How much info are you obliged to give DCAs?

OneSpike

Hello. We've been 'going it alone' with the credit card companies and DCAs since November last year and so far it hasn't gone too badly - at least nothing we haven't been able to handle. We were forced to move house a couple of months ago (landlords selling up) and so far haven't told the DCAs etc, we're getting our post via Post office redirection, and the lack of phone calls and knowing the barstewards can't just turn up is a big weight off our minds. I know it's probably not a good idea to keep our address from them, but having just moved and had a miscarriage, the breathing space is very welcome.

Anyway, several companies are fine with our home-made and fairly sketchy statement of financial incomings and outgoings, but one has asked for (and I quote) "a full financial statement that has been prepared by the Citizens Advice Bureau clearly showing your financial situation with your incomings, outgoings and list of creditors." Naturally they threaten legal action if we don't do this within the next five minutes. We've told each creditor what proportion of our overall debt they represent, so they should be able to work out our total debt, and we have been scrupulously fair in divvying up our disposable income between them. DH is adamant that we stay independent and retain control - the last thing he wants is someone telling us what we can and can't spend, esp as we're very good with our money (well we are now!) and have set budgets that generally work so I'm not panicking about feeding everyone or putting petrol in the car to get the kids to school and no, before you ask, there is no alternative mode of transport for us.

Anyway, I know they can ask for what the hell info they like, but does anyone know what we are actually obliged to give them? DH says they can find all this info anyway if they put a bit of effort in, and the last thing anyone wants is to do a DCA's work for them. If anyone knows I'd love to hear.

Thanks :beer:

ilovegreatdanes

hi,
they prob asking for this as cccs and payplan would give them this info if you were with them.no probs doing your own dmp.have you looked on the national debtline website.they do really good template letters and can send you a really useful a4 booklet with all sorts of useful stuff in that you might need.
basically they dont trust you and want as much dosh as they can so its up to you if you want to provide more details.be careful though, cos if they take you to court, you will have to back all the info up for the judge to make a realistic amount to pay back and youll get a ccj which is bad for your cred rating.
sure someone will be along with more advice shortly.
kind regards, ilgd

CCCS_Emily

Hello,

Your creditors and the DCAs are only entitled to what you have left after your living costs. However there are guidelines that are used to work out reasonable amounts for certain living costs i.e food, clothing etc. If your financial statement is fine and within those guidelines they cannot really despute it, especially if you are paying them their fair share. If there are some areas concidered to be high the only way they could challenge them would be to go for a County Court Judgement.

Our online advice facility Debt Remedy helps you put together a more formal budget and gives you some idea of these guidelines. www.cccs.co.uk

Maybe have a go and see.

alwaysonthego_2

I volunteer at the Cab and we help clients to fill out budget sheets to send to creditors. I have included a link for a cab credit sheet you could use. The housekeeping bit is £20 per person a week plus £20 in the household a week extra for the house iykwim. Has Greatdanes says the creditors want to know they are recieving a fair amount of money

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/d_budget_sheet.pdf

OneSpike

Thanks everyone, that's exactly the sort of stuff I was after.

alwaysonthego, your figures for things are very interesting. Presumably that's £20 per person per week for food, plus £20 left over for household odds and sods? Where does that leave you for school uniform, fuel etc? I've had a good hunt in the links but can't see a summary of that sort of thing. Is it a blanket allowance for children and adults?

If there's anything online that would list that sort of thing that would be brilliant. I'm very aware of the 'justifying to a judge' thing, I run it through my mind frequently when deciding whether to do or buy something (I'm talking the scale of a once-every-six-months haircut or a £2 ticket for a summer holiday event for my daughter!), exhausting but no way round it. There are times I wish we'd had one hell of a time getting into debt, it might feel a bit more worth all this sh*t!

alwaysonthego_2

you should fill it out honestly but ensure that you put enough down for your utility bills. You can put petrol down in travel expenses. I would include the ages of your children. School uniforms would go down in the clothing expenses, but work out much you roughly spend on clothes a year and divide it in a monthly payment. You could include pocket money for children too.