Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

Credit files can be confusing to understand but ultimately they are used for creditors to find out the likelihood of someone being able to repay.
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If your ex-partner is looking to re-mortgage solely then the lender will look into their finances and credit file and your credit file won’t impact their chances.

Thanks
Rachael

AlanS76 wrote: »

Hello,
I am divorced but have a joint mortgage with my ex we have come to agreement about them buying me out of the mortgage but I currently have some debts and DMP with step change my ex has a excellent credit score and none of my debts are in their name, would my credit score prevent them from remortgaging on there own? Thank you in advance.

dalid69

Hi I am looking for some help for a long term family friend I don't want to go on too much but I do need to explain some things.
Her husband died many years ago as he was a great deal older than her, she was entitled to his pension then the IR decided she hadn't paid enough tax for a few years so they stung her, she got seriously into debt helping her children and getting her house that she mortgaged up to spec.
She was talked into an IVA through what she thought was a good friends husband who worked for the company, basically she has been paying this for possibly 8-9 years and the company has changed hands several times, I tried to understand how much she had actually paid but it wasn't very clear all I could understand was that they never failed to take their percentage.
I advised her to stop paying and wait until the companies approached her again and then to take these to a debt charity for some free help,up to now she has had a few simple letters and only 1 company pushing and telephoning which I told her to block these calls,she is a health care nurse and has had weight and health problems for years and she is 60 this year and all this isn't helping her.
I was considering asking the companies that have written to prove that she owes this money and to who they are acting for as they are using fake solicitors letters and multiple companies chasing the same amount.
Any help would be appreciated

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for posting.

I’m sorry to hear your friend has been through a difficult time and is now struggling with debt.

You mentioned your friend was paying into an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA). Monthly payments to an IVA last between 5 and 6 years, 6 years being the maximum term then any debt left owing to the creditors would be written off. An IVA is legally binding. This would be through a registered insolvency practitioner.

Could it be possible that the plan was a debt management plan (DMP). A DMP is an informal arrangement to pay the debt back in full at a reduced amount and quite often people end up using fee charging companies to do this.

One way to find out more information about the debts other than contacting the company directly or checking the agreement would be for your friend to check their credit file. A credit file shows details of any debts owing and also details of any insolvencies.

There are three credit reference agencies in the UK. Noddle, Equifax and Experian. Noddle run by Call Credit won’t charge to check this basic information. Equifax and Experian do charge but normally allow a month’s free trial.

Not every creditor will update all their information to all three so if your friend isn’t sure who she owes its worth checking all three. You could always cancel after the trail to not be charged.

There is certainly a way forward for your friend to deal with any debts in a way that is affordable and realistic.

At StepChange debt charity we provide free and impartial advice and we’ll tailor solutions to a person’s individual situation.

You can find the contact details for StepChange here.

Thanks
Rachael

dalid69 wrote: »

Hi I am looking for some help for a long term family friend I don't want to go on too much but I do need to explain some things.
Her husband died many years ago as he was a great deal older than her, she was entitled to his pension then the IR decided she hadn't paid enough tax for a few years so they stung her, she got seriously into debt helping her children and getting her house that she mortgaged up to spec.
She was talked into an IVA through what she thought was a good friends husband who worked for the company, basically she has been paying this for possibly 8-9 years and the company has changed hands several times, I tried to understand how much she had actually paid but it wasn't very clear all I could understand was that they never failed to take their percentage.
I advised her to stop paying and wait until the companies approached her again and then to take these to a debt charity for some free help,up to now she has had a few simple letters and only 1 company pushing and telephoning which I told her to block these calls,she is a health care nurse and has had weight and health problems for years and she is 60 this year and all this isn't helping her.
I was considering asking the companies that have written to prove that she owes this money and to who they are acting for as they are using fake solicitors letters and multiple companies chasing the same amount.
Any help would be appreciated

danbevan86

Hi there,

I have about £5,000 worth of debt to 4 seperate debtors. The debt goes back to about 2012 and its things like products i've taken out on finance and been unable to make the monthly payments and also gone over on a bank overdraft. I buried my head a bit in the sand at the time as I was young and stupid now as a result of this my credit score has been ruined and is really low. I am now looking to rebuild my credit score as I would like to buy a house in the next year or two. Some of the debts i'd been paying back in very small amounts as I didnt have a job at the time. I'm now working full time. Some of the other debtors I havent heard from in nearly 4 years and Im aware that in 2 years when it will have been 6 years the debts will be removed from my credit report.

