dmp hell

worried-me

Hi All,

have not posted for a while. quick scene setting, single father of two, 5 creditors.

CAB have negotiated reduced payments with 3 of the 5; the other two refuse to accept my offers and are going to default with solicitiors and debt collection.

I am really worried about bailiff's/heavies coming to the door and CAB basically tell me know I have to negoiate with them myself.

I am told bailiff's can not enter unless I invite them unless they have a warrant - on what grounds would creditors be able to get a warrant ? I am making payments I can even though they have been turned down.

And even if I get it all sorted, dmp will still be going when I die and my kids will be responsibile for my inability to cope with finances - what a great dad!

Not really what this is for I suppose but just wanted a virtual shoulder to cry on!

RosieMacDoo

Hiya worried-me

Don't worry, as long as your debts are not owed to the state (eg unpaid parking/speeding tickets, unpaid council tax) and are just from creditcards/loans/store cards/catalogues your creditors can't send bailiffs round - they would have to go to court and get a CCJ first and then you'd basically have to ignore what the court told you to do - it sounds like you're a long way off that....

It sounds to me like having to deal with your creditors yourself is getting you down - I'd advise giving Consumer Credit Counselling Service a call - they may well be able to do a dmp for you through them and seem to be very good at dealing with the creditors for you if you meet their criteria. They'll also be able to put your mind at rest about collections procedures and what creditors can and can't do.

Did you draw up a statement of affairs with CAB? How much did you work out you had available each month towards repaying your debts? How much debt do you have?

Rosie x

liz105

As far as Im aware warrants are only issued by a court, so you would have to have been issued with a CCJ first. As long as you can show you have tried to make payments you will look better in the courts eyes.

lunar

Hi, dont really know the answers to your questions but am happy to be a virtual shoulder to cry on, keep posting you will get loads of support and advice on here.

joey23

Yeah they are all right. The creditor has to have a issued a ccj against you first. Once the debt turns into a ccj, it gets more serious. If you miss a payment on a ccj that is where they can send a baliff to your property. So if you ever get a ccj dont miss the payments. But CCCS should ensure you never miss those payments.

Hope this helps

worried-me

Thank you to all for your replies.

I am trying(!) to feel more relaxed upon reading bailiff's can not come around unless I default on a CCJ which I do not yet have - if I understand this correctly ?

More info ...

Creditors -
N.Rock loan - originally 15K, with interest am told about 27K - monthly payment should be 172 - I am paying a negogiated 42 a month - CLS @ CAB negotiated this - although my first review on this is dec 07 and CAB now tell me I have to re-negotiate myself!

N. Rock Visa - about 11.9K - min payment should be 240 - I am paying a negogiated 24 a month - CLS @ CAB negotiated this - although my first review on this is jun 08 and CAB now tell me I have to re-negotiate myself!

Halifax Visa - about 12.3K - min payment should be 250 - I am paying a negogiated 24 a month - CLS @ CAB negotiated this - although my first review on this is jun 08 and CAB now tell me I have to re-negotiate myself!

MBNA Mastercard - about 9K - min payment should be about 70-140; offered 17 through CAB and has been turned down, stating they want at least 70, MBNA now passing to their debt collection - I am continuing to pay 17 in the meantime until I hear from debt collection - CAB have advised me I have negotiate with debt collection myself!

Lloyds TSB overdraft - 2.6K - interest on this is about 35 per month - offered 5 through CAB and has been turned down, and they have passed to their solicitoirs - I am continuing to pay 5 in the meantime until I hear what is to happen!

So what happens if I fail to reach agreement with the debt collection/soliictors, am I right in thinking they can not send the bailiff's round straight away but have to go to court to get a CCJ first ? And then if I do not pay what the court tells me, they then can get a warrant for bailiff's to enter - have I understood this correctly ?

Would court say I have to pay back the whole amount o/s! which I can not do or would they be sympathtic and say I can make reduced payments ?

I am not particularyly happy with the way CAB are doing it - I thought they would do it all including re-negoations - indeed I have a friend who used to work for a different office CAB and she says they should be doing everything for me. Also my CAB state they can only represent me for a certain period of time which if not already has run out will do before the o/s is resolved.

So what is the difference between the CLS @ CAB and the CCCS ?

