Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

Former_StepChange_Rory

dethmart wrote: »

Hello ,good evening.
I hope I am in the right place?
I was on facebook earlier this evening when I came across a post from a guy about how if you are paying a debt through the Debt Collection agency Lowell you can Write to them asking for them to prove that it is your debt and that they can not prove it and you can basically get the debt written off. At the time of finding this link to another web site to further explain the ways to do this, I was in the middle of other things however when I went back to the original post it had been taken down and now I can't find the links or any other info (its not even showing in my history)..


Is this a genuine way to write off some debt or is a hoax. Does anybody any more info?


Thanks in advance

Hi there,

Thanks for posting.

There are a number of forums and websites that claim to help people write debts off by using legislation or by disputing debts.

We’re not able to verify whether these methods work or not. The advice we give helps people deal with what they’re willing to pay perhaps but can’t afford to. If this is the case and you do need help with your debts, we can help, as can other free debt advice organisations.

Sometimes people refer to statute barred debts which refers to a law called the Limitation Act. This is meant to protect people from unfair action by creditors after a long period of time, usually six years or more. You can read more about this and when it applies at http://moneyaware.co.uk/2013/10/statute-barred-debt/

I hope this helps,

Rory

Vickyc007

Hi,

I've been in debt for over 20 years and despite taking out consolidation loans etc i have never managed to get out of it. I used to be a temp worker which meant i could never guarantee funding but I am now in a financial position where my job is permanent and i am trying to sort out things. I have been very apathetic towards the debt over the years and haven't investigated balance transfers etc but am now feeling frustrated with myself that my debt situation has dragged on for so long so am looking to take action.

I previously took out a 25k Sainsbury's consolidation loan (9.9% APR) to pay off credit cards but stupidly reused them and have re-gotten myself into £32k's worth of debt (£10k each on Barclaycard (29.9%) & Nationwide (18.9%), £3.8k on a Barclays overdraft and £8k overdraft on a Barclays mortgage account). My loan is due to finish in August and i was contemplating taking out another loan to pay off the cards however reading the advice on the site, it said this might not be the best solution. Currently I pay £1400 a month in repayments for all of the debts which although paying off the loan is barely above the minimum payments for the other debts. I did the budget calculator and due to the debts i am paying more than £250 per month out than is coming in so have to keep reusing the cards etc to make ends meet each month.

I haven't transferred the balances of the cards as with that much debt i doubt other providers would take it on, nor have I investigated whether it would be better to take out a quick loan to pay off the final Loan balance and sort out my finances now rather than wait until it expires in August. But i need to do something to reduce the payments or at the least stop having to make multiple payments to different providers each month as this is just exacerbating my debt issue. I'm also concerned that if i paid off the Sainsbury's loan early, would this stop me from being eligible for another of their loans later on given they are the only providers willing to loan more than £15k to people.

What do you recommend?

SpongebobsMum

Hello,

I have debts of about 15k with multiple creditors. I have reviewed my credit files with Experian and Equifax and have noticed that some of the creditors do not seem to be registering the debts at all, no record of payments or default notices, nothing.

- All of the debts I have are currently interest frozen and I make token monthly payments.

- I would like to get a mortgage within the next 5 years and am trying to plan an increase in my 'credit worthiness'.

My question is, whether is it necessary for me to a). pay off these debts completely, or b). even to pay them at all, if my objective is only to increase my credit rating/credit worthiness in the eyes of creditors: If they're not going to see the debt why pay it?

n.b. I'm sure you wouldn't, but I don't want a moral lecture.


Kind regards,

Christie

debt_free_wanna_be_2

Hello all and group

Please be kind this is my first posting on the debt free board. I would like your help with what to put forward/with the plan. I got my email from StepChange with the details of how to set one up.

My daughter and I have gone through the debt remedy tool on the website and about to set up a debt management plan as recommended. I understand the key to setting up a successful debt management plan is having reasonable expenses.

I am currently on DLA+ESA+(receive a small pension) and have a grown up son living with me. I live in a rented council owned property. I drive a car to help me get around.

