Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

Former_StepChange_Joe

Changingtimes wrote: »

Interesting reading, thank you everyone. I have hit rock bottom myself, I know I am in debt and at this moment it's payday loan after payday loan just to live. My salary keeps on top of payments, all loans paid in full or being paid but I cannot sustain it any more. I don't even know where to start to be honest. Do I issue complaints or do I speak to professionals? Do I continue to pay? I feel this post is my start to recovery but I really don't know where to begin. Any advice would be welcomed. ��

Hello

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling with your debts. Becoming stuck in the cycle of lending and paying can be really overwhelming, and it can certainly make it difficult to see a way out. Please be assured there is a way forward, and I’ll do everything I can to help.

First of all, if you feel the money has been lent to you irresponsibly or in bad faith, you can make a complaint to the lenders concerned. If the creditors don’t respond within 8 weeks or you're not satisfied with their response, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS).

• Phone - 0300 123 9123 or 0800 023 4567 (Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm or Saturday 8am to 1pm)
• Email – [EMAIL="complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk"]complaint.info@financial-ombudsman.org.uk
  
  [/EMAIL]

The FOS are an impartial service so there’s no guarantee they’d resolve the complaint in your favour, and they may find that the creditor has acted fairly. However, they can order the creditors to reverse any unfair decisions and put them right.

In the mean-time, it’s clear that the debts aren’t affordable and are causing further debt and distress. If you’re ready to break this cycle, StepChange Debt Charity can give you all the advice and support you need. A good place to start is our anonymous online Debt Remedy tool. This is available 24 hours a day and takes about 20 minutes to complete. The tool will guide you through creating a budget and will then offer the best debt solution for your situation. (Please note that if you complain to the creditor and eventually the FOS, paying towards debts that you are disputing will harm your claim).

I hope you’ve found this useful.

Thanks

Joe

Panjalina

Hi. I have just been issued a ccj for water rates I owed. Spoke to united utilities and explained that this may impact on my job. They said I should accept the claim and request a Tomlin order. I did as they said and received a ccj.
I rang united utilities and asked why this had happened, they said I should have contested and put In a defence.
Now I’m wondering if there is any point asking for this to be set aside or is it going to end up with me out of pocket and no better off? United utilities have agreed to give me a tomlin order if I can get it set aside? Any advice? Thanks

Former_StepChange_Linsi

[FONT=&quot]Good morning,[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I’m sorry to hear you’ve received a CCJ. It sounds like things have got a bit confusing with United Utilities.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]When a claim form is issued we’d recommend returning the form with a pro-rata offer and attach a letter making it clear the offer of payment to the judgment is only applicable if the Tomlin order is refused.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]As United Utilities agreed to the Tomlin Order they shouldn’t have registered a judgement against you after receiving your claim form. Instead they should have sent you a schedule for the Tomlin Order and ask you to sign the order.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]You can apply to the court to have the judgement set aside using an N244 form. This would cost £255, but you may be able to get help to cover the fee if you’re on a low income. You can find more information about help covering fees here.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]On the form you’ll need to explain what has happened and that you’d like to have the judgement set aside as United Utilities have agreed to a Tomlin Order.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]There’s no guarantee the court will agree to set aside the judgement but they may agree to do so as you’ve followed the correct process and United Utilities agreed to a Tomlin Order before registering a judgement.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]In your post you mentioned a CCJ may impact your job. You can check your contract of employment or speak confidentially to your HR department or union rep to get a definitive answer.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If a CCJ won’t impact your job you may find it easier just to pay the judgement at the rate agreed. If this payment isn’t affordable or becomes unaffordable in the future you can use an N245 form to vary the judgement. Varying a judgement costs £50.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I hope this helps,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]
[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Linsi[/FONT]

Panjalina wrote: »

Hi. I have just been issued a ccj for water rates I owed. Spoke to united utilities and explained that this may impact on my job. They said I should accept the claim and request a Tomlin order. I did as they said and received a ccj.
I rang united utilities and asked why this had happened, they said I should have contested and put In a defence.
Now I’m wondering if there is any point asking for this to be set aside or is it going to end up with me out of pocket and no better off? United utilities have agreed to give me a tomlin order if I can get it set aside? Any advice? Thanks

Knitqueen

Good Morning

I posted this on the Debt Free Wannabe board but realise it might be better placed here.

