Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

SitAndBeg

Hello Jenny and thank you for the reply. You mention "Partners". Do Stepchange consider debt collection firms "partners" ? It's just that if you want to take a look on Youtube & type in "Marston Debt" for instance, up will pop scores of videos showing you how some very un-professional thugs who work for these companies behave when collecting debt. Are you telling me a "charity" like Stepchange regards these people as partners ?

cowpie

Posted - 04 February 2016 : 13:57:16 Show Profile Email Poster Edit Topic Reply with Quote
Hi

I am 2 years into my single IVA.

My review is due soon. My salary has remained more or less the same but my partner's has increased.

My question is can my practitioner ask for evidence of my partner's income ?

Thanks in advance

StepChange_James

meandmineareone wrote: »

Hi there,
I cancelled and cleared an outstanding balance with SKY over 4 years ago, this morning I received a letter from SKY saying that they had sold on the 'outstanding debt' ( that I had cleared years ago! ) to a debt collection agency named CABOT, they stated in the letter that they had done this as they had made several failed attempts to resolve the situation etc? firstly I as stated I have cleared the outstanding balance when I moved over to BT, in 2011, and I have NEVER, received any correspondence, through phone,email or letter in all of these years requesting any outstanding payments. what do I do?

Hi there,

This sounds like some sort of error by Sky, so the first step would be to contact them and ask them what has happened. They should have records showing you cleared the account or be able to give you a reason there was a balance outstanding.

If they accept their mistake they should be able to call the debt back from the debt collection agency and leave you alone.

If they say that you do owe them money then it's reasonable to ask for a statement showing how they've arrived at the amount you owe. This should help you to check against your own records, like bank statements, to make sure they've allocated all of your payments to your account.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

LouGals wrote: »

I have just over £3000 credit card debt on a HSBC credit card. I also have a £1300 overdraft which I live in, again a HSBC account. What is the best way to deal with this debt. I never miss minimum payments but am paying high interest.

Is there a product that will deal with both issues or do I need to get two different 0% credit cards, one to transfer the credit card debt and then another money transfer for the overdraft?

Hi LouGals,

Some people use 0% deals on credit cards to manage their debts in a way that reduces their costs (though there are transfer fees to take into account). There are other people that try to do this but find themselves getting into more difficulty as they build up more debts alongside the 0% deals.

So I'd advise caution and to only consider these sorts of arrangement if you've got a budget in place and have a clear plan for clearing the debts during the interest-free period.

If you don't move the debt to cheap forms of credit I would suggest thinking about changing bank accounts. Trying to pay off an overdraft that you're using for your main bank account can be complicated and hard to stick to. If you move to a new bank then you can treat the overdraft like other debts, which you make regular payments towards to clear.

I don't have any specific advice about which credit cards to apply for but there's some good advice on the main part of the MSE site: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/credit-cards/?_ga=1.66532782.1252630461.1388657110.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

scooterbabe84 wrote: »

Hi,
I have split with my ex partner and we have a joint account. The account has an overdraft of £2000 and it has also gone over the overdraft and total outstanding is £2500, which was accrued by my ex. My ex has signed an IVA and has attached the joint account to it without my knowledge. I have now received a final demand from the bank for the full amount. They have said that if I don't pay the full amount I will have to set up a payment plan and this will then put a default on my credit report.


Do I have any other options apart from paying the full amount, which will mean that I have to take out a loan or credit card?


Thanks

Hi there,

Jointly held debts are usually set up with "joint and several" liability, in plain English it means that if one person doesn't pay the other is responsible for the rest of the debt. So the bank can ask you to repay the debt in full.

You don't have to pay them all at once, but it sounds likely that they'll put the account into default if you don't. I don't know enough about your situation to know whether it's worth accepting some negative information on your credit history so you can repay the debt by installments.

If you'd like more in depth advice you could call us and speak to an advisor. Here's the contact number: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx.

Kind regards

James

Nicky74

HI,
I am now admitting that we are struggling with our debts. It is effecting my sleep and I worry constantly everyday. I owe over £1000 on my credit card, I also owe money on my Argos card and I am also trying to pay off Provident for vouchers I took out two Xmas's ago.
I am not working but I do a Kleeneze round but it is not got a regular income yet from it as I am building up my customer base. Anyway my hubby works and get's paid weekly which we thought would be great to start with it was I was managing to pay the minimum payments on everything but after Xmas his hours dropped and hence his wages have dropped too. I have to admit now we are struggling we are overdrawn on the bank account every week now we are just not getting over it. I can't afford the minimum payment to my credit card because I have missed payments they are asking for more money same with the Argos card. I am thinking about taking out a loan for about £1000 pay off Provident, Pay most of my credit card and pay some to Argos to take down my minimum payments. I need help it is beginning to help my health as I feel sick constantly with worry. The loan I can pay back quickly (hopefully) as my husband is due some money that he has taken out of a pension.
Please help.

