Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

StepChange_Aidan

czkoudy said:

Hi,

I have been with StepChange for few years now.

I have recently ask PRA Group for CCA request. Today i have received this via email.

Hi ,

Thanks for your reply. 

We have contacted Barclaycard and Barclays Bank to ask for the information you are looking for, however, we cannot provide a timescale as to when we will receive a response from them regarding this. 

We will be back in touch as soon as possible.

Would you like me to remove StepChange from your accounts if you are looking to stop payments at this time?

What would be the next step, please?

Thank you

Hi,

Thanks for your message.

If you’re in a DMP with StepChange, we may be able to place this debt on hold pending PRA Group’s response or remove it from the plan if it’s unenforceable.

I’d recommend contacting our Client Support team who will be able to review your plan and give further advice.

I hope this helps.

Aidan

BEAKEDREPUTER

Afternoon

if a debt is marked as settled on your credit file, can a creditor still apply for a default? rather than normal dca route?

StepChange_Aidan

BEAKEDREPUTER said:

Afternoon

if a debt is marked as settled on your credit file, can a creditor still apply for a default? rather than normal dca route?

Hi,

Welcome to the forum.

If a debt has been marked as settled on the credit file, this means it has been paid in full and hasn’t defaulted. The creditor wouldn’t be able to add a default later.

The debt should disappear from the credit file six years after the settlement date.

Kind regards,

Aidan

Norfolk_Jim

Hi, I have a DMP with Stepchange and as I understand it Stepchange insist that all creditors are treated equally. I've been thnking about surrendering a small private pension and using it to make full & final offers. That would only be at 30% but with my DFD being over 20 years away and Im almost 60 some might prefer that rather than getting small payments over decades. NOW THE QUESTION. -  If one accept the offer and the others decline, am I allowed to clear the one that accepts and carry on with Stepchange for the others or will that break Stepchange policy?

StepChange_Allen

Norfolk_Jim said:

Hi, I have a DMP with Stepchange and as I understand it Stepchange insist that all creditors are treated equally. I've been thnking about surrendering a small private pension and using it to make full & final offers. That would only be at 30% but with my DFD being over 20 years away and Im almost 60 some might prefer that rather than getting small payments over decades. NOW THE QUESTION. -  If one accept the offer and the others decline, am I allowed to clear the one that accepts and carry on with Stepchange for the others or will that break Stepchange policy?

Hi Jim

Thanks for posting.

As far as I understand, if you offer the same percentage settlement to them all, and some accept and others don't, it would be fine to pay the ones off that agree. It's possible that some may accept but only if everyone does, or other scenarios like that. 

If you can access the pension quite quickly then you could make the offers first so you can see whether it's worth surrendering it. If none of them accept you may not have wished to do so. 

When you make settlement offers it's best to do them in writing and request confirmation in writing that the rest of the balance will be written off and never pursued. You can create just one letter showing all the balances and how much each is being offered; this way you're being completely transparent with them all, plus it saves work in writing all different letters.

I hope this makes sense.

Allen

Jimmie09

Hi,
Im 26 and have found myself in roughly £3500 of debt and am struggling to pay it off due to having to pay different people so the monthly amount is higher than if I would have a consolidation loan which I can no longer get due to my poor credit score. I fear that the amount will rise. I currently make £24000 a year but due to the way the repayments are I currently only have around £300 a month left after rent and repayments. 

What would be the best way to deal with this?

thanks
James

StepChange_Aidan

Jimmie09 said:

Hi,
Im 26 and have found myself in roughly £3500 of debt and am struggling to pay it off due to having to pay different people so the monthly amount is higher than if I would have a consolidation loan which I can no longer get due to my poor credit score. I fear that the amount will rise. I currently make £24000 a year but due to the way the repayments are I currently only have around £300 a month left after rent and repayments. 

What would be the best way to deal with this?

thanks
James

Dear James,

Welcome to the forum.

If you’re struggling to afford your existing debt repayments, you may want to consider a Debt Management Plan, where you can make one affordable monthly payment which is then shared out fairly among your creditors.

There’s also likely to be other debt solutions available to you, but I’d need more information about the debts and your finances to be able to give a specific recommendation. If you’d like to review your options with StepChange you could use our online tool or give us a call to speak with a debt advisor.

I wouldn’t recommend a consolidation loan or any further use of credit to pay off debts, as you’re likely to end up paying more back in the long run.

I hope this helps,

Aidan

[Deleted User]

I am on a DMP and have been paying regularly since November.
I paid prior to this for a few months but missed one payment due to family reasons (my brother). Now my brother suffers from a lot of issues and  I have just given him my rent money (a good few hundred) to help him with a serious issue that I can't mention. He suffers from mental health, mainly depression and if I didn't help him, I don't know what the consequences would have been. However, I am now this money short for my bills e.g. Rent.
I know rent is a priority bill, but my brother's well-being comes before this because of his mental state. He is my brother and I will do anything that I can to keep him here.  Will I be thrown off the DMP if I pay a reduced amount next month?  And if I do suggest such a thing, what is my reasoning for it? I really don't want to discuss the state of my brother's life.

StepChange_Patience

Deleted_User said:

I am on a DMP and have been paying regularly since November.
I paid prior to this for a few months but missed one payment due to family reasons (my brother). Now my brother suffers from a lot of issues and  I have just given him my rent money (a good few hundred) to help him with a serious issue that I can't mention. He suffers from mental health, mainly depression and if I didn't help him, I don't know what the consequences would have been. However, I am now this money short for my bills e.g. Rent.
I know rent is a priority bill, but my brother's well-being comes before this because of his mental state. He is my brother and I will do anything that I can to keep him here.  Will I be thrown off the DMP if I pay a reduced amount next month?  And if I do suggest such a thing, what is my reasoning for it? I really don't want to discuss the state of my brother's life.

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch and sharing your situation, I'm sorry to hear your brother is struggling with their mental health and I can understand why you would support them in the way you did. 

You're right in that your rent is a priority bill, if you're in a plan and if temporarily reducing your monthly payment is going to help you get up to date with your bills, it's worth discussing this with your plan provider. 

It's difficult to say if you'd be thrown off your plan, it depends on the terms and conditions of your debt management plan (DMP). If your plan is with ourselves, it may not be an issue but I would encourage you to speak to us as soon as you can and be as honest as you feel comfortable.

If your brother is in an emergency situation, please don't hesitate to call 999 or there are the Samaritans who are there to listen and provide additional support. 

I hope this helps a little.

Patience 

Thenewme

Hi, I’m hoping to get some help to get me out of my ongoing panic. 

I’m in a very precarious situation. I am working on paying off my debts and while the payments are small, I was feeling quite positive that it was going in the right direction. 

We have council tax debt that was arranged an ongoing payment on but it has been cancelled now as we missed a payment. 

My partner left his job recently and has started up on his own. He’s used the UC and my wages towards his SE company rather than towards rent and bills so we’re now 1.5 months in arrears on all, rent in joint names and bills in mine only. 

His work van is also in my name and has accumulated parking fines and a van tax bill in my name, these were meant to be paid by his old company but obviously now there’s no hope of them being done. Some have gone to bailiffs threat. I’m going to move it to his name asap but that won’t help the existing ones. 

I’m panicking. I have 2 very young kids and only work p/t to keep childcare costs down. 

Will stepchange be able to help me? I have so many companies to call to discuss and due to my mental health at the moment I can’t even begin to think what to say to anyone. He won’t acknowledge a problem so won’t go onto a DMP with me for the joint debts. 

Sorry that was long but I don’t know where to turn