Hi

Thanks for posting.

It depends on your individual situation as to whether it’d be beneficial to use the inheritance to clear your husband’s debts. For some it would be the best way to move forward and become debt free to start a fresh. For others it may cause a strain on the relationship. It comes down to you and what’s best for both of you long term.

When a debt is fully repaid it will show on your husbands credit file as full and finally settled which is positive as it shows the full debt has been satisfied in full. This is different to when the debt is partially settled as the credit file will show that the debt is partially settled.

As creditors use a credit file to decide whether to lend and on what terms a partial settlement is likely to have more of an impact.

If your husband partially or fully settled the debt then this would show as a partial/full settlement for six years from the settlement date.

In terms of the quickest and likely most effective way to improve a credit file I’d expect it would be paying the debt off in full. However, the impact may not be significantly different this is becuase a credit file is impacted by many different things and being able to get a mortgage will not only depend on a credit file but you and your partner’s full and financial situation.

To find out what is likely to have the most impact on your credit file you could contact one of the three credit reference agencies, the three credit reference agencies are Call credit (Noddle), Equifax or Experian.

If you and your husband are considering a settlement I’d suggest contacting us and we can discuss this as an option with you further. You can find our contact details here.

Thanks
Rachael

Hi

Thanks for your post.

One of the benefits of an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) is that there's more protection over assets. However, all assets would have to be declared in the proposal including savings.

If there’s any money in savings or accounts like PayPal where you need the funds for general living costs then you can ask for them to be exempt from the IVA.

The terms of the IVA would then be set once the proposal is put forward.

The insolvency practitioner will look into your full financial situation. If assets aren’t declared it can be seen as fraudulent activity and can have severe consequences.

Hope this helps clear things up.

Rachael

Hi, I need some advice on credit cards. I curretly have two, one is on 0% for 21 months and the other has just finished its 0% period and now the monthly repayments have shot up. On the card that has finished its 0% I have just under £4k debt and on the other I have £1000 credit left.
I have looked at other 0% balance transfer cards but it lookks like I'll only get around £1200 limit.
Should I move £1k from the expensive card (and lower the limit by £1k) on to my 0% and focus on paying this off quickly or apply for the new card?
I want to address this without harming my credit score.

Hi

Thanks for posting.

We’re happy to help on the forum the best we can so please don’t feel sorry about asking for advice. I can see how the situation would be frustrating.

On paper it sounds like equity release would be a good solution but there's certain criteria you’d need to meet for remortgaging to be a viable option.

From what you’ve mentioned on the post I’d suggest getting some free and impartial advice to explore your options further.

Remortgaging may still be an option for you as well as other potential solutions.

To be able to make recommendations and advise you further I’d need to know more about your full financial situation.

You can speak with an advisor who can discuss your options with you by contacting us, you can find our contact details here.

Take care
Rachael

Hi, I have just received a "Notice of Issue of Warrant of Control", this goes back to a debt from a company I had issues with approximately 6 years ago. I have tried and tried to call the Bailiff's office and am unable to get an answer. I tried emailing and got an auto-reply stating that someone would get back to me within 10 days.
The letter states that I must pay just over £1,000 in the next 6 days, I cannot afford this, I do not get paid for another 10 days and am really worried about what might happen.

Hello

Thank you for your post and welcome to the forum.

It’s difficult to give you a definitive answer because there’s no right or wrong option here; it’s really down to your personal preference.

Moving part of the balance from the expensive card to the interest free card would help to reduce the amount of interest you’re being charged and help you to repay the expensive card back quicker.

With this option it’s just worth bearing in mind that the monthly minimum payment for your interest free card may increase as you’ll be increasing the outstanding balance. You’ll need to make sure this will still be affordable, because if you fall behind with payments you may lose the 0% interest rate.

There are lots of things that could affect your credit score and applying for and having multiple lines of credit can be one of them. So whilst you can apply for another interest free credit card it may have a negative effect on your credit file.

Also it’s probably easier to manage and budget for two card payments rather than three, so it may be better to stick with the two cards you already have.

