I have a large amount of debts which I have been trying to tackle for a number of years. I am currently in an IVA with Payplan which is failing as I am currently employed in a private company who only pay SSP when you are off sick. Prior to arranging this IVA I informed Payplan that I have medical conditions which are a left clavicle joint injury which means I have a screw in my shoulder to hold my clavicle bone in place to my collarbone. I also have Sacroiliac joint injury on my right side which causes me pain and immobility especially when I am under stress, cold and exert myself too much through walking. Due to this I have been issued with a freedom pass as I have been informed that there is nothing they can do as the tissues have worn away from the joints. I also have a suppressed immune system which means I am susceptible to colds and flu’s I have been off sick from work on a number of occasions since starting the IVA, which was only started in April 2012 and could not pay the money into the plan due to my low salary therefore I have been informed that I am in arrears of £244.00. They have advised me that a Debt Management Plan maybe the best option due to the amount of debt which is around £56,000. I am concerned that due to that if I enter into any plans that I might end up in a similar situation of being unable to pay especially if I am off sick and only receiving SSP. I am not entitled to any benefits as I can work but encounter bouts of ill health from time to time and am currently seeking another position that does not operate the same sickness policy. Does anyone have any suggestions as I need to make a decision as soon as possible. Many thanks

At the beginning of 2013 I was in the midst of payday-loan hell, mainly due to gambling. I have resolved all but one of those (who I am paying £2 a month to) I lost my job in Jan 2011. At some point Halifax allowed me to increase my overdraft from £3000 which I had from student account up to £5000. I spoke to them at the time (or a couple of months later) about the fees (£100 a month) and they agreed to pause for 6 months due to no job. They then paused them again for another 6 months. I had not gained employment in this time. After this period they would not freeze the fees which were £3/day. I was still using the account and had some money coming in at points and they got their fees. Sometimes I went over for a month or two so they charged more (£5/day for a maximuim of 100/month). At some point last summer I spoke to them and they said they would hold the fees on the basis I would begin to repay the overdraft. I could not agree to £50/month and at the time I didn't want them to close the account and pass it to DCA because some people still had these details. I made sure I stopped using this account. The fees appeared to freeze for 2 months and I called to lower the overdraft to £4900. This was my way to begin to repay it. As soon as I did this they started adding fees again. There were also some months they haven't added them (though they have this year) probably due to some error. They have called me on and off and sometimes I answer and the conversation has been cutoff or whatever. I have lately buried my head in the hand somewhat. All I want is for them to freeze the fees as I have requested many times and I will lower it as and when I can (I am working some at the moment, but still receiving housing benefit as it is not regular work) and then not start adding the fees again when I do reduce it. I would also like the most recent fees removed, if possible What is my best play? It was somewhat irresponsible lending but I'm not trying to get out of it (though I wouldn't mind and could easily have done a DRO before and had it cleared!) They currently don't have my correct address as I have moved and not told them, though I can get post at the old address still. Should I update them? My balance is currently -5189 Thanks for any advice!

I bouight a car from a private add in autotrader . I carried out an RAC hpi check and there were no issues. now a finance company (credit plus) claim its theirs and are taking me to court.

Hi all I have been on a DMP for 12 years. I have inherited a little money and want to clear down the remaining debt. I have written to all the creditors and made offers of approx 30% of the outstanding amount split proportionately between them. The total outstanding is £7500 and allocated funds are £2500. I could be pushed to clear in full if I had to, without borrowing, but would rather clear for significantly less. I have so far received one reply from Cabot, the largest of the debts, refusing my offer, and suggesting I pay £3856 to clear. I've listed below the debts and where they came from etc. All defaulted in 2005. What are my options? 1 - do nothing until all creditors reply 2 - make a slightly increased counter offer 3 - continue to pay till end of plan 4 - any other ideas Creditor Debt Full and Final Offer made Cabot (egg loan) £4,820.27 £1,662.23 NCO (Alliance & Leicester CC) £1,464.41 £504.99 Fredrickson (Capital One CC) £829.88 £286.18 Link (Egg CC) £135.15 £46.60 Thanks very much in advance

