Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

YoungRio

Hello,

Looking for a quick bit of Advice, Just went though the debt tool on the Stepchange website, Basically the advice is to go into a protected trust deed. However, I feel that i should try to pay off 100% of what i owe as it is my fault i am in this mess, So happy to go through a DMP which according to my results would take me approx 7 years to pay back all i owe.

My query is though, By doing this, How long will my credit file be affected?

With the trust deed , I know that it will be there for 6 years,but after that i will be left with a clean history,Which will enable me to apply for a Mortgage.

On the DMP, I am hearing that it will take 13 years to clear as it will only default or update a final time at the end of the 7 years of payments,so then still have 6 years from that date to clear?

So, Doing the right thing and paying 100% back ,will actually affect me more than going down the trust deed route?

I really want to do the right thing,but if this is correct ,Why on earth would anybody go down the DMP route??

psl84

How do I get hold of the bank details of payday loan companies in order to make 'token payments' to them before my dmp is up and running?

Thanks

one_day_rodders

Hi,

I have been contacted by Compensation Claim Line who state they can get written off 50% of my outstanding debts.

I get the impression though that all is not as it seems.

I have not parted with any monies nor signed any agreements & dont intend to either until totally satisfied with the details of any "deal".

However I was wondering if anyone else has had any dealing with them & if so what those experiences were & how genuine this "deal" is.

From what I can gather the only way I can see them reducing any debt whatsoever is through reclaiming any ppi paid or excessive interest payments made on my debts - if this is the case then they will not be able to make any impact as I had no ppi on these debts at all.

Would welcome any feedback

Rrambles

Hi,
I have 3 payday loans outstanding and I unable to repay them on the due date next week.
Can you advise me on the best way of negotiating a repayment plan with them{assuming that is the best course of action for me)

mum2one

one_day_rodders wrote: »

Hi,

I have been contacted by Compensation Claim Line who state they can get written off 50% of my outstanding debts.

I get the impression though that all is not as it seems.

I have not parted with any monies nor signed any agreements & dont intend to either until totally satisfied with the details of any "deal".

However I was wondering if anyone else has had any dealing with them & if so what those experiences were & how genuine this "deal" is.

From what I can gather the only way I can see them reducing any debt whatsoever is through reclaiming any ppi paid or excessive interest payments made on my debts - if this is the case then they will not be able to make any impact as I had no ppi on these debts at all.

Would welcome any feedback

I don't know anything about the company so can't comment re them, but the way i see it (as a lay person), that if you took out an IVA then there is a chance that a % of the money owed would get wrote off, but most companies charge a fee - that could be 3 mths money for there services plus a % of your money you pay each month, whereas with step-change and payplan every penny you pay goes off your debts.

I'm only 4 mths into my dmp - but but I have paid £832 - and I know that every penny is chipping away at my debts, xx

StepChange_James

Worriedlayawake wrote: »

Hi.
I'm new here,but not new to debt.

I currently owe £6,899 for a natwest personal loan
Natwest credit card £4,200
Barclay card £3,900

I'm working at the moment,but only on a week to week contract.
I have a new joint mortgage with my partner for 5 months.
My problem is,is that I cannot afford to make repayments on the cards and the loan.
I have spoken to natwest and agreed to pay £50 monthly on the card,and £71 monthly for the loan(this going to be reviewed every 3 months).
I still need to sort out the Barclay card.

I'm now in a position where I cannot afford to pay all these debts and the mortgage and living expenses.
I now don't know what the best option is for me.
I was thinking of bankruptcy,but don't want to lose the new house.
I have always been a failure in our relationship when it comes to money,and feel I'm now letting my partner(whom I have been with for 16 years).we have a 5 year old boy also.
We have just sold the old house 6 month ago(this was just in my partners name).and have bought a new house together in both our names.
I was thinking of taking my name off the mortgage and declaring bankruptcy.
My partner only knows about the £6,800 loan.
I know I'm wrong for not telling her,I love her and my son like you wouldn't believe.
I'm sick of letting them both down,I feel ashamed and dishonest to them both.
How can I clear my debts?

Hello and welcome to the forum,

Dealing with debts is hard at the best of times, so with these extra pressures you mention it must be even harder.

In terms of what to do in the short term - make sure you focus your money on paying household bills and making sure their is enough food to eat. While it's good if you can keep paying unsecured debts, they aren't the most important thing to pay.

If you're not going to be able to make the full payment (or the reduced ones your agreed - these might be too high too) then just send a payment of what you can afford when the payment is due. Even if you just send £1 it'll show you're making an effort to pay something.

I'd recommend you get in touch with us for advice on the longer term. It's worth looking at all the other options before going bankrupt, I don't know enough about your finances to say for sure but it's quite likely that your property would be affected (regardless of whether you took your name off the property) so should be a last resort.

