Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

StepChange_Allen · 7 August 2018 at 12:47PM

natlie wrote: »

Thanks Allen

In September my water bill is going down to £45 from £98 and my gas and electric is up for renewal so hoping to make some small changes there, alsoI have been repaying an overpayment for tax credits and thats an extra £30 a month. I am scared of the options available most suggestions have been bankruptcy or an IVA which I am not sure i want to take out.

Thank you its good to talk to people online without feeling awkward on the phone

Hi Nat

Thanks for your reply.

You don't have to go ahead with any particular solutions, we'll simply present all the available options to you and you'll be free to choose whatever you'd like to do out of those options.

We can also address any concerns you may have with any solutions presented.

I hope this makes sense, and hopefully we'll speak with you soon.

Allen

StepChange_Allen · 7 August 2018 at 12:51PM

desperate_housewife wrote: »

Thank you so much, that’s really helpful. I really struggle on the dmp. I feel constant anxiety about it ....I have read on another thread that SC told others that they had to clear the debts before the mortgage....I am concerned about doing things right. I wouldn’t cope with things going wrong. We do tend to get different advice from SC....That worries me....

Hi there

Thanks for posting.

I can't imagine any scenario where we'd advise to prioritise unsecured debts over a mortgage, and I'd be really surprised if anyone from StepChange has posted that anywhere on here. If you find such a post, please highlight it on here so we can look into it.

If you've heard any other conflicting advice, please let us know and we can look into it for you. Feel free to send us a private message if you'd like to.

Best wishes

Allen

desperate_housewife · 7 August 2018 at 1:17PM

Many thanks. It was on another thread that someone said they were told to pay creditors before using house equity to move.
It concerned me as it has to be the right thing for us to do.

Basically if we sell our house for a smaller one making us mortgage free is this ok? We would then be able to save like crazy to make offers. Sounds like a plan???? Or is it too easy????

StepChange_Allen · 7 August 2018 at 3:45PM

desperate_housewife wrote: »

Many thanks. It was on another thread that someone said they were told to pay creditors before using house equity to move.
It concerned me as it has to be the right thing for us to do.

Basically if we sell our house for a smaller one making us mortgage free is this ok? We would then be able to save like crazy to make offers. Sounds like a plan???? Or is it too easy????

Hi again

That situation is a little different to paying debts over mortgage. Speaking generally, if you're up to date with debts then it's absolutely no issue for you to sell, buy somewhere without a mortgage and then be better off each month, allowing you to clear your debts more easily. Even when you're in arrears with debts, like here with the DMP, reducing your outgoings in this way is only going to help your creditors.

There's nothing to say that you have to use house equity to pay off debts when moving, either way. I can't advise you whether saving and making offers is a viable option without seeing a budget and having a full understanding of your financial situation. However, it sounds likely that such a move would make you better off monthly, hopefully freeing money up to increase your DMP payments, meaning you'd become debt free quicker.

I hope this all makes sense.

Allen

downer01 · 11 August 2018 at 5:28PM

Hi i was wondering if you could offer some advice please? I have had several loans after falling into a payday trap and it got to the point i could not afford to pay. Rather then stick my head in the sand i contacted the five creditors and 3 accepted a reduced monthly payment plan. Myjar stopped all interest and asked for less then i offered, Satsuma would only take a token payment of 2.00 per month after seeing my income and expenditure form and this was passed on to the complaint department as i was told yesterday that it will be investigated for irresponsible lending as given my income they would not have lent me. The third company that accepted is fernovo. I borrowed 200.00 off them which was with 66.00 interest to be paid 88.00 pm. I managed the first payment by borrowing but i was unable to afford the following payments. i contacted them within enough time stating i was not able to afford this and can they help in regards to a payment plan. They failed to respond, including my request to cancel the cpa. i had to contact my bank to do so. They finally contacted me on the day payment was due, to inform me i will be recieving a late charge, yet i had given them enough warning that i didnt have the funds. eventually i was able to speak to someone and they agreed a repayment plan without looking at my income and expenditure and failing to see if this was affordable. I have since found out that they have added an extra 175.05 on top of the loan SINCE i took out a repayment plan. Are they allowed to do this, i have no idea what it is for. I have seen the repayment plan they have put in place and as it stands the majority of the monthly payments will be going to this new charges and interest they have put on. I have gone from owing 176 with the original interest to owing 264 since asking for help with my finances. Can you please advise?
kind regards

61mum · 12 August 2018 at 1:25PM

Hi we are struggling with our debts at the moment and in last 10 years feel like we are in a debt spiral which we cannot get out of. 5 redundancies between myself and my husband resulted in wiping out all savings. Unexpectedly fell pregnant, nursery fees and child costs and home improvements resulted in spiralling debt. At present return to full time employment is not a possibility as we are going through a special needs referral for our child.
My age 41 husband 48
O/S mortgage 62k
Overdraft 1750
O/S LOAN 5850

Credit score in the amber.