Our house was repossessed in 2009 and sold at auction to recover the outstanding mortgage balance. The sale left a shortfall of £25K+ which the lender came after me for, and being in our late-60s with no savings, assets or investments following a business collapse this is being repaid at £5 per month from Pension Credit sole-income. At this rate it would take over 400 years to settle. I have twice formally requested that this be written off, as it is clear that there is now no expectation in retirement of there being a substantial income or a radical change of circumstance that would make settlement a possibility. My first approach 4 years ago was made direct to the lender, and shortly afterward a response came from the DCA advising that their client was not willing to do so. A follow-up request restating the realities and requesting reconsideration was never replied to. My second approach 2 years ago, and two subsequent chases, have never been replied to. I believe that the mortgage lender’s code of conduct has something to say in such a regard, particularly that a lender should not, or may not, pursue recovery of a mortgage shortfall debt where it is clear that recovery is impractical or unachievable. Is there a mortgage-debt expert on CAG who can confirm or deny this? I intend to request a write-off again, and want to leave zero wiggle-room because clearly 400 years is idiotically silly to enforce at age 68 or indeed any age! Any clarification will be greatly appreciated, thanks!

After a sibling died the others came together to clear the property with the sibling who is executor. This help was given freely and at no time did anyone mention or talk about getting paid or expenses for said help. Now suddenly an invoice has been sent to the executor for work carried out, this is a proper invoice as person is self employed. But is the executor legally obliged to pay this from the estate? We are aware that once the estate is settled if anything is missed the executor is liable personally. So although this is clearly immoral it's the legal side that concerns us.

Hello After a period of ill health I am finally back to work. I checked my credit history which is so shocking. i have 1 x default June 2016 for £5K (company offering to settle for 2.5 K - should I settle and what difference will it make). I have four missed payments on my credit card and its maxed to £3500 - again should I pay and clear the whole bill now and request they remove the missed payments from my account? how do I convince them to do this as a gesture of good will? I have also got a 3 x missed payments for a phone Three - I closed the account and genuinely dont know why they are marking this against my file - again should I just pay this and request they remove the marks as a gesture of good will? My parents have offered me money to clear all of the above debts. Will doing so improve my credit score? and how quick will that happen? I am hoping to get a morgage in the next couple of years. Many thanks

Hi all I am after some advice. I am currently on a DMP through Step Change and I have been paying £422 a month for about 3 months now. I am due to inherit some money so I want advice on paying the debts or ‘settling them’ as I have seen in previous posts. Full and final is what I have seen crop up a lot. The balances are as follows; £27,814.00 – Sainsburys Loan showing as ‘1 month late’ on my credit report £2,265.00 – Halifax Overdraft £2,028.13 – Halifax Credit Card £3,826.00 – MBNA Credit Card showing as ‘1 month late’ on my credit report I have seen posts about offering 20% to each firm, can someone point me in the right direction for templates ect. or advise what I they recommend I should do. If I can get them all settled and get myself off the DMP how long will my credit file be effected for? Thanks, Sam

At the beginning of last year, after my wife lost some disabilty benefits, we ended up getting into debt, mostly small but included a credit card just over £3k. My wife has since managed to get back on top with all but two, and I will shortly be in a position to clear most of mine, apart from the credit card. If I was to clear some of these debts by offering a settlement of (say) 50% and (say) offer a grand as settlement of the credit card would this be a detriment on my credit rating? We will be moving to private rented accommodation in September and want our credit rating to be as healthy as possible.

