Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

StepChange_Patience

Thenewme said:

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 

Hi there

Thank you for sharing your situation, please don't feel like you have to apologise I'm glad you've reached out for help. 

It sounds like you're in a difficult situation, it can be hard when your circumstances change in a way that they have. As you mentioned if your partner isn't in the right place to acknowledge and deal with the debts it may be difficult to recommend something jointly, but we can certainly have a look at your circumstances. 

Hopefully if he can see there is help out there, he may feel like getting support himself later on down the line. 

It can be tough knowing where to start and what to say, I hope it would be easier to have these conversations once you know which way forward StepChange can suggest for you. They can also provide you with a copy of your budget which can be helpful in letting your creditors know your current situation. 

I'd recommend you get in touch with StepChange so we can start giving you the advice and support you need. Our contact details are here.

I also want to check that you have a support network or people you can talk to, when you feel alone with debt it can be overwhelming. Please don't hesitate to reach out to people you trust or the Samaritans are there to listen too. 

I hope this helps. 

Patience

TGB2022

I am disabled and like many disabled people, am on a very low income. I work but am not on benefits.

I have been falling behind on my energy bills as I simply cannot afford them. I already turn everything off (except fridge/freezer) at 9pm and have adjusted my waking hours so that I am awake during the daylight so as not to need the lights on and whatnot. I do not use my heating at all. But still I am falling behind. I pay them every month but it is not the full amount of my bills. But I do make a regular monthly payment.

Without any discussion with me or notification, it seems that Shell have farmed my underpayments out to a debt collection agency. Is this right? Do they not have to contact me first and talk about repayment plans? As I say, I do pay every month, it's just not the full amount as I literally cannot afford it. I am with Shell because Green collapsed. My bills therefore vary each month. I am not on a DD but I do make a monthly payment by SO.

Any help on what my rights are would be gratefully received. 

swampduck

TGB2022 said:

I am disabled and like many disabled people, am on a very low income. I work but am not on benefits.

I have been falling behind on my energy bills as I simply cannot afford them. I already turn everything off (except fridge/freezer) at 9pm and have adjusted my waking hours so that I am awake during the daylight so as not to need the lights on and whatnot. I do not use my heating at all. But still I am falling behind. I pay them every month but it is not the full amount of my bills. But I do make a regular monthly payment.

Without any discussion with me or notification, it seems that Shell have farmed my underpayments out to a debt collection agency. Is this right? Do they not have to contact me first and talk about repayment plans? As I say, I do pay every month, it's just not the full amount as I literally cannot afford it. I am with Shell because Green collapsed. My bills therefore vary each month. I am not on a DD but I do make a monthly payment by SO.

Any help on what my rights are would be gratefully received. 

It sounds like you would be a good candidate to look at this and apply for some help - borrowed from the CAB website!!

Grants to help pay off your energy debts

If you’re in debt to your energy supplier, you might be able to get a grant to help pay it off.

The following energy suppliers offer grants to their customers:

• British Gas Energy Trust - apply for a grant on the British Gas Energy Trust website

• Scottish Power Hardship Fund - apply for a grant on the Scottish Power Hardship Fund website
• Ovo Energy Fund - apply for a grant on the Ovo Energy Fund website

• E.ON Energy Fund - apply for a grant on the E.ON Energy Fund website
• E.ON Next Energy Fund - apply for a grant on the E.ON Next Energy Fund website

• EDF Energy Customer Support Fund - apply for a grant on the EDF Energy Customer Support Fund website
• Bulb Energy Fund - apply for a grant on the Bulb Energy Fund website
• Octopus ‘Octo Assist Fund’ - apply for a grant on the Octopus website

If you can’t get a grant from your supplier, check if you can get a grant from the British Gas Energy Trust. These grants are available to anyone - you don’t have to be a British Gas customer.

StepChange_Aidan

TGB2022 said:

I am disabled and like many disabled people, am on a very low income. I work but am not on benefits.

I have been falling behind on my energy bills as I simply cannot afford them. I already turn everything off (except fridge/freezer) at 9pm and have adjusted my waking hours so that I am awake during the daylight so as not to need the lights on and whatnot. I do not use my heating at all. But still I am falling behind. I pay them every month but it is not the full amount of my bills. But I do make a regular monthly payment.

Without any discussion with me or notification, it seems that Shell have farmed my underpayments out to a debt collection agency. Is this right? Do they not have to contact me first and talk about repayment plans? As I say, I do pay every month, it's just not the full amount as I literally cannot afford it. I am with Shell because Green collapsed. My bills therefore vary each month. I am not on a DD but I do make a monthly payment by SO.

Any help on what my rights are would be gratefully received. 

Hi,

Thank you for posting. I’m very sorry to hear about your situation.

Unfortunately, with the rising costs of living, many people are now struggling to cover their essential bills and priority debts. However, this doesn’t mean that you should have to do without electricity and heating.

You’ve mentioned that you’re on a low income but are not receiving any benefits. Depending on your situation, you could be entitled to claim benefits to supplement your income and there may be some grants or trust funds that can help with your living costs if you’re in financial difficulty. Swampduck has provided some trust fund links in the above post, and the charity Turn 2 Us can provide more information on this.

To answer your question, using a debt collection agency is a standard method that energy suppliers can use to recover arrears. They will normally send letters or call you asking you to bring to account up to date before passing the debt on, but there’s no requirement for them to talk to you before doing so.