I’ve been stressing for a while now over my finances which seem to have got into a mess fairly quickly following some changes of job/marriage/income over the last few years. I have been on a DMP in the past and was just getting back to normal - good credit file etc when all of this happened and very quickly I’ve got into a mess again. I’m so upset with myself.
At the moment, I can just about scrape by making payments but the tiniest thing (car service, Christmas, unexpected expense) will tip me over the edge. I already struggle for the last week to 10 days each month with very little money and using credit to cover expenses.
I have used the step change tool and they recommend a DMP which they think would take me 3 years to clear my debts. This seems reasonable to me and involves paying just a bit less than currently, but with (hopefully) interest frozen.

But I am worried. I have a senior job in a school and I worry about whether they would know about this. I have a company credit card and really worry that this alone would become an issue and therefore they would know.
I can just about live with the wrecked credit file for 6 years although I’d rather not, but the job situation is really bothering me. Does anyone know if this would have an effect on a company credit card?
Also - it’s been some time since I was in this situation before. Are companies more likely to accept a DMP now or will they still tend to try for CCJ or sell the debt on.

I really am unsure what to do and any advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks!

Peeping

What's a good amount to offer on an original debt of £7k?

DCA have offered me a figure around 3.5k.

Have asked for proof of debt from the original company - if this cannot be provided what happens?

StepChange_Kirsty

Hello,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear about the difficulties you’ve been experiencing. It’s good you’ve used our online Debt Remedy tool to see what options are available to you.

If the company credit card is in the company name then the debt management plan (DMP) would not impact this and there is no reason why your employer should find out about your DMP unless they do regular credit checks on you as part of your employment. On the other hand if it is a personal credit card that your company expects you to use for work expenses we’d need you to contact us order that we can discuss this further with you.

In our experience, where your budget is reasonable creditors are often willing to accept offers made through a DMP rather than obtaining a CCJ as they understand the outcome of going to court is unlikely to be any different than if they’d accepted your offer in the first place. The creditors are more likely to take legal action if they don’t hear from you or if they see the costs in your budget are higher than they would expect as they know the court is unlikely to allow you to keep high costs when they work out your payments.

If you’d like to discuss your budget with us or if you have any further questions or concerns, please give us a call in order to speak to one of our specialist Debt Advisors.

All the best,

Kirsty

Knitqueen wrote: »

Good Morning

I posted this on the Debt Free Wannabe board but realise it might be better placed here.

I’ve been stressing for a while now over my finances which seem to have got into a mess fairly quickly following some changes of job/marriage/income over the last few years. I have been on a DMP in the past and was just getting back to normal - good credit file etc when all of this happened and very quickly I’ve got into a mess again. I’m so upset with myself.
At the moment, I can just about scrape by making payments but the tiniest thing (car service, Christmas, unexpected expense) will tip me over the edge. I already struggle for the last week to 10 days each month with very little money and using credit to cover expenses.
I have used the step change tool and they recommend a DMP which they think would take me 3 years to clear my debts. This seems reasonable to me and involves paying just a bit less than currently, but with (hopefully) interest frozen.

But I am worried. I have a senior job in a school and I worry about whether they would know about this. I have a company credit card and really worry that this alone would become an issue and therefore they would know.
I can just about live with the wrecked credit file for 6 years although I’d rather not, but the job situation is really bothering me. Does anyone know if this would have an effect on a company credit card?
Also - it’s been some time since I was in this situation before. Are companies more likely to accept a DMP now or will they still tend to try for CCJ or sell the debt on.

