Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

MingVase

Thanks Allen, no it's motorbikes. I will tell him to contact you, but he isn't keen.

StepChange_Patience

MingVase said:

My son has a lot of debt but is refusing to contact stepchange or any other debt helpline because he believes that he could or would be forced to sell his bikes - he has 3. (Not worth a huge amount and one is used to get to work.) I don't think this is true but could you clarify for me please?

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch. 

I'm sorry to hear your son is struggling, it can be hard to pluck up the courage sometimes and ask for help, especially if your son has additional concerns over his bikes. 

Usually, when giving advice any debt helpline including StepChange would make a note of any 'assets' an individual has, this isn't to force him to sell them but to take it into consideration with the advice they give. 

If there is going to be any risk to his bikes, he should be made aware of it before choosing a solution.

I know any advice StepChange provides is impartial so they would gladly have a look at his situation with no pressure to take up any recommendations.

He could start online here, anonymously and when he's ready StepChange will do everything they can to help.

I hope this helps a little.

Patience 

Hols2021

Hi, 

just looking for some advice please. We took out a second charge Mortgage last year through a broker who got us our original mortgage and we got our annual statement in and we are paying more interest than the payments some months, we feel this wasn’t made clear to us what we were getting into and were absolutely shocked and so contacted the company and then put up a bad review of the brokers as we feel they didn’t make it clear what we were getting into. They have since asked for this review to be investigated and so I have taken this down as I do not want any other stress at the moment as we are in the middle of setting up a DMP also. Is it likely if I have taken this review down they could take action against us for this review? 

StepChange_Allen

Hols2021 said:

Hi, 

just looking for some advice please. We took out a second charge Mortgage last year through a broker who got us our original mortgage and we got our annual statement in and we are paying more interest than the payments some months, we feel this wasn’t made clear to us what we were getting into and were absolutely shocked and so contacted the company and then put up a bad review of the brokers as we feel they didn’t make it clear what we were getting into. They have since asked for this review to be investigated and so I have taken this down as I do not want any other stress at the moment as we are in the middle of setting up a DMP also. Is it likely if I have taken this review down they could take action against us for this review? 

Hi there

Thanks for posting.

It's difficult to advise on this really as I don't know all the circumstances, for example, where was the review left, what did it say, did you try and resolve it with them first and so on?

If you feel that you were misled or mis-sold the mortgage then you should make a complaint to the firm so that they can investigate it. If you're not satisfied with the response then you'll be able to escalate from there.

I honestly don't know about action being taken against you as it's not something I have experienced before. There's nothing against the law in leaving bad reviews about companies as such, although if they were untruthful or defamatory then I suppose they could consider some sort of action. But like I say, I'd make a complaint if you haven't already and go from there.

I hope this helps.

Allen

RichMo90

Hi in a Debt Payment Plan in Scotland. Have my monthly amount to pay but with the cost of living increases at the moment I’m starting to struggle a little each month once all bills and DPP paid to still have money left to last the month. Couple months ago I made a reduced payment but last month due to overtime made a full payment. Would I get away with basing my payments on a month to month basis as long as I am still making payments to my DPP or cos this cause me to default on it if I am not making the full payment each month. Thanks 

wheezy12

Hi, I have historic debts (over 6 years old) that are not showing on my credit file but I am still being hounded weekly by letter, email & text. I had to give up my job due to struggling with my mental health following an assault. I advised the companies then (2019/20) but they have carried on. How can I get them to stop? I have other debts ran up in more recent years due to my health and I’m in a mess Thank you 

StepChange_Aidan

RichMo90 said:

Hi in a Debt Payment Plan in Scotland. Have my monthly amount to pay but with the cost of living increases at the moment I’m starting to struggle a little each month once all bills and DPP paid to still have money left to last the month. Couple months ago I made a reduced payment but last month due to overtime made a full payment. Would I get away with basing my payments on a month to month basis as long as I am still making payments to my DPP or cos this cause me to default on it if I am not making the full payment each month. Thanks 

Hi Rich,

Thanks for your post.

When you’re paying less than the agreed amount to the DPP, there is a risk that your creditors could apply to have the plan revoked after a few missed or reduced payments.

If you’re struggling to afford the payments due to the cost-of-living increase, you should contact your money advisor as soon as you can, who will be able to update your budget and review your options. They may be able to apply for a variation to reduce the payment, in agreement with your creditors.

If your DPP is with StepChange, the contact details for our Scottish Debt Arrangement Scheme team can be found here.

I hope this helps.

Aidan

StepChange_Aidan

wheezy12 said:

Hi, I have historic debts (over 6 years old) that are not showing on my credit file but I am still being hounded weekly by letter, email & text. I had to give up my job due to struggling with my mental health following an assault. I advised the companies then (2019/20) but they have carried on. How can I get them to stop? I have other debts ran up in more recent years due to my health and I’m in a mess Thank you 

Hi,

I’m sorry to hear about how you’re feeling, and I hope I can help.

Creditors do have a right to contact you about your debts, but they should be treating you fairly, particularly if you’ve already informed them of any health conditions or sensitive circumstances. If you feel that you are being harassed by the creditors, I’d recommend making a complaint. You could also ask them to remove your phone number from their records and only communicate with you by letter or email.

Debts will no longer show on your credit file after six years from the default date but may still be repayable. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland most types of debt become Statute Barred (the debt still exists but the creditor can’t start court action to recover it) if it’s been more than six years since the default date, the last time you made a payment or the last time you acknowledged the debt in writing, whichever was the most recent. In Scotland, similar limits apply but debts are Prescribed (written off) after five years instead.

If you’re finding it difficult to manage the debts, please get in touch with StepChange as we will be able to help you put together a budget plan and then give more specific advice. You can use the online tool on our website or give us a call to speak with a debt advisor.

Kind regards,

Aidan

nayathepsychic

I have a question about IVA. An elderly acquaintance of mine has offered to pay off her step daughter's IVA which was 4.5k sometime last year, now she's been told by the step daughter it's over 5k because of the interest. This doesn't sound right to me so I asked who the IVA was done through and she said "a charity". Do IVAs accrue interest like that? It's really none of my business of course but I don't want this lady to be ripped off by either the step daughter (who always seems to have her hand out for something) or a dodgy company. 

StepChange_Aidan

nayathepsychic said:

I have a question about IVA. An elderly acquaintance of mine has offered to pay off her step daughter's IVA which was 4.5k sometime last year, now she's been told by the step daughter it's over 5k because of the interest. This doesn't sound right to me so I asked who the IVA was done through and she said "a charity". Do IVAs accrue interest like that? It's really none of my business of course but I don't want this lady to be ripped off by either the step daughter (who always seems to have her hand out for something) or a dodgy company. 

Hi,

Thanks for posting.

This certainly doesn’t seem right. In an IVA all interest on the debts would be frozen, so the balance should be going down. However, if the IVA fails or is cancelled, backdated interest and charges can be added.

There could be other factors that have caused the balance to increase (for example, if an additional debt has been added in the past year), but as each IVA is different, we would need more information to understand the reason.

Ultimately, it’s your acquaintance’s decision whether to give money to her stepdaughter, but she should ask for more information about the IVA before doing so.

Kind regards,

Aidan