BROKEN

I have a credit agreement through currys and creation- it's for £930 however after arriving home with the goods there were £80 of goods I felt that I didn't need and took them back straightaway. While discussing the £80 worth of returns I asked the assistant to redo the credit agreement with the credit reduced by £80 and therefore should have a credit agreement for £850. I was told by the manager that they couldn't do this as there's a possibility I won't get the £850 agreed. (even though I'd paid off about 3 previously on time) so the manager said to the assistant give him a £80 refund on his debit card. I then decided to ring creation finance and was told that I would have to pay the £930. I knew that this is wrong but couldn't get anything done. I don't think I'm the only one that has experienced this with currys and creation. Kind regards mark

RockRebel

This is a tricky debt question. But how do you deal with debt after someone has passed away. My mum has a debt that is a secured loan as a hire purchase agreement on an item that she boughtbas an investment for us. Sadly in Jan this year my mum passed awa, leaving an outstanding balance. We have offered and asked to continue paying the debt on her behalf. They are happy for us to pay as long as we pay a lump sum in full to clear the debt completely. This is not an option for us and we do not want to lose the item in question. What can we do??

Former_StepChange_Rory

Nicky74 wrote: »

HI,
I am now admitting that we are struggling with our debts. It is effecting my sleep and I worry constantly everyday. I owe over £1000 on my credit card, I also owe money on my Argos card and I am also trying to pay off Provident for vouchers I took out two Xmas's ago.
I am not working but I do a Kleeneze round but it is not got a regular income yet from it as I am building up my customer base. Anyway my hubby works and get's paid weekly which we thought would be great to start with it was I was managing to pay the minimum payments on everything but after Xmas his hours dropped and hence his wages have dropped too. I have to admit now we are struggling we are overdrawn on the bank account every week now we are just not getting over it. I can't afford the minimum payment to my credit card because I have missed payments they are asking for more money same with the Argos card. I am thinking about taking out a loan for about £1000 pay off Provident, Pay most of my credit card and pay some to Argos to take down my minimum payments. I need help it is beginning to help my health as I feel sick constantly with worry. The loan I can pay back quickly (hopefully) as my husband is due some money that he has taken out of a pension.
Please help.

Hi there,

Firstly, thank you for sharing your situation and taking the first step to dealing with your debts. You’ll find lots of great advice, help and support from other people across the MSE forums so don’t ever feel like you’re alone in dealing with your debts.

The first thing we’d suggest is getting free, expert debt advice. There’s a number of ways you can do this with us, or any other free debt advice organisation.

If you’d like our help, you can use our free, anonymous, online debt advice tool Debt Remedy which is available at www.stepchange.org/Debtremedy. This will use information about your situation, debts, income and outgoings to recommend practical solutions to help you manage your debts. It will also offer detailed and practical advice, and the next steps you need to take to deal with your situation. If you need help at any time, you can chat online, call or email us for further help.

If you’d prefer to speak to someone, you can call our free Helpline. You can find out how to call us by visiting www.stepchange.org/Contactus Our debt advisors will be able to talk you through the situation and offer the right advice for you.

Feeling like your finances are unmanageable can make dealing with your debt a daunting prospect. So if you’d prefer to take smaller steps to getting help, you can sign up to our 7 Days, 7 Ways email programme. This helps you to look at the challenges you face and more importantly it’ll enable you to confront your debt with more confidence. You can sign up at
http://www.stepchange.org/7days7ways

I hope this helps,

Rory

DCFC79

Nicky74 wrote: »

HI,
I am now admitting that we are struggling with our debts. It is effecting my sleep and I worry constantly everyday. I owe over £1000 on my credit card, I also owe money on my Argos card and I am also trying to pay off Provident for vouchers I took out two Xmas's ago.
I am not working but I do a Kleeneze round but it is not got a regular income yet from it as I am building up my customer base. Anyway my hubby works and get's paid weekly which we thought would be great to start with it was I was managing to pay the minimum payments on everything but after Xmas his hours dropped and hence his wages have dropped too. I have to admit now we are struggling we are overdrawn on the bank account every week now we are just not getting over it. I can't afford the minimum payment to my credit card because I have missed payments they are asking for more money same with the Argos card. I am thinking about taking out a loan for about £1000 pay off Provident, Pay most of my credit card and pay some to Argos to take down my minimum payments. I need help it is beginning to help my health as I feel sick constantly with worry. The loan I can pay back quickly (hopefully) as my husband is due some money that he has taken out of a pension.
Please help.

Post up an SOA and post it on the debt free board.