You can get our advice online using our free tool, Debt Remedy (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) or by giving one of our advisors a call: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx.

The other issue to decide on is whether to talk to your partner about the debts. Obviously this is down to you and is quite a difficult choice.

Generally speaking I have found that people feel better talking to their partners about debts - especially if you've taken advice and have a strategy to deal with them. This might not always be the case but I'd say more often than not it's better to be open about things.

I'd respectfully disagree with what you've said about how you've let your family down. I've spoken to thousand of people in a similar position over the years and it's shown me that debt problems can happen to anyone. It's no reflection on you as a person at all.

I hope that this has been useful and please do get in touch with us. I'm confident that we can help you feel better about things and it won't seem as bad.

All the best

James

Overspent

Hello I'm new to the forum and need some advice.

I've got a natwest loan and 3 credit cards, amounting to approx £18k.
I'm a homeowner and work full time, but it looks like now my wage is only just going to cover the bills and the minimum payments on my debts, leaving me with nothing left to provide for my family. I currently have about £80 which I can use for food, but when I get paid next week it will all be accounted for, leaving us with nothing for the coming month. We've also got a baby on the way, which is great exciting news btw , but the wife has been unable to work and we've had to buy everything ready for the arrival, so had to spend a bit beyond our means.

I'm worried about missing payments and don't know what to do.
The loan is £230p/m and my cc's are £10p/m, £70p/m and £210p/m.
I tried applying for a new loan (i know maybe not the best thing to do) to try get the payment lower and under control but the bank declined it.
So now I'm a little unsure what to do?!
Anyone got any advice? Can I contact the bank and ask to miss a payment? Or would one of these debt management plans be wise? Any info would be great!
Thanks
J

Former_StepChange_Rachel

[FONT=&quot]

neo32 wrote: »

iv just had a letter from a debt company saying i owe vodafone money frm 2004!! this was from my ex patner but in my name so never made contact them, but they have found me now ?? is there anything i can do esp as its been so long!!!

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]

Hi neo32,

As this debt is quite old and you've never had any prior contact about it (I assume), then it may fall under what we call the Limitation Act.

If a creditor has had at least 6 years to contact you and establish payment but failed to do so, the debt in question becomes Statute Barred. This means that it is no longer enforceable and cannot be pursued through County Court.

If this is the first time you've heard anything of this debt with Vodafone, then it's very likely the Limitation Act would apply here.

It's up to the creditor to prove that you owe this debt and that it's still enforceable. Check out the sticky post that goes into detail about the 'prove it' letter and it should tell you all you need to know https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2607247

Hope this helps,

Best regards,

Rachel [/FONT]

StepChange_James

YoungRio wrote: »

Hello,

Looking for a quick bit of Advice, Just went though the debt tool on the Stepchange website, Basically the advice is to go into a protected trust deed. However, I feel that i should try to pay off 100% of what i owe as it is my fault i am in this mess, So happy to go through a DMP which according to my results would take me approx 7 years to pay back all i owe.

My query is though, By doing this, How long will my credit file be affected?

With the trust deed , I know that it will be there for 6 years,but after that i will be left with a clean history,Which will enable me to apply for a Mortgage.

On the DMP, I am hearing that it will take 13 years to clear as it will only default or update a final time at the end of the 7 years of payments,so then still have 6 years from that date to clear?

So, Doing the right thing and paying 100% back ,will actually affect me more than going down the trust deed route?

I really want to do the right thing,but if this is correct ,Why on earth would anybody go down the DMP route??

Hi Young Rio,

It's hard to say exactly how long your credit file would be affected by a DMP but you're calculations could work out to be right. We've recently heard from people who've received default notices in the last few months of a DMP, which will then stay on their credit history a further six years.

While this information would be on your credit history, it tends to matter less the further into your past it goes. So it would still be a factor on credit applications but lenders are likely to see a five year old default notice as less of an issue than one you got a few weeks ago.

As everyone's situation is different there are sometimes circumstances where a DMP is a more suitable option. There's also an element of personal preference involved. I'd suggest you give us a call on the number in your paperwork and we can talk through which option would suit you best.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

psl84 wrote: »

How do I get hold of the bank details of payday loan companies in order to make 'token payments' to them before my dmp is up and running?

Thanks

Hello,

You may find something in your paperwork with these details, but as payday loan companies usually take your debit card details then perhaps not.

It may be easiest to give them a quick call and ask about the easiest way to make a token payment.

If this proves difficult then you could always send a postal order - but as this involves paying for the postal order and the stamp there should be a cheaper and easier way.

Good luck with your DMP.

James