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beth3735

Question for a stepchange rep please.

I pay my direct debit on the 1st of each month and you pay my creditors around the 25th. I am hoping to shift American express next month to free up over £50 to the others. Can u please tell me what date in march i have to please so i can tell you to spread that £50 to the others for the 25th payment. I hope i make sense.

Thank you.

rich_finch

Hi,

My wife and I have been struggling for the past 8 years or so with debts due to a series of unfortunate events and over the years have managed to avoid Bankruptcy, IVA etc with selling our house and going back to renting, hard work, begging family members and a life saver of a boss who a few years ago gave me a nice pay rise to keep us from going under again.

But with such a large black cloud over us we're just fighting a loosing battle and the time has come again to put up a fight.

As of next month my wifes maternity pay comes to an end and she then goes back to work (or not?). Trouble is she earns peanuts which is barely going to be enough to cover childcare of our 8 month old son.

Therefore we have roughly worked out that with my wifes hourly wage and an average local childcare cost we will be down about £400 a month which will leave us around £70 to live off after bills, debt, rent etc.

We new this day would come when we chose to have a child but now it's upon us we are starting to panic.

£70 is not enough to live off for a family of 3 and we have used up all all lives with family members and my boss. So we're thinking the time has come to get rid of the constant weight on our shoulders.

Just wondering the best thing to do now really? I have tried to contact our local CAB but it's nearly impossible to get an appointment. Currently planning on doing a drop-in appointment on the 1st March.

Any other ideas of what to do?

StepChange_James

beth3735 wrote: »

Question for a stepchange rep please.

I pay my direct debit on the 1st of each month and you pay my creditors around the 25th. I am hoping to shift American express next month to free up over £50 to the others. Can u please tell me what date in march i have to please so i can tell you to spread that £50 to the others for the 25th payment. I hope i make sense.

Thank you.

Hi Beth,

Thanks for posting. I'm very impressed by the numbers in your signature - not long to go now!

I've had a chat with one of my colleagues in our Client Support team and he suggested you give us a call to talk through this. We don't recommend paying more to one debt if it means your other creditors might lose out.

He also suggested that if it was a good idea to clear the Amex debt it might be better to do it after the February payment has landed on the account to keep things simple.

If you give us a call on the number you usually use we'll be able to talk you through this.

Hope this helps.

James

beth3735

Thank you James,

If it was a huge big amount i wouldn't think of doing it to favour one over the others, but as its only £191 and they take a little over £50 each month it just seems the best idea to free that up mainly for Barclaycard as they are still and always have been charging interest. Due to Barclaycard still charging interest that is the main reason i won't be handing them any of the cash i could pay off 1 creditor who has been fantastic all the way through I have saved up Christmas and birthday money and just want to get it paid off my debts.

I will give the centre a call and make sure i do it in the best timing for the statement date.

Thanks again

StepChange_James

rich_finch wrote: »

Hi,

My wife and I have been struggling for the past 8 years or so with debts due to a series of unfortunate events and over the years have managed to avoid Bankruptcy, IVA etc with selling our house and going back to renting, hard work, begging family members and a life saver of a boss who a few years ago gave me a nice pay rise to keep us from going under again.

But with such a large black cloud over us we're just fighting a loosing battle and the time has come again to put up a fight.

As of next month my wifes maternity pay comes to an end and she then goes back to work (or not?). Trouble is she earns peanuts which is barely going to be enough to cover childcare of our 8 month old son.

Therefore we have roughly worked out that with my wifes hourly wage and an average local childcare cost we will be down about £400 a month which will leave us around £70 to live off after bills, debt, rent etc.

We new this day would come when we chose to have a child but now it's upon us we are starting to panic.

£70 is not enough to live off for a family of 3 and we have used up all all lives with family members and my boss. So we're thinking the time has come to get rid of the constant weight on our shoulders.

Just wondering the best thing to do now really? I have tried to contact our local CAB but it's nearly impossible to get an appointment. Currently planning on doing a drop-in appointment on the 1st March.

Any other ideas of what to do?

Hi Rich,

Thanks for getting in touch. It sounds like things are tough at the moment but I think we should be able to give you a helping hand.

It can be hard to find time to receive face to face advice, so we operate over the phone and the internet. If you use our online service you'll get a debt solutions within 20 minutes and if you give us a call you'll be able to speak to an advisor very quickly (there's sometimes a short wait during busy periods but not often).

The first thing to do is visit our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) to help you find a solution to your debt problem quickly.

Debt Remedy will assist you in completing a financial statement with information on your household, employment, income, expenditure and debts. From this the service will automatically determine your options.

To help you fill in the form, it’s best to gather together information about:
• Your income
• Your expenditure
• The creditors you owe money to

You’ll receive a downloadable advice booklet providing a tailored solution for you based on your current circumstances and advice on ways you may be able to improve your situation.

If you’re not confident with computers or would like to speak to an advisor then you’re welcome to ring our Helpline on 0800 138 1111 (free including from mobiles). We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturdays 9am – 3pm.

If you phone us it may be possible to refer you directly to a debt advisor for immediate advice. Alternatively, we will arrange for an appointment to be booked at a time convenient for you.

Hope this helps.

