Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

mum2one

Once stepchange get involved and u get reference numbers it soon make a difference to Very, just pay what u can afford whilst its being sorted

ib7

Hi,

Just looking for some quick advice.

I have a few payday loans which I can't afford to keep paying the interest.

I have contacted my bank to cancel the CPA's. I have drafted up letters to send to the companies (not sent). What would be the best thing to do next?

Wait a few days then ring the companies to check if they have received my letters? Then make some agreement to pay x amount at the end of the month?

In regards to CCJ's, threatening court. When can thy do this? So for example payday loan of £500, only pay £100 in 2 months at this point would they threaten court or would this depend on how much I have paid off the loan at that point?


Thanks

mum2one

ib7 wrote: »

Hi,

Just looking for some quick advice.

I have a few payday loans which I can't afford to keep paying the interest.

I have contacted my bank to cancel the CPA's. I have drafted up letters to send to the companies (not sent). What would be the best thing to do next?

Wait a few days then ring the companies to check if they have received my letters? Then make some agreement to pay x amount at the end of the month?

In regards to CCJ's, threatening court. When can thy do this? So for example payday loan of £500, only pay £100 in 2 months at this point would they threaten court or would this depend on how much I have paid off the loan at that point?


Thanks

it sounds like you need to look at speaking to stepchange - try the online debt rememdy tool, as this will assess your incomings v outgoings as - with more than 1 payday loan, it sounds like you need some help, and I would go down the stepchange route, who will be able to help in repayment plans as necessary - there have more clout than u as an individual,

Former_StepChange_Rachel

MaryHiggings wrote: »

A few years ago I decided by buy a car on finance, because it was a little out of my price range, but always wanted it so thought what the heck? It's probably one of the worst financial decisions I've ever made.

I am now in a situation where I no longer own the car as it was involved in a very bad car accident (everybody was ok) and written off. However I am now paying for the car I no longer own!

I now have an awful credit rating to boot.

Will never do that again, and advise anybody else looking to never, NEVER do it.


MH

Hi there Mary

Thank you for sharing your story with us. I'm very sorry to hear you've been struggling with this car finance that still needs paying off.

With the car itself no longer being a factor, this finance would now be considered a non-priority debt, meaning it would always come secondary to your living expenses. If you feel they're suffering right now as a result of this or other debts, we could have a look at your whole budget and advise on realistic lower payments as well as any long term debt advice you might benefit from.

Our anonymous advice tool Debt Remedy can provide a solution in just 20 minutes

Hope this helps

Best regards

Rachel

vikwikx

hi,

i'm new so please be kind!!
my son privately rented a property with his girlfriend in beginning december last year. unfortunately she kicked him out xmas day. he has lived with us since and i think the tenancy has ended. a debt letter for electricity has landed on our mat addressed to the rented property, but in his name for £178. please advise wot to do.thank you

Former_StepChange_Rachel

mill1980 wrote: »

I have a quick question if anyone knows the answer on this forum or forgive me for posting in the wrong place. I final sold a property on a shortsale gaining £42,000 for a property I paid £87,000 5 years previously plus a 20k unsecured load (Northern Rock obv)....I know I know bad decision any way property sold (woohoo) and outstanding amount is £65,000. My plan is to take this into my DMP which is about another £4000 and then look for a trust deed (scottish equivilent of IVA) anyway..... I have no realistic prospect of paying off the £65,000 ever to NRAM can I offer then a final settlement of say £5000 to be paid over 2 years and call it quits? either that or I enter the trust deed where they would recieve considerable less overall? maybe not maybe I am just better doing the trust deed. anyone got any advice>

Thanks

Hi there and thank you for posting.

It certainly sounds like you would benefit from some free and confidential debt advice.

We can look at your whole budget and advise if you’re best incorporating that mortgage shortfall and NRAM loan into your DMP or if a Scottish Trust Deed is a more suitable option. If something else arises as a good option, we can of course advise you on this as well.

If you are already a StepChange client, please give us a call and we’ll review your budget for you. If not, you can use our anonymous advice tool Debt Remedy which can give you a solution in just 20 minutes

Hope this helps

Best regards

Rachel

Former_StepChange_Rachel

raspberry22 wrote: »

Thank you so much for the advice, I have been worrying myself sick about this.

They are trying to contact me by phone, but I haven't been answering as I hate talking on the phone about things like this. Would I be better talking to them or sending a letter with the info you suggested I give them? I have done a budget on the StepChange website which clearly shows we can't afford to pay what they're asking. They're threatening to pass the debt off to a collector.

ETA - I have been able to give them a partial payment of just over half having managed to sell some things and have suggested further payments of £80 a month. Will they expect this is addition to the current monthly payments (which were a struggle to meet)? The wording on their website (the NDR part) is unclear, which I suppose is to their advantage.

