Your Debt Remedy

Contents
Introduction
Your Financial Summary
Your CCCS Debt Remedy
Ways to Improve your Situation
Your Budget
Your Creditor List
Priority Creditor Information
Dealing with your Creditors
Court Procedures
Introduction
This booklet contains important information about your personal
debt remedy, which we have put together from the information
you have provided about your finances. NB; if you change any of
your information then this booklet will change, please ensure that
you download a new booklet whenever you make amendments.

It is extremely important that you take the time to read and

familiarise yourself with the contents of this booklet, and then
keep it in a safe place for future reference.

This booklet provides you with ideas and information on how to

improve your financial situation; it is essential you address your
financial difficulties immediately as the information you have
provided indicates you are struggling to maintain a reasonable
standard of living.

There is a copy of your monthly budget and a complete list of

your creditors in this booklet.

You have completed this budget for yourself only; therefore, this
debt remedy has been prepared just for you.

However, you have indicated that you have an additional adult

living in your household. If you have any financial links with this
person, e.g.; joint mortgage or bank account then your financial
situation may affect their credit rating as well as your own.

From the information you have provided we have summarised

your current financial situation and subsequently prepared your
debt remedy.

If you need to contact us for any reason you will need to quote
your web reference number, which is W24020239. Our contact
telephone number is 0800 197 1704* and our operating hours
are Monday to Friday 8am until 8pm. Do not disclose your web
reference number to your creditors.

*Calls may be recorded and monitored for quality and training purposes.
Your Financial Summary

■ Monthly income = £1800

■ Total outgoings = £2000
■ Monthly contractual payments = £3
■ You have 1 creditor
■ Your total credit debt = £50
■ You are spending £200 more than you have coming in each
month, and therefore currently have no money available to
offer as payment to your creditors.
Your CCCS Debt Remedy

Improving your Circumstances to Make a Payment

Arrangement

From the information you have provided, your income is not

sufficient to meet your priority expenditure. This means that even
if your credit debts did not exist, you would still be unable to meet
your normal day to day living costs.

You therefore need to take immediate steps to improve your

financial situation in order to prevent your current position
deteriorating further.
Within this booklet there are suggested ways to improve your
circumstances.

Once you have reviewed your budget and found ways to increase
your income and/or reduce your expenditure, please revisit debt
remedy with your web reference number, amending your figures
accordingly. We will then be able to advise you further on how to
deal with your credit debts.

Until you have improved your situation, we are unable to

provide you with a solution to your debt problem, because
you have no money available to repay your debts

If any of your debts are with the same bank as your personal
account (where your income is paid), we would recommend you
move this to another bank. This prevents your bank continuing to
take payments from your account and ensures that you are in full
control of your money. A list of alternative bank accounts can be
found at www.fsa.gov.uk.

IN THE MEANTIME DO NOT LET YOUR CREDITORS

PRESSURE YOU INTO MAKING PAYMENT OFFERS WHILE
YOU LOOK AT WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR SITUATION.

NB If any of your debts are guaranteed, please note that

the guarantor will become liable for the full outstanding
balance of the debt and will be contacted by the creditor for
payment.
Ways to Improve your Situation
By looking at your current situation, it may be possible to increase
your income by one of the following methods:

You might be entitled to some benefits that you are presently not
receiving:

●
Working Tax Credit
You would be entitled to Working Tax Credit if you are
working more than 16 hours per week if you have children
(or 30 hours per week if you do not have children).

To find out whether you are eligible, visit www.hmrc.gov.uk

or call the Tax Credit helpline on 0845 300 3900

●
Increasing your hours at work if possible.
●
Working overtime if it is available.
●
Getting a second job.

●
If you have any adult children living at home, ask them to
make a contribution to the household by paying board.

●
Rent a room to a lodger
You may need to bear in mind the following:
❍
You may need permission from the landlord or
mortgage lender under your tenancy or loan
agreement.
❍
The effect on any benefit income.
❍
Contents and/or buildings insurance policies may
sometimes be affected, although this is less likely
where the owner or tenant remains in the property.
❍
The personal situation of a family should be carefully
considered. Debt is extremely stressful and the family
may not be able to cope with the additional stress of a
lodger.

Budgeting Advice

Here are some ideas about how you can reduce your expenditure
each month.

●
Rent
It may be possible to look for cheaper rented
accommodation either by changing location or downsizing.
Also, check with your Local Authority and Housing
Associations to see if there are cheaper options available to
you.