Also if I transfer my case to another CAB or the CCCS will this look bad for my case?, would I have to pay back the legal aid I got for current CAB ? does CCCS do legal aid ?

I'm not really sure what my case status is with the CAB and if I can every got hold of my case worker I am usuallu told I need to do nothing but also with the added bit of case will be closed at some point etc etc

Thanks again for listening any more advice would be greatly appreciated!

RosieMacDoo

Hi there

the main difference is that if you can afford to make small reduced payments to your creditors, then CCCS can do this on your behalf, free of charge, through a Debt Management Plan, so you'd just make one payment to CCCS and they would pay your creditors for you and deal with them on your behalf. It's not a magic wand, they can't force the creditors to accept what is being offered or stop them taking things further, however they do seem to be quite effective.

You wouldn't have to pay back any legal aid AFAIK

With regards to the powers the creditors have and the process they have to follow, it kind of works like this...:

1. you stop making regular payments and write to creditors with a copy of your SOA and an offer of payment, creditor gets huffy and sends you nasty letters then sends a default notice

2. creditor may then decide to pass the debt on to a collection agency - this makes no difference to the level of seriousness of the debt, it simply means the original creditor has sold then debt on. You'd just send them the same SOA and offer of payment and start paying them that money whether they accept the amount or not

3. step 2 may repeat several times!

4. Ultimately the creditor may go for a CCJ - this means you'd get some court papers through the post - you fill them in with details of your income and outgoings (ie your SOA!) and details of any other debts you have and then you make an offer of payment on the court forms as to what you can afford (ie the same reduced amount you were paying anyway) The court would then consider your offer and decide if they think it's reasonable based on your SOA (ie you're not spending loads of money on luxuries). If they think your SOA is fine, they then order you to make repayments at roughly the level you offerred anyway.

As long as you then make the repayments that the court have ordered you to make then nothing further can happen. Zip. Nada. The creditor has to live with the decision that the court has made, just like you do. No more nasty phone calls, no more nasty letters. The only time anything can get any heavier is if you miss a CCJ payment - it's then that the creditor can go back to court and ask for a warrant to send a bailiff, or ask to have the money deducted directly from your wages.

All the letter writing described at steps 1 and 2 can be done for you by CCCS if you meet the criteria for a dmp through them....

Just remember that they can't have what you haven't got and their bark is often much worse than their bite!

hth,

Rosie x

worried-me

Rosie, thank you so much for your quick advice again. Whilst I am still as worried I am not quite as panicky thanks to your clarification and shall be doing a search on the web for CCCS.

Many thanks again

RosieMacDoo

you're welcome

try www.cccs.co.uk their advice line number is 0800 138 1111 i've got it saved on my phone!!:rotfl:

R x

orpheus

Hey Worried,

Try not to stress. Rosie has given you an impressively comprehensive run-down of the situation. I can only add that I have used Payplan rather than CCS, their details can also be found using search on this site or Google. No preference, it just who you get directed to! As long as whoever you use is a charity/not-for-profit thats great.

Keep paying something, even if its just £1.00. This helps if you do end up in court. I got one CCJ against me a couple of years ago, but have since fought off two more, because I made regular payments and kept sending letters staing my intent to pay and never looked like I was trying to avoid the debt.

We all know how ugly this gets, but keep your chin up, you are not alone!

Orp...

Chavbaps

Hi mate

Firstly bringing up two kids on your own is no easy task but you're doing it and no doubt doing it well, so try not to let twatty creditors get you down, ever! They're paid a wage to read lines off a sheet and try and threaten you with all sorts but sending bailiffs round costs them an awful lot of money and, frankly, it's a last resort. Going by what you've said you're nowhere near that stage yet!

Get in touch with CCCS. I can't recomend them enough; they're a charity so will sort out your situation for free and won't make you feel bad/patronised at all (I'm currently running a DMP with them so speak from experience). If for whatever reason you don't want to speak to them you can set the entire thing up online without any phone calls at all. They'll send you letters to send to your creditors, then set up whatever payment plan you've selected which you can then access online. Nice and easy, and you feel a hell of a lot better afterwards!

Hope this helps (and no, I don't work for the CCCS, just genuinely pleased at how trouble free sorting stuff out with them was!)

Cheers

Chavbaps