There’s some great advice on the MSE website about trying to reduce interest without new credit and balance transfer credit cards which you may want to have a look before making a decision.

I hope this helps.

Linsi

Hi there

Thanks for your post.

I’m sorry to hear about what’s happened and that you’ve been unable to get in touch with the bailiffs office.

I can certainly understand why you’re worried but I want to reassure you there is always advice we can give to help with every situation.

I’d recommend getting in touch so we can talk about this debt in more detail. We’ll also need to know a bit more about your financial situation to make sure you’re getting the best advice.

Here are our contact details and in the meantime there’s lots of useful information about bailiffs and enforcement agents including their rights and powers on our website. Here’s the link.

I hope this helps and we look forward to speaking to you soon.

Linsi

hi myself and my wife got into debt some years ago(approx 8yrs) luckily i managed to obtain a debt relief order. however my wifes debt was around £16.000 and exceeded the amount to be able to do the same. we were helped with my wifes debt by the local cab who were really helpful writing and ringing certain companys in setting up repayment plans by direct debit. over the years certain recovery companys have folded or passed the debt on for others to recover. however the reason i contact you is the above has just happened recently where someone new has been given the permission to recover what is around £700.00. they posted my wife correspondence regarding incomes and outgoings.rather than filling the forms in she worked it all out on paper and spoke to them on the phone. this was a debt that being payed at £3.00per week every week. they have more or less demanded she pays £300.00 of the debt imedeatly and the rest at a more reasonable rate my wife told them we could not afford this but did offer to up the payments to £5.00 per week. the company have given her approx 28 days to come up with a sollution of payment. there have been no court orders as yet for any repayment agreements. we are both in reciept of benefits as my wife is disabled and i am her carer. question 1 does any recovery or soliciters have the right to demand you fill in these ingoing outgoing forms if not been through a court of law. question 2 how do they have the right to demand such a lump sum payment when the lay on the end of the phone was explained too all our financial affairs and that we were on benefits. the previous company that was in charge of recovering this debt were quite happy to recieve the £3.00 per week with no pressure given. thankyou

Hi there,

Thank you for your post and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear your wife is still struggling to deal with the debts but it’s good she’s had some useful help and advice from the CAB.

In answer to your first question, no the company does not have the right to demand that you fill in the forms. What they want to do is understand more about your wife’s circumstances so the budget is a way of explaining why she is unable to maintain the payments they are asking for. You do not have to complete their specific form but if your wife has an up to date budget completed with the CAB I would recommend you send this to the new company with the offer of repayment.

I know debts can be passed on from company to company many times and it can be very frustrating. When a debt passes to another company it is likely they will demand a full or higher payment when they first contact you but they will then look to come to an agreement with you. This agreement might be the same as with the previous company but it is important your wife keeps them informed of the situation anyway. The more you co-operate, the less likely they will look to take further action.

Did you know that the debt limit for the debt relief order (DRO) has now changed to £20,000? I think your wife would benefit from speaking to us and one of our expert Debt Advisors will be able to review the best solution for her going forward. As a charity all of our help and advice is completely free of charge.

All the best and we hope to hear from you soon.

Kirsty

Evening!


I am exploring my options for debt management. While my funds cover bills and repayments the progress feels terribly slow. I am trying to find if there are any further recommendations or quicker options.

I have:

£1000 overdraft that I end up at the bottom of every month. No savings. My pay goes into this account and tops the overdraft back up to positive, funds are used and I wind up back at -990.

£2786 on a barclay balance
transfer credit card. The limit was 8000 and I have gradually decreased this to £3000. The plan is to keep decreasing it. Repayment £80 pcm. Interest 18.5% currently about £15pcm

£4837 on an mbna balance transfer credit card, still in interest free offer on balance for approx another 30 months. Interest 18.5% apr. Limit increased by mbna to 8000. Paying minimum repayment at £46 pcm.

This was an accumulation of clearing the previous card, (balance transfer barclay to mbna) the debt built up by stupidly doing "money transfers" to my current account to get out my overdraft then not removing overdraft...falling back in again.

