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StepChange_James

mickelaine1 wrote: »

Hi just after a bit of advice before I commit to my DMP with Stepchange.

I have a joint account with the wife with £1200 overdraft up to limit. We also have a couple of small isas with the same bank that would pay this off but we want to keep this for emergencies.

Would the bank be able to take my savings to pay overdraft?

I also have an interest free debt on a card but intend to pay this off within two months.

Do i have to declare this when sending my DMP back to stepchange?

Cheers

Mick

Hi Mick,

Legally speaking a bank is allowed to take payments from one account to make payments on another account. So in theory they may take money from an ISA to repay an overdraft.

In reality some banks may not have the right computer setup to do this or may have their own policies.

If you're planning to use this money to clear some debts then I suppose it's not much of an issue. If, on the other hand, you need to keep it for an emergency fund then it may be worth considering transferring the ISAs for peace of mind.

We do ask that your DMP covers all the debts that you've got at the point you start your plan with us and that you don't take out any extra debts while on the DMP. So it's going to be best to have the overdraft and the interest free credit card either cleared off or included in the plan before it starts.

I'd suggest giving us a call and we'll be able to talk you through the best way to proceed.

Hope this helps.

James

nmmc909

Hi guys, first post and seeking some helpfull information about helping me sort some debt out.

First of all most of this debt was ran up when I was in my late teens - 20/21 year old, I'm now 28.

I know this maybe aint the best way to go about this however I've read that debt can be wiped after a certain amount of years? Is this true and if so how many years?

I've also read that if these company's are chasing you for debt that is over that amount of time you can write to them and tell them this and they then need to take you off there "debt list".

I know this prob aint the best way to do this but I simply can't afford to pay off out standing debt that I ran up years ago. I think its around the 2k maybe 3k at a big push.

What do you guys suggest I do? Can I get my credit file up, look at when this debt was made and then write to these company's asking them to write it off?

Do you have any other info that would help my situation like this?

By getting this debt writing off would this then help my credit rating? I'm alot more sensible now and looking to the future and looking to get my credit rating up. Also how should I obtain my credit file/report?

Any help is hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance - I will check back in tomorrow for hopefully some answers/info

Thanks!


***** If this is in the wrong section then let me know and change it to were it should be

StepChange_James

nmmc909 wrote: »

Hi guys, first post and seeking some helpfull information about helping me sort some debt out.

First of all most of this debt was ran up when I was in my late teens - 20/21 year old, I'm now 28.

I know this maybe aint the best way to go about this however I've read that debt can be wiped after a certain amount of years? Is this true and if so how many years?

I've also read that if these company's are chasing you for debt that is over that amount of time you can write to them and tell them this and they then need to take you off there "debt list".

I know this prob aint the best way to do this but I simply can't afford to pay off out standing debt that I ran up years ago. I think its around the 2k maybe 3k at a big push.

What do you guys suggest I do? Can I get my credit file up, look at when this debt was made and then write to these company's asking them to write it off?

Do you have any other info that would help my situation like this?

By getting this debt writing off would this then help my credit rating? I'm alot more sensible now and looking to the future and looking to get my credit rating up. Also how should I obtain my credit file/report?

Any help is hugely appreciated.

Thanks in advance - I will check back in tomorrow for hopefully some answers/info

Thanks!


***** If this is in the wrong section then let me know and change it to were it should be

Hello,

You're in the right place - welcome to the forum.

If you've not made any payments or acknowledged a debt in writing for 6 years then it becomes legally unenforceable - meaning they can't take you to court to make you pay the debt back. The debt does still exist though. You can read more about this in our blogpost here: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2011/08/your-debts-written-off-is-it-too-good-to-be-true/.

I'd suggest getting a copy of your credit report to see what's going on there. It's a good way to get an idea of what stage your debts have got to if you've lost track. There's a free service called noddle (https://www.noddle.co.uk/) which might be worth a go.

If these debts are still on your credit report then it very likely that they won't have passed the six year threshold and will still be able to fully enforce the debts. If you've completely lost track of the debts then you may have received CCJs (county court judgments) which you don't know about.

Once you've got some information about your debts I'd suggest you get in touch with us and we can give you in depth advice. You can do this online using our Debt Remedy tool (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) or by giving us a call (http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx).

There aren't any easy short cuts to improving your credit score but taking steps to deal with the debt should lead to things getting better. There are some good tips on little changes that will improve your credit rating here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score#improve but the most important thing is to get some advice on the debts you've already got outstanding.

