Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

Former_StepChange_Laura

Rosylee wrote: »

Forgive me if this is the wrong place to ask. Is it possible, like with credit cards, to close the account while there is still a balance and just pay it off? I know it's easy to say just don't spend on it, but sometimes the temptation is there. If not, can I at least ask them to reduce the credit limit or will this affect me negatively in some other way. Thanks

Hi Rosylee,

Thanks for your message. In general it’s not possible to close a catalogue account while there’s still money outstanding, although this would depend on the terms and conditions of your account. If you’ve defaulted on any payments, this can sometimes lead to a catalogue company closing your account and passing it on to their debt collection teams, which could have negative implications for your credit file.

However you can give your creditor a call to explain your situation. Many companies will have a policy for how they proceed when a customer lets them know they’re struggling to make repayments, and may offer to reduce the credit limit available to you or come to a repayment agreement.

If your creditors aren’t willing to do this or you find you’re struggling to pay the debt off, I’d suggest you get in touch with us for free debt advice. We’ll be able to take a look at your financial situation in more depth, put together a budget and recommend the best way to deal with your debt. Our debt advice is free and we offer a range of debt solutions which you can read about here: http://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou.aspx

Should that be the case, you can find out how to contact us here: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

I hope this answers your question.

Kind regards,
Laura

Former_StepChange_Rachel

otb666 wrote: »

HI
I HAVE JUST complted your step change tool-why does it have incorrect monthly amounts on credit cards payments as this makes it hard to work out whether a dmp is required

Hi there,

Thanks for your message.

I think you might be referring to our Debt Remedy tool. To help make things easier when completing Debt Remedy, the tool will automatically work out some amounts in your budget. This works in most instances, but if you’re finding it doesn’t match up with your situation then I’d suggest you give us a call to complete the advice session with one of our advisors. You can find out how to get in touch with us here:
http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Rachel

Former_StepChange_Rachel

DJimbo wrote: »

Hi, looking for some advice on the best way forward with my unsecured debts. At this stage the debt is not a problem and the monthly payments are being met, we have a young baby and reviewing all our finances to see if my wife needs to go back to work part time.

After all bills and committed spend we are left with around £350 for food and non essentials, I have not factored in my wife's maternity pay or child benefit.

Unsecured Loan - £24,000 (6 years to run)
Unsecured Halifax CC - £6500 (making minimum payment)
Unsecured Tesco CC - £2500 (making minimum payment)
Unsecured RBS CC - £2000 (making minimum payment)

The loan is a big commitment but I can live with that as I know it is being paid and will eventually be finished, we pay £200 per month to all the cards which doesn't make a dent in them and will never go down.

We have agreed if my wife returns to work we will target the credit cards but with lack of family around us and cost of childcare it may not be worthwhile her returning to work as she earns minimum wage and has a 30 mile daily commute.

Is it possible to get another loan to cover the 11k credit card debts or would I be better trying to find 0% deals and pay as much as we can afford.

The £350 left every month is with all non essentials cut from our budget so can't really save any more.

Any help much appreciated.

Hi DJimbo,

Thanks for your message, and it’s good to hear that you’re doing a bit of a financial stock-take!

You mention you’re considering taking out another loan to cover the credit cards. In general, consolidating debts by taking out further credit isn’t something we would recommend. You might find it useful to take a look at this blogpost, which is about the pros and cons of debt consolidation: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2013/01/to-debt-consolidate-or-not-to-debt-consolidate/

Although you’re making the minimum payments, this can actually mean your debts take much longer to clear. As you say in your message, although you’re paying £200 per month towards each of the cards you’re not seeing the balances going down. It’s important to know that with the right advice this situation can change.

I’d suggest you get in touch with us for free debt advice. We’ll be able to take a look at your financial situation in more depth, put together a budget and recommend the best way for you to deal with your debts. Our debt advice is free and we offer a range of debt solutions, as well as being able to provide advice on how to maximise your budget. Having a clear and professional budget will help you to understand more about where your money is being spent, and could help you and your wife come to a decision about whether or not to return to work.

