Topic: Home Owner, large unsecured debt

[James Falla]

Hi there Richard
 
Shocksoc is right that the unsecured part of your Northern Rock debt should ideally be included in a debt management plan as all of your unsecured creditors should be treated in the same way. However, at the end of the day a DMP is informal meaning that there are no legal rules and the plan has to work in the best way possible for you. If you break your agreement with Northern Rock, you are going to lose the benefit of the favourable rate of interest they are currently gving you. Given what you believe you can pay back, with the extra interest and charges you incure, you may then find that your debts begin to rise faster than you are paying them off. It may therefore be prudent to continue paying NR as normal.
 
To answer your other questions:
 
1, Will the c/c companies freeze the interest, or just reduce it?
No one can predict with any certainty what the creditors will do. With any luck once they see you are paying as much as you can on a regular basis, they will reduce their charges. Some may even freeze them. However, it would be wrong to suggest that there are any guarantees of this or when it might happen as thre are no guarantees.

2, are any of my personal possessions under threat (ie will ballifs come knocking)?
No, unless you have anything of particular value. Given you are maintaining reasonable payments each month, your creditors should reduce their action against you.

3, Will the debt ever be written off? or will there come a time when they might consider taking partial payment in "full and final"?
No, your debt will never be written off unless you use a more formal slution such as an IVA or bankruptcy. Having said this and as Shocksoc has pointed out, there may very well be opportunities to offer full and final settlements in the future if you can get your hands on a lump sum.
 
The two main free debt management companies are PayPlan and the CCCS. It would be worth your while giving them a call. However, even with the CCCS charitable status, even they can not guarantee that interest will be frozen.
 
Good luck with it and let us know how you get on.

[shocksoc335]

Yes National debtline offer a referal service ( and it may be worth taking full holistic advice off them first before you decide otherwise you could contact Consumer Credit Counselling Services or Payplan directly. There will be no charges wotsoever be assured of that!
 
Shocksoc335

[L-E-E]

the non fee charging dmc`s are
 
Payplan
CAB
CCCS
All provide good services and are funded in other ways...
 
Lee

[Richard]

2, are any of my personal possessions under threat (ie will ballifs come knocking)?
No, unless you have anything of particular value. Given you are maintaining reasonable payments each month, your creditors should reduce their action against you.

Just to clarify this point, the only thing i have of real value is my car, which is worth around £5k. Is there any chance this might be under threat? it would be pretty straightforward to transfer it to my g/f if it was.

[James Falla]

Hi Richard
 
You should not have any problem with a car worth £5k if you are using a debt management plan so no need to worry. In terms of other solutions, as long as you need the car, you should also be able to keep it if you were to use an IVA. The only solution where you could have an issue is bankruptcy where any vehicle over £1500 is questioned by the official receiver. 

[shocksoc335]

Two reputable companies Payplan and Consumer Credit Counselling Services - NO fee wotsover. Good Luck!

[James Falla]

Hi Richard
 
How are you getting on? Have you made any progress with speaking to anyone about setting up a DMP or are you going to try to negotiate your own agreements. We would be interested to hear what progress you are making

[Richard]

I'm just in the process of sorting a new bank account out. I have around a £2k overdraft on my current account, with around £2.2k to go in at the start of April from my student finances, so i don't want that money to get swallowed up. 

Once i have finalized this (should be this week) ill prolly call a couple of the free debt management advice companies to get their opinion and take it from there. I am comfortable managing the creditors myself,  but if i feel that their expertise, combined with them not charging for the service, makes it an option worth considering.

[James Falla]

Sounds like a good plan Richard. You definitely want to be sure that your student loan is protected by paying it into the new account. Which account have you gone for? PLease let us know how you get on with it as your experience is all useful stuff for other people reading the forum. Let us know how you get on with the DMP companies as well. 

[Richard]

I have gone for a student account with Natwest, as they have a branch very close to me. It was approved online, i have sent the signed documents back so hopefully i should get the details through soon. 

yes, i'll update the thread with my progress as and when i have something to report

[James Falla]

Great news Richard.
 
By the way, what are you studying? Hopefully getting into a DMP will take the pressure off somewhat so you can concentrate on your course

[Richard]

Studying Psychology at undergrad level. I'm hoping to push on and do my PhD afterwards, but we'll see how i get on with my 3rd year is 

[James Falla]

Good luck with your third year! As I said, hopefully getting your debts under control will take the pressure off and allow you to concentrate on the studying!!

[Richard]

 It’s taken a little time, but I finally have my DMP set up. I am still waiting to hear from a couple of lenders, but so far all the Credit Card companies have agreed to take a reduced payment and freeze the interest, although Northern Rock understandably have not (I’m only paying around 5%pa on this). In addition, I have reduced my monthly payments on my loans from £900 to £200 which i just pay straight to the DMP.
 
The only exception is American Express, who have “Closed my account and referred my debt to an external collection agency, who will liaise with the company dealing with my DMP”. What kind of legal obligation do I have to the debt collection agency? Do these companies not buy these debts for 10% of the total value usually??
 
Overall, the whole process has been hassle free and easy to arrange. I would strongly recommend to anyone having trouble with debt to consider this solution – I only wish I had the foresight to do it before now!

[James Falla]

Hi Richard, That is great news. Did you go with the CCCS in the end?
 
It is not unusual for any creditor to pass responsibility for collecting their debt over to collectors as AMEX have done. They are acting as a collecting agent and so you are obliged to work with them. Simply pass their details on to your DMP company when you receive word from them.
 
I think it is unlikely that AMEX have sold the debt on at this stage though