Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

StepChange_Rachael · 1 October 2018 at 5:14PM

Hi

Thanks for messaging and explaining your situation.

I can see how it would be difficult trying to juggle all your costs and keep on top or get back on top of the debt payments. There is certainly an alternative solution for you to make things more manageable.

The most important thing is your household bills and general living costs. You’ve obviously been looking at good ways to increase income and decrease expenditure to help but this can only help so far and you can only do what is realistic.

I’d suggest speaking with a free advice organisation like us at StepChange so you can explore your options and find a manageable plan to help you going forward. With details of your income, expenditure and debts in detail the advice will be more accurate and realistic.

Take care,
Rachael

Booth0102 wrote: »

Hi, Due to a few missed payments I am stuck in the situation of being over run with debts my credit rating is to poor for a loan I already used a balance transfer card which I have now fallen behind on, I also lent my credit card (which I originally transferred the balance of) to my sister(she missed payments for the past 6 months due to work next month is starting to pay back I hope...) so now in my name it is around 7 grand of debt. I work full time and have the advantage of living at home with my mum but my monthly rent is £350 I am also a single mother so putting all my wages onto my credit cards each month isn't something I can do, there are to many separate debts for me to pay and all the credit cards are now over due I'm getting phone calls every day, I am literally stuck with around £200 spare a month but it won't take me back to my original balance on my card and I could do with paying of other debts that aren't over the limit with that £200 which is currently what I do, I've quit smoking to try and pay of more debts, but then parking tickets, nursery bills, car insurance and other things crop up so by quitting smoking i'm only just keeping my head above water... I'm trying to earn as much as I can but I haven't got the time for a second job (already tried this) I am also studying at college so I can be a qualified profession but I am also worried my debts will prevent me from getting the job I want so again this is another stress added on,
Any advise would be really useful.
Thank you

Former_StepChange_Patience · 2 October 2018 at 12:28PM

Hi Andy

Thanks for getting in touch.

I’m sorry to hear you’re having issues with Lantern regarding a debt from CFO.

If you feel that at the time they irresponsibly agreed to the credit, the best thing to do is continue with the current complaint you’re going through.

I can see the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) entered into an agreement with CFO to redress unfair practices, but this was in 2016, the article is here: https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/payday-firm-cfo-lending-pay-34-million-redress so it may be worthwhile speaking to the FCA too.

To my understanding of the Consumer Credit Act (CCA) (S77/S78), as long as the creditor is able to provide you with a copy of the agreement, they could still potentially look to collect this. You can find out further information on the (CCA) (S77/S78), here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1974/39/section/78

If you’re still unsure of this, it may be best to visit your local Citizens Advice Bureau who may be able to provide you with a little more guidance.

I hope this helps.

Patience

mozzauk wrote: »

Hi,

Im having issues with Lantern UK, and in particular a debt from CFO Lending, that Lantern seem to be unwilling to deal with.

I have logged an irresponisble lending complaint with them which they have rejected without any thought and with a copy and paste response, which i am taking to the ombudsman, once I have received a copy of the Final Response signed and dated by them in a format that can be updated.

They have also sent me a copy of the CCA which is undated and unsigned but which they claim is from June 2013, it only have my name address, the amount and period and the total cost, is this a good sign or can they still enforce the debt...

Thanks,
Andy

Former_StepChange_Patience · 2 October 2018 at 12:45PM

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the forum.

It’s great to hear the debt relief order (DRO) has provided you with a fresh start; it sounds really positive that your finances are on track.

If you’re unsure where you stand with Capital one, it may be worthwhile giving them a call to find out whether you’d be charged interest if the balance is repaid straight away.

The Citizens Advice Bureau also has a useful page about credit cards: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/borrowing-money/credit-cards/

Sometimes, building your credit score will take time. You have to bear in mind that the DRO may still potentially show on your file as it’s there for 6 years from the date it’s approved.

The most important thing to take away from this is that, as you mentioned you’re now living within your means and this will hopefully help with any future plans you may have.

I hope this helps.

