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StepChange_Rachael

joespa89 wrote: »

Hi there,

Through years of not really having a handle on my finances (and being wreckless), I've managed to accrue quite a large amount of debt, which can be summarised in the following

2.5k overdraft
2.5k credit card
loan (of which there is 10k left and 48 months.

I took the decision at the start of the year to get my things in order, make a real effort of paying off my over draft and credit card. I started a budget, and the micro management of every thing coming in and out really helped.

Unfortunately, the interest on my overdraft and credit cards has meant it wasn't really possible to make a serious dent in my OD or CD (based on how much I earn). I never miss payments, but I'm not making a serious dent in either of them.

I looked at balance/money transfer cards, but unfortunately the amount my credit score only allowed 2.2k credit limit and a shorter 0% term wasn't really viable. The other option was I looked at extending my loan to pay off the OD and credit card. the rate on the new loan is 25.5%, while the existing one is 8.9, so obviously a large amount of interest but the monthly payments over all are less than the separate payments I currently make.

Are there any other options I'm not considering? Although the loan extension amount is huge, it does reduce my monthly payments, I get rid of my OD and CD, and then I could also use any extra I had to pay of extra on the loan.

Appreciate any help or advice!

Hi

Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

I can appreciate it's difficult when you’re paying back your debts and it still doesn’t feel like you’re making much progress. Especially as you’ve mentioned you’ve clearly spent a lot of time organising your finances.

You've mentioned you're keeping up with the minimum payments and that means you’ll avoid further action from your creditors but I know it can be frustrating if the debts don’t seem to be reducing.

As you’ve mentioned you’ve already looked into the options regarding money transfers and extending the period of time to pay back the loan and this might not be the best option for you if you’ll still be struggling to clear the overall debt.

Paying anything on top of your regular minimum payments will reduce the debt. The main way to increase the payments is looking to reduce your expenditure or increase your income however this isn’t always an option for everyone.

It might be worthwhile contacting us and we can discuss your budget and debts with you in more detail to see if there’re any options you’ve not already looked into.

Without being able to view your budget I wouldn’t be able to advise you on your individual situation but if you contact us at StepChange we can look at your options with you.

I hope this helps.
Rachael

teis

Can anyone answer a question for me please?

Two days ago on a national news site someone posted in the comments that bailiffs can gain access to your whereabouts via NHS/DHSS records & at first i thought it was codswallop but then i looked at my case and also the user who posted these comments was an admin?

In my case i have been with my wife for 10 years we have spent the last 3 years separated in that time i have been in a relationship with another women as my wife and i where Not together (These things happen) & my "now" Ex who i was with 2 years who i just split from has basically robbed me blind using my credit cards to the max and not paying mine and bills where she knew she could get away with & she has vanished changed her number blocked me on Facebook and her emails her family are not returning my messages so i cant ask for money for the debt she has left me with and i have just moved back to my wifes house on a trail to see how things go between us she wanted me back and i have her for some time so as soon as i move with the wife she calls the DHSS to let them know i have moved there & BANG! 3 bailiffs letters within one week demanding they are/have taken me to court for credit card bills?? no one knew where i was with the previous GF & i wasnt claiming any benefits what so ever so as soon as i register with working tax my wifes house is bombarded with bailiff letters surly this access to DHSS records is a breach of Data Protection?

the company in question is MKDP they have attached what looks like a court letter although i really am not sure if its genuine as its a photocopy? & with another solicitors letter again a photocopy? they are demanding i pay up in full asap..Can anyone help please?

Many thanks for your time.

Former_StepChange_Matthew

Thanks Mathew, the appeal was turned down a couple of years ago, so probably timed out, one of the problems has been, that when i've written to them they've literally taken a year+ to reply. but I will pursue it and see what happens, should have taken advice at the appeal stage, but just didn't think that it would get this far, i stupidly thought they too would see how crazy the whole situation was. thanks and i'll go down the routes you suggest. thanks again

No problem. I hope you manage to get this resolved.
Regards
Matthew

Former_StepChange_Richard

Bear04 wrote: »

Hi


I am currently trying to reclaim interest and charges from a large number of PDLs for loans which I have had from them over the last few years. I have recently been talking to someone on another forum who has been doing the same but has had a reply from one of the PDLs stating that they may pursue him for application fraud as the info he gave them regarding income and expenditure must have been false.

