Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

big_chef

HELP. i have two debts with halifax that they have sold to three recovery agencies it is now with wescot. i don't own my house i rent and im sruggling to get by. wescot are phoning and sending letters everyday is there any way i can get help? The reasons I'm here asking for help is i have two young children and i want to build a future for them in our own home which means fixing my credit rating, thanks

StepChange_James

Tyfelt wrote: »

I have a personal loan with Barclays that usually I pay off with no problems but lately have been having difficulty with due to reduced income. I don't predict it being a long-term problem, but need to pay a lower amount for a few months. I called Barclays to negotiate this and told them exactly what I could pay and that I would recoup the deficit ASAP. They actually accepted my terms straight away, however when speaking to them I said that if we were unable to come to an agreement I would have StepChange contact Barclays on my behalf. The person I was speaking to said that if I did that all my current accounts would be closed. I assume they meant Barclays accounts, so I said I didn't have any (which I don't), and they replied that all my current accounts would be closed Barclays or otherwise. This seems like it must be untrue as I don't see how it helps me clear my debt. Have they lied to me?

Hello,

Mum2one is right (as usual!). There's no way on earth someone working at Barclays could close down an account of yours with a different banking organisation.

I'd hope that rather than lying it was just a misunderstanding but any bank account with other banks are completely outside the grasp of Barclays.

I'm glad that (odd conversation aside) you managed to get an agreement set up at an affordable amount while times are tough. If you have any problems with them in the future feel free to get in touch with us for more in depth advice.

Cheers

James

StepChange_James

big_chef wrote: »

HELP. i have two debts with halifax that they have sold to three recovery agencies it is now with wescot. i don't own my house i rent and im sruggling to get by. wescot are phoning and sending letters everyday is there any way i can get help? The reasons I'm here asking for help is i have two young children and i want to build a future for them in our own home which means fixing my credit rating, thanks

Hi Big Chef,

Here's an article about how to deal with phone calls from creditors: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2011/06/what-to-do-when-creditors-keep-phoning-you-2/. You should hopefully find it useful for dealing with the immediate problem of them hassling you.

I would also recommend you get in touch with us for more long term debt advice. Being pestered for payments is a symptom of struggling with these debts and we can help you get them back on track.

I'd suggest using our online advice tool, Debt Remedy (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp). This will guide you through making a personal budget and then recommend ways to sort this debt out. It takes about 20 minutes and you'll probably find that debt collectors take you more seriously when they know you're getting advice from us.

Kind regards

James

StepChange_James

LindaLee wrote: »

HI guys, can u give some information about HSBC loan ?? and how can I get it ?

Hi LindaLee,

As a debt advisor, most of my knowledge is about helping people to get out of debt. So I'm probably not the best person to help with trying to get a loan.

The most important thing is to make sure you'll be able to afford the loan over the time you take it out. Planning out a detailed income and expenditure budget helps with this.

If you know you can afford it then hopefully the bank will be able to see that too. Having a good credit rating helps too though, there are some really good tips in this article: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score#improve.

Ultimately it's the bank's decision, so at short notice there aren't many things you can do to help. I'd only suggest trying to make sure you're not over committing and look at the total amount you'll pay back over the course of the loan and make sure you're happy about how much it will cost you.

Kind regards

James

samdvf

I am attempting to dispute excessive charges on a car hire purchase agreement. When the agreement was taken out the customer was advised that the GAP financial protection and the PPI was compulsory. I have template letters for the PPI and am dealing with that separately. However the GAP was forced upon the customer (by the finance company) and to add insult to injury the GAP was donated freely by the car sales company.

The original agreement stated that after half the payments had been made the contract could be prematurely ended. The customer had already paid more than half of the total agreement so when he needed to return the car he assumed it would go smoothly.

However, The finance company are now billing him for nearly £1800 of GAP insurance (when the original policy stated the GAP was only £695, AND it states that "Payments you make are allotted proportionally to each part of this agreement."). The GAP insurance takes interest at 17%, and it claims £472.59 over the length of the loan.

The finance comapny is also claiming £175 to bring the vehicle to a satisfactory standard, although when the 8 year old vehicle (the customer had possession of it for 26 months) was collected the vehicle inspection report shows there was no such damage. The car was driven from the property on collection, not transported on a transporter.