You can put together a budget using our online Debt Remedy tool: http://www.stepchange.org/Debtremedy.aspx You’ll need to have financial information about your debts, income and outgoings to hand, and it usually takes around 20 minutes to complete.

Alternatively you can give our helpline a call and complete an advice session over the phone with an advisor. Our helpline number is 0800 138 1111. It’s free to call from landlines and major mobile networks, and it’s open from Monday to Friday from 8am until 8pm and Saturdays from 8am until 4pm.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Rachel

mojosparkles

Hello,
I was wondering if you can advise me.
I have pawed through the MSE site but I cant see any suitable ideas for me at the moment with regards to consolidating my debt.
I have about 11 (!) credit cards with a total of 5 lenders.
the total debt is around 32k.
I work away a lot abroad, so unfortunately I have encountered late payments in the past as i have not transferred money on time etc. Due to this, some of my 0% interest cards have added fees and also penalty of removing the 0%. I am in a position currently where I will be able to pay off around 10k of the debt from savings whilst Ive been away, however the interest on 80% of the cards is insane, and keeps me trapped. in addition, Experien sights my CS as excellent, but I get rejected for new 0% cards and I fear personal loans. The amount of payments coming out of my bank stress me out big time, and I would really like to consolidate to a loan of 20,000 and pay one monthly sum for the next 5 years. unfortunately, as I mentioned i think my CS will forbid it. Please can you give me some advice as it is time I really sorted this out! with regards to my current spending, I am staying with family for the time being (i usually work long, intensive contracts abroad which has allowed me to save the 10k towards my debts) so I have no rent to pay. I am not spending on much other than grocery shopping and the odd evening out, and I am picking up temporary work.
Advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Jo

jazzconfused

Hi all! I hope someone from here can give me idea about this.
I received texts from this company that states :

Please call Bryan Carter solicitors LLP on 02031478414 quoting reference number xxxxxxx. Further info may be obtained at https://www.bryancartersolicitors.co.uk

I have never called the numbers and didn't go to the website either as I assume it is just a random texts but I've been getting texts apart everyday sometimes twice a day.

I'm not sure what to do. It's giving me palpitations every time I received their texts.

Has anyone from here experience this?

Former_StepChange_Laura

mojosparkles wrote: »

Hello,
I was wondering if you can advise me.
I have pawed through the MSE site but I cant see any suitable ideas for me at the moment with regards to consolidating my debt.
I have about 11 (!) credit cards with a total of 5 lenders.
the total debt is around 32k.
I work away a lot abroad, so unfortunately I have encountered late payments in the past as i have not transferred money on time etc. Due to this, some of my 0% interest cards have added fees and also penalty of removing the 0%. I am in a position currently where I will be able to pay off around 10k of the debt from savings whilst Ive been away, however the interest on 80% of the cards is insane, and keeps me trapped. in addition, Experien sights my CS as excellent, but I get rejected for new 0% cards and I fear personal loans. The amount of payments coming out of my bank stress me out big time, and I would really like to consolidate to a loan of 20,000 and pay one monthly sum for the next 5 years. unfortunately, as I mentioned i think my CS will forbid it. Please can you give me some advice as it is time I really sorted this out! with regards to my current spending, I am staying with family for the time being (i usually work long, intensive contracts abroad which has allowed me to save the 10k towards my debts) so I have no rent to pay. I am not spending on much other than grocery shopping and the odd evening out, and I am picking up temporary work.
Advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Jo

Hi Joanna,

Thanks for your message. In general we don’t recommend consolidating debt by taking out further credit. You might find it useful to read this blogpost about debt consolidation, which goes through the pros and cons of debt consolidation in more detail: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2013/01/to-debt-consolidate-or-not-to-debt-consolidate/

From what you tell me about your financial situation, it sounds as though you’d benefit from some free and impartial debt advice. We’ll be able to look at your situation in more depth, put together a budget, and recommend the best way for you to deal with your debt.

There are a couple of ways you can get in touch with us.