Well what can I say hasting direct smart miles black box insurance, what a joke their black box,s are, they constantly record their data wrong and their accuracy is appalling, my son has been doing his best to keep a good rating and had been doing a pretty good job of it until 2 days ago when he got an extreme speeding warning saying he was doing 61 in a 30 and they had it pinpointed to a place called sambrook crescent, a small cul-de-sac I checked his route on the smart miles map and to my supprise his journey takes him on a dead straight line through the middle of sambrook crescent which is impossible as sambrook crescent is a twisty culdesac and impossible for his 1.0 polo to hit 61mph there sambrook crescent does back onto the bypass which is a 60mph limit, the gps on the black box was out and you can see this from his journey map but hastings direct say there is nothing they can do as the box is never wrong although its plain to see.. i would warn any one thinking of taking a policy up with these people not to bother, their customer service people are the worst ive ever come across and do absolutely nothing to help you, but they are top notch at fobbing you off

Hi, I was hoping to possibly get some advice. My kids where at a private school (fees paid till the end of the school year). Then this happens.. . http://www.shernoldschool.co.uk/118972__1.pdf and http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/shernold-school-inadequate-staff-checks-97172/ at which point we withdrew the kids from the school and moved them elsewhere. We have told the school that we where not happy (so have others) and we would not be paying the notice period (although the bill they have sent us appears to only be for half of the term Fast forward a few months of email exchanges to yesterday, we receive a letter from Redwood Collections looking to collect the outstanding amount. Its there typical "We are instructed to take all necessary steps to recover the sum shown, including legal action if required". Some (hopefully) useful points: 1. The school fees where paid in full till the end of the school year 2. My eldest son has moderate aspergers syndrome and ADHD (we have letters proving it and the school where aware of this) he also had major heart surgery in March of this year 3. My sons care team had tried to work with the school with regards to what is the best outcome for my eldest sons education. They weren't interested (can prove this as well). 4. All things said done we where going to move them regardless due to having (documented) concerns for a while. Whats the best way forward with this? Thanks in advance! P.S. Sorry to work around the "To be able to post links or images your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts." message, but I think the links are important to what is going on here.

i have debt with a few credit agencies who have taken over the original debt from banks/credit card companies. i took credit in approx 2005, but now making token payments towards them. i know it will take years if it continues like this. what can i offer the agencies to partially clear this debt? is there a minimum they would accept? how long do the agencies hold the debt for before selling it on to another firm?

https://www.clearscore.com/?gclid=CI7ZqNXNzscCFUbkwgodrcsM7A Just seen this advertised Seems it is connected some way to carphonewarehouse What is the catch?? Comments people??

Hi My circumstances have recently changedfor the better and im trying to finaly sort my finances out and make repayments to a few outstanding loans etc one of these loans is to flm now amigo and i was reviewing all the communication weve had since i took the loan out in 2011and they constantly threatened me with court action from a company alled harvey sturrt claiming I would have to pay more in repayments than my original agreement? Isn't this the same situation as Wonga as Harveysturrt turns out to be another trading name for flm?! what should I do ?

I am trying to help out a family member, who has paid just over £1000 to a company called Crystal Clear Debt Solutions to sort their bankruptcy. The last payment made was over a year ago now, but they have not heard anything from them since June 2014, and from what I can tell, the company doesn't exist anymore. Does anyone know anything about them? None of the email addresses or telephone numbers work anymore, and they don't respond to any letters. They have a 'consumer credit licence' at the bottom of their letters (0637107), if that makes a difference? Also, they are apparently also known as Formprep Ltd. However, I do believe they no longer exist as a company. Does this mean that £1020 paid was for nothing, and she'll have to start again with the bankruptcy claim and just write that money off? Is there no legal way of getting this money (or at least some of it) back? Any advice here would be much appreciated.

I have been helping a friend of my daughters sort her debt problems out. She has 3 payday loans. I have sorted 2 of them and got them to freeze interest and allow her to pay the loans at a minimum amount. The 3rd one is with Clear Account and they just won't play ball at all.On her debt of £350 she is paying £35 per month and they are charging her £15 in interest. Is there anything that can be done to get them to freeze the interst and not charge her anymore? TIA

http://metro.co.uk/2014/10/15/alzheimers-pensioner-sells-home-to-pay-for-care-then-gets-all-clear-4906574/