Also they are claiming an extra £45 for a valet, although the customer has a receipt for a full valet he had arranged for the vehicle to be returned in good condition.

I am trying to challenge all of these costs on behalf of a good friend of mine who is struggling to keep his head above water while working all the hours God sends to support his family and pay private rent which is crippling. These charges are just too much for him.

Could you suggest some way forward, I have the PPI covered I think from template letters for the PPI sections here. But the rest???

Im not sure if its relevant but he was only ever given pages 9&10 (of 27) of his original agreement.

Thanks in advance

xxx Sam xxx

tubsolard

Hi,

I have been struggling for a number of years but finally, if I want to be, I will be debt free this year. Over the last year or somy wages have risen quite impressibly and I've moved home to my parents for a year reduced rent in order to be able to clear my debt. I've also used the extra income to pass my driving test.

Anyway, long story short I don't mind having debt now I just need to be disciplined that it is within my means so I want to get a loan to buy a nice car (which could possibly be cleared with a nice bonus next year or with a share plan ending in 2.5 years) but my credit score is poor.

Both the Credit Agreements section and Previous Searches are Yellow in my equifax profile. The Previous Searches was RED so I'm currently 2 months into a period of 6 where I've decided not to apply for any credit what-so-ever and this is now yellow but I don't understand why the Credit Agreement section is also yellow but I have an idea.

Is this affected by the amount of credit agreements I currently have even if they are all being paid back promptly?
I have no defaults or CCJs but I did have a problem with my phone bill last year where, up until July last year I was 1 month behind on my payments every month and I had 1 late payment on a credit card this year, but that's pretty much it.
How do I make this green?
I currently have 3 credit building credit cards so I am aware this might be a bit excessive, is it worth clearing one of these or 2?

I just want to improve my credit rating as quickly as possible so that I can get a loan with a reasonable interest rate and if there is some advice a bit more extensive than the obvious "keep your payments up to date and don't take on any more credit or carry out any searches" then it would be appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

Scott

StepChange_James

samdvf wrote: »

I am attempting to dispute excessive charges on a car hire purchase agreement. When the agreement was taken out the customer was advised that the GAP financial protection and the PPI was compulsory. I have template letters for the PPI and am dealing with that separately. However the GAP was forced upon the customer (by the finance company) and to add insult to injury the GAP was donated freely by the car sales company.

The original agreement stated that after half the payments had been made the contract could be prematurely ended. The customer had already paid more than half of the total agreement so when he needed to return the car he assumed it would go smoothly.

However, The finance company are now billing him for nearly £1800 of GAP insurance (when the original policy stated the GAP was only £695, AND it states that "Payments you make are allotted proportionally to each part of this agreement."). The GAP insurance takes interest at 17%, and it claims £472.59 over the length of the loan.

The finance comapny is also claiming £175 to bring the vehicle to a satisfactory standard, although when the 8 year old vehicle (the customer had possession of it for 26 months) was collected the vehicle inspection report shows there was no such damage. The car was driven from the property on collection, not transported on a transporter.

Also they are claiming an extra £45 for a valet, although the customer has a receipt for a full valet he had arranged for the vehicle to be returned in good condition.

I am trying to challenge all of these costs on behalf of a good friend of mine who is struggling to keep his head above water while working all the hours God sends to support his family and pay private rent which is crippling. These charges are just too much for him.

Could you suggest some way forward, I have the PPI covered I think from template letters for the PPI sections here. But the rest???

Im not sure if its relevant but he was only ever given pages 9&10 (of 27) of his original agreement.

Thanks in advance

xxx Sam xxx

Hi Sam,

This sounds like a bit of a nightmare. It's great that your friend has you for help and support with this.

One path you could look to explore would be the complaints process. To start this off your friend would need to make a written complaint to the HP company (it doesn't have to be in writing but is usually more effective this way).

The HP company then has to reply and if they don't resolve it to your friend's satisfaction the complaint can then be passed on to the Financial Ombudsman (http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/consumer/complaints.htm) to investigate.

You might want to consider copy and pasting your query onto the CAB board on this forum. There's an area for queries about disputing debts and I'm sure they'll be able to add more suggestions.

