Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

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  • chickster_2
    chickster_2 Posts: 94 Forumite
    hi,

    hiya to cut along story short me and DP are struggling payour bills were not behind but only DP work and monthly paid so as soon as he gets paid we pay all our bills off and mortage etc and were left with £50-100 to live on
    (no need to shout at us our fault took on more than we could manage)
    so we got in touch with a company called valour finical management and they went through it all and said they could reduced it to X ammount, well i couldnt find anything about this company online so went on MSE and they said they not heard of them and we should try payplan or CCCS
    so went though it all with CCCS and was reduce a hell of alot more!
    but this Valour company rung tonight to ask if we have any Q so DP said were going with someone else who dont charge but the bloke on the phone has scared us by saying that this company dont always get companies to freeze interest or even get them to agree to the DMP

    Are we doing the right thing by sticking with CCCS? we only rung monday evening and the pack came today. were just worried that nothing will happen now
  • prince_percy
    prince_percy Posts: 31 Forumite
    Hi there

    I have spoken to CCCS and they advised me to write to all of my creditors offering pro-rata payments and effectively creating my own DMP. I completed all of this and posted the last letters this week and have made token payments to all of my creditors . I have a few questions:

    How long can it take for the offers to be accepted? i do not know if they have received my letters or not shall i ring to enquire? Should i answer my phone as i have people phoning every night and morning?

    Can people take the equity in my house? i'm not sure what it is worth but houses in my road are now on the market for £50k more than i would value my house at.
  • CCCS_Sarah
    CCCS_Sarah Posts: 1,555 Organisation Representative
    the_mighty_spurs wrote: »
    Hi,

    I have a terminal illness although it is manageable. I separated from my wife 6 months ago, but no financial issues are a problem with the divorce as no equity remained in the marriage. I owe £8000 and i am struggling badly. I looked at a debt relief order yesterday, but do i meet the criteria?

    I have nothing apart from a television, and a car i have to pay £164 a month for. I live in furnished accommodation. I have nil available income. Could you please offer some advice?

    Thank you.


    Hello,

    Sorry to hear about your situation.

    I would recommend that you have a telephone appointment so that we can help you put together a detailed financial statement and look at your options. If you would like an appointment, please call our helpline free on 0800 138 1111.

    As you have a terminal illness, sometimes it is possible that the creditors will wipe the debt off for you. If you wanted to try this route you would need to write to the creditors explaining your situation and ask for the debt to be written off in full. In your letter ask them for a reply within a certain time scale.

    Sarah
    I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.

    CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.
  • CCCS_Sarah
    CCCS_Sarah Posts: 1,555 Organisation Representative
    Jacey53 wrote: »
    Hello

    I have started a DMP with CCCS which is going well 2 months in - the relief I feel is enormous.

    I have 5 creditors - one has agreed to reduce interest and freeze all charges on my account for a year with a possibility of a full and final settlement at that point.
    The other 4 will continue to add charges and full interest. I understand their point of view, particularly as the amount I can pay is not much below the minimum payment anyway, but it will take a long time for me to pay off the debt.
    Is this something that they would be prepared to rethink? Could i go back to them in say a year and suggest they freeze or reduce the interest?

    Even if not, when I start being able to meet the minimum payments, does CCCS stop the DMP? Or do you stay with me until it is paid off in full?

    Also if I can save a few pounds from my food budget each month, will I be allowed to pay a full and final settlement under a DMP?

    This is not urgent - it's a long way off yet.

    Hello,

    Glad things are going well with your dmp. If not all creditors are agreeing to stop the interest and changes so far, stick with it as when the debts get passed to collection agencies often they are stopped then.

    If you do have any money left over in your budget you can make overpayments in your dmp, you would just need to call our client support department.

    Sarah
    I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.

    CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.
  • CCCS_Sarah
    CCCS_Sarah Posts: 1,555 Organisation Representative
    chickster wrote: »
    hi,

    hiya to cut along story short me and DP are struggling payour bills were not behind but only DP work and monthly paid so as soon as he gets paid we pay all our bills off and mortage etc and were left with £50-100 to live on
    (no need to shout at us our fault took on more than we could manage)
    so we got in touch with a company called valour finical management and they went through it all and said they could reduced it to X ammount, well i couldnt find anything about this company online so went on MSE and they said they not heard of them and we should try payplan or CCCS
    so went though it all with CCCS and was reduce a hell of alot more!
    but this Valour company rung tonight to ask if we have any Q so DP said were going with someone else who dont charge but the bloke on the phone has scared us by saying that this company dont always get companies to freeze interest or even get them to agree to the DMP

    Are we doing the right thing by sticking with CCCS? we only rung monday evening and the pack came today. were just worried that nothing will happen now

    Hi Chickster,

    As a debt management plan is an informal arrangement between you and the creditors there is never any guarantee that the interest and charges will be stopped – this makes no difference if you are with a non profit or fee paying company.

    If you want a DMP you are better going to a free organisation or doing it yourself, as all the money is better going towards the debts rather than another company.

    You may wish to repost your question on, the DMP mutual support thread and see how other people are getting on.

    Sarah
    I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.

    CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.
  • CCCS_Sarah
    CCCS_Sarah Posts: 1,555 Organisation Representative
    prince_percy wrote: »
    Hi there

    I have spoken to CCCS and they advised me to write to all of my creditors offering pro-rata payments and effectively creating my own DMP. I completed all of this and posted the last letters this week and have made token payments to all of my creditors . I have a few questions:

    How long can it take for the offers to be accepted? i do not know if they have received my letters or not shall i ring to enquire? Should i answer my phone as i have people phoning every night and morning?