I have debts with Robinson Way and with Mint. Robinson Way took over Marbles debt, and offered me the chance to pay off less than the full amount in settlement. I accepted, and they sent me a letter saying I needed to fill in an Income and Expenditure form, and contact them about how to send the money. I had already settled another similar debt with them earlier this year, without the income/expenditure form being needed. That was a lot of hassle as well, with them delaying details until I phoned them to find out how to pay them. I also offered Mint to pay off their debt, at a lesser amount, and they also sent me an Income and Expenditure form, to fill in, saying it was needed for me to pay off the lesser amount. My question is – is this legal? Do they need to have an I/E form to settle a debt? No-one else has ever required one, and I have settled several debts this way, when I can afford to do so. I did ask CAB about this, and they did not know, only suggesting it was to make sure I had enough money coming in that I would not kill myself after paying the money!

recently caught doing 38 in a 30 zone, having just come out of a 40. the 30 sign was at the side of the road facing the other side, rather than directly towards the oncoming driver so not very clear. I cant find anything on the legislation pages which says how signs should be positioned, only the dimensions of the sign any advice would be welcome.

It has been the case in Law that a letter posted via Royal Mail is deemed delivered two days later if sent 1st class. However these days several million letters go undelivered and there are more companies than just Royal Mail that deliver these letters. Under the Control of Goods Regulations 2014, alleged debtors must be allowed 7 clear days notice before EAs are permitted to visit the debtor and thus to avoid being charged an extra £235 for that doubtful privilege. Bailiff Companies being Bailiff Companies, it is not surprising that some of them, in order to be able to claim that extortionate £235, appear not to be waiting for the seven days to elapse. One of the ways they are doing this is when they write the Notice of Enforcement, they do not appear to post it until several days later, or their postmen are even slower than Royal Mail at delivering anywhere near on time. In view of the huge possible revenue that could accrue to Bailiff Companies as there is no proof of delivery required, is it not time that this mail should be signed for in order to eliminate this loophole that allows EAs to flaunt the Regulations. I don't know if the authorities are aware that this is happening, but unless it is firmly nipped in the bud soon the practice will steadily grow. Obviously, the cry from the bailiff will be that those who are expecting a letter from an EA will deny that the person lives there and it will take them longer to get the money. Well yes that might be the case but whose fault is it that the system is being abused. Of course there will be occasions when the debtor will no longer be at that address which should speed up the bailiff companies information of the debtors' whereabouts and prevent them wasting their time calling round quite a few times before they learn the true situation. Is this a way forward or is there another way to prevent EAs from flouting the 7 day statutory Regulation?

A new website launched today will provide an easy to use and single information point for people to find a registered, competent electrician in their area, or to check that a company they are planning on using is registered. Similar to the ‘Gas Safe Register’ for boiler engineers the ‘Competent Person Electrical Register’ lists electricians who meet core technical standards required by government. The www.electricalcompetentperson.co.uk website is being unveiled today by Minister for Communities Stephen Williams and has been developed by electrical competent person scheme operators with support from the government. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-website-helps-people-steer-clear-of-rogue-electricians