Patience

Danitotheelle wrote: »

Hi, after having a debt relief order in 2012 I’m finally in a position where I am on top of my finances , paying all my bills every month and living within my means . I really want to boost my credit rating and have applied for a capital one 39.9% apr credit card . I by no means want to use this frivolously . In fact I’m too scared to use it at all until I know the following ( which isn’t on the information given to me by capital one) . If I pay the balance off in full - will I still be charged an interest fee ? I wanted to use the card for my grocery shop and then literally pay the balance off straight away from
My visa debit card . If I am not able to do this I fail to see how I can boost my credit rating as I’m doing everything I can .

Mint_Sauce · 2 October 2018 at 2:08PM

Thanks for the reply - I didn't think it would be right to have two courts enforcing the same debt. I have now written to Cabot as well as sending another N245 to the second court. Fingers crossed for a positive outcome!

StepChange_Rachael wrote: »

Hi

Thanks for your message.

I’m sorry to hear you and your partner are going through a difficult time, it can’t be helping with the added pressure of this debt.

Once a debt goes to a county court judgement (CCJ) the creditor can enforce further action to collect for the debt unless there is an affordable payment in place set by the court. As you sent the N245 back this should have been acknowledged by the court and an affordable payment put in place, even if this was as little as £1 a month as a token gesture.

A debt shouldn’t go through the court as a different judgement. Only one CCJ can be set per debt. I’d suggest contacting Cabot and the court explaining you’ve already dealt with this debt and make a complaint.

As long as the agreement the court sets in place from you sending in the N245 is maintained, then the creditor can’t use further action such as enforcement agents or an attachment of earnings to collect the debt.

Hope this helps.

Thanks,
Rachael

Former_StepChange_Patience · 2 October 2018 at 2:39PM

Hi Lisa

Thanks for sharing your situation.

I can understand why keeping to all of your payments is difficult with the new arrival in the house and your reduced working hours.

With PCP (Personal contract purchase), you may be able to hand the car back early if the payments are a struggle but you could still have something to pay if you do this. If you speak to the car company, they’d be able to give you an idea how much it might be.

It sounds like there’s a lot going on financially, it may be worthwhile trying our anonymous self-help tool that you can fill in together, which will have a look at your financial situation and provide you with potential options you can consider at the end, you can find it here: https://www.stepchange.org/Debtremedy.aspx

I hope this helps a little.

Patience

Lisamfinn wrote: »

We are trying to get rid of our car which is on pcp. We have a loan and credit card that we are trying to clear as since having our baby we are struggling to make all payments. We have looked into selling our house to get debt free but We don’t think we would get another Moorgate as we have both reduced our hours. Is there anyway we can get out of pcp deal. We only have the car 4 months

chascat · 4 October 2018 at 10:49AM

Hello.. looking for some advice. We came back from abroad and husband had to work away for 3 years as couldn’t get good job back in our area. He had to pay for accommodation and travel costs out of wages. We ended up £23k on credit cards and one personal loan just to keep us afloat until he finally got permanent job where we live. Tried to add more to mortgage but declined and we are paying so much on paying credit card bills per month we can’t see a way out. Any advice welcome.

StepChange_Allen · 5 October 2018 at 9:52AM

chascat wrote: »

Hello.. looking for some advice. We came back from abroad and husband had to work away for 3 years as couldn’t get good job back in our area. He had to pay for accommodation and travel costs out of wages. We ended up £23k on credit cards and one personal loan just to keep us afloat until he finally got permanent job where we live. Tried to add more to mortgage but declined and we are paying so much on paying credit card bills per month we can’t see a way out. Any advice welcome.

Hi there

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

We can definitely help you to see a way forward to get your debts and finances under control. In order to do this, we first need to get a really good picture of your financial situation by doing a budget with you.

You can either complete our online Debt Remedy tool: www.stepchange.org/DebtRemedy or call our Helpline, details of which can be found on our contact us page: www.stepchange.org/Contactus

We look forward to helping you.