Here's the link to their bit: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=211.

All the best.

James

StepChange_James

tubsolard wrote: »

Hi,

I have been struggling for a number of years but finally, if I want to be, I will be debt free this year. Over the last year or somy wages have risen quite impressibly and I've moved home to my parents for a year reduced rent in order to be able to clear my debt. I've also used the extra income to pass my driving test.

Anyway, long story short I don't mind having debt now I just need to be disciplined that it is within my means so I want to get a loan to buy a nice car (which could possibly be cleared with a nice bonus next year or with a share plan ending in 2.5 years) but my credit score is poor.

Both the Credit Agreements section and Previous Searches are Yellow in my equifax profile. The Previous Searches was RED so I'm currently 2 months into a period of 6 where I've decided not to apply for any credit what-so-ever and this is now yellow but I don't understand why the Credit Agreement section is also yellow but I have an idea.

Is this affected by the amount of credit agreements I currently have even if they are all being paid back promptly?
I have no defaults or CCJs but I did have a problem with my phone bill last year where, up until July last year I was 1 month behind on my payments every month and I had 1 late payment on a credit card this year, but that's pretty much it.
How do I make this green?
I currently have 3 credit building credit cards so I am aware this might be a bit excessive, is it worth clearing one of these or 2?

I just want to improve my credit rating as quickly as possible so that I can get a loan with a reasonable interest rate and if there is some advice a bit more extensive than the obvious "keep your payments up to date and don't take on any more credit or carry out any searches" then it would be appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

Scott

Hi Scott,

The best place for tips on improving your credit score are here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/credit-rating-credit-score#improve. You may well have already read this, as it seems you've put some of the tips into action already.

It's hard to say if your three credit building cards are helping or hindering your credit worthiness. The trust might be a bit of both. The fact that you're showing you're using credit responsibly builds up over time and starts to make things look better.

The negative aspect is that creditors often look at your available balances (regardless of whether they're used or not) and might shy away if they think you've already got too much credit potentially available. So if these cards have reasonably high limits they could reduce the amount other companies are willing to lend to you.

I'd not worry too much about the equifax colour coding system. Creditors only use the information they provide, not their interpretation of it. These systems that credit reference agencies are broad guides, each creditor decides whether to lend using their own process.

One thing that will make a positive difference to your credit file is clearing the debts you've currently got outstanding. Obvious I suppose, but worth mentioning.

I'm not sure I've given you much to go on there but it does sound like you're already doing the right sort of things. The frustrating thing is that it can take a bit of time before negative information stops dragging down your credit rating.

Kind regards

James

Lucky_Clover

Just starting my DMP with Step Change and sent off the forms -- but have heard nothing in reply a week later.

I decided to phone by ringing the free to mobiles 0800 number but was told I had to go through the 08442641919 number to speak to the correct advisor. Well it did not take long for the music that I listened to whilst waiting on that line to gobble up my £10 phone credit

---

and so now I am without use of my mobile :-(

Will it always cost an arm and a leg for me to call Step Change when I need to speak to my advisor?? I do not have a landline phone. I still do not know whether you have received my DMP a week later. And I have no money for phone credit at present to have any of my other personal questions answered.

Feeling stuck :-(

scotschick_2

Hi,

Hope you can help. I am currently trying to face up to my debts...and have been looking over lots of comments on the forums to understand what steps I can take.

I have over 25k of credit card debt and although I am making my payments, I am only making minimum payments so the money is not reducing.:(

I was wondering that if I approach the card companies, and explain my difficulties, I am looking to see if they would freeze my interest for a period of time.

My questions are:

Can I ask for it to be set for a fixed period of time, or would they tell me how long they may be willing to?
I can still maintain my existing payments. Should I assume they will view this as a positive?
Does asking them to freeze interest show as a default on my credit for the next 6 years?

Hope these questions are logical.

I had considered looking to use equity in my house to meet some of the debt, but my thinking is that that there is a low option of this, since there is so much focus on the Loan To Value element. My flat is worth 120,00 and I owe 90,000 on the mortgage, but am I right in this thinking?

Would really appreciate some informed advice. I am considering a DMP but want to try to deal with this myself first.

So desperate to get control of this situation.!!!!:o:o

Thanks:)