I really am unsure what to do and any advice would be gratefully received.
Thanks!

StepChange_Kirsty

Hello,

Thanks for your post.

We can’t recommend an amount for you to offer your creditors as a full and final settlement; it should always be your best offer. If you have a lump sum available we would always suggest making a fair offer to all of your creditors in order that you are not showing a preference to just one creditor. There is an article here on our website which you may find useful if you are looking to make settlement offers.

If your debt is regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (excluding overdrafts) and you’ve made a request in writing for information under s.77-78 of the act with the fee of £1.00 then the creditor has 12 days to respond to your request otherwise the debt will become unenforceable. This does not mean that the debt is written off and the creditor can still chase you for payment and update your credit file. It means that if they did decide to take you to court you would have an absolute defence until they provided you with a true copy of your agreement.

I hope this helps.

Kirsty

Peeping wrote: »

What's a good amount to offer on an original debt of £7k?

DCA have offered me a figure around 3.5k.

Have asked for proof of debt from the original company - if this cannot be provided what happens?

Flooz30

Hi just new to this and need some help.

Just checked credit files as looking for a mortgage and out of nowhere a default has been issued against me in April 2018 from Virgin Mobile for £160.

I had an old phone contract with them in 2011/2 but have no recognition of this debt and no account details or information.

The credit file shows a debt marked '6' for the past almost 6 years

I have move house since then but have always been on the electoral register, I have had no emails or letters and have made no acknowledgement of this debt.

Can anyone tell me if after nearly 6 years a default is legally ok to be registered against me? Or is there a limit on the time when they can register a default?

In reality this will mean I will be shown as having bad debt this year whixh is untrue and will cause 11 years of problems- 5-6 already past and the next 6 to come.

Former_StepChange_Joe

Hello

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

It’s unusual for a creditor to put a default on your credit file this late: if you did indeed owe money to Virgin Mobile around 2011 - 2012, then the default should have appeared back then and not in April 2018.

While it’s true that a debt can become statute barred after six years, which stops a creditor enforcing a debt through the courts, the same doesn’t apply for defaults. In theory there doesn’t appear to be a set amount of time a creditor has to put a default on your credit file, although in practice I’d say doing so this late is unfair.

I recommend making a complaint to Virgin Mobile following their internal complaints procedure. If they don’t respond to within 8 weeks or you aren’t satisfied with their response, you can escalate your complaint to the Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS). CISAS are impartial, so there’s no guarantee they’ll resolve the case in your favour.

If you need some further advice and support with paying this debt off, StepChange can help. A good place to start is our online Debt Remedy self-help tool. This is available 24 hours a day and takes about 20 minutes to complete. The tool will guide you through creating a budget and will then offer the best debt solution for your situation.

I hope you’ve found this helpful.


Thanks

Joe

Flooz30 wrote: »

Hi just new to this and need some help.

Just checked credit files as looking for a mortgage and out of nowhere a default has been issued against me in April 2018 from Virgin Mobile for £160.

I had an old phone contract with them in 2011/2 but have no recognition of this debt and no account details or information.

The credit file shows a debt marked '6' for the past almost 6 years

I have move house since then but have always been on the electoral register, I have had no emails or letters and have made no acknowledgement of this debt.

Can anyone tell me if after nearly 6 years a default is legally ok to be registered against me? Or is there a limit on the time when they can register a default?

In reality this will mean I will be shown as having bad debt this year whixh is untrue and will cause 11 years of problems- 5-6 already past and the next 6 to come.

Flooz30

Thank you
I wrote to virgin 4 weeks ago asking for information and clarity and have heard nothing back.
They won't speak to me on the phone as I do not have an account number.

Is it in your experience usual after 5 years 8 months of nothing to get issued a default & not be able to defend it as have no recollection or information?