Please remember that collection agencies have no additional legal powers. They are not bailiffs, and you should only offer to pay them what you can afford. Under the circumstances you could offer a £1 token payment as a goodwill gesture for now or ask them to keep the debt hold until your situation improves.

Energy companies have other methods of recovering arrears, such as fitting a pre-payment meter in your home. If you’re not able to cover your ongoing energy bills, the debt is going to continue to rise. I’d recommend contacting Shell to ask how they can help you and discuss your options for dealing with the arrears. If you haven’t already done so, you should make them aware of your disability or any other sensitive circumstances.

There’s some more information on dealing with energy arrears here.

I can see from your other thread on the Energy forum that you’re self-employed. As you’re aware, at StepChange we’re not able to provide debt advice for self-employed people, but I would recommend getting in contact with Business Debtline who can offer specialist help.

Kind regards,

Aidan

TGB2022

Why don’t you help self-employed people at StepChange? A great many disabled people are self employed due to disability discrimination and employers refusing reasonable adjustments. Your policy is defacto disability discrimination.

TGB2022

swampduck said:

It sounds like you would be a good candidate to look at this and apply for some help - borrowed from the CAB website!!

Grants to help pay off your energy debts

If you’re in debt to your energy supplier, you might be able to get a grant to help pay it off.

The following energy suppliers offer grants to their customers:

• 
  

Thank you for this, swampduck. I will investigate the British Gas energy trust one as shell are not on that list. 

StepChange_Aidan

TGB2022 said:

Why don’t you help self-employed people at StepChange? A great many disabled people are self employed due to disability discrimination and employers refusing reasonable adjustments. Your policy is defacto disability discrimination.

Hi,

StepChange are not able to support you if you’re self employed as you would need specialist debt advice.

There are other organisations that are better placed to help you, such as Business Debtline (for England Wales and Scotland) or Advice NI (for Northern Ireland). They will be able to advise on energy arrears and any other personal debts, but their recommendations can also take any potential impact on your business into account.

This policy is to make sure that people are being directed to the right service to help them and does not relate to disability.

I hope this explains our policy, but if you still feel that you’re being unfairly treated please raise a complaint to StepChange so we can investigate and provide a full response.

Kind regards,

Aidan

Ex_welsh_borrower

Hi,

Been on a DMP with SC since March 21, I didn't make my existing debts default before I started so some of them defaulted and others haven't HSBC having two of those accounts. Yesterday they contacted me to say they would consolidate the two accounts into a single interest free loan and the payments would work out to be £5ish less than my current contributions to those debts.

HSBC have said they will not then default accounts as the loan will then be up-to-date should I make the payments.

My question is will SC continue to manage this for me by paying the new loan at the agreed amount and redistributing the £5 among my other creditors albeit a small amount?

StepChange_Allen

Ex_welsh_borrower said:

Hi,

Been on a DMP with SC since March 21, I didn't make my existing debts default before I started so some of them defaulted and others haven't HSBC having two of those accounts. Yesterday they contacted me to say they would consolidate the two accounts into a single interest free loan and the payments would work out to be £5ish less than my current contributions to those debts.

HSBC have said they will not then default accounts as the loan will then be up-to-date should I make the payments.

My question is will SC continue to manage this for me by paying the new loan at the agreed amount and redistributing the £5 among my other creditors albeit a small amount?

Hi there

Thanks for posting.

The best thing to do would be to call our Client Support team, who manage your plan, and discuss the situation with them. However, I don't think we'd be able to continue your DMP if you were to do this as it sounds like this would class as new credit, even though it's consolidating two old debts.

Although technically not impossible, it's very unusual that some debts on a DMP wouldn't default, even more so that there's two of them and with the same bank. This is because a DMP is recommended when you can't afford your contractual payments. If you then pay less than those payments on the DMP, it would normally default in time.

But as I said at the beginning, if you discuss the specifics of your case with Client Support, they can talk through the situation and the options you have.

I hope this is helpful.

Allen

Ex_welsh_borrower

StepChange_Allen said:

Ex_welsh_borrower said:

Hi,

Been on a DMP with SC since March 21, I didn't make my existing debts default before I started so some of them defaulted and others haven't HSBC having two of those accounts. Yesterday they contacted me to say they would consolidate the two accounts into a single interest free loan and the payments would work out to be £5ish less than my current contributions to those debts.

HSBC have said they will not then default accounts as the loan will then be up-to-date should I make the payments.

My question is will SC continue to manage this for me by paying the new loan at the agreed amount and redistributing the £5 among my other creditors albeit a small amount?

Hi there

Thanks for posting.

The best thing to do would be to call our Client Support team, who manage your plan, and discuss the situation with them. However, I don't think we'd be able to continue your DMP if you were to do this as it sounds like this would class as new credit, even though it's consolidating two old debts.

Although technically not impossible, it's very unusual that some debts on a DMP wouldn't default, even more so that there's two of them and with the same bank. This is because a DMP is recommended when you can't afford your contractual payments. If you then pay less than those payments on the DMP, it would normally default in time.

But as I said at the beginning, if you discuss the specifics of your case with Client Support, they can talk through the situation and the options you have.

I hope this is helpful.

Allen

Thank you, I've been thinking it over and I may just turn it down and ask them kindly to backdate the defaults if at all possible. I'm really happy how the DMP is progressing and wouldn't want to jeopardise that. I'm puzzled I'm even eligible for the loan but haven't heard off them today so maybe it's not happening.