PART 2 PROCEDURE FOR TAKING CONTROL OF GOODS Notice of enforcement prior to taking control of goods Minimum period of notice 6. (1) Subject to paragraph (3), notice of enforcement must be given to the debtor not less than 7 clear days before the enforcement agent takes control of the debtor’s goods. (2) Where the period referred to in paragraph (1) includes a Sunday, bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day that day does not count in calculating the period. (3) The court may order that a specified shorter period of notice may be given to the debtor. (4) The court may only make an order under paragraph (3) where it is satisfied that, if the order is not made, it is likely that goods of the debtor will be moved to premises other than relevant premises, or otherwise disposed of, in order to avoid the goods being taken control of by the enforcement agent. Form and contents of notice 7. Notice of enforcement must be given in writing, and must contain the following information— (a)the name and address of the debtor; (b)the reference number or numbers; ©the date of notice; (d)details of the court judgment or order or enforcement power by virtue of which the debt is enforceable against the debtor; (e)the following information about the debt— (i)sufficient details of the debt to enable the debtor to identify the debt correctly; (ii)the amount of the debt including any interest due as at the date of the notice; (iii)the amount of any enforcement costs incurred up to the date of notice; and (iv)the possible additional costs of enforcement if the sum outstanding should remain unpaid as at the date mentioned in paragraph (h); (f)how and between which hours and on which days payment of the sum outstanding may be made; (g)a contact telephone number and address at which, and the days on which and the hours between which, the enforcement agent or the enforcement agent’s office may be contacted; and (h)the date and time by which the sum outstanding must be paid to prevent goods of the debtor being taken control of and sold and the debtor incurring additional costs. Method of giving notice and who must give it 8. (1) Notice of enforcement must be given— (a)by post addressed to the debtor at the place, or one of the places, where the debtor usually lives or carries on a trade or business; (b)by fax or other means of electronic communication; ©by delivery by hand through the letter box of the place, or one of the places, where the debtor usually lives or carries on a trade or business; (d)where there is no letterbox, by affixing the notice at or in a place where it is likely to come to the attention of the debtor; (e)where the debtor is an individual, to the debtor personally; or (f)where the debtor is not an individual (but is, for example, a company, corporation or partnership), by delivering the notice to— (i)the place, or one of the places, where the debtor carries on a trade or business; or (ii)the registered office of the company or partnership. (2) Notice must be given by the enforcement agent or the enforcement agent’s office. The above is taken from http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/1894/made?view=plain

Hi I hope I have put this in the right place. I have a failed IVA, and quite some time ago when a landlord did a credit check on me the credit agency said I was bankrupt. I had to call the company I had the IVA through (which was NOT failed at the time) who put it in writing to my Landlord that I was not bankrupt but had an IVA. I still have the letter somewhere. I failed my IVA probably at least 5 years ago. I am now in dire dire straits and desperately need a loan/credit whatever - my car is going to very expensively fail its MOT tomorrow and its a catch 22, we cant afford the repairs and we cant afford a reasonable 2nd hand car. This means I will lose my livelihood as I need the car. I am in desperate need to check my credit file but I am very worried that if I raise my head above the parapet, all my creditors will find me. I have successfully avoided them for years and my debts may even by statue barred by now. BUT I am way too scared to check in case I leave a "footprint" on my credit file and all hell breaks loose with lots of letters from old debtors. Before anyone comments, I can actually afford say, £100 a month repayments and my workload is increasing and I am a very very responsible careful purchaser nowadays. The old debts were due to long term illness plus redundancy and not crazy purchases! SO....... with much waffle the bottom line is, can I go onto Experian without being found? How can I find out if I am statue barred? Thanks in advance.

I am a courier on my own and I'm writing because my situation with the fines are clearly damaging my work. The last fine that was received in the category Parking Ticket issued by Civil Enforcement Officer AND SENT BY POST . In Camden Town Council I was sitting inside my van stopped in a bay of "Resident Permit Parking Only" waiting for a customer to deliver some beds when in a while a traffic warden approached and started to pass me a ticket. I wasn't doing anything (loading/unloading) at the moment I thought the officer would never pass me a ticket in this circumstances as I was inside the van and I could move it straight in any moment. Well I thought wrong because after a few minutes she had the ticket in hand ready to give me but when she confronted me with this situation I moved my van out of the place not even giving her chance to take the evidence pictures or giving me in hand the sheet. After one month of this event happened I get the PCN to pay 130 pounds and 4 evidences photos which is not clear that my van appears. Contravention description - Parked in a residents` or shared use parking place or zone without either clearly displaying a valid permit or voucher or pay and display ticket issued for that place, or without payment of the parking charge - shared use bay What can I do in this situation ? Thanks in advance

I have £15,000 owed to M&S Money and £5,000 to Clydesdale Bank and £600 to an accountant. I tried for years to repay the larger debts but am now 70 and have no chance of clearing this debt. I have no assets, car or house and only a pension as a regular income. I either declare myself bankrupt or find some money to pay a small % of these debts. Just wondered if anyone has experience of how small a % these companies will settle for. Shoosmith are chasing the M&S debt and threatening court action. Unfortunately although they related to some time ago, the last payments are not more than five years ago, so I can't claim them to be un-recoverable. Any thoughts welcomed.