I feel so much better now!

rog2

Well done for realising that 'debt' is not the be all and end all that some would have us believe.
All you've got to do now is to get to the position that YOU manage your debt, rather than letting your debt manage YOU.
Did you get your wage cheque yet?

Hotpoint_2

I haven't been here for a while, so this will probably turn out very long.

Health first. I've applied for DLA, and been turned down. But I've also got a counsellor now, and had my first appointment on friday! :j So hopefully having weekly sessions for a while will help.

My wages have been sorted out at work now. I get paid on the 2nd thursday of every month. So that's good, coz at least I know when it's coming.

I've contacted the CCCS, and I'm starting a dmp with them. I know my debts aren't that bad, but I don't feel up to negotiating with my creditors and stuff myself. I'm currently waiting for my welcome pack from CCCS, but I've had some stuff from them and have started notifying my creditors. Some have been lovely, some have been less so.

GE Money have been really great, and they've stopped phoning/writing to me other than sending statements.
One of my debts has been passed to Wescot, and I got a nice letter from them this morning.
HSBC have so far ignored me, so I guess that could be worse. They're just sending normal statements, but that's all they've ever done.
3 have sent me a letter this morning (after I notified them of going to CCCS) saying they've passed me to a debt collection agency. I'm not sure if that's good or not. The letter does say it's due for immediate repayment, but I can't afford it so tough really. The letter is also really unclear how I should pay; it says in the actual letter bit I can pay by cheque, but then on the giro slip at the bottom says cheques aren't acceptable.
And Natwest have been horrible. They're refusing to send me an up to date statement, so I have no idea what I owe them. They won't discuss it with me over the phone except to ask for payment details. And it's an Indian call centre who don't seem to understand anything. I'm sure Natwest advertise they don't even use Indian call centres!

I'm feeling slightly more positive about it. But then, at the current rate I'm going to be paying it, it'll take nearly 3 years to pay off :eek:

Hotpoint_2

I had a long conversation with someone at CCCS today, and my dmp is all set up and my first payment is january.

And a debt collection agency phoned me asking for payment, and weren't happy when I said I was dealing with CCCS (I'd already notified em in writing). They said they were going to phone me daily until I paid it all off, so I said that if they did I'd report them for harassment.

rog2

Hotpoint wrote: »

They said they were going to phone me daily until I paid it all off, so I said that if they did I'd report them for harassment.

That is intimidation, which is totally contrary to the OFT Debt Collection Guidelines. At the very least you should inform CCCS of their 'threat' and, certainly, I would consider reporting them to the Trading Standards Office.

Other than that, I'm really pleased to see that things are starting to look more positive for you. It is a long process, but you'll get there in the end.

Good Luck.

Hotpoint_2

I've realised it's taken me about as long to get into debt as is will to get out of it!

CCCS have been lovely so far. I was scared about contacting them, but every time I've phoned they've been brilliant. They've said they'll contact this creditor again (they're called EOS, and they're horrible ) and hopefully that will sort them out.

RAS

Hotpoint

Lovely to hear from you and so glad things are getting better.
As for EOS, they feature here every so often i am afraid but you handled it brilliantly.

Another suggestion for the future would be that you tell the oppo that you are recording the call for use oin your formal complaint to the OFt, Fo and the trading standards were they are licenced. That is likely to alter their patter.

You can require them to communicate in writing only and if they refuse they are breaking OFT Guidelines and you can complain.

keep us posted

sammiboo

Glad things are getting there - good luck with the rest of the debt

RAS

Have to fly but here are some links for site where you might get a little bit of extra brass or coupons that make life more interesting

Chevalier has a really good list of links nicked wholesale good way to get vouchers for presents etc. Some people here reckon that they can get £50 per month for clicks, surveys etc in vouchers mainly.

finally get onto the freebies forum here, http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=37 sometimes more useful for pressies but also samples of stuff that make life more interesting.

Chev wrote:

Here are some survey sites, which will increase your income a little. Hope they help.

Good luck
chev

www.lightspeedpanel.com - this is a survey site, where you get points which turn into vouchers (you choose). May not help with the cash flow, but the vouchers could be saved towards birthday/xmas or given as presents.

www.ciao.co.uk - survey site that gives money. A bit fits and starts ie no surveys for a couple of weeks, then three or four the same day.

www.yougov.com - again paid surveys. However takes a while to get to the minimum payout level

www.mytns.com - again this is a survey site, but it pays you in points that convert into Nectar points at Sainsbury’s.

www.pigsback.co.uk - this is a points site, ie they give you points for buying things via their site. BUT you also get points for signing up for news letters (some of which are even interesting!), and also for clicking on adverts with pink borders. I have spent NOTHING with them but got a £10 voucher through this week (only been registered since January). There is also a thread in the freebies section, of www.moneysavingexpert.com which gives you all the daily answers to the competitions so you can have a better chance of winning on them.

www.mutualpoints.com - another points for clicks site. You can also buy things via their site and get points too. For a long time, I just clicked the links in the emails they send you, and that gets you 5 points. At 3000 points you get £20 I think. You can do searches via their site and that gets you points too.

www.quidco.com - this is a cash back site, so very good, for checking if any potential new insurers (ie if you have checked your contents insurance say and found a new provider), are offering cash back. Eg Lloyds was offering £120 cashback on new policies at one point (the offers do change). You can also get small amounts of cash again for doing searches via their site. You can earn 52p a day by doing this. Every little helps.

www.greasypalm.co.uk - another cash back site, where you can do searches and get small amounts of money. But it all adds up. I think you can get about 50p a day on there for nothing. Minimum payout is £20 I think, but you can sign up to survey sites via there, and get extra money that way for nothing.

And check mystery shopping, here http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/....html?t=454437 - but this does count as income for tax and benefit purposes