What I would like to know is would it be better for my credit score to try and pay the loans asap (Its unlikely that I will have the full amount to pay upfront but hopefully they I would be able to negotatiate with them to make say half payments in full and final settlement, also by financial help from my family). If I was to pay the debts off now am I likely to get my credit score up if I pay now or should I just stick it out for another 2 years and wait for the debts to automatically fall off?

Also if I did address the debts now and attempt to settle, what are reasonable offers to make them and which lenders are more negotiable. Are there ways of improving my credit score short term, get it up to a healthy score in the 6 months to a year?

Thanks

sondyb

I am a PhD student who has managed to hang on to their student/graduate account (by the skin of my teeth) as I am full time. This means a £2,000 overdraft which is interest free. I have unfortunately been living in this recently and it's almost run out by the end of each month.

I also have a student credit card with natwest and I dip into this when i'm low on funds.

I hate this spiral of debt and I'm determined to get out of it. I'm concerned. can i have some advice?

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for posting.

It can be difficult getting out of an overdraft especially when you’re still using it as your main account.

It can be also make it more difficult to budget for your monthly expenses whilst trying to pay it back as it's difficult to picture what is and isn't available

I'd suggest working out a monthly budget so that you can work out what your expenses are and although it’s difficult, it’s important to stick to it the best you can to reduce unnecessary expenditure.

It’s worth exploring options to reduce expenditure by checking cheaper providers for utility bills or find cheaper contracts for phones etc., and where possible increase income. Turn2us are a good organisation who can help you find out if there are any benefits you could be entitled to.

To be able to advise you based on your financial situation and debts I’d need more details.

If you’d like to look further into your options you can find StepChange's contact details here.

Thanks
Rachael

sondyb wrote: »

I am a PhD student who has managed to hang on to their student/graduate account (by the skin of my teeth) as I am full time. This means a £2,000 overdraft which is interest free. I have unfortunately been living in this recently and it's almost run out by the end of each month.

I also have a student credit card with natwest and I dip into this when i'm low on funds.

I hate this spiral of debt and I'm determined to get out of it. I'm concerned. can i have some advice?

james251988

Hi everyone,

I have got myself into what seems like a rather giant hole and I'm really struggling to think straight about this or figure a way to get out.

I will add that this is my own fault, I have had a ridiculous attitude of worry about it later and that it will all work out in the end, but it has suddenly hit me that it's not the case.

To my name I curreny have about £3,000 in Creditcard debt. And maybe another £1,200 in store cards/accounts etc. I also have an awful credit score.
Part of the reason for this is when I split up with a girlfriend and we lived together, others are just my attitude towards spending.

I also changed jobs this year just before a booked holiday with family. (This was paid for and not on credit.) I had to take the 2 weeks unpaid and thus found myself in a hole financially. Stupidly I went to Payday lenders, ending up borrowing from more than 1 and now have around £600 to pay out of my next paycheque. This leaves me enough for my rent, basic living but will leave me in jeopardy of defaulting payments etc.

It sounds like a sob story, but I am now experiencing sleepless nights and a huge amount of stress just worrying about how I am ever going to get out of this at all.
Any help/experience or advice on what to do now would be hugely appreciated, thankyou.

Former_StepChange_Matthew

Hi everyone,

I have got myself into what seems like a rather giant hole and I'm really struggling to think straight about this or figure a way to get out.

I will add that this is my own fault, I have had a ridiculous attitude of worry about it later and that it will all work out in the end, but it has suddenly hit me that it's not the case.

To my name I curreny have about £3,000 in Creditcard debt. And maybe another £1,200 in store cards/accounts etc. I also have an awful credit score.
Part of the reason for this is when I split up with a girlfriend and we lived together, others are just my attitude towards spending.

I also changed jobs this year just before a booked holiday with family. (This was paid for and not on credit.) I had to take the 2 weeks unpaid and thus found myself in a hole financially. Stupidly I went to Payday lenders, ending up borrowing from more than 1 and now have around £600 to pay out of my next paycheque. This leaves me enough for my rent, basic living but will leave me in jeopardy of defaulting payments etc.

It sounds like a sob story, but I am now experiencing sleepless nights and a huge amount of stress just worrying about how I am ever going to get out of this at all.
Any help/experience or advice on what to do now would be hugely appreciated, thankyou.

Hi there,

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the forum.

I'm sorry to hear the difficulties that you're facing at the moment. I can understand the stress debt causes and the impact that it can have on you getting a decent night's sleep. We can certainly help you bring these debts under control and get you back on track.