Kind regards

James

skintsmiffy

I have a few store cards/accounts which i am desperately trying to pay off and close but cant due to the interest rates and temptation to use them in emergencys for the kids school clothes etc. I was wondering if there is any way to force the stores to not accept any future orders. I have asked them via email but i get no response. I still want online access to their sites but only to view my balances and make the monthly payments but I do not want to be able to place orders.

k-flynn-0180

Ok so couple of things. Around 9/10 years ago I got a credit card out with Capital one. I haven't heard from them and have since moved several times. I have no details of the account I had with them but it remains on my credit score. I've contacted them and they have no recollection of my account. What can I do? It'll always effect my score if it's always on there.

k-flynn-0180

I have a guarantor loan for £5000 with whom my partner is the guarantor. I have lost my job and the money is coming out of his account now. I want to get a DRO for this and another couple of debts I have. Can i do this without affecting my partners credit? And can I actually do this anyway? I'm incredibly confused!!!:(

nmmc909

StepChange_James wrote: »

Hello,

You're in the right place - welcome to the forum.

If you've not made any payments or acknowledged a debt in writing for 6 years then it becomes legally unenforceable - meaning they can't take you to court to make you pay the debt back. The debt does still exist though. You can read more about this in our blogpost here:

I'd suggest getting a copy of your credit report to see what's going on there. It's a good way to get an idea of what stage your debts have got to if you've lost track. There's a free service called noddle which might be worth a go.

If these debts are still on your credit report then it very likely that they won't have passed the six year threshold and will still be able to fully enforce the debts. If you've completely lost track of the debts then you may have received CCJs (county court judgments) which you don't know about.

Once you've got some information about your debts I'd suggest you get in touch with us and we can give you in depth advice. You can do this online using our Debt Remedy tool

There aren't any easy short cuts to improving your credit score but taking steps to deal with the debt should lead to things getting better. There are some good tips on little changes that will improve your credit rating here: but the most important thing is to get some advice on the debts you've already got outstanding.

Kind regards

James

Hi James

Thanks for the quick response and the information.

Ive got my credit report up and my credit rating is fair. I cant access any information on what is outstanding etc until a pin comes through from the company I went with so after that I will get intouch to let you know what they are saying to it.

Thanks again and i'll be intouch next week with more info

whirlwind999

I am currently in debt to the tune of £4.5K.
(Overdraft £2500, Council Tax,£800,smaller debts £400. No credit cards or other & £750 mortgage arrears)

I earn £16K in full time job & £3K part time. (working 65 hrs per week)
I have £1300 per month income.
I have £1200 per month outgoings
HSBC collections dept. are offering to consolidate my debts.
(they have not mentioned yet length of loan or % interest or wether it is secured / unsecured).
Would you advise i accept this or do you know of other companies i could go to for cheaper rates??

Thank you in advance for any help you can offer.

StepChange_James

skintsmiffy wrote: »

I have a few store cards/accounts which i am desperately trying to pay off and close but cant due to the interest rates and temptation to use them in emergencys for the kids school clothes etc. I was wondering if there is any way to force the stores to not accept any future orders. I have asked them via email but i get no response. I still want online access to their sites but only to view my balances and make the monthly payments but I do not want to be able to place orders.

Hello,

It's an interesting question. If you've fallen behind on payments most creditors will stop you from adding to the debt but not usually if you're up to date.

It's down to the individual company whether they're willing to do this. From a common sense point of view it would make sense to take away the temptation but I've a feeling that some may only be able to close an account once the balance has been cleared.

Obviously you can manage it from your end and just make sure you don't put through any orders, but I can understand why it would be helpful to have it blocked off at their end of things too.

The only way to know the answer would be to speak to the catalogue company. If they're not replying to emails then you might want to give them a call.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

k-flynn-0180 wrote: »

Ok so couple of things. Around 9/10 years ago I got a credit card out with Capital one. I haven't heard from them and have since moved several times. I have no details of the account I had with them but it remains on my credit score. I've contacted them and they have no recollection of my account. What can I do? It'll always effect my score if it's always on there.

Hello,

If this debt is still showing up on your credit history there should be some details listed there - such as an address for the creditor and an account number.

It's odd that they are updating the account but saying they don't know anything about it. I wonder if it's perhaps due to them not having the correct details.

If you can get a reference number from your credit file that might be enough to job their memory and work out what's going on.

Kind regards

James