Is this a possibility as I would imagine the majority of people applying for PDLs have basically lied about their income and/or expenditure as they were desperate for money?

Hi there


Thanks for posting.

I'm not trained in the practice of law and I certainly don't claim to be an expert so you'd be best seeking legal advice for this.

The theory behind it though suggests that if someone had knowingly given false information to a creditor with the intention to gain credit they might not otherwise have been able to get, it makes sense that this could be construed as fraud.

The bigger question in my mind would be, will the creditor go to the expense of trying to prove this or would they simply try to collect the debt that's owed? Again, I'm not a legal exert, but I would suggest collecting the debt to be cheaper and more beneficial for them.

As always for these matters, if you need any help in making your claims for the interest I would suggest speaking with the Financial Ombudsman.

If any of these loans are still outstanding and you'd like some help on the best way to pay them back, we'll be happy to help. Our Debt Remedy tool is a great place to start getting free advice.


I hope this helps.

Richard

Former_StepChange_Richard

teis wrote: »

Can anyone answer a question for me please?

Two days ago on a national news site someone posted in the comments that bailiffs can gain access to your whereabouts via NHS/DHSS records & at first i thought it was codswallop but then i looked at my case and also the user who posted these comments was an admin?

In my case i have been with my wife for 10 years we have spent the last 3 years separated in that time i have been in a relationship with another women as my wife and i where Not together (These things happen) & my "now" Ex who i was with 2 years who i just split from has basically robbed me blind using my credit cards to the max and not paying mine and bills where she knew she could get away with & she has vanished changed her number blocked me on Facebook and her emails her family are not returning my messages so i cant ask for money for the debt she has left me with and i have just moved back to my wifes house on a trail to see how things go between us she wanted me back and i have her for some time so as soon as i move with the wife she calls the DHSS to let them know i have moved there & BANG! 3 bailiffs letters within one week demanding they are/have taken me to court for credit card bills?? no one knew where i was with the previous GF & i wasnt claiming any benefits what so ever so as soon as i register with working tax my wifes house is bombarded with bailiff letters surly this access to DHSS records is a breach of Data Protection?

the company in question is MKDP they have attached what looks like a court letter although i really am not sure if its genuine as its a photocopy? & with another solicitors letter again a photocopy? they are demanding i pay up in full asap..Can anyone help please?

Many thanks for your time.

Hi there,

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

From what you've written, it sounds like you're going through a stressful time, not only trying to deal with the debts you have, but also concerns about your personal information being misused. I'm sorry to hear of the recent separation too, but I'll try and shed some light on the situation to help.

Bailiffs and enforcement agents are allowed to use any legal means necessary to find the person who is in debt. This can range from checking electoral roles to phoning people and organisations and asking the question "do you know where this person lives". The bailiff is doing nothing wrong through this as they are entitled to ask the question, but if an organisation gives your personal details to a third party without your consent, they are in breach of data protection.

It's impossible for me to say which organisation, if any, has given any of your details away and whether they have breached any rules in doing so. But if you feel you have grounds for a complaint, you should make a one to the organisation you feel has mistreated your personal data. As always, make any complaint in writing, keep a record of this and follow the organisations complaints procedure.

For the court letter MDKP have sent you, its difficult to say if this is genuine without knowing more details about it. To help, you can contact us and our advisors will help to identify what actions, if any, you need to take. We can also help you with any debts you have and find the best way to deal with them.

If any bailiffs contact you in the meantime, our website has some useful tips for these situations.

I hope this is helpful.


Richard.

jemmah1983

Have a question regarding credit score.

Please move this if I'm in the wrong place been a long time since been on Mse.

I'm credit scores is shocking and I know many people say it's not the be all be end all but I need to get this up and need a little help on how.

I have a credit card with £1650 limit used a little and paid off each month.
A £2k over draft not used in a good year or more.

Have a contract mobile showing all paid

I have a default for £95 from Lowell or one of those that is 2013
I have a court paid £294 in end 2014

Lived at my house a good few years but have 3 addresses over the last 10 years or so
My credit score is lower than 300

I have taken out a vanquis credit card to help build my score.

Any help appreciated. In the next year and a half I want to have decent score and within the next 2 want to be suitable for mortgage

StepChange_Rachael

jemmah1983 wrote: »

Have a question regarding credit score.