James

doll989

Hello,

Six years ago today I defaulted on an account according to Nationwide. What actually happened was I had been away travelling for a few months, and while I was away at some point a direct debit was returned on my account. (Just previously to going travelling I had switched to another high street bank for a student account but I never closed the Nationwide account stupidly).
Anyway a couple of months after I returned I recieved a letter from Nationwide saying I owed them £567 for unauthorised overdraft charges that had accumulated due to this returned direct debit. I was outraged and refused to pay the £567, and after arguing with them about the debt they refused to revoke the charges and defaulted me. I took my case to the financial ombudsman and after their involvement the charges were revoked 'as a gesture of goodwill'. I asked them to remove the default from my credit report as I felt this was false information, but they refused.
Having recently rejoined experian I noticed there are 2 Nationwide current accounts listed on my credit report, when Im only aware of ever having one. One says 'defaulted' in red and the default date is given as 16/02/2007 (which technically if what experian says is accurate should be removed after today), under balance it has 'satisfied'. In the other one it says 'satisfactory' in green and has under balance 'settled' and the settled date is given as 11/12/2010. The last time I dealt with Nationwide was sometime in 2008 so I don't know where this 'settled' date came from.
My questions are:
Can there be 2 entries for one account? And technically if the defaulted one is removed shouldn't the settled one be removed as well if they are the same thing?
I really don't understand what these mean, and any information on what I can do to rectify this situation would be appreciated. From what I've read a 'settled' account is just as bad as a defaulted one and if that's the case it won't be removed until 2016 which seems wholly unfair given these charges are deemed illegal.

What can I do?....:mad:

Thank you.

Quarry

I have credit card debts I cannot repay, following redundancy and illness. I have equity in my home which would cover the debt but desperataely don't want to lose my home. At 59 and with health problems, getting work is extremely difficult. I have no arrears at the moment. If I have to seek a DMP, can my creditors force the sale of my house? I can only afford to pay a few pounds a month.

Quarry

Hello.
I can no longer afford to service my credit card debts. I have been told that I could pay as little as £1 a month to each of my 4 creditors, under a DMP. I know someonw who has been doing this for approximately 10 years, however he has no assets.
The equity in my house would pay my credit card debts, however I am desperate not to lose my home. I have been made redundant and have health problems - at 59 I may not be able to get another job. Can my creditors force the sale of my house?

cools44

Hi There

I am new here, but have already found some truly excellent and uplifting advice via this forum and website, and have to say it is excellent!! Thank you!!

I have a question regarding Council Tax Bailiffs and their rights to enter a property.

In several places I have read that a Bailiff is not allowed to break into your property, but may have further entry rights if you let him in, or if you leave a door / window open etc.

My question is, if my lodger or someone else and not me - (I am the actual debtor) opens the door to a bailiff un-benown as to who is at the door, are they (the Bailiff) then entitled to enter the premises again in the future, or do they have to speak to me in person before that can happen?

I am the one currently trying to organise a payment plan with the collection agency, for a historic Council tax debt, and they are making the usual threats about attending with a van and selling goods, if I do not make the full payment immediately.

I have read various articles about my rights and the law etc, but am unclear on what the law states with regard to a third person opening the door when a Bailiff calls?

Would greatly appreciate any comments and clarification.

Thank you for your time and help.

best wishes

Mark

StepChange_James

doll989 wrote: »

Hello,

Six years ago today I defaulted on an account according to Nationwide. What actually happened was I had been away travelling for a few months, and while I was away at some point a direct debit was returned on my account. (Just previously to going travelling I had switched to another high street bank for a student account but I never closed the Nationwide account stupidly).
Anyway a couple of months after I returned I recieved a letter from Nationwide saying I owed them £567 for unauthorised overdraft charges that had accumulated due to this returned direct debit. I was outraged and refused to pay the £567, and after arguing with them about the debt they refused to revoke the charges and defaulted me. I took my case to the financial ombudsman and after their involvement the charges were revoked 'as a gesture of goodwill'. I asked them to remove the default from my credit report as I felt this was false information, but they refused.
Having recently rejoined experian I noticed there are 2 Nationwide current accounts listed on my credit report, when Im only aware of ever having one. One says 'defaulted' in red and the default date is given as 16/02/2007 (which technically if what experian says is accurate should be removed after today), under balance it has 'satisfied'. In the other one it says 'satisfactory' in green and has under balance 'settled' and the settled date is given as 11/12/2010. The last time I dealt with Nationwide was sometime in 2008 so I don't know where this 'settled' date came from.
My questions are:
Can there be 2 entries for one account? And technically if the defaulted one is removed shouldn't the settled one be removed as well if they are the same thing?
I really don't understand what these mean, and any information on what I can do to rectify this situation would be appreciated. From what I've read a 'settled' account is just as bad as a defaulted one and if that's the case it won't be removed until 2016 which seems wholly unfair given these charges are deemed illegal.

What can I do?....:mad:

Thank you.

Hello,

Thanks for posting. Sometimes there are two entries on a credit file for one account, the most obvious example being when a debt gets sold to a debt collector.

In this case I don't really understand why they'd have started a new entry on your credit file or why it's updated to show it was settled on a date long after the account was finally sorted out.

I'd suggest contacting the bank and asking them to tell you why they've reported this information on your credit report. If they don't give you an explanation you're happy with then you could submit a complaint and if they complaint doesn't work you could go back to the ombudsman to ask them to look into it.

I'd say that an account showing "settled" is probably better in the eyes of creditors than an account in default but your credit history should only contain facts about how you've handled your accounts, so it sounds like something might have gone wrong somewhere.

There might be an innocent explanation for all of it but I'd say the first point of contact should be the bank to see what they say.

Hope this helps.

James