●
Utilities
❍
It may be possible that there is a cheaper provider for
your utilities in your area. Visit www.uswitch.com or
www.switchwithwhich.co.uk to compare prices of gas
and electricity suppliers and switch online to get your
best deal.
❍
Visit www.saveenergy.co.uk to get energy efficiency
ideas to reduce your overall bill, e.g. loft or cavity wall
 insulation.
❍
Investigate with your water services provider whether
installing a water meter would reduce the amount
payable for your water charges.
❍
Making your payment by Direct Debit may also entitle
you to a discount.

●
Telephone and Internet
❍
Do you need a mobile phone and a landline, is it
something you or your family really need or something
you just want?
❍
If you have the internet, do you need broadband? To
investigate the best deal in your area visit
www.uswitch.com.
❍
If you have a contract mobile phone you could look to
switching to Pay As You Go and limit the amount that
you put on the phone each month, or switch to a lower
tariff. Visit www.switchwithwhich.co.uk to help you find
the most suitable deal for your mobile phone needs.
❍
Landline expenditure may be reduced by switching to a
deal that offers free calls after 7pm, or at weekends.
Visit www.uswitch.com to compare offers available in
your area.

●
Satellite/Cable Rental
❍
Do you need a satellite/cable package, is it something
you or your family really need or something you just
want?
❍
Contact your supplier to investigate the options
available to reduce your subscription to the minimum
package.
❍
Freeview boxes are available for as little as £30 from
high street outlets and supermarkets.

●
Food, toiletries and cleaning
❍
Don't compromise your health and well-being by
cutting your food budget too low. Look at other areas
in your household spending, such as cleaning products,
where you might be able to reduce outgoings.
❍
Perhaps you could look to switching to own brand
products or making use of special offers that are
available in the supermarket.

●
Meals at work
❍
In general it works out cheaper to take your own lunch
to work each day.
❍
You could make a little extra dinner the previous
evening, or simply take homemade sandwiches rather
than buying them.

●
Clothing and Footwear
❍
Try to minimise your spending as much as you can in
this area, purchasing essential items only.
❍
Consider where you shop, as this can make a big
difference. Supermarkets offer very good deals on
clothes and shoes.

●
Hairdressing
 ❍
If you have your hair cut regularly, look to increasing
the time in between haircuts to reduce expenditure.
❍
Spending could be reduced by changing your
hairdresser, have a shop around and ask your friends if
they can recommend someone.

●
Savings and Investments
❍
You have indicated that you have savings and/or
investments. If you are making regular payments to
these, we would strongly advise to stop.

●
Other non-essential items
The following items are considered as non-essential
expenditure, and could be reduced or removed to make
more money available:
❍
Dry Cleaning.
❍
Newspaper, Magazines.
❍
Sport, Hobbies and Entertainment.
❍
Church/Charity Donations

If you have any spending in these areas we strongly recommend

that you cut down or remove this expenditure to try to free up
some more money for your essential living expenses.

Budgeting Hints and Tips

●
Set up a 'spending diary' to keep control of your family
finances. You may never have done this before, but it is now
important to track how you are spending your money.
●
When you are thinking of buying something that is non-
essential, ask yourself whether it is something you or your
family really need or whether it is something you just want.
●
It may be useful to use our Expenditure Tracking form to
write down all your expenditure each week/ month to help
you keep within the amounts included in the budget
prepared. It is important that you set time aside to do this
regularly.
Your Budget

Your Income Amount Your Income Amount

Your take home pay £ 1,800 Incapacity Benefit
Your partner's take home pay Disability Living Allowance
Rent/board received Working Tax Credit
Pension received Child Benefit
Any other income received Child Tax Credit
Income Support Child Support
Jobseekers Allowance Total income £1,800

Housing Amount Comment

Rent £750
Mortgage
Secured loans/2nd mortgage
Mortgage endowment premium
Service charge/ground rent
Water £20
Council tax £100
Gas £30
Electricity £30
Other household fuel
Household services
Building and contents insurance
Telephone, mobile & internet £60
TV licence £10
Satellite £30
Repairs and maintenance
Household appliance rental
Child maintenance
Childcare
Fines, CCJs, Decrees
Life insurance/pensions £100
Medical/accident insurance
Hire purchase
Transport
Vehicle spares and servicing
Road tax
Motor insurance
Vehicle breakdown cover
Fuel & parking
Public Transport £40
Food & housekeeping
Food, toiletries, cleaning £200
School meals/meals at work £100
Pets, pet food/insurance
Tobacco
Misc. goods & services
School trips/activities
Medicines/prescriptions £10
Dentist/opticians £10
Hairdressing £20
Union/professional fees
Laundry/dry cleaning
Education fees
Personal & leisure
Clothing & footwear £45
Newspapers/magazines £100
Sports, hobbies, entertainment £20
Children's pocket money
Church/charity donations £300
Sundries/emergencies/other costs
Sundries/emergencies £25
Loan from family/friend
Other
Total expenses £2,000

