Barclays debt they want more -Advice please

[snowdragon]

Sorry for this but need some advice please.

 

Barclays have said we need to contact a Debt Agency as we owe them over £300 and £10 a month will take to long to pay them.

They have suggested CCCS and Payplan but am unsure if one is better then the other?

 

Barcalys asked if we could pay more then the £10

but as we explained to them we on benEfit (JSA ) and have to pay

rent of £40,

Electric of £25,

Gas £25 ETC

as well as other debtors.

 

Thank you in advance for any help/advice,

sorry if this posted twice,

 

having a few PC problems

 

[ForumFodder]

CCCS will normally only be able to take on the case if you have a salary. I don't know about PayPal.

 

Contact them anyway, they will send you a lot of helpful information.

 

To be honest, Barclays should really be able to put you on a temporary payment plan with the assumption you'll be back in work as you're on JSA.

[snowdragon]

thanks forum, we were supposed to be paying them back at the agreed rate of £10 a month but they seem to think it is not enough and asked us for more, they have put out account on hold for two weeks and if they do not hear from us they will then close our account,we have JSA going in on Tuesday but was told that will be ok for us to have

[ForumFodder]

Assuming you're already set up to do counter debits then yes you'll be fine - providing someone doesn't get trigger happy and close the account early. It's unlikely but it does happen.

 

The thing is, you can't just carry on paying £10 a month, it's not 'allowed' and is drilled into their advisors during training. Just because your personal circumstances haven't changed, they'll still push for more money, as if everything else stopped costing so much.

 

Continue making payments and you should avoid further action, apart from the impending account closure of course. I suggest you speak with another bank and have a basic account set up. I have seen recommendations for a co-op Cashminder, if that's any use. Have your JSA details changed to your new bank ASAP or you'll be out of money.

[snowdragon]

thank you, have spoken to payplan now and we are looking for a basic bank account but most want a monthly fee

[daverules]

As mentioned by ForumFodder http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/servlet/Satellite/1193206368743,CFSweb/Page/Bank-CurrentAccounts

[stormski]

Hi,

 

If you have no dealings with the Co-Op you can get a basic cashminder account.

 

It would be best to go into a branch for this and do not ask for an overdraft.

 

You get a debit card with this account and online banking.

 

Even with bad credit you will get this account.

 

Great little bank account.

 

Regards,

Stormski

[ForumFodder]

You must specify your intent to open a Cashminder account. If they attempt to open a current account, not only will it be declined but it'll mark your credit file as a search.

 

Also, DO NOT let this account go overdrawn. You will be shut down after three occasions.

[snowdragon]

ok thanks, there is no co-op bank here as we live in a village in the countryside and have one bank,Barclays.We do have tow co-op 's though, a largish super market and a smaller one and we have a membership card with them

[ForumFodder]

The Co-op have merged with Britannia. You can open an account there, and pay in through their counter. If you've got a Britannia branch i'd recommend looking into it.

 

The co-op stores won't be able to help you i'm afraid - however, I did hear they may be trialling in-store banking. Probably a long shot. They used to do it years ago with something called "handy banks", but even cash credits took up to seven days. The newer branches will of course be instant, should they be installed.

[stormski]

Hi,

 

Well it is still worth trying to get to a Co-Op branch to make sure that they are going to try and open the 'correct' account.

 

Also, once it is open..you can pay money in at a post office ( and withdraw ) as well as at ATM'S.

 

As advised above..it is a good idea to keep a diary of what is in the account as it does tend to take a few days for the online banking to update with the correct figures...and you don't want to be falling into an unauthorised overdraft ( even though they should really never let this happen...bit sneaky ).

 

Regards,

Stormski

[snowdragon]

will bear all this in mind, we have to rely on public transport right now and that is a diabolical! every 2 hours if we are lucky, I know there are more banks in Ely which is our nearest town and failing that it means a 2 hour trip to Cambridge,the joys of living in the country!

[ForumFodder]

You can open a Cashminder over the phone. I don't know what the process is to have your ID verified, possible sending copies of letters, passport or something like that.

 

I forgot you can pay cash into the post office. Cheques too, but it takes a while.

 

I've never lived out in the sticks before so I can't reflect on your predicament, but then I tend to use internet banking even whilst living in the big city.

[snowdragon]

we also use internet banking,good job as that is how we found out about money going from our account! thank you all for your help and have clicked the stars on you both

[brokebutnotbeatn]

Natwest was good for me as a basic account.

[snowdragon]

Payplan have been in touch with us but suggest we tell all our creditors about our financial difficulties,is this the same as doing your own DMP, have no idea how to do this,

 

Years ago we were with Gemstone Financial but we were paying them over £100 a month to keep our creditors at bay, just could not afford them so got shut.

[stormski]

Hi,

 

You will get all the info here you need.

 

In fact far better information than any fee paying dmp will give you.

 

The usual advice is to start a thread on each debt giving as much info you can on it.

 

ie:

 

Original Creditor, type of debt ( credit card / loan / overdraft, etc ), how much is owed roughly, date taken out, whether it is now with a DCA etc.

 

Then others will be able to assist you on the way forward.

 

Regards,

Stormski

[snowdragon]

thank you stormski

[ForumFodder]

Good luck with your DMP. It's not as hard as it sounds, especially if you get sent 5 Income & Expenditure forms...you'll have more clue about your money by the end of the month guaranteed.

 

One thing to watch out for is something called "negative disposable income". This is where, for example, you earn £1000 a month, but your bills (before debts) come to more than that. You don't have a penny to give back to the creditors, and they will simply default on you and send you packing.

[Gemstone Financial Mgt.]

Just noticed this post. We have never charged a fee of anything like £100 a month. I assume the reference is to the overall payment, of which the majority (even in the case of £100 disposable income) would go directly to the creditors.

 

 

I obviously cannot comment in respect of specific cases on a public forum

 

 

The debate over 'free' or 'fee' will never end, and there are advantages and disadvantages to each. Assuming that the Debt Management Company is competent, the main disadvantage of using a commercial firm is of course the fact we charge for services. The question should therefore come down to value.

 

 

Incidentally, Payplan IS associated with a commercial entity that returns profit each year, of which some I believe is linked to the sale of IVAs from people referred to their 'free' debt management service.

Edited April 24, 2014 by ims21

[ims21]

As this thread is so old and the company have had their right of reply this thread is now closed.

 

The OP can PM a member of the Site Team if they want it re-opened.