We ensure our bills are paid and have never defaulted on any payments but I am noticing that we are eating more into overdraft.

I have done budget and myself and my husband we do not go out or eat takeaways and do not have and extravagant lifestyle.

I was thinking of remortgaging but tied into until Dec next year 1,237.06 penalty fee for early repayment. I was thinking of moving loan on to 0% credit card but o/s loan to high to do that. Current loan repayments are 160.00 per month and was considering shopping around for better rate but worried amber credit score will go against us.

I really want to get debt from.around our neck but somehow lower repayments and make them affordable.

StepChange_Allen · 13 August 2018 at 8:57AM

downer01 wrote: »

Hi i was wondering if you could offer some advice please? I have had several loans after falling into a payday trap and it got to the point i could not afford to pay. Rather then stick my head in the sand i contacted the five creditors and 3 accepted a reduced monthly payment plan. Myjar stopped all interest and asked for less then i offered, Satsuma would only take a token payment of 2.00 per month after seeing my income and expenditure form and this was passed on to the complaint department as i was told yesterday that it will be investigated for irresponsible lending as given my income they would not have lent me. The third company that accepted is fernovo. I borrowed 200.00 off them which was with 66.00 interest to be paid 88.00 pm. I managed the first payment by borrowing but i was unable to afford the following payments. i contacted them within enough time stating i was not able to afford this and can they help in regards to a payment plan. They failed to respond, including my request to cancel the cpa. i had to contact my bank to do so. They finally contacted me on the day payment was due, to inform me i will be recieving a late charge, yet i had given them enough warning that i didnt have the funds. eventually i was able to speak to someone and they agreed a repayment plan without looking at my income and expenditure and failing to see if this was affordable. I have since found out that they have added an extra 175.05 on top of the loan SINCE i took out a repayment plan. Are they allowed to do this, i have no idea what it is for. I have seen the repayment plan they have put in place and as it stands the majority of the monthly payments will be going to this new charges and interest they have put on. I have gone from owing 176 with the original interest to owing 264 since asking for help with my finances. Can you please advise?
kind regards

Hi there

Thanks for posting.

The payday loan company can still add interest and charges onto the loan if you're not paying the original contractual payments, up to a cap of 100% of the amount originally borrowed. So if you borrowed £200, the maximum you can have to pay in total is £400. I can't be completely sure from your post whether the amount charged now has exceeded this?

If the amount has exceeded £400, or you're unhappy with anything they have done you can make a complaint to them in writing. Please bear in mind that if the charges added are within the 100% and were what you signed up to when taking out the loan, grounds for a complaint could be questionable; but as I say I don't know the full facts to say either way.

If you need any further help and advice, we can provide this for you free of charge. Please have a look on our website to see how to get started: www.stepchange.org/Contactus

I hope this is helpful.

Allen

StepChange_Allen · 13 August 2018 at 9:08AM

61mum wrote: »

Hi we are struggling with our debts at the moment and in last 10 years feel like we are in a debt spiral which we cannot get out of. 5 redundancies between myself and my husband resulted in wiping out all savings. Unexpectedly fell pregnant, nursery fees and child costs and home improvements resulted in spiralling debt. At present return to full time employment is not a possibility as we are going through a special needs referral for our child.
My age 41 husband 48
O/S mortgage 62k
Overdraft 1750
O/S LOAN 5850

Credit score in the amber.

We ensure our bills are paid and have never defaulted on any payments but I am noticing that we are eating more into overdraft.

I have done budget and myself and my husband we do not go out or eat takeaways and do not have and extravagant lifestyle.

I was thinking of remortgaging but tied into until Dec next year 1,237.06 penalty fee for early repayment. I was thinking of moving loan on to 0% credit card but o/s loan to high to do that. Current loan repayments are 160.00 per month and was considering shopping around for better rate but worried amber credit score will go against us.

I really want to get debt from.around our neck but somehow lower repayments and make them affordable.

Hi there

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

I'm sorry to hear that you're currently going through a difficult time. We can certainly help you to look at and assess possible options to get your debts under control. We'd do a budget with you and then work out suitable solutions from there.

You can either complete our Debt Remedy tool here: www.stepchange.org/DebtRemedy or find our contact details to call us here: www.stepchange.org/Contactus

I hope this is okay, and we look forward to helping you.

Allen

61mum · 13 August 2018 at 8:10PM

Thank you. I will do complete.

JWinnie71 · 19 August 2018 at 4:13PM

Hi,

Hope I'm posting in the correct place.

Would like some advice please. I currently have 3 credit cards and am going round in circles trying to get the best deals and to try and pay them off asap.
1-£6000
2-£2500
3-£1700

I can currently put the £1700 onto one of the other cards at 0%, but its only for 6 months.

I am paying over the minimum payment for all of them, but still trying to pay 3 is causing me a headache.

Can anyone advise the best way around this?

Please and thankyou...

Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

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