Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

StepChange_Patience

watermelonx said:

I have a DMP with stepchange.. my circumstances are going to change in the next 1-2 months due to maternity leave/pay. I understand I can update my budget to reflect this but my question is when exactly to update this? I know the date I’ll be affected from, but do I have to wait until my income actually changes to update my budget? TIA

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch and sharing your situation. 

When you're ready it sounds like it may be best to get in touch with us so we can update your budget and advice. You can find more information on how to contact us here.

I hope this helps.

Patience

baraltin

Hi I’m in a bit of a bad way at the moment, so last year my nan passed away with having dementia for a long time, while my family and I was staying at her house to care for her and we was doing that for 6 years+ and also I have been paying a bank loan, ikea loan, credit card that I still owe money on other sites like very and also I’m  helping my other half with the two kids ( 1 year old and 6 year old) as they are my kids also and I want too be the best father to them, and I was helping pay another bank loan for my fiancée but we live separately at the moment because she cheated on me which really hurt but my priorities are my children. So was paying a lot out and getting more dept so I did something that I’m ashamed about and wish I never done it but while working at a company for 14 years, last year before Christmas I started taking click and collect parcels to try pay dept off, it was a shameful act and wish I could turn back time cause I was really out of character when I did it, I’ve never been in trouble with police and don’t have a police record etc…..so my old work found out and I got fired and I said to them it shouldn’t of happened and I was really sorry about it so I did say I would pay back but obviously in instalments cause I don’t have the items or money for it, so when I lost my job two days before Christmas my work didn’t say pay back or anything they just dismissed me and that was it, then 3 months went passed trying to get a new job which I did in January and then I got a letter on the 7th March from RLP saying I have 21 days to get into contact with them and I have to pay £5600 because have to pay extra charges for what I done and I have to call them to talk about it, I haven't done so yet as I’m really scared cause I don’t have any money right now to give them and all I can do is pay monthly of £150 which in my eyes does say to them I want to pay the money but will need the time, so does anyone know what I can do next as I’m in need of big help, please help thanks 

StepChange_Patience

baraltin said:

Hi I’m in a bit of a bad way at the moment, so last year my nan passed away with having dementia for a long time, while my family and I was staying at her house to care for her and we was doing that for 6 years+ and also I have been paying a bank loan, ikea loan, credit card that I still owe money on other sites like very and also I’m  helping my other half with the two kids ( 1 year old and 6 year old) as they are my kids also and I want too be the best father to them, and I was helping pay another bank loan for my fiancée but we live separately at the moment because she cheated on me which really hurt but my priorities are my children. So was paying a lot out and getting more dept so I did something that I’m ashamed about and wish I never done it but while working at a company for 14 years, last year before Christmas I started taking click and collect parcels to try pay dept off, it was a shameful act and wish I could turn back time cause I was really out of character when I did it, I’ve never been in trouble with police and don’t have a police record etc…..so my old work found out and I got fired and I said to them it shouldn’t of happened and I was really sorry about it so I did say I would pay back but obviously in instalments cause I don’t have the items or money for it, so when I lost my job two days before Christmas my work didn’t say pay back or anything they just dismissed me and that was it, then 3 months went passed trying to get a new job which I did in January and then I got a letter on the 7th March from RLP saying I have 21 days to get into contact with them and I have to pay £5600 because have to pay extra charges for what I done and I have to call them to talk about it, I haven't done so yet as I’m really scared cause I don’t have any money right now to give them and all I can do is pay monthly of £150 which in my eyes does say to them I want to pay the money but will need the time, so does anyone know what I can do next as I’m in need of big help, please help thanks 

Hi there

Thank you for getting in touch and sharing your situation.

I'm sorry to hear about what has happened, it sounds like it's been a difficult time for you with some significant changes in your circumstances.

I'd like to offer you my heartfelt condolences for your recent loss, if you feel like you need additional support Cruse Bereavement Care would be there to help.

I understand how scary it must feel contacting RLP, it sounds like that would be important to do this. When you do, it would give you the opportunity to explain your personal and financial circumstances to them. 

It may also help to seek some impartial debt advice and potentially legal advice. If you can complete a budget this would show them what you can realistically afford to pay off the debt. 

When you're ready StepChange would gladly have a look at your circumstances, you can get started online here. If you feel you need legal advice it may be worth getting in touch with Civil Legal Advice, if they're unable to help they may be able to direct you elsewhere. Alternatively you could try contacting Citizens Advice Bureau.