I realise I am going to need to cut down to meet my commitments. My state of affairs as of 28/02/2016:

Unsecured debt 35,502

Income 1,517

Housing Amount Comments
Rent £61
Mortgage
Secured loans
Charging / Inhibition order
Mortgage endowment premium
Service charge/ground rent
Water £23
Council tax
Gas £35
Electricity £50
Other household fuels
Household Services Amount Comments
Building/contents insurance
Telephone/mobile/internet £37
TV licence £13
Satellite/cable television £26
Repairs/maintenance
Household appliance rental
Child maintenance
Childcare
Fines/CCJs/decrees
Life insurance/pensions
Medical/accident insurance
Hire purchase / logbook loan
Transport Amount Comments
Spares/servicing £30
Road tax
Insurance £24
Breakdown cover
Fuel/parking £165
Public transport
Food & Housekeeping Amount Comments
Food, toiletries, cleaning £300
School meals/meals at work
Pets/pet foods/insurance £100
Tobacco
Misc. Goods & Services Amount Comments
School trips/activities
Medicine/prescriptions
Dentist/opticians
Hairdressing £24
Union/professional fees
Laundry/cleaning
Education fees
Personal & Leisure Amount Comments
Clothing/footwear £42
Newspaper/magazines
Sports/hobbies/entertainment £35
Children's pocket money
Religious contributions
Sundries & Emergencies Amount Comments
Sundries/emergencies £25
Loan from family/friends £2 Fair amount based on outstanding balance of £200.00

Your Income Amount
Take home pay
Partner's take home pay
Rent/board received £100
Pension received £47
Any other income received
Income Support / Universal
Credit
Jobseekers Allowance
Incapacity Benefit/ESA £764
DLA/PIP £606
Working Tax Credit
Child Benefit
Child Tax Credit
Child Support

Currently up to date with payments, however minimum payments from 8 creditors is exceeding what I can afford to pay. The DMP suggests payment of £525/month, I was thinking of paying £600/month.

Would be grateful for your advice.

Many thanks

sourcrates

debt_free_wanna_be wrote: »

Hello all and group

Please be kind this is my first posting on the debt free board. I would like your help with what to put forward/with the plan. I got my email from StepChange with the details of how to set one up.

My daughter and I have gone through the debt remedy tool on the website and about to set up a debt management plan as recommended. I understand the key to setting up a successful debt management plan is having reasonable expenses.

I am currently on DLA+ESA+(receive a small pension) and have a grown up son living with me. I live in a rented council owned property. I drive a car to help me get around.

I realise I am going to need to cut down to meet my commitments. My state of affairs as of 28/02/2016:

Unsecured debt 35,502

Income 1,517

Housing Amount Comments
Rent £61
Mortgage
Secured loans
Charging / Inhibition order
Mortgage endowment premium
Service charge/ground rent
Water £23
Council tax
Gas £35
Electricity £50
Other household fuels
Household Services Amount Comments
Building/contents insurance
Telephone/mobile/internet £37
TV licence £13
Satellite/cable television £26
Repairs/maintenance
Household appliance rental
Child maintenance
Childcare
Fines/CCJs/decrees
Life insurance/pensions
Medical/accident insurance
Hire purchase / logbook loan
Transport Amount Comments
Spares/servicing £30
Road tax
Insurance £24
Breakdown cover
Fuel/parking £165
Public transport
Food & Housekeeping Amount Comments
Food, toiletries, cleaning £300
School meals/meals at work
Pets/pet foods/insurance £100
Tobacco
Misc. Goods & Services Amount Comments
School trips/activities
Medicine/prescriptions
Dentist/opticians
Hairdressing £24
Union/professional fees
Laundry/cleaning
Education fees
Personal & Leisure Amount Comments
Clothing/footwear £42
Newspaper/magazines
Sports/hobbies/entertainment £35
Children's pocket money
Religious contributions
Sundries & Emergencies Amount Comments
Sundries/emergencies £25
Loan from family/friends £2 Fair amount based on outstanding balance of £200.00

Your Income Amount
Take home pay
Partner's take home pay
Rent/board received £100
Pension received £47
Any other income received
Income Support / Universal
Credit
Jobseekers Allowance
Incapacity Benefit/ESA £764
DLA/PIP £606
Working Tax Credit
Child Benefit
Child Tax Credit
Child Support

Currently up to date with payments, however minimum payments from 8 creditors is exceeding what I can afford to pay. The DMP suggests payment of £525/month, I was thinking of paying £600/month.

Would be grateful for your advice.

Many thanks

Hi,

You should post this in the general forum, not on the debt advisors thread !!!!

debt_free_wanna_be_2

Hello all

Sorry I should have been clearer - what I'm looking for is advice for are my expenses 'reasonable' and does the DMP have a good chance of being accepted with that current expenditure. Thanks for pointing out the general thread.

