Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

Former_StepChange_Laura

antithesis wrote: »

We've been accruing debt on credit cards and balance transfers to the point where we are now in about £20k's worth of debt. As it stands, the juggling is working in the sense we're not paying a lot of interest, however, since having a baby we've accrued a lot more debt than we've paid off. It's spread over several credit cards and a loan. We know we need to sort out our spending. We don't spend 'willy nilly' but need to say no to ourselves more often which we are going to do.

My question is this: as it stands we own a 50% share of a property with part rent/part buy. If we were to sell up and rent, we could very probably cover our debt and have a small chunk leftover to restart our savings. Is this a wise option? More than anything, I want a mind clear of debt worry. I think I want that more than I want to be a house owner (or half a house in our case!). I think I'd like to buy a house again in the future but would rather do it in the 'black' and with a deposit big enough to afford a whole mortgage.

Our credit score is pretty good considering and we always make payments etc.

Hi there,

Thanks for your message. The situation that you describe is one we hear quite often, and it’s great to hear you want to take steps to deal with your debt. In order to give you the most appropriate advice, I’d suggest you give our Helpline a call to speak to one of our advisors.

They’ll be able to have a chat with you in more detail about your financial situation and discuss what your options are for dealing with the debt. They’d also be able to discuss with you how we might help you in the shorter term if selling your share of the property is something you’re considering. As a charity, it’s free to call us from landlines and mobiles, and our advice is also free. You can find out how to get in touch with us here: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

If you’d like advice on your options when it comes to selling your share in the property, this is outside our area of expertise. I’d suggest you visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau, as they’ll be able to offer further guidance. You can find where your nearest CAB is here: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Laura

LeighLeigh

If I pay off past debts (some are 6 years old) on my credit file including a CCJ will my credit then be clear to apply for a mortgage?

StepChange_Jen

Sarah6493 wrote: »

Hello,

I don't have a huge amount of debt but want to nip this in the bud before it gets worse. I owe £1729 altogether. £877 is on a Very.Co.uk account, I only pay the minimum so interest is being added (30% I think??), abd recently ive struggled with that so have gone into arrears. Then I've got £600 I owe to the national design academy, I started an online college course and couldn't complete it so ended up owing the full amount of the course. Also £252 to my daughters old nursery and that will go up if I don't pay by February. I know it doesn't seem alot but I'm 22 with 2 children under 2 and dont want it building up but as I can't pay what I need to right now I don't know what to do.

[FONT=&quot]Hi there,

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks for getting in touch.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling at the moment but it’s good to hear you want to take the steps to deal with your debt and this is something we can help you with.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I think you’d benefit from giving our Freephone Helpline a call and talking with one of our advisors about your situation.
They’ll use information you give them about your income, debts and budget to let you know about any debt solutions suited to you, to help you deal with your debt.

If you decide to move forward with a debt solution with us, our advisors will let you know what your next steps should be.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You can find out how to get in touch with us here:

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you’ve got any questions please let us know.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Kind regards,

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Jen [/FONT]

StepChange_Jen

Lorena0819 wrote: »

I have an account with Halifax which I'm always in the overdraft limit. I pay £15 p/m for insurances I don't need and to be able to have £300 overdraft limit, as I need that amount. (Sometimes abit more) i feel uneasy having to pay £15p/m to just be able to have that overdraft amount. Are there any other bank accounts I could have at least £300 overdraft without having to pay any charges? Thank you

[FONT=&quot]Hi there,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks for posting.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
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[FONT=&quot]As our expertise is in debt advice we wouldn’t be able to offer specific advice on what the best bank account would be for you.

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[FONT=&quot]However, MoneySavingExpert has a useful guide to bank accounts and goes into more detail about accounts that offer overdrafts here:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/compare-best-bank-accounts#warning

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]It’s important to remember that overdrafts are debts and are payable on demand if the bank requests that you give the money back. If you find yourself regularly in your overdraft and feel like you need some debt advice this is where we can help.

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[FONT=&quot]Our 60-second debt test will let you know if you need debt advice and will recommend the next steps you should take, you can find it here:

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

I hope this has helped,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Jen [/FONT]

StepChange_Jen

annoyedboy80 wrote: »

Hi, i was wondering if anyone can help me with a dispute i have?
My ex got a loan out in her name for something i wanted i was paying the debt back to her each month but when we split i stopped paying her as she got the car( that we was both paying for) and the majority of the furniture when we split up. But then i got a solicitors letter saying she wanted the rest of the money for the loan she took out so went to the CAB and they said she could just be trying it on so i ignored and moved address unknowingly to me i got a court letter at my old address and it went to court and she won as i didnt even know i was due in court so i ended up with an attachment of earnings the court date was 2011 the debt was satisfied in 2012. Is it right that i've ended up with CCJ over a civil matter? My credit rating is still good even with that on my record as i have never missed any payments but some lenders wont touch me because of it. Is there anyway i can get quashed and taken off my file?

Thanks

[FONT=&quot]Hi there,

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks for getting in touch.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I’m sorry to hear about this situation.

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[FONT=&quot]If someone owes you money you can apply for a CCJ to help retrieve the payments if they’re unwilling to pay it back.

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[FONT=&quot]The courts work on the basis that if they send out paperwork the recipient has received it. So if they didn’t have your most current address, this may not be considered as a good enough reason for you to be able to have the CCJ set aside. You can usually only get a CCJ set aside if you have a valid legal or factual reason for doing so, for example, if the debt had become statute barred.

