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Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

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  • nigeve
    nigeve Posts: 2 Newbie
    Hi, I have just claim form for what looks like a county court business centre demanding £4000 on behalf of Lloyd's bank. This has come from Lowell solicitors.
    I don't recall ever taking a loan out with Lloyds. If I did it must of been 15 or 20 years ago at least.
    Can I ask to see the original signed agreement..? This is very worrying...
  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
    brown123 wrote: »
    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.

    Hello,

    It sounds like this debt may have been passed to a new debt collector or solicitor. Usually you would be sent a letter to tell you this is happening. If you're unsure this new company is genuine you could contact the last company you dealt with to check if they have transferred the debt.

    If this new company have been passed your debt to deal with then you can give them information if you want but you don't have to unless they invovle the courts. You mention that your sitaution hasn't changed, so it seems reasonable to keep the payments at the amount you've previously agreed for this debt.

    If you'd like more in depth advice I'd suggest giving our Helpline a call. Here's our contact details: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx.

    Kind regards

    James
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at Need to Sleep

  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
    nigeve wrote: »
    Hi, I have just claim form for what looks like a county court business centre demanding £4000 on behalf of Lloyd's bank. This has come from Lowell solicitors.
    I don't recall ever taking a loan out with Lloyds. If I did it must of been 15 or 20 years ago at least.
    Can I ask to see the original signed agreement..? This is very worrying...

    Hello,

    A claim form is the first stage of a CCJ, so it's important to respond wtihin the timescale given. However, in this case it may be useful to contact Lowell and ask them if they can give you any more information about this debt.

    They may not have many details but might be able to tell you which department of Lloyds you can speak to so you can find out more.

    Hopefully a phone call should give you a bit more insight into what this debt relates to.

    If they insist you owe the money but you can't recall then you can defend the claim and you'll get an opportunity to put your side of things forward.

    You mention it could be a very old debt, if this is the case then it could be statute barred. There's more information on our blog here: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2013/10/statute-barred-debt/.

    Kind regards

    James
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at Need to Sleep

  • James, thanks very much for such a quick and helpful response. Much appreciated.
  • Vickyc007
    Vickyc007 Posts: 2 Newbie
    edited 1 March 2016 at 2:51PM
    Hi StepChange

    Do you answer all of the queries that are sent to you or only a selection? Only I posted a few days ago but my query looks to have been overlooked. is that normal? It's fine if it is - i just didn't know if all queries received a response on here.

    Kind regards

    Vicky
  • Former_StepChange_Rory
    Former_StepChange_Rory Posts: 145 Organisation Representative
    Vickyc007 wrote: »
    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?

    Hi there,

    Thanks for posting.

    If you’re in a situation where you’re paying out more towards your debts than you have coming in, and relying on credit to make ends meet, it’s often a clear sign that you should seek debt advice to help you deal with the situation before it gets worse.

    People often look to consolidate debts first, but this can sometimes leave you struggling and isn’t always an option if you can’t take out further credit. I can understand your difficulties and worries around being eligible for further loans, and this might not be the best available option for you.

    There are debt solutions and ways to deal with your situation that don’t involve taking out further debts. This is something we can help you with. It’s important to find ways of helping you focus on becoming debt free and being in a situation where you don’t need to continue borrowing more to make ends meet. Being able to focus on repaying what you owe and pay what can realistically afford is an important first step to take.

    We have a tool on our website called Debt Remedy, which will let you enter details of your income, outgoings and debts and uses this to recommend debt solutions and ways to help you deal with your debt. It also explains what you’d need to do next to help get you back on track.

    As a charity our advice is free, impartial and if you’d prefer to talk to us in confidence you can visit the StepChange website for more information.

    I hope this helps,

    Rory
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at [url="http://www.needtosleep.org]Need to Sleep[/url]

  • Former_StepChange_Rory
    Former_StepChange_Rory Posts: 145 Organisation Representative
    Vickyc007 wrote: »
    Hi StepChange

    Do you answer all of the queries that are sent to you or only a selection? Only I posted a few days ago but my query looks to have been overlooked. is that normal? It's fine if it is - i just didn't know if all queries received a response on here.

    Kind regards

    Vicky

    Hi Vicky,

    Sorry for the delay in answering your question - I've posted a response for you just now.

    Rory
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at [url="http://www.needtosleep.org]Need to Sleep[/url]

  • Hi guys, just after some advice. I have a Tesco credit card and the balance is roughly £5100. The interest free period has just ended which means i am now paying back £127 a month. I tried to get a balance transfer card but was turned down. What else can i do, as this is too high for me to pay every month.
    Stuart.
    I no longer work for Natwest, I left in 2012. But i can't change my name..
  • Clare1977
    Clare1977 Posts: 3 Newbie
    edited 2 March 2016 at 1:40PM
    Hi,
    Please can you advise on the best way to sort out my debt.
    I lost my job in 2007 and got behind on bills. I contacted a debt management company who set up payment plans (taking their cut) . I got back into full time employment after 3 months of losing my job.
    After a year or so they went bust so I contacted my creditors and secured a payment plan with the interest frozen.
    My debts to date are £4250 with MBNA and £1860 with Natwest.
    Because of these debts I have been declined a mortgage.

    I do have savings of £4560 which was going to be for a deposit on a house / or rent if I couldn't buy a house.

    How long will it take for the default to come off my credit history? Is it better to use my savings to pay off the debt? Or shall I continue paying off as I am
    I currently pay £175.00 on Natwest and £100 to MBNA.

    Many thanks for your help.
  • Former_StepChange_Laura
    Former_StepChange_Laura Posts: 63 Organisation Representative
    Hi guys, just after some advice. I have a Tesco credit card and the balance is roughly £5100. The interest free period has just ended which means i am now paying back £127 a month. I tried to get a balance transfer card but was turned down. What else can i do, as this is too high for me to pay every month.
    Stuart.

    Hi Stuart,

    Thanks for your message and I’m sorry to hear about your situation. If you’re struggling to make payments to the debt, I’d suggest you get in touch with us for free debt advice. We’ll be able to take a look at your situation in more depth and recommend how we can best support you to deal with the debt. Our advice is free, and we offer a range of solutions which you can read about here: http://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou.aspx

    You can get in touch with us over the phone, by giving our free Helpline a call. Alternatively you could use our online Debt Remedy tool, which guides you through the same process as an advisor would over the phone. You can find details of our Helpline and Debt Remedy tool here: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

    I hope this helps.

    Kind regards,
    Laura
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at [url="http://www.needtosleep.org]Need to Sleep[/url]

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