done. He gets 3 times my wage it just doesnt seem fair.

Any advice is good advice at the minute, thanks for taking time to read this and i really apologise for any spell errors, im typing this in a huff

Former_StepChange_Laura

Amylea123 wrote: »

Hi im new to this but cant find how to post my own topic. My problem is with seperation. My now EX boyfriend of 6 years had just passed his driving test, he had previous drink driving ban and no insurance where entertaining him. I have my own car (only a 2 seater) but for his sake we both put to and bought a second car just a cheap runaround, i insured this in my name and put him as the second driver, we both used the car due to it being bigger and cheaper to run and kept mine for weekend use. Anyway cut a long story short, 4 months into the policy he cheats on me we break up, i want nothing more to do with him. I sign the cheapo car over to him and tell him to sort his own insurance out. Leaving me with a problem with the insurance. Now im a push over, and its pathetic but i offered him to keep paying the monthly car insurance installments if he wanted to in order to still be able to use the car, he agreed and didnt pay up, no money in my account as i dont get the best wage (am also running my own car and have a debt management plan in place which is almost finished) so what did i do? Cancelled the direct debit...... bearing in mind this was around 6 months ago now, i moved back to my mums house and told him to contact if any letters came re the insurance as i was expecting them... no contact came from him whatsoever so im thinking,,, there musnt have been a cancellation fee or somthing as surely they would have been in touch or even called my mobile by now..... anyway last week i get an email from collections insurance bureau saying they have not recieved a response from any letters (which i havent been made aware of! Ex has my number and address) and i now owe...wait for it....1200 for the remainder of the policy... now... im in a heck of a mess, i cannot pay this or the 6 monthly installments of 200 they asked for, i am also due to go on maternity leave in 3 months and i will be on basic 140 a week.... if i cannot pay this where will it come from? surely if he was a named driver he has some kind of liability also? i am making an appointment at the citezens advice bureau because surely if he would have gave me my letters earlier then the cost wouldnt be so high? Or is this just my bad luck as im the policy holder and il have to pay it all. I have worked out my finances and if i pay it along with my other bills i will be left with £10.00 a week, not enough to buy food. Im trying to save for a baby that im going to be supporting on my own, i havent got my own place yet and am still at my mums, surely there must be something that can be done. He gets 3 times my wage it just doesnt seem fair.

Any advice is good advice at the minute, thanks for taking time to read this and i really apologise for any spell errors, im typing this in a huff

Hi there,

Thanks for your message and I’m sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately, if the policy is only in your name then you’ll be liable to pay off the debt. As paying off this debt will have a big impact on you, if possible it might be worth talking to your ex-partner to see if you can come to an informal agreement.

You mention you are already on a Debt Management Plan (DMP) that you’ve almost finished paying off. If your DMP is with us then I’d suggest you give us a call so we can go through the changes to your circumstances with you.

If you’re not with us and are paying a fee to your debt management company to run your DMP, I’d suggest you look into alternatives. Our advice and DMPs are free, so all of your money is put towards paying off your debts. We would be able to take a look at your situation, including this new debt and what’s left to pay off your outstanding debts, and work out the best way for you to deal with it moving forwards. You can find our contact details here: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Laura

Grangey

Hello Everyone!

I am currently struggling with my monthly payments back to my loan/credit card companies, so only leaves me with £200 per month for daily living costs. My credit rating is fair so I am also struggling to get a new loan to put everything together.

I don't want to be someone who goes for an IVA and also has 6 years of "blacklisting" on my file. Is there a way I can condense my payments? I have tried speaking to my main lender but they are unwilling to increase the term of my loan in order to make my payments less.

Any help you can suggest would be most appreciated.