Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

markmade

Hi am a newbie here am about to close down my business down "it was started to give me something to do as i am disabled" and claim job seeker allowance i have done a quick budget sheet and there is only about £8 left i was hoping to do a dmp will it be possible. Also worried about my vehicle (a van converted to campervan) as i need it. #I have about £9000 debt. Thanks in advance for any help

mark

Simoney

Hi,
I recently had a misunderstanding with talktalk where I thought I could keep a youview box, but they charged me and passed my debt to buchanan Clark and Wells, who added a £20 fee.
As soon as I found out, I contacted talktalk and agreed that the debt will be written off once I sent back the youview box, which I did. Since BCW are still looking for the £20 fee (although in the letter they state that my debt with talktalk is still outstanding) my question is, do I have to pay this fee or are they chancing it trying to get me to pay? What is the best way to proceed?
Thanks in advance!

StepChange_Jen

CRobinson wrote: »

Hello, I currently have just over £5k debt with DFH on a management plan. Would it be possible to transfer this to another company as they are taking a very high fee!

Many thanks
Char

Hi Char,

Thanks for posting.

If you’re unhappy with your management plan you’ll usually be able to end your plan and move to a different company. If you get in touch with DFH they should be able to let you know how to cancel your plan. It’d be worth checking your agreement with them as well to see if there are any fees involved with ending your plan.

As a charity we offer free and impartial debt advice and a range of debt solutions. If you’d like to give us a call one of our advisors will be happy to chat with you about your situation and let you know about any debt solutions suited to you.

You can find out how to get in touch with our Helpline here: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

I hope this has helped,

[FONT=&quot]Jen [/FONT]

StepChange_Jen

markmade wrote: »

Hi am a newbie here am about to close down my business down "it was started to give me something to do as i am disabled" and claim job seeker allowance i have done a quick budget sheet and there is only about £8 left i was hoping to do a dmp will it be possible. Also worried about my vehicle (a van converted to campervan) as i need it. #I have about £9000 debt. Thanks in advance for any help

mark

Hi Mark,

Thanks for getting in touch.

Without knowing more about your situation it’d be hard to offer advice about whether a DMP is suitable for you.

I think you’d benefit from getting in touch with our Helpline for some free debt advice. Our advisors will use information from your debts, budget and income to let you know about the debt solutions suited to your situation. If you decide to move forward with a debt solution they’ll be able to let you know the next steps to take and we’ll be here to support you at every step.

You can find out how to get in touch with our Helpline here: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

Alternatively you could use our online debt advice tool, Debt Remedy. It works in a similar way to our Helpline except you enter your information online instead of chatting to someone on the phone. You can find it here:

http://www.stepchange.org/Debtremedy.aspx

I hope this helps but if you have any more questions please let us know.

Kind regards,

Jen

misskwa

Hi. I ve been a member of StepChange few years ago but unfortunately I had to resign because of personal problems and family. Long and bad story. Is it possible to come back to StepChange and set up my debts again? Thanks for respond , Alex

StepChange_James

misskwa wrote: »

Hi. I ve been a member of StepChange few years ago but unfortunately I had to resign because of personal problems and family. Long and bad story. Is it possible to come back to StepChange and set up my debts again? Thanks for respond , Alex

Hi Alex,

It sounds like you were on a debt management plan with us (DMP) where we managed payments towards your debts. There's no reason we couldn't set one up for you again, providing it's the right thing for your situation.

So the first step will be to take a fresh look at your finances and give you advice about all the possible debt solutions. If it is the case that a DMP is best we can set you up with one again (though the payment will be based on your current situation, so is likely to be different.

You can get advice with us again by using our Debt Remedy advice tool: http://www.stepchange.org/DebtRemedy.aspx or by giving us a call: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx. Either way we'll help you put together a new income and expenditure budget and give you advice about your options.

All the best.

James

debbie_debt

Hi,

I was wondering if you can give me some general advice. I currently have, between myself and my husband, around £37,000 of unsecured debt split between 5 credit cards, including Virgin, Barclaycard and MBNA. We will receive a windfall in the next few weeks of around £21,000 which will be used solely to pay off the debts. I was wondering if there is any way in which you think they will accept a reduced amount in full and final settlement? Hence, allowing the £21k to pay off the full debts?

We pay on time every month and most of the debt is on 0%. We would like to retain the ability to use one credit card in future (for the additional protection when booking holidays etc) and hence don't want to enter into any bankruptcy etc. We would like to save for a mortgage in the future too. We are both working, but I'm currently on maternity leave which ends later this month, when I will return to work on reduced hours. In total, we will earn around £50,000 as a household on my new contract, yet have found out today that my husband's job is under threat.

I'd appreciate any advice.

Debbie

jinny

Not a question but just a big thank you to Stepchange
A year ago. I was in danger of losing my home. A debt I had had changed hands so many times I was very old as well but the company that bought the debt managed to take me to court and a charging order was put on my home. The stress was enormous however I contacted Stepchange and they helped me with a plan to show to the court. The judge accepted the payment and in fact praised Stepchange. So Thank you there's a way out of most messes

ZNic334

Hi
I'm really hoping you can offer me some advice. I've just joined this forum tonight so first post here.
I'm a single mum and have had my tax credits cut over the last 6 months and have been around £300 down in my finances every month, whilst all my outgoings have remained the same. I've maxed my credit cards and have just gone over my agreed overdraft on my Santander 123 account and had the most embarrassing experience tonight having my card declined whilst trying to buy food.

I don't know what to do; up until now I've been managing to keep up all my repayments and utility bills. It's only the 12th of the month and I've literally no money to feed my children. I've spoken to CAB in the past who suggested I may be eligible for financial support from the council and am now receiving £49 per month from them. This doesn't make up for my short fall in tax credits.

What should I do???

thanks
Zoe

ZNic334

After I wrote this post I phoned the bank. They've stopped direct debits going out as I haven't got the money to pay them. This suddenly feels a whole lot worse!! 😢😢😢