We have an anonymous advice tool called Debt Remedy that can help you put together a personal action plan in around 20 minutes: http://www.stepchange.org/debtremedy.aspx

Alternatively, we have a team of friendly advisors who can help you put together a budget over the telephone and then explore any solutions that may be available to you: http://www.stepchange.org/contactus.aspx

I hope this helps.
Kind regards,
Laura

Former_StepChange_Laura

jazzconfused wrote: »

Hi all! I hope someone from here can give me idea about this.
I received texts from this company that states :

Please call Bryan Carter solicitors LLP on 02031478414 quoting reference number xxxxxxx. Further info may be obtained at https://www.bryancartersolicitors.co.uk

I have never called the numbers and didn't go to the website either as I assume it is just a random texts but I've been getting texts apart everyday sometimes twice a day.

I'm not sure what to do. It's giving me palpitations every time I received their texts.

Has anyone from here experience this?

Hi there,

Thanks for your message and I’m sorry to hear you’re finding this contact stressful.

This is a company we know of, and one of the areas they work in is debt collection. However it’s unusual to only receive texts from them, as usually texts are sent as a follow-up to a letter or other correspondence. If you’ve only received text messages from them then there’s a possibility it’s a mix up.

If you’re concerned about what they could be contacting you in relation to, I’d suggest you give them a call to have a chat with them about it. Discussing the issue with them is unlikely to make the situation worse, and could cast some light on what’s going on.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Laura

eeyore77

Hi
Hope you can help...
My husband has had issues with a lot of credit taken out in his name from approx 2007/8 onwards.

This is all debt that was taken out by an ex-partner after they broke up using her address that he never actually lived at. He has had to pay some back and other debt has been cleared. But debts keep surfacing.

The latest is a debt with Lloyds bank (bank account and credit card) that were apparently taken out in approx October 2008 online and is now being handled by their debt agency. The debt is around £1000 with the bank and £2000 with the credit card. My husband disputed this as fraudulent however they've come back today to say there is no evidence of fraud and there is no paperwork to be found.

What is there that we can do about this debt other than finding some way to pay it? (We seriously cannot afford too ... as you can imagine my husband's credit rating is very low, I work part-time now due to having a 16 month old child).

Do they not have to prove that he took the debt/credit out and that he opened the account?

Please can you advise and help?

StepChange_James

eeyore77 wrote: »

Hi
Hope you can help...
My husband has had issues with a lot of credit taken out in his name from approx 2007/8 onwards.

This is all debt that was taken out by an ex-partner after they broke up using her address that he never actually lived at. He has had to pay some back and other debt has been cleared. But debts keep surfacing.

The latest is a debt with Lloyds bank (bank account and credit card) that were apparently taken out in approx October 2008 online and is now being handled by their debt agency. The debt is around £1000 with the bank and £2000 with the credit card. My husband disputed this as fraudulent however they've come back today to say there is no evidence of fraud and there is no paperwork to be found.

What is there that we can do about this debt other than finding some way to pay it? (We seriously cannot afford too ... as you can imagine my husband's credit rating is very low, I work part-time now due to having a 16 month old child).

Do they not have to prove that he took the debt/credit out and that he opened the account?

Please can you advise and help?

Hi there,

Thanks for getting in touch. This sounds like a bit of a mess, but hopefully there'll be a way to get it sorted out.

It seems to me there are two potential approaches your partner could take.

1. As this debt was taken out fraudulently then you could contact Action Fraud and get some more advice from them about the options: http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/. They'll be able to tell you more about the kind of proof the creditor needs to provide, etc.

2. You could explore whether this debt is "statute barred". This means that a debt might not be legally enforceable if payments haven't been made for six years. There's more information about this (plus a template letter) in our blogpost here: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2013/10/statute-barred-debt/.

All the best.

James

crystal_pixie_2

Hi - hope someone can give me some guidance please.

I am in a position to settle with a very difficult creditor payment in full. However, because I have had so many problems with them I want to make sure I do this by the book.

So I have requested a settlement figure and I have a letter.

Should I sent a letter asking them to confirm that by paying this debt in full this will discharge me of the liability before sending the cheque or is there any legal obligation for the company to do that if I just send them the payment? I really want to get this settled but I am worried they will take my money and still threaten me.