Totals Amount
Additional information Comment
Total income £ 1,800
No of adults 2
Total expenses £ 2,000
Dependants 0
Surplus (Deficit) (£ 2 0 0 )

The figures in this budget are based on those supplied by you during the preparation of your Debt Remedy.
Your Creditor List
Outstanding Contractual Ownership
Creditor name Debt type
balance payment of debt

1 HSBC Overdraft £50 £3 Me

TOTAL £50 TOTAL £3

The figures in this creditor list are based on those supplied by you during the preparation of your Debt Remedy.
Priority Creditor Information
It is essential to maintain your payments to your priority
creditors. Those relevant to you have been included in your
regular monthly expenditure.

The following is a list of what are considered priority debts

because of the consequences of non-payment:

Type of Debt Consequences of Non Payment

Mortgage Loss of home
Rent Loss of home
Secured Loans Loss of home
Attachment of Earnings Order / Bailiffs*/
Council Tax/Rates
Imprisonment**
Attachment of Earnings Order /
Child Maintenance
Imprisonment**
TV Licence Fine up to £ 1000 / Imprisonment
Magistrates Fines Bailiffs* / Imprisonment**
Attachment of Earnings Order / Bailiffs* /
Tax/VAT & National Insurance
Charging Order / Bankruptcy
Attachment of Earnings Order / Bailiffs* /
County Court Judgments
Charging Order
Gas/ Electricity/ Other Fuel Prepayment meter / Disconnection
Hire Purchase Loss of goods
Telephone Disconnection

It is your responsibility to ensure that payments are made on

your priority debts and any agreements made about repayment
of arrears on these debts are maintained.

* Bailiffs can seize possessions to the value of the amount you

owe plus costs
** Imprisonment only applies if you wilfully refuse to pay
Dealing with your creditors

THE COLLECTION PROCESS

If you are not meeting your contractual payments your creditors

will follow the collections process detailed below. If you are
sending a reduced payment some creditors will accept the
reduction and not take any further action, however, not all
creditors will accept your offer and may contact you asking for a
higher payment. Simply tell them you cannot pay what you
haven't got.

If you have debts in joint names with another party who is not
included in your Debt Remedy, you should be aware that if you
make reduced payments on a joint debt, the other party could be
pursued by the creditor for the remainder of the debt, and can be
held liable for the whole balance. This also means that the creditor
can pursue the collections process (described later in this booklet)
against the other party as well as yourself, and the other party's
credit file is likely to be adversely affected.

DO NOT BE PRESSURED INTO PAYING MORE THAN YOU

CAN AFFORD.

Default notice
●
When you are making reduced payments and your account
falls into arrears creditors will issue a default notice. This is a
legal requirement and allows them to transfer your debt to a
debt collection agency or take court action. Do not ignore it.
●
You should still be able to negotiate reduced payments with
your creditors if you have not already done so.
●
Most creditors are unlikely to take court action if you are
making regular payments.

Letters from solicitors

●
Accounts are often passed to a solicitor if court action is to
be taken. It is not too late to make an offer of payment with
the solicitor, enclosing a copy of your budget and list of
creditors.

Debt collection agencies

●
Many creditors do not wish to collect reduced payments and
may either sell or transfer your account to a debt collection
agency.
●
Letters from debt collection agencies vary. They may be
strongly worded, ask for settlement of the debt in full and
even threaten court action. Do not panic. You should treat
them the same as your creditors by making an offer of
payment you can afford and sending them a copy of your
budget and list of creditors.
●
Debts are sometimes but not often collected by door-to-
door agents as it is a very expensive method of debt
collection.
●
If an agent does call, you can still make a reduced offer of
 payment and give them a copy of your budget and list of
creditors.
●
If the agent demands a higher offer of payment, treat them
like your creditors and tell them you cannot pay what you
haven't got.
●
Ask if you can pay by post, or with a paying-in book at the
bank or post office if this would suit you better than having
an agent call.

Court action
●
If you do not make contractual monthly payments to your
creditors, and you have previously received a default notice,
your creditors can decide to issue court proceedings. They
can decide to do this whether you are paying them an
agreed offer of payment or not.
●
If you are paying the most you can, because that is all you
can afford, then you should make the same offer of
payment in reply to the court forms. (For more information
on court procedures, see the 'Court Procedures' in this
booklet).