    Can people take the equity in my house? i'm not sure what it is worth but houses in my road are now on the market for £50k more than i would value my house at.

    Hello,

    All you need to do is get hold of their bank details to set up a standing order or a payment book as that is the amount you are going to be paying as that’s what you can afford. Once you have their details, go ahead and set up the payments.

    You would be able to stop the calls, I have attached a letter below that you could use to send them.

    The creditors could go for something called a charging order, however this does not happen all the time so don’t worry to much about it. I have attached a link to the CCCS website so you can have a read through about them https://www.cccs.co.uk/InfoCentre/EnglandandWales/Creditoraction/Courtaction/Chargingorder.aspx

    Hope this helps
    Sarah




    To whom it may concern

    Dear Sir/Madam

    I am writing to ask that you no longer contact me by telephone as your calls are causing me considerable stress due to the frequency, and that they are being made at inappropriate times. Please remove my telephone number from your database and send all future communication in writing to my home address.

    I have provided the most recent copy of my income and expenditure to make you aware of my current financial situation. I will continue to make my payment of x on the x of every month and will keep you informed of any changes in my circumstances as I am keen to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

    I understand that following this request if you continue to call I can contact the Office of Fair Trading to make a formal complaint.

    Please confirm in writing that your records have been amended.

    Yours sincerely
    I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.

    CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.
  • mpc1
    mpc1 Posts: 13 Forumite
    Hi there,
    I desperately need some help. Compared to some folks I guess my situation is not that bad but it's really getting me down and is affecting me, my work, my lifestyle and my relationship.
    I made some stupid financial decisions about 2 years ago after a messy break up. Consequently I find myself with 2,500 on a HSBC credit card (who are my bank); 260 with Barclaycard; and 250 with Vanquis. I really want to stop and get myself out of this but with a poor credit rating I just dont know how and I'm at my witts end. Is the best thing to do to get a personal loan and use the loan to pay off and cancel all three cards? I'm tempted to do that and then cancel the HSBC and Vanquis/Barclay - keeping one of the smaller ones just in case. If so, who'se going to offer me the best deal? It's a minefield out there! I am due a pretty big pay rise from work in the next two months or so but I don't know when that will actually arrive in my bank account.
    Please help me - I'm so embarassed and last night got a letter from the bank saying I'm overdrawn on my account.
  • defected
    defected Posts: 20 Forumite
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Hi, im hoping you can give me some advice on my situation. My partner and i are in quite a large amount of credit card debt, we manage to make the minimum payments each month though, and some of the cards are on promotional rates, although a couple are not and we pay quite high interest so it is an ongoing struggle to reduce the debt. My question is we are due to receive some inheritance money, do you think if i wrote to the lenders offering a reduced full and final settlement figure they would consider this, or do they only do this if you are arrears?
    Thanks
  • CCCS_Sarah
    CCCS_Sarah Posts: 1,555 Organisation Representative
    mpc1 wrote: »
    Hi there,
    I desperately need some help. Compared to some folks I guess my situation is not that bad but it's really getting me down and is affecting me, my work, my lifestyle and my relationship.
    I made some stupid financial decisions about 2 years ago after a messy break up. Consequently I find myself with 2,500 on a HSBC credit card (who are my bank); 260 with Barclaycard; and 250 with Vanquis. I really want to stop and get myself out of this but with a poor credit rating I just dont know how and I'm at my witts end. Is the best thing to do to get a personal loan and use the loan to pay off and cancel all three cards? I'm tempted to do that and then cancel the HSBC and Vanquis/Barclay - keeping one of the smaller ones just in case. If so, who'se going to offer me the best deal? It's a minefield out there! I am due a pretty big pay rise from work in the next two months or so but I don't know when that will actually arrive in my bank account.
    Please help me - I'm so embarassed and last night got a letter from the bank saying I'm overdrawn on my account.

    Hello,

    Thank you for your message.

    The first step would be to put together a detailed financial statement. This would show you how much money you have left over to pay your debts, you would also be able to budget for things so you did not have to rely on credit and it would stop the cycle of debts.

    I would recommend that you don’t consolidate as all this does is move the debt from one place to another and then you will have interest on top.

    If you would like any help completing a financial statement you could call the CCCS for free advice, if you would like an appointment out number is 0800 138 1111.

    Sarah
    I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.

    CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.
  • CCCS_Sarah
    CCCS_Sarah Posts: 1,555 Organisation Representative
    defected wrote: »
    Hi, im hoping you can give me some advice on my situation. My partner and i are in quite a large amount of credit card debt, we manage to make the minimum payments each month though, and some of the cards are on promotional rates, although a couple are not and we pay quite high interest so it is an ongoing struggle to reduce the debt. My question is we are due to receive some inheritance money, do you think if i wrote to the lenders offering a reduced full and final settlement figure they would consider this, or do they only do this if you are arrears?
    Thanks

    There are a couple of different options you could look at depending on your situation, full and finals are a possibility – usually they will only accept them if you are in arrears. There is also the possibility of a lump sum IVA. I would recommend that you have a telephone appointment with a debt counsellor so they can have a look into your situation and then they will be able to talk through your options. If full and finals for example is your best option, we would then be able to send you some sample letters.

    If you would like an appointment our number is 0800 138 1111.

    Sarah
    I am a Debt Counsellor that works for the CCCS and have specific permission from Martin, to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on the CCCS and what it does in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article.

    CCCS is a registered charity, and there is no charge whatsoever for any of the services we provide to our clients. We take great pride in offering first class help and advice, but we only offer this where we have been able to fully explore and understand your circumstances with you. We want to help you understand these choices and their possible implications but not make them for you.
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