Scare tactics or more serious?

EmptyPockets

Hello guys,

We've just posted our DMP back to CCCS and are awaiting the welcome pack, and have also posted letters of notification to each creditor explaining about the DMP, due to start on Ocober 1st.

This morning this letter arrived from one of my hubby's creditors, and I'm slightly worried as it 'sounds' quite serious, scary, frightening, etc... Would you guys please read and tell me what you think we should do? Thank you very much...

We remain very disappointed that you have failed to settle the debt or make satisfactory repayment proposals (£1636 Natwest CC debt, and we DID make an offer of repayment which they refused as it 'wasn't high enough').

We have now recommended to our client that solicitors should be instructed to commence court proceedings against you for recovery of the debt... court costs, etc...

This may involve the granting of a ccj against you. This would become a matter of public record... affect credit in future...

Options open to us are as follows:
1. County Court Bailiff visits you at home and takes away possessions to sell and set off against the debt (OMG)
2. A charge is placed against your property or assets (we rent, but have a cheap car??)... until the debt is paid.
3. Your employer deducts monies from your salary to set off against your debt (OMG - we can't afford to lose money from the wages apart from what we've already agreed for the DMP)
4. You attend court and submit to a personal detailed examination, under oath, of your personal financial affairs before a senior officer of the court (OMG!)

Ring us immediately, blah blah, to discuss repayment, etc.

I'm panicking and haven't yet showed the letter to my hubby as he's still at work - PLEASE - what do you think? Do we just continue as we are with the DMP and let CCCS contact them as they would anyway?

Hope someone can calm me down :eek:

EmptyPockets x

rayday2

Continue with the DMP have you sent letters out yet? If not write a quick letter saying you are entering a DMP and give them a cheque for a token payment, ie, less than there offer will be. The trick is to keep sending them payments of what you are deciding not what they are but do send something!

HairyHandofDartmoor

Show the letter to CCCS and ask them what to do. They're probably just bluffing.

EmptyPockets

Yes, we posted the 'notification of DMP' to each creditor this weekend just gone. We will also be sending token payments to each as soon as hubby's next wage cheque clears (couple of weeks) they' ve only just had a payment anyway, so it's not as if it's been months without paying anything :eek:

Sorry for the garbled post above, was just in a bit of a panic

rustybucket

It actually appears to be a generic letter, reading it I'm sure I had one similar.

Doe this mean that Natwest have passed the debt onto an agency? If so that could be a good thing, as interest will hopefully stop.

You should have a CCCS reference number even though you are in the process of setting it all up, check your correspondance.

I suggest you call this company and tell them that you are now on a DMP with CCCS, quote the reference number and ask who you are speaking to. Make a note of their name for your reference. Don't get into discussions about payments etc, tell the person that they need to speak to CCCS who are acting on behalf of you. Just tell them that info then finish the call.

I tell you this, ringing them and letting them know whats going on is one of the best things you can do as it makes you realise there is little to worry about, it also means you can say to yourself you're dealing with this and not putting you head in the sand. I was dreading calling them but once I had it made me realise how easy it was to deal with them.

Don't worry this is all part of it. I have been on a DMP with Payplan since April, had a couple of those letters and all my creditors have accepted, though one is still applying interest.

How will it pan out? Who knows, however it is so nice to be living day to day without the worry of not having enough money to pay the bills.

nottoolate

I wouldn't panic. I've read on here that even if they did take you to court you can apply to pay by instalments which would be about the same as your dmp payments anyway. i'm sure Natwest know this and so this is all a bluff to scare you. CCS should be able to reasure you. I think lots of people here get similar lettters and nothing ever happens.

EmptyPockets

Yep, Natwest passed the debt onto this agency (Triton Credit Services) quite a while back, we had been paying them a reduced amount each month which all went smoothly - until the six months were up, and then they started getting nasty telling us we had to pay the full outstanding amount immediately, hence the YANKING of heads from the sand and setting up the DMP.

Can't tell you how much calmer I feel already after your replies (deep breath, deep breath ) - thanks EVER SO much guys. Any more opinions welcome, I promise I'm not a gibbering wreck anymore... :rolleyes:

EmptyPockets x

CCCS_Matthew

Hi there,

The letter you have recieved is really nothing to worry about. The important thing to realise within the letter is the language used.

"This may involve the granting of a ccj against you"

"May" is suggesting there is a possibility it could happen, rather than a certaincy. The most scary part of the letter is the 4 different possibilities that they threaten with. The thing to remember here is even if they did get a CCJ, they cannot simpy proceed with any of those options - you would have to default on a payment through a CCJ before they can apply for baliffs, get an attatchement of earnings etc. And as we would have mentioned on the appointment, if you ever did get a CCJ, no judge would ever make you pay more to the creditor than you can physically afford - so there would be no reason for you to default on a payment through court anyway.

If you want to discuss this further, or get any other paperwork that you're not sure of, feel free to give us a call (the number will be on the paperwork).

Good luck with the DMP

CCCS

spud30

It does sound like a standard letter EP - I'm sure I've had a couple worded exactly the same.

I just wanted to reassure you that things do get easier hun.

Our DMP started a year ago, in fact we've just had our CCCS budget review this afternoon (a lovely young man rang, made my afternoon )

A year on, everything has now settled down. No more phone calls - I still dread the post arriving, just in case, but that's just me being daft.

Good luck :beer:

3LITTLEPIGS_2

we have had this letter too,our natwest cc was £6600 and we started our DMP with CCCS back in Jan.
YOu will receive lots of letters like this and phonecalls-just give them your CCCS ref no and tell them they are dealing with it- our calls have stopped although we still receive threatening letters from the current a/c side of Nwest and they are still adding crgs every month.
You've done the right thing so just remember that!!
THe relief we felt from doing this is worth the odd letter!
Good luck

char22

hi
i had a debt of around £2000 with natwest, i had the same letters etc all the threats. i wasn't with a dmp though. in the end i just said to them i can pay £5 a week by direct debit nd have be paying it like that for 2 and half years. i know its gonna take years to pay it back but in the long run at least its delt with now