Kel39

Hi....I’m in need of some desperate help as I am at my wits end. I started a DMP with DFH on the 18 March 2013 with a confirmation statement showing the following information
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 35 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £1,629.00 giving a total payable amount of £6,279.00.
The monthly payment of £167 started on the 21 March 2013 and continued at that rate until 21 November 2015.
An annual review was held on the 14 March 2014 where the following statement was made....
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 33 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £1,559.00 giving a total payable amount of £5,891.77.
DFH advised a payments to change to £150.08 monthly, but I continued to make payments at £167 per month.
On the 18 March 2015, DFH completed their annual review and kept the monthly payments the same and provides the following statement
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 27 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £945.00 giving a total payable amount of £4,449.86.
During November 2015, I had to significantly reduce my hours at work due to a catalogue of health issues both physically and mentally, of which I had been receiving counselling.
A token payment of £50 was made on the £21 December 2015 and a new review being completed on the 20 January 2016 advising of new monthly payments totalling £77 starting on the 21 January 2016.
DFH sent an updated statement detailing the following plan on the 20 January 2016
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 48 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £1,680.00 giving a total payable amount of £3,667.86.
The last week I have been given several hundred pounds which I would like to complete my DMP on....to my shock, I found that I still had a substantial amount to pay and breaking it down further has upset me and caused huge stress to me.....please see the following calculations
18.03.2013 total debt was £4650, payable in 35 monthly payments of £167
14 March 2014 total debt was £7450 and to continue future monthly payments of £167 in 33 instalments to clear the total balance (an increase in £2800)
18 March 2015 total debt was £4449.86 and to keep making the same instalments but spread over the following 27 months (a decrease in debt of £1650)
On the 20 January 2016 a new income and expenditure was completed with the total outstanding debt of £3667.86 (a decrease of £782) and to make payments of £77 on the 21st January 2016 and to continue for the following 47 months.

I am hugely concerned at the amount I am paying and need to break it all done further
DFH fee to handle the DMP is £35 per monthly and have paid the total amount below
£35 × 32 monthly payments (21 March 2013 to 21 November 2015) = £1120
£35 × 1 monthly payment on the 21 December 2015
£9 x 1 monthly payment on the 21 January 2016
£27 × 1 monthly payment on the 21 February 2016
TOTAL FEE PAID £1189 to DFH
THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DEBT OUTSTANDING ON 21 MARCH 2013 £4650
TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY ME (including DFH fee) £5548 as at 29 February 2016
Leaves an outstanding debt of £291.
I have recently been given a few hundred pounds that I wanted to clear my debts with, only to be told that for DFH to settle on my behalf I will be charged 35% of any savings they make which shocked me further as I simply can not afford anymore.
The most recent plan DFH have sent me has stated that I owe a further £3667.86 over the next 47 months. This has made me so ill with worry and I am being told that I’ve got to pay even more money....I simply can’t take this anymore, with my illness made worse by the whole situation.....why do they say I still owe so much money over such a vast amount of time, when I was told that it would be three years...it should be cleared within the next month.
This means DFH expect me to pay a total of £9216 for a debt of £4650 and fees for the three original years of £1189....an overpayment of £3377.
Please help me.....I don’t know where to turn....I feel cornered and don’t know what to do. I’ve done everything we mutually agreed on the 13 March 2013.
With my conditions, I struggle hugely to manage money and don’t know what to do......