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[FONT=&quot]A CCJ will normally stay on your credit file for six years. If you’ve paid off the debt, you can request that the CCJ is marked as satisfied on your credit report, so creditors viewing it will know it’s been settled. You can find out more about this here:

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[FONT=&quot]http://www.trustonline.org.uk/understand-judgments-fines/ccjs-and-county-courts/certificate-of-satisfaction-satisfied-vs-unsatisfied-ccjs

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[FONT=&quot]I hope this has helped,

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Jen [/FONT]

StepChange_Jen

melky wrote: »

Hi can someone please help me in 2008 I took a loan out with welcome finance for 2000 pound by April 2009 I was struggling so I called a debt line to help for the next 6 years I paid 110 pound eferymonth only to hear that they were going to clear 1500 of to them of a now 3579 pound loan I asked where the rest was as my other debts were 1300 pound I never got a proper answer so I stopped paying my debt has now been handed over to pra group who are hounding me for 2575 pounds .I have statements to prove this but surely I have paid this off.i need help I don't know where I stand this is going on for 6 years and I can't afford it anymore

[FONT=&quot]Hi there,

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks for getting in touch.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Without knowing more about your situation it’d be hard to say what’s happened to the payments.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you were with a fee charging debt management company, it’s likely that some of the payments you were making to them were going to your debts and some of the money was going towards paying their fees.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you were making payments directly to your creditors, it could be that they’ve added interest and charges to the debt and that’s why the amount has increased.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In either situation, you should be able to contact either the debt management company or creditor to ask for an up to date statement on your debts so you can see how much more you have to pay. If you’re unhappy with the way you’ve been treated, you can make a formal complaint. You can find out more about how to do this here:

http://www.stepchange.org/Debtinformationandadvice/Whatyourcreditorscando/Makingacomplaint.aspx

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I think you’d benefit from getting in touch with our Helpline and talking with one of our advisors about your options.

They’ll be able to recommend the best way for you to deal with this situation and can also let you know about any debt solutions suited to you, to help you deal with your debts. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you move forward with a debt solution with us, we’ll be able to let you know what your next steps should be and will support you along the way.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]You can find out how to get in touch with us here:

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I hope this helps but if you’ve got any questions please let us know.

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Kind regards,

[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Jen [/FONT]

Gaynzie

Hi. First post and if I'm in the wrong place I'm very sorry...
Won't bore you with my story, but ive been paying off debts for several years. I have got this down to £5880. I owe one back and 2 credit cards.
I've just inherited £3000.
I'm unsure what to do....my home needs new bathrooms, carpets, kids bed rooms doing etc....or do I contact my creditors to try to arrange full and final settlements?
Just after advice from others and, while I'm self employed and certainly not well paid, do I improve my home or clear my debts?
Thank you

melky

I really need advise back in 2008 I took a loan with welcome finance for 2000 pound .In 2009 I got into trouble paying this back so I went to a debt company and a plan was put in place so I paid 100 pound until 2014 when I got a letter to say they would be paying 1500 off to welcome this sent alarm bells ringing as I paid about 6000 to them over 5 and half years and that was all they were paying.so I refused to pay any more.i have just received a letter from another company p and r group saying I have to pay 2575 pound to clear it .I am not paying anymore off to this company I have kept all my statement as proof.can you please advise where I stand as I'm worried sick I'm a single mum struggling to meet ends meet as it is and now I have this after struggling to pay last time for 6 years

Cheers Mel :mad:

Jen1882

Hi all...
So this evening I used the MSE eligibility calculator for the best 0% balance transfer card I could find. It came up with 90% likely success with Virgin Money no fee Mastercard.

Feeling quite confident as I have maintained a healthy credit file for the last 4 years and have a good score, I went ahead and applied citing the £3,650 score I wanted to transfer and... was declined

Now, I am really upset and worried as I feel like I will be declined if I attempt to apply for another credit card but desperately need to transfer my balance to a card where I can shift it in 18-24 months.

I immediately contacted Virgin Money by phone and the nice operator couldn't see any notes against the application and confirmed that I'd get an email confirming the decision but not telling me much more. I have therefore written a letter to the Wigstone branch asking if they could please tell me why I was rejected (I know, I know, they probably won't but need to try at least).

My question is (sorry it took so long to get here), do you think I should bother to apply for another card immediately (I hear MBNA is likely to accept although higher fees) or take out a loan with my current bank (will they even give it to me now?? ) and pay off the credit card instead? Is this riskier?

andrew_bott

Hi,

I am new to this but hoping I can get some advice. Basically I took out a Natwest Loan in April 2007 and had a very similar experience to the person who started this thread. I lost my job and simply couldn't afford to pay initially. It then turned out that Natwest had lost my credit agreement and stated they couldn't enforce the debt in 2009.

At present my Credit File shows a £4621 debt but they have not defaulted me. Instead it shows 6 months late payments for the last 6 years - if that makes sense.

My question is this:

> Will these drop off my file one day or is that defaults only?
> What is the best thing to do to remove the whole account?
> I am getting letters every 6 months from Natwest just providing a statement but no threats, etc as they are unable to.

This is affecting my rating so just want some advice if possible.

Thanks,
Andrew