If you're going to struggle with your upcoming payment for your payday loan, it may be worth looking at stopping the payment from being taken automatically. You will make payments to the pay day loan by something called continuous payment authority (CPA) and you can cancel this by speaking to them directly or sending them an email. They should then stop automatically taking payments from your account. This way, you're not going to make un-affordable payments to them however, they will want to know how you will be making payments going forward. If you're going to struggle to make the payments to them and will struggle to pay your debts, it's probably worth seeking debt advice and looking at how to tackle these going forward.

Here at StepChange, we help people struggling with debts by helping you get a debt solution in place. We will need to put a budget together so we are aware of your circumstances and we can use this to find the right solution for you.

You can use our online Debt Remedy tool which is anonymous and free of charge here or you can have a chat with a member of our Helpline over the phone. You can find their number here and they are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 8pm and Saturday, 8am to 4pm.

I hope this helps
Matt

damsidebear

Hi all I've got myself into a pretty bad debt situation. Long story short I am paying all bills and haven't missed any payments but I know it will take many years to clear my current Credit Card debts due to the amount plus interest!

I currently have 2 credit cards, 1.store card and an overdraft.

Total debt 19k.

Credit cards are sitting at £7,700 & £7,900
Apr on them are 20.9% & 24.9%.
Store Card is sitting at £2,677 at 22.9%
Overdraft is at £1,100 with BOS.

I am now struggling after I pay all the above and household bills, can someone offer some advice?

I tried to take a low Apr loan to address the CC debt but it was rejected. So I'm running out of options.
I've stupidly been in a similar situation many years ago and ended up taking out a trust deed but I've failed to learn my lesson.
Please help.

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

Credit scores can be difficult to fully understand as many different factors can impact your credit score.

As you’ve old debts on your file where the contractual payment had been missed your file will likely have a default notice on it for each of those debts.

Defaults will have some negative impact on your credit file but do drop off after 6 years from the date they were added to your file.

Other information on your credit file will usually come off after 6 years, but what you might find is a creditor taking the debt through the court before this happens.

This means the debt would be set as a county court judgement (CCJ). This then means there would need to be an agreed repayment or the creditor could take further action such as enforcement agents.
Sometimes creditors will take a debt through the court before the 6 years are up even if they’ve not been in contact for a long time before hand. This is so they can make sure the debt will be repaid.

This is why I’d always advise looking to find a way to deal with the debt in case it gets to this stage and further impacts your credit file.

If you have the finances available then settling a debt can be a good way to payback the creditors. However, I wouldn’t suggest borrowing further to settle as this can often lead to further financial struggles.

What the creditors would settle the debt for would be up to them. Each creditor is different and it would also depend on the total of the debt. It’s worth asking the creditor and seeing what they say to try and negotiate a settlement.

If the debt is settled for less than the full amount the creditor will likely leave a note on your credit file to say the debt has been partially settled. This would likely have more of an impact than if it was paid in full and marked as a full and final settlement.

Credit files normally improve overtime. If an agreement is made towards the debts of an affordable amount it’s less likely the creditors would take court action to recover the debt and in time the debt would be paid back in full.

As I mentioned earlier there are many different things that can affect your credit file positively and negatively.

Here is a link to a page on moneysavingexpert.com that has a lot of help and information on ways of improving your credit file rating.

If you’d like some further advice on dealing with debts you can find the contact details for StepChange here.

Thanks
Rachael

danbevan86 wrote: »

Hi there,

I have about £5,000 worth of debt to 4 seperate debtors. The debt goes back to about 2012 and its things like products i've taken out on finance and been unable to make the monthly payments and also gone over on a bank overdraft. I buried my head a bit in the sand at the time as I was young and stupid now as a result of this my credit score has been ruined and is really low. I am now looking to rebuild my credit score as I would like to buy a house in the next year or two. Some of the debts i'd been paying back in very small amounts as I didnt have a job at the time. I'm now working full time. Some of the other debtors I havent heard from in nearly 4 years and Im aware that in 2 years when it will have been 6 years the debts will be removed from my credit report.

What I would like to know is would it be better for my credit score to try and pay the loans asap (Its unlikely that I will have the full amount to pay upfront but hopefully they I would be able to negotatiate with them to make say half payments in full and final settlement, also by financial help from my family). If I was to pay the debts off now am I likely to get my credit score up if I pay now or should I just stick it out for another 2 years and wait for the debts to automatically fall off?

Also if I did address the debts now and attempt to settle, what are reasonable offers to make them and which lenders are more negotiable. Are there ways of improving my credit score short term, get it up to a healthy score in the 6 months to a year?

Thanks