Kel39

Hi....I’m in need of some desperate help as I am at my wits end. I started a DMP with DFH on the 18 March 2013 with a confirmation statement showing the following information
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 35 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £1,629.00 giving a total payable amount of £6,279.00.
The monthly payment of £167 started on the 21 March 2013 and continued at that rate until 21 November 2015.
An annual review was held on the 14 March 2014 where the following statement was made....
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 33 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £1,559.00 giving a total payable amount of £5,891.77.
DFH advised a payments to change to £150.08 monthly, but I continued to make payments at £167 per month.
On the 18 March 2015, DFH completed their annual review and kept the monthly payments the same and provides the following statement
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 27 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £945.00 giving a total payable amount of £4,449.86.
During November 2015, I had to significantly reduce my hours at work due to a catalogue of health issues both physically and mentally, of which I had been receiving counselling.
A token payment of £50 was made on the £21 December 2015 and a new review being completed on the 20 January 2016 advising of new monthly payments totalling £77 starting on the 21 January 2016.
DFH sent an updated statement detailing the following plan on the 20 January 2016
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 48 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £1,680.00 giving a total payable amount of £3,667.86.
The last week I have been given several hundred pounds which I would like to complete my DMP on....to my shock, I found that I still had a substantial amount to pay and breaking it down further has upset me and caused huge stress to me.....please see the following calculations
18.03.2013 total debt was £4650, payable in 35 monthly payments of £167
14 March 2014 total debt was £7450 and to continue future monthly payments of £167 in 33 instalments to clear the total balance (an increase in £2800)
18 March 2015 total debt was £4449.86 and to keep making the same instalments but spread over the following 27 months (a decrease in debt of £1650)
On the 20 January 2016 a new income and expenditure was completed with the total outstanding debt of £3667.86 (a decrease of £782) and to make payments of £77 on the 21st January 2016 and to continue for the following 47 months.

I am hugely concerned at the amount I am paying and need to break it all done further
DFH fee to handle the DMP is £35 per monthly and have paid the total amount below
£35 × 32 monthly payments (21 March 2013 to 21 November 2015) = £1120
£35 × 1 monthly payment on the 21 December 2015
£9 x 1 monthly payment on the 21 January 2016
£27 × 1 monthly payment on the 21 February 2016
TOTAL FEE PAID £1189 to DFH
THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DEBT OUTSTANDING ON 21 MARCH 2013 £4650
TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY ME (including DFH fee) £5548 as at 29 February 2016
Leaves an outstanding debt of £291.
I have recently been given a few hundred pounds that I wanted to clear my debts with, only to be told that for DFH to settle on my behalf I will be charged 35% of any savings they make which shocked me further as I simply can not afford anymore.
The most recent plan DFH have sent me has stated that I owe a further £3667.86 over the next 47 months. This has made me so ill with worry and I am being told that I’ve got to pay even more money....I simply can’t take this anymore, with my illness made worse by the whole situation.....why do they say I still owe so much money over such a vast amount of time, when I was told that it would be three years...it should be cleared within the next month.
This means DFH expect me to pay a total of £9216 for a debt of £4650 and fees for the three original years of £1189....an overpayment of £3377.
Please help me.....I don’t know where to turn....I feel cornered and don’t know what to do. I’ve done everything we mutually agreed on the 13 March 2013.
With my conditions, I struggle hugely to manage money and don’t know what to do......

StepChange_Private_Messages

Kel39 wrote: »

Hi....I’m in need of some desperate help as I am at my wits end. I started a DMP with DFH on the 18 March 2013 with a confirmation statement showing the following information
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 35 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £1,629.00 giving a total payable amount of £6,279.00.
The monthly payment of £167 started on the 21 March 2013 and continued at that rate until 21 November 2015.
An annual review was held on the 14 March 2014 where the following statement was made....
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 33 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £1,559.00 giving a total payable amount of £5,891.77.
DFH advised a payments to change to £150.08 monthly, but I continued to make payments at £167 per month.
On the 18 March 2015, DFH completed their annual review and kept the monthly payments the same and provides the following statement
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 27 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £945.00 giving a total payable amount of £4,449.86.
During November 2015, I had to significantly reduce my hours at work due to a catalogue of health issues both physically and mentally, of which I had been receiving counselling.
A token payment of £50 was made on the £21 December 2015 and a new review being completed on the 20 January 2016 advising of new monthly payments totalling £77 starting on the 21 January 2016.
DFH sent an updated statement detailing the following plan on the 20 January 2016
From the information you've provided, we can estimate that it will take 48 payments for you to repay your outstanding creditors and that the total fees will be £1,680.00 giving a total payable amount of £3,667.86.
The last week I have been given several hundred pounds which I would like to complete my DMP on....to my shock, I found that I still had a substantial amount to pay and breaking it down further has upset me and caused huge stress to me.....please see the following calculations
18.03.2013 total debt was £4650, payable in 35 monthly payments of £167
14 March 2014 total debt was £7450 and to continue future monthly payments of £167 in 33 instalments to clear the total balance (an increase in £2800)
18 March 2015 total debt was £4449.86 and to keep making the same instalments but spread over the following 27 months (a decrease in debt of £1650)
On the 20 January 2016 a new income and expenditure was completed with the total outstanding debt of £3667.86 (a decrease of £782) and to make payments of £77 on the 21st January 2016 and to continue for the following 47 months.

