Q&A with Advisors from Debt Support Trust - Answers back

[RachelMumsnet]

It's the first day of the new financial year and we're inviting you to send in questions to Lorna McCallum and Andrew Greechan, both advisors for Debt Support Trust. Whether you're looking for advice on a specific debt problem or are wondering about how you're going to deal with budget and benefit cuts over the next couple of years, Lorna and Andrew are happy to answer your questions.

Debt Support Trust is a telephone and internet based debt advice charity whose supportive team comprises of a mixture of volunteers and qualified employed advisors.

There are millions of people currently struggling to manage their finances across the UK with the average person contacting Debt Support Trust owing just over £35,000 to credit cards, personal loans and other forms of credit. Debt Support Trust provides holistic, immediate and qualified debt advice for anybody needing debt help.

Lorna McCallum is a voluntary customer support worker at Debt Support Trust. Her role as a support worker includes speaking to people who need debt help and advice, giving them the reassurance they require at a difficult point in their life. Andrew Greechan is a fully qualified debt adviser at Debt Support Trust. He has worked within the debt industry for many years and is a well respected professional.

Send your questions to Lorna and Andrew before 5pm on Monday 11th April and we'll be linking to their answers the following week.

Hi there..just about to start working after being on benefits for the last 3yrs so excited but also anxious need some advice..single mum x3 kids will be working a 30 hr week, income per year before tax deductions will be approximatley £12,000 i need to know what help i will get regarding childcare for x1 child @£60 per week and how much child tax and working tax credit i will receive and also how much tax i will be made to pay at the end of the tax year because it is a self employed job so i need to pay my own taxes.

Hi there, I work with families in a variety of financial circumstances. Many families I see who have fallen into debt have done so via catalogues. I usually advise a visit to the CAB for support where needed but many experience threatening letters from DCA. Are catalogue debts legally enforceable - ie can a DCA get a CCJ against families as this seems to be a big worry?

Can a company chase you for money they cannot prove you owe?

What do you think of payday loan companies? My sister uses them frequently to cover her until the end of the month, but I'm always really worried about the high interest rates and what would happen if she couldn't pay it back.

What do you do when you really can't afford any payments to debt?

I noticed from the christains against debt site the when producing your finacial plan you can allow £35 per adult and £20 per children for food each week. I don't allow this much / can't afford this much. Does this mean I am in financial trouble?

if I can't allow/afford

I would be grateful for advice on debt consolidation. We have around £6k credit card debt. This is obviously 'toxic' debt, with a high rate of interest and no defined repayment schedule.

I recently discovered I was eligible for a bank loan, and applied in order to pay off the credit cards and clear ourselves of debt in 5 years at a lower rate of interest, but because my credit rating is poor was offered a 19% rate of interest. My husband then applied for a loan and was turned down.

we are very keen on identifying an appropriate loan provider if at all possible: if we could get one at around 8-9% interest we would save around £150 a month on repayments. Can you recommend anywhere that would give reasonable rates of interest to people with poor credit ratings? Or do we have to accept that we are paying for our disorganisation and folly?

My colleague applied for a payday loan.

I forwarded on the details for a Crisis loan but don't know ifd she would have been eligible for it as she earns about £18k p.a.

What would she be eligible for?

Is there any way that these payday loan companies can be banned?

We owe money to a large high street bank, we have tendered a budget plan and repayment offer and made those payments.

The bank phones us everyday, sometimes up to three times a day, including weekends, and before 9 in the morning. Every time they phone we ask them to only contact us in writing and stop phoning, we have asked them to remove our phone number from their database, but it just continues.

They won't give us a number for their complaints department, we feel we are being harassed, how can we get them to stop?

My Dad's company (just him in it) didn't do the tax returns and the tax people are charing him £5k (he made no money at all last financial year). He didn't do the tax returns because he was ill, and then he went into hospital and couldn't return their contacts, and then sadly he passed away. They are still saying they want the £5k, from his estate, and then we can appeal.

His estate doesn't have £5k, and neither do we. Any ideas?

Many thanks.

I had a baby 2 years ago and went from earning well as an independent freelancer, to having no income at all. As it was not possible to return to my original job (childcare incompatible) I set up a business myself. Money is beginning to come in but its very up and down, and last year I made a loss. However, I have just had a message from my accountant saying that I still need to pay £3500 for my final accounts for the year 2008/2009 (I get very confused as to what the difference is for what I submit for a tax return, and how that differs from my "finished accounts")

Anyway, the point is, I don't have this money. I didn't realise I was still owing HMRC for income before my DD was born. Can I ask HMRC to defer the payment or make it in installments? Will this affect my business negatively? Or am I better to bit the bullet and get a loan?

Thanks

Hi all, a quick reminder that this thread closes tonight, so if you haven't already and there's something you'd like to ask, now's your (almost) final chance.

Thanks to everyone who has posted questions so far. :)

Thank you for the reminder.

I'd like to ask something, if I may. We are on a pre-payment meter. In January, we started using a key provided by Scottish Power. Immediately started getting statements from them saying we were in debit to them.

I've tried phoning them (chargeable number). When last I did, about 10 days ago, they said they had the wrong serial number and would ring me back.

I'd like to ask how it is possible to accrue a debt on a keyed meter (we have been in this flat for 18 months now and were using Scottish Hydroelectic key with no problems)? What recourse do we have?

How easy/difficult is it to arrange a suitable repayment plan with credit card companies if finding it difficult to make the minimum monthly payments? Will this affect your credit scoring?

How long can a company chase you for payments for? (if you pay none)

Hi all,

Thank you for all of your questions, this thread is now closed.
We'll be sending them over to the Advisors from Debt Support Trust and we'll post once we've had their answers back.

MNHQ

How long can a company chase you for in Scotland?

Thanks for all your questions and apologies for the delay in getting the answers up - we've been a bit pushed at mumsnet HQ with the school hols etc. We will endeavour to get the answers up next week and will post a link from this page as well as the home page and newsletter so do look out.

You can now see the answers to your questions here

Debt support Trust Q&A