My question would be would it be wiser to keep these debt seperate and maybe juggle payment amounts, or combine the debts on to the mbna credit card and chop the other limits to maybe 100, or finally (least likely) try for a loan to consolidate. I think I could afford a max of 200 pcm to try pay funds back within 3 years. I don't want to do anything that may harm a potential mortgage in the future. I had considered something like payplan but the smaller repayments worries me.

Thank you for any thoughts or advice!

Hello,


Just wondered about rights a person may have if, they have an outstanding phone bill with GIFFGAFF, which started off as £35 pounds and now has been increased up to £201, due to monthly charges of £40 going onto the account.


This person has rang GIFFGAFF and arranged to make a payment plan but GIFFGAFF wouldn't accept anything less than the £40 a month. Are they able to do this and are they ways around them refusing a payment plan?


Many thanks.

Hello

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your post.

You’ve certainly come to the right place to explore your options for debt management. There are many ways to deal with debt, so it’s really important to find the right way for you.

Moving the balance from your Barclaycard to MBNA would reduce the amount of interest you’ll be repaying, so long as you’re able to maintain the minimum payments to MBNA.

A consolidation loan isn’t something I would normally recommend. Whilst these loans tend to look good on paper, in reality they often involve higher interest rates, higher monthly payments and often make a situation worse. You can find more information about consolidation loans on our website.

Because you have to rely on your overdraft each month I think you’d benefit from receiving more in-depth debt advice by creating a budget online using our free Debt Remedy tool.

After putting a budget together you’ll be able to download your personal action plan. This contains your tailored advice about all the debt solutions available to you, along with our recommendations.

We’ll also let you know about any risks or consequences any solution may have, so that you can make an informed decision about the next steps. Here’s the link to our Debt Remedy tool.

I hope this helps.

Linsi

Hi there,

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear about what’s happened and that setting up an affordable payment plan with giffgaff hasn’t been successful.

It’s worth checking the terms and conditions of the giffgaff account as this will explain what charges, if any, can be added when a person falls behind with their contractual payments.

Communication companies aren’t obliged to accept payment plans if someone falls behind with payments, but they should treat all their customers fairly.

If someone felt they’d been treated unfairly then I’d recommend making a complaint. The complaints procedure is available on the giffgaff website. If after 8 weeks the complaint hasn’t been resolved the next step would be to contact the Ombudsman Services: Communications, who may be able to help get things sorted.

Citizens Advice also has lots of consumer advice on their website which may be helpful, here’s the link. They also have a consumer helpline which can be contacted by phone or by filling out an online form. You can find their contact details here.

For more advice about repaying debts I’d recommend using our online Debt Remedy tool. It’s anonymous and free to use. The tool helps a person create a budget and then provides tailored impartial advice about the best way to manage their debts.

I hope this helps,

Linsi

Good morning,
My partner got a weeks notice in probation period on Friday. He's in retail and the weeks notice with holiday owed does cover next months bills but from Friday, we have no income for April onwards.

Job searching is well under way, he's accredited and in a professional industry and should be able to concentrate on applications this week plus seeking temp work from a local agency.
Our mortgage company won't do a mortgage holiday but will make an arrangment for a few months - interest approx half our current payment.

We have £200 per month minimum credit card payment - barclaycard mostly plus tesco credit card.

My question is, will they make an arrangement without prejuice to bring down these payments? What effect does this have on credit for us in the future?

Thank you x

Hi I'm just wondering why I have a pension credit in my name I am only 26? This goes into my mums bank which I didn't know about until income support sent a letter with the amount I have to pay back from when I started claiming in 2008. I have had none of this money and I still don't get it so why are they deducting it from my universal credit I have 3 children and I can not afford it,
kind regards
Mrs Marren

Hi there,

Thanks for your post.

I’m sorry to hear about your partner’s job situation. I hope he manages to find something new soon.

It’s good that your mortgage company has agreed to give you some flexibility during this difficult time. If your partner manages to find a job sooner than the few months they have given you, I would recommend getting back on track with your mortgage as soon as possible and pay extra to make up any arrears which may have accrued.