I am hugely concerned at the amount I am paying and need to break it all done further
DFH fee to handle the DMP is £35 per monthly and have paid the total amount below
£35 × 32 monthly payments (21 March 2013 to 21 November 2015) = £1120
£35 × 1 monthly payment on the 21 December 2015
£9 x 1 monthly payment on the 21 January 2016
£27 × 1 monthly payment on the 21 February 2016
TOTAL FEE PAID £1189 to DFH
THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF DEBT OUTSTANDING ON 21 MARCH 2013 £4650
TOTAL AMOUNT PAID BY ME (including DFH fee) £5548 as at 29 February 2016
Leaves an outstanding debt of £291.
I have recently been given a few hundred pounds that I wanted to clear my debts with, only to be told that for DFH to settle on my behalf I will be charged 35% of any savings they make which shocked me further as I simply can not afford anymore.
The most recent plan DFH have sent me has stated that I owe a further £3667.86 over the next 47 months. This has made me so ill with worry and I am being told that I’ve got to pay even more money....I simply can’t take this anymore, with my illness made worse by the whole situation.....why do they say I still owe so much money over such a vast amount of time, when I was told that it would be three years...it should be cleared within the next month.
This means DFH expect me to pay a total of £9216 for a debt of £4650 and fees for the three original years of £1189....an overpayment of £3377.
Please help me.....I don’t know where to turn....I feel cornered and don’t know what to do. I’ve done everything we mutually agreed on the 13 March 2013.
With my conditions, I struggle hugely to manage money and don’t know what to do......

Hi there,

Thanks for posting, it sounds like it's been a long and difficult experience trying dealing with your debts and that it’s ended up costing you a lot more than you’d anticipated.

Whenever you enter into a debt management plan (DMP) there’s a good chance that most, if not all creditors will reduce or stop interest and charges on your accounts. However this isn’t something that any debt management company can guarantee, and sometimes debts continue to increase because of this.

In this case, it sounds like there might have been added interest and charges that have built up over the length of the DMP. The way to check this would be to look at statements and accounts from creditors, or to ask the company dealing with your DMP to provide a breakdown of this.

Separately, you’ve also mentioned that you’re paying management fees for your DMP. Sometimes this means that you end up paying a lot of extra money towards your debts as not all of your money is going straight to your creditors.

We believe that you should never pay for debt help. As a charity, our DMPs are administered free of charge, which can be a big help when you’re already trying to pay your debts back. There are also other sources of free debt advice available, and not paying fees for debt management plans ensures that every penny you pay is going straight to your debts.

The other issue is whether or not a DMP is right for you, which is something that would need to be looked at and discussed in more detail as it depends on your individual situation. There are a number of different debt solutions available, not just DMPs. It might be that given your current circumstances that there are other solutions that can help you deal with your debts over a shorter period of time or in a different way.

You’ve already mentioned that you’ve been making payments for a long time so perhaps it’s worthwhile getting some advice from someone like ourselves who can look at all of your available options.
If you’d like us to do this, and take a fresh look at your situation then you can get in touch with us by phone, or use our online Debt Remedy tool. Our advice is free and impartial and we’ll offer practical advice on how best to deal with your debts.

I hope this helps, please don’t feel like you’re alone and out of options, we’re here to help you.

Rory

brown123

Hi, every help would be much appreciated

I owned a credit card debt. The chaser put forward to the court and I was told to repay the full amount and put a charging order (before 2012) on my home. I was on CCJ

I put forward a form request to lower the amount and then the court accepted without any hearing. I did not hear any news from the chaser at that time.

The court send me letter and I was ordered to pay monthly.

Then I paid the set amount monthly. And I hear nothing else (the court and the chaser) until now.

Last week a solicitor firm (the letterhead shown that) send me a letter quoting the court no and demanding me to fill in their attached in house financial paper.

I don't know who they are.

Today they send me a letter requesting again and this time they are threading me that if I do not comply the questionnaire form then they would chase the full amount.

My financial did not change. But I am very worry. I could not afford to pay the full amount and my house is put on charging order for this debt years ago.

What should I do now and I am very worry? How do I know who they are, I mean a legal chaser?

do I must send their form back or could I just write to them saying my financial is the same as the court set up the monthly payment?

I don't know how to approach them or I worry I would make things worse.