Hi there,

If you really don't feel comfortable talking with them over the phone, then you are well within your rights to ask all correspondence to be made in writing.

As far as the extra payment you've offered to make on top of the £80pm, it really is to their discretion if they'll want more or be happy with your offer. if Debt Remedy has told you that you cannot afford what they're asking, then you're free to send them a copy of your budget along with an offer of payment that's much more realistic for you. Please know as well that we are here for you if you're looking into longer-term debt solutions.

Hope this helps

Best regards

Rachel

Former_StepChange_Rachel

ib7 wrote: »

Hi,

Just looking for some quick advice.

I have a few payday loans which I can't afford to keep paying the interest.

I have contacted my bank to cancel the CPA's. I have drafted up letters to send to the companies (not sent). What would be the best thing to do next?

Wait a few days then ring the companies to check if they have received my letters? Then make some agreement to pay x amount at the end of the month?

In regards to CCJ's, threatening court. When can thy do this? So for example payday loan of £500, only pay £100 in 2 months at this point would they threaten court or would this depend on how much I have paid off the loan at that point?


Thanks

Hi there,

To reinforce the great advice you've already been given by other members of the forum, it's really important that you get some free debt advice on your situation.

I would certainly suggest that you send the letters to the creditors cancelling the CPA they currently have. Your bank should adhere to your request moving forward and no further payments should be taken from your account, but it's wise to send the CPA to your creditors as well so they are in full understanding of your situation. If you're looking for more in-depth guidance on CPA's, we have an article on our blog that might help.

Creditors can threaten court once you've missed a payment, and often do. Keep in mind however that a threat of court is not a guarantee of court action. Once you have defaulted on a debt a creditor is within their right to pass the debt to a collection agency, but these are not bailiffs and have no powers to seize goods from your home. Court action is the next step after this but there's no rigid time frame of when this happens. We can always advise you if a debt ever gets to this stage.

If you're looking for some free and confidential advice, our online tool Debt Remedy can help in just 20 minutes

Best regards

Rachel

System

raspberry22 wrote: »

Thank you so much for the advice, I have been worrying myself sick about this.

They are trying to contact me by phone, but I haven't been answering as I hate talking on the phone about things like this. Would I be better talking to them or sending a letter with the info you suggested I give them? I have done a budget on the StepChange website which clearly shows we can't afford to pay what they're asking. They're threatening to pass the debt off to a collector.

ETA - I have been able to give them a partial payment of just over half having managed to sell some things and have suggested further payments of £80 a month. Will they expect this is addition to the current monthly payments (which were a struggle to meet)? The wording on their website (the NDR part) is unclear, which I suppose is to their advantage.

Hi raspberry22,

There’s no need to worry when talking to creditors but if you’d prefer you can ask that they correspond by letter alone. Forward them your budget so they can see proof of your situation.

Threatening to pass it to a debt collector could just be a tactic to put you under some pressure but even if they do there’s no need to worry. A debt collector would be entitled to/make you pay the same amount as Very.

You should only be offering them one payment per month of an amount that you can afford within your own budget. You don’t need to offer an amount on top by selling things.

Just stick to paying the amount that Debt Remedy recommended – if you need to speak to a debt advisor give us a call.

Thanks,

Jess

raspberry22

Thank you both. Being able to ask for advice here has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders.

I have made the extra payment and have told them that I am willing to pay £80, just waiting to hear what they say. I was happy to use the money I raised to at least pay part of the arrears off. We are managing our other bills and payments, but have been hit badly with the Very payment (and of course the arrears), in good part due to the interest rate pushing the payments up so much. For that reason I don't really want to enter into a full blown dmp, as I'd rather continue paying the rest of the debts as we currently are, although the website did recommend we go for one.

I find talking about this to them makes me very anxious, which then exacerbates my illness, so prefer writing for that reason. They are still trying to phone occasionally, but I don't answer.

If they get awkward I'll point out that if I was on a dmp that they're payments would actually be far less than I'm offering and just hope against hope that they see the sense in this.

Just need to wait now I suppose.

StepChange_Jess wrote: »

Hi raspberry22,

There’s no need to worry when talking to creditors but if you’d prefer you can ask that they correspond by letter alone. Forward them your budget so they can see proof of your situation.

Threatening to pass it to a debt collector could just be a tactic to put you under some pressure but even if they do there’s no need to worry. A debt collector would be entitled to/make you pay the same amount as Very.

You should only be offering them one payment per month of an amount that you can afford within your own budget. You don’t need to offer an amount on top by selling things.

Just stick to paying the amount that Debt Remedy recommended – if you need to speak to a debt advisor give us a call.

Thanks,

Jess