In terms of Barclaycard and Tesco, it makes absolute sense that these are the bills to try to reduce first. We call these your non priority debts and you should only pay these what you can afford.

I would recommend you get in contact with us so we can give you further advice about dealing with these credit cards. We can also help you to put a budget together to help you work out how much you can afford to pay on a monthly basis.

It’s difficult to say at this point if the creditors will accept the agreement or not but we can give you further advice on what to do if they don’t accept your offer when you call us.

Whenever you make reduced payments to your creditors, your creditors could look to start their collections process. Our website provides more information about how the process works but again we can explain this in more detail and answer any questions you have when you call.

We hope to hear from you soon.

Kirsty

Hi Mrs Marren,

Thank you for your post.

I honestly don’t understand why you would have received pension credit when you are 26 and why this has been paid into your Mum’s account. Was your Mum herself entitled to pension credit at the time?

I would recommend contacting the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to find out what has happened here and why they have been paying you pension credit into your Mum’s account.

If it’s not clear what has happened when you’ve spoken to DWP or you need some further advice, I think you’d be best speaking to your local Citizens Advice Bureau who may be able to give you further help and advice in terms of disputing this debt.

I’m sorry we cannot be of more help on this occasion.

All the best.

Kirsty

Hello,

I currently have 4 credit cards, a personal loan and an overdraft on my current account.
I need to get my debts in order and stop wasting money on interest.

I believe I should perhaps balance transfer my 2 credit cards (Santander and Ulsterbank) to one card with a lower rate and pay them off. Or perhaps a lower rate personal loan? I previously applied for another Tesco credit card and was declined as I don't believe my credit rating is great - shockingly....

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks!

Current Account
HSBC -1500 Overdraft - And will reach this by end of month (Just switched so this is 0% for 6 months and then I will get the £150 switching bonus)

Credit Cards
Santander -1106 Pay back 50 a month (18.9% APR I believe)
Ulsterbank -587 Pay back 30 a month (18.9% APR I believe)
Tesco -3400 Pay back 50 a month (0% period ends in March 2018)
Amex I pay this back in full each month

Graduate Loan
Ulsterbank -1336 Pay monthly 151.65 due to end November 2017

Hi

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

I can understand your frustration when interest rates are high and it’s difficult to become debt free because of them.

If you’re managing to cover your household bills and general living costs and the minimum payments to the creditors without struggling then this is very positive position to be in.

Although as a Debt Advisors we don’t generally give advice on further borrowing, in this situation finding lower interest rates can greatly reduce the time frame of becoming debt free. If 0% interest isn’t an option due to being rejected then you may be able to transfer to cheaper forms of credit interest rates.

I’d suggest the MoneySavingExpert.come and look under cheap borrowing to get a good idea of your options. There is also a soft search you can do when applying for cheaper credit that won’t have a big impact on your credit file.

I’d suggest when maintaining the minimum payments to creditors and where there is extra to go towards the debts, then use this towards the ones with the highest interest rates to reduce these first.

I'd also suggest creating a budget and reducing any unnecessary monthly costs and using this towards the debts to reduce the interest and time frame for paying back the debts.

If at any point you feel you’re struggling with minimum payments to the creditors and keeping up with living costs then please do get in contact with us for free and impartial debt advice.

You can find our contact details here.

Take care.
Rachael

Hello, this is my first post here.

I received a court summons last week, in respect of a Nationwide credit card debt from 6 years ago (almost, but not quite statute barred, sadly). The debt has been sold to a collection agency, so it is they who are taking me to court, not Nationwide. I do not dispute the debt - I was ill, buried my head in the sand and basically did a runner from my creditors. Not proud, but what's done is done - however, the original debt of £1300 is now just over £2000 after the addition of interest and fees.

My question is this - if I offer full and final settlement of the original debt amount of £1300, how likely is it to be accepted? I don't have that money spare, but could borrow it from family if needs be. Or is it too late now it's gone to court? The stress is making me ill again, and I just really want the whole thing resolved - especially as acknowledging this debt will no doubt open the floodgates to all my other creditors taking similar action.

Any advice will be gratefully received.