Credit reference agencies

●
When you are making reduced payments to your creditors it
is almost certain that your credit file will be adversely
affected. This information is held for 6 years after the debt
has been repaid so it is unlikely you will be able to obtain
more credit and it may be some time before your rating will
improve.
●
To find out more about the type of information credit
reference agencies hold you can contact the Information
Commissioner's office and ask for a copy of the "no credit"
leaflet.
●
Telephone number 0870 600 8100 or visit
www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk
●
If you want to obtain a copy of your personal credit file
information you can contact:
❍
Experian www.experian.co.uk 0870 241 6212
❍
Equifax www.myequifax.co.uk 0870 010 0583
❍
Callcredit www.callcredit.plc.uk 0870 060 1414

DO NOT LET CREDITORS PRESSURE YOU INTO PAYING

MORE THAN YOU CAN AFFORD. REMEMBER YOU CANNOT
PAY WHAT YOU HAVEN'T GOT.
Court Procedures
If you receive any court forms, please look at the advice below. It
is never advisable to ignore any court documentation you receive
as this may give your creditors more ways to recover their
money from you, for example deducting money from your
income.

County Court Procedures

●
When a County Court Claim Form arrives, the pack includes
two forms - 'Admission' and 'Defence'.
●
You must complete and return one of these within 14 days
of the date of the postmark on the envelope containing the
Claim Form.

Ignoring The Claim Form

●
This is not advisable. If you do not reply to the Claim
Form, the creditor will ask the court to enter 'Judgment by
Default'.

Admission Form
●
If you agree that you owe the money, you should complete
the 'Admission' form and send it to the address shown on
the 'Acknowledgement of Service' in the Response Pack (not
the court). Make a realistic offer of payment that you can
afford.
●
If your offer is accepted, the creditor will ask the court to
make judgment. You will be sent an 'Acceptance of Offer'
which gives details of how much you have to pay and when.
●
If the total owed is less than £5000 or the debt is regulated
by the Consumer Credit Act 1974, then interest will normally
be stopped.

Defending The Claim

●
If you want to dispute the whole claim, you should complete
the 'Defence' form, clearly stating your reason for the
dispute and return it to the court. If you need longer than 14
days to prepare your defence, complete the
'Acknowledgement of Service' form and send it to the court
within 14 days; you will then be granted a further 14 days. A
court hearing will be fixed for your local court. You must
attend the hearing.

Admitting Part Of The Claim

●
If you dispute only part of the claim, then you should return
the 'Defence' form and the 'Admission' forms.
●
A court hearing will be fixed in your local court. You must
attend the hearing.

Changing The Amount You Pay

●
Once judgment has been made, there are a number of
 applications that can be made to vary the order, depending
on the circumstances:
❍
If the order was not made by a District Judge, but by a
Court Official, you should write to the court, within 14
days, to explain your circumstances and to ask for a
'Re-determination' of the amount you have to pay.
There is no fee for this.
❍
If the order was made by a District Judge or if more
than 14 days have elapsed since you received it, you
may apply to vary the order using court form N245 -
Application to vary an order. (There is a fee charged
which you can apply to have waived in cases of
hardship using form EX160).
❍
If you cannot afford to make any payment at all, you
can apply to have the judgment set aside using an
'N244 Application Notice' supported by a financial
statement. A fee is normally payable, which may be
waived in cases of hardship. The court proceedings will
be transferred to your local court and a date for a
hearing will be set. You must attend the hearing. The
N244 and EX160 are available from any County Court.

Credit Rating
●
All County Court Judgments are registered with the Credit
Reference Agencies and this will affect your ability to obtain
future credit, including mortgages.
●
More importantly it can affect your employment in certain
professions, such as Accountancy, Law and Financial
Services. It is advisable to check with your union or
Personnel / Human Resource department for the effect on
your occupation.

Failing To Make Payments Under A County Court

Judgment
●
If you do not make payments as directed under the
judgment, the creditor can take further action by applying
for:
❍
A Warrant of Execution, which can result in bailiffs being
sent to your home and the removal of goods. You can
apply to have the warrant suspended using form N245.
❍
An 'Attachment of Earnings Order', which if successful,
means the creditor is paid directly from your wage. This
obviously then involves your employer.
❍
A 'Charging Order', which if granted, secures the debt
against your property.
●
Creditors cannot take the above action without firstly
obtaining a County Court Judgment.

IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT YOU DO NOT IGNORE COURT

FORMS AND THAT YOU REPLY TO THE CLAIM FORM
MAKING AN OFFER YOU CAN AFFORD. THESE ARE
GENERAL GUIDANCE NOTES ONLY ? FURTHER
INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FROM ANY COUNTY COURT
IN A SERIES OF FREE LEAFLETS OR VISIT www.hmcourts-
service.gov.uk