Allen

Wonderwoman17717 · 8 October 2018 at 9:11AM

Good morning.
I recently (June) received my decree absolute from the court.
When we separated over 3 years ago we each took on responsibility of 50% each of personal debt. He had a dmp with step change but cancelled it and took on a whole lot more debt. I also in my naivety of trying to find a way forward moved a few things around and accrued additional debt to the tune of 9,000 of his debt, including paying off a loan that was in both our names.
He had talked of bankruptcy but this never happened.
As we had no joint assets I was advised to proceed with the divorce and then file a clean break agreement.
He is now being deliberately awkward and refusing to this.
My question is as follows:
If there is no clean break in place, who is liable for the debt he still has in his name (putting the 9,000 to one side, there is easily over 20,000 that he is mismanaging) if anything happens to him, for example.
I am filing for financial disassociation but is that going to make any difference?

Thanks in advance

Former_StepChange_Joe · 8 October 2018 at 1:40PM

[FONT=&quot]

Wonderwoman17717 wrote: »

[FONT=&quot] Good morning.[/FONT]

[/FONT]

Wonderwoman17717 wrote: »

[FONT=&quot]I recently (June) received my decree absolute from the court. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]When we separated over 3 years ago we each took on responsibility of 50% each of personal debt. He had a dmp with step change but cancelled it and took on a whole lot more debt. I also in my naivety of trying to find a way forward moved a few things around and accrued additional debt to the tune of 9,000 of his debt, including paying off a loan that was in both our names.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He had talked of bankruptcy but this never happened.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]As we had no joint assets I was advised to proceed with the divorce and then file a clean break agreement. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He is now being deliberately awkward and refusing to this.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]My question is as follows:[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If there is no clean break in place, who is liable for the debt he still has in his name (putting the 9,000 to one side, there is easily over 20,000 that he is mismanaging) if anything happens to him, for example. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]I am filing for financial disassociation but is that going to make any difference?[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks in advance[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Hello[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Your ex-partner is solely liable for any debts in his name, regardless of any informal agreements you’ve made between yourselves.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]However, this isn’t the case for joint debts. When you take out a joint debt, you and the other person both become responsible for the whole amount, not just your own share or ‘half’. If one of you can’t or won’t pay, you’re both liable for the full debt no matter which one of you spent the money. This is known as ‘joint and several liability’.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]If you don’t have any joint debts you can get a ‘notice of disassociation’. This will make a difference in that it will remove any financial link with your ex-partner on your credit file. To do this you need to contact one of the credit reference agencies who can remove this link.
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]To answer your question about liability in the event of something happening to your ex-partner, in the case of bereavement for example, you wouldn’t become liable for any of his remaining debts. What would happen to these debts depends on whose name the debts were in and whether the person had any assets like investments, savings or a house.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]If the debts were only in the name of the person who has died, then these debts will either be written off if the person didn’t have any assets, or need to be repaid if the person has left an estate (this could be anything from savings to a share in a house).[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]I hope I’ve answered your questions. If you’re concerned about being unable to manage your debts, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us directly for some free and impartial debt advice. A good place to start is our online Debt Remedy self-help tool. This is available 24 hours a day and takes about 20 minutes to complete. The tool will guide you through creating a budget and will then offer the best debt solution for your situation.[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Thanks[/FONT][FONT=&quot]
[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Joe[/FONT]

Takealeap · 8 October 2018 at 3:45PM

Hi. I tried to ask this question on one of the other threads but I got really muddled trying to put across what I meant. I've had a think and hopefully this time I'll be much more succinct.

My wife and i have a joint Santander current account used for all household direct debits (mortgage, utilities, insurances). This account has an £1800 overdraft which is 90% utilised.

We also have a joint Santander mortgage, and the direct debit is paid through the above joint current account.

I have personal credit card debt of approx 32k, 4k of which is on a Santander credit card.

My wife is also aware of my debts and their extent. Neither of us have ever missed any payments on ANY of our household bills or debt bills.

When entering some form of debt solution, I know part of the advice is to open a new, basic bank account, which I guess is to be used to pay all your bills from instead of the old account.

My question is, if I was to pursue a DMP or some other debt solution for my personal debts, what effect would it have on my wife, because the overdraft is a joint debt and this the account you are advised to move away from!

Obviously, she is associated with me financially through the mortgage and joint current account, and this would be appear on her credit file in some way.

Is there a way for me to have a DMP for my credit cards only and we just service our joint account as normal? Or am I able to remove my wife from the joint account so that the overdraft becomes my sole responsibility?

TIA

Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

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