Please move this if I'm in the wrong place been a long time since been on Mse.

I'm credit scores is shocking and I know many people say it's not the be all be end all but I need to get this up and need a little help on how.

I have a credit card with £1650 limit used a little and paid off each month.
A £2k over draft not used in a good year or more.

Have a contract mobile showing all paid

I have a default for £95 from Lowell or one of those that is 2013
I have a court paid £294 in end 2014

Lived at my house a good few years but have 3 addresses over the last 10 years or so
My credit score is lower than 300

I have taken out a vanquis credit card to help build my score.

Any help appreciated. In the next year and a half I want to have decent score and within the next 2 want to be suitable for mortgage

Hi

Thanks for posting.

I’m not an expert on credit ratings and credit files and it seems that credit ratings are determined by many factors.

It seems the best way to improve your credit rating is to keep on top of any credit you have by at least making the minimum payments or by paying more were possible and not missing any payments.

Missing payments will usually result in a default on your credit file. As you've mentioned one is showing on your file from 2013 this could be negatively affecting your score. Defaults will stay on your credit file for 6 years before they are removed.

I’ve heard other things that can improve your credit score include setting payments up as direct debits from your account as long as there's funds in the account so they don't bounce and being on the electoral role can help your credit score. However, to get a more in depth answer this link might help.

The credit reference agencies should also be able to give you advice on improving your credit file. The main three in the UK are Equifax, Experian and Call Credit.

Hope this helps.

Thanks

Rachael

Justgot2run

Hi All,
I have 3 Credit Cards totalling around 6k and am paying the minimum monthly payment back.
I pay around £200 for theses per month but i would love to half this debit whilst paying off the debt either by a loan or consolidate them.
Because i live with my parents and have a poor credit rating im finding it hard to get a loan or a balance transfer.
Could yoy please advise me which way to go on this please.

Many Thanks
J

Domsjo

Hello

I'm in a bouncing, spiralling debt on the rent half of a 50/50 Shared Ownership property. It started when my landlords outsourced, I was a carer for my mother who had cancer at the time, working, no landline and not online etc - so changing the payments over didn't happen. (I know, not good) After 2/3months I got a bill that said my rent had gone up by about £60 and I said that didn't sound right, but they insisted. I couldn't afford that AND the mortgage. 6months later I emailed the original agency who had been sending letters, and they couldn't understand why I had been quoted the new amount, said it was wrong. But by this time charges had been added to the account; letters @£21.00-£25.00 each, 2x land registry searchs @ £21.00 each, 4x £48 charge for the administration and 4x £207 for the referral back to the original agency - these charges have bounced around and are now in the thousands, I'm told they are fair and in line with the current market rate - but I've searched and searched and can't find the current market rate to check this against. I was wondering, how much should a referral fee be?

Former_StepChange_Matthew

Hi All,
I have 3 Credit Cards totalling around 6k and am paying the minimum monthly payment back.
I pay around £200 for theses per month but i would love to half this debit whilst paying off the debt either by a loan or consolidate them.
Because i live with my parents and have a poor credit rating im finding it hard to get a loan or a balance transfer.
Could yoy please advise me which way to go on this please.

Many Thanks
J

Hi J,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

Taking out a consolidation loan can help you manage your debts but only in the instance that it will reduce your monthly payments overall. It's rarely the best way to manage your debts as it can take you longer to become debt free, depending on the interest rate. In addition to this, you have mentioned that your credit rating is poor which will impact how much lenders may be willing to lend you and as a general rule of thumb, if you have a poor credit rating you will usually have to pay higher rates of interest on the money you borrow.

Whilst you're paying the minimum payments on your credit cards, the majority of your payment usually pays the interest with a small amount going towards the debt balance. Paying this way could cost you a fortune over a long period of time. If you have the money available, you should to try and pay more than the minimum amount each month. If you can't afford to pay more than the minimum payment, it's worth seeking debt advice and seeing what options are available to help you manage your debts.

At StepChange, we have an online debt advice tool which you can use to see what options are suitable for you. This is anonymous and you can access this here .

If you would prefer to speak to someone over the phone, you can contact our Helpline who can help you.

I hope this helps and I hope you manage to get these debts sorted.

Regards
Matt