I hope this helps a little.

Patience

SeasideSkint

Hello, I hope you can give me some advice.

About a month ago, I received a letter from Wescot, on behalf of Cabot, saying I owed £4k from an aged credit card debt. I called them up asking for information about this, such as the original credit agreement, and they’ve recently written back saying ‘Cabot have advised, due to the age of the account, they are unable to provide the documents requested’. They go on to say that the account defaulted in 2011 and the last payment made was 2012.

They’ve said that they would accept a reduced settlement, but have given no information on what they’d accept.

I’ll be honest, I got in a terrible financial situation about 15 years ago after a change in personal circumstances. It’s highly possible that this is a debt I accrued, and I may have even got a CCJ for this debt.

What would you suggest doing? I could make an offer just to close it for good, but then it’d have an adverse effect on my credit rating and show as ‘partly settled’ for the next 6 years. Or should I simply say that because they can’t demonstrate the debt is mine that it’s unenforceable?

Any advice welcome, and thank you in advance!

StepChange_Patience

SeasideSkint said:

Hello, I hope you can give me some advice.

About a month ago, I received a letter from Wescot, on behalf of Cabot, saying I owed £4k from an aged credit card debt. I called them up asking for information about this, such as the original credit agreement, and they’ve recently written back saying ‘Cabot have advised, due to the age of the account, they are unable to provide the documents requested’. They go on to say that the account defaulted in 2011 and the last payment made was 2012.

They’ve said that they would accept a reduced settlement, but have given no information on what they’d accept.

I’ll be honest, I got in a terrible financial situation about 15 years ago after a change in personal circumstances. It’s highly possible that this is a debt I accrued, and I may have even got a CCJ for this debt.

What would you suggest doing? I could make an offer just to close it for good, but then it’d have an adverse effect on my credit rating and show as ‘partly settled’ for the next 6 years. Or should I simply say that because they can’t demonstrate the debt is mine that it’s unenforceable?

Any advice welcome, and thank you in advance!

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch and sharing your situation.

I can understand how difficult it must be to make a decision and I'm sorry to hear how the debt accrued. 

Your next steps may depend on what action the creditor has previously taken, for example if they have taken out a county court judgement (CCJ) and are offering a reduced settlement, this may be something to discuss with the creditor directly.

As the creditor hasn't been able to provide you with your credit agreement, this does restrict some of the further action they can take until they can provide a true copy, you can find out more information about this here.

With this being said, if they haven't taken out a CCJ, the debt may be considered something called Statute Barred. This would mean the debt still exists but is no longer enforceable. You can find out more information about this here.

It's likely that with this debt being roughly 11 or 12 years old, that it will no longer show on your credit file. 

I hope this helps. 

Patience

sourcrates

Posting in the right place would be a start.

This is the step change advisors thread.

DebtSurfer

sourcrates said:

Posting in the right place would be a start.

This is the step change advisors thread.

I hoped to get some advice from StepChange advisors, in fact... but oh well, guess I'm the wrong clientele for it, I'm not asking for bankruptcy or a DMP.

Moved my thread into diaries. Thanks for the insight.
Cheers.

StepChange_Patience

DebtSurfer said:

sourcrates said:

Posting in the right place would be a start.

This is the step change advisors thread.

I hoped to get some advice from StepChange advisors, in fact... but oh well, guess I'm the wrong clientele for it, I'm not asking for bankruptcy or a DMP.

Moved my thread into diaries. Thanks for the insight.
Cheers.

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch, I've had a look at the post you've created and I'm sorry to hear about what you've been through and what you're currently going though with your wife, child and finances. 

It looks like you've received lots of helpful support and advice. If you feel you do need to speak to a Debt Advisor, please don't hesitate to reach out to us.

Please take care.

Patience.

otb666

its a shame your on line calculators down at the moment Especially as a lot of people might need to check their numbers from 1/4 Its a handy way to check

StepChange_Aidan

otb666 said:

its a shame your on line calculators down at the moment Especially as a lot of people might need to check their numbers from 1/4 Its a handy way to check

Hi,

Thanks for your post.

The online calculators and Debt Advice tool on the StepChange website currently appear to be working as normal.

Could you confirm which calculator wasn't working? I can raise this to our website team so they can investigate.

Many thanks,

Aidan