Blog · Debt Camel

Making a claim to the Morses Scheme [old article]

UPDATE - Morses Club went into administration on 17 November 2023. This scheme has now been terminated. See Morses Club goes under – in administration – Scheme fails for details and what customers should do. Morses sent out a batch of decisions on 6 July 2023. Many people have found these confusing - see the comments below this article. At one point the email says in a grey box: "Morses … [Read more...]

7 ways to save – which will work best for you?

Do you find it hard or impossible to save? many people feel they ought to be able save but always fail when they try. others are saving for a big goal but not as fast as they want. if you are struggling with money, you may desperately want a small emergency savings pot to make life a bit less stressful. There isn't a simple answer - no way is easy for everyone. What works for one … [Read more...]

Are you still paying fees on an old Gregory Pennington DMP?

For many years Gregory Pennington (GP), part of the Financial Wellness Group (FWG), has charged its clients monthly fees for running Debt Management Plans (DMPs) But MaPS awarded Gregory Pennington a contract that began on 1 February 2023. And it can't charge fees for DMPs under this contract. StepChange, Payplan and CAP have always provided "fee-free" DMPs, where all a client's payments go … [Read more...]

IVA mis-selling must stop – FCA finally acts to ban debt packagers

Many people have been mis-sold IVAs when they had a better (cheaper, quicker, less risky) debt option available. These other options were ignored or not properly described by some firms that should have given proper debt advice. IVAs are the only debt solution in England, Wales and Northern Ireland that generates large fees for the firms setting them up. These fees can distort debt advice given … [Read more...]

How to repair your credit record after bankruptcy

Bankruptcy badly affects your credit record for six years. This article looks at what should show on your credit record after you are discharged from bankruptcy. For almost everyone, discharge happens after a year. But if lenders don't record bankruptcy and your discharge correctly, they will continue to damage your credit record for longer than they should. Even if you … [Read more...]

How equity release works in an IVA

Are you in the last year of an IVA and have a house with equity? You may have to try to remortgage your house or get a secured loan to pay some of the equity into your IVA. This is called "equity release" This article looks at the questions people have about how equity release works in an IVA. If you are thinking about an IVA, you need to know about this before signing up. In 2023, most … [Read more...]

Klarna now allows people to “opt out” of future credit

On 24 May 2023, Klarna introduced a new feature that allows a customer to "opt out" of future credit. This covers Klarna Pay in 30, Pay in 3 and their longer-term Klarna Financing credit. Why is this needed? Many people find Klarna just too easy to use too often. Spreading payments with no interest being added sounds so sensible, but it still means that you have less money next month because … [Read more...]

Affordability complaints for two credit cards from a lender

My article on credit card affordability explains when you should make a complaint and has a free template letter to use. Some people have two credit cards from the same lender. Or two catalogue accounts from the same lender. The most common lenders this affects are: Newday - brand names include Aqua, Marbles and Fluid; Capital One - some people have been given two Capital One cards. … [Read more...]

How to get refunds from catalogues and credit cards

Have you had a catalogue, credit card or store card where your credit limit was too high? So high that the monthly repayments were hard to manage and you got into more debt? Many people were originally given an OK limit, but the lender kept increasing them. You may have a good complaint that the lender was irresponsible in allowing you to borrow so much that the debt was … [Read more...]

IVAs and secured loans – how to complain

The IVA protocol, which applies to most new IVAs, says that in the last year of your IVA, if you have a house with equity, you may have to release equity by either remortgaging or getting a secured loan. Some of the proposed secured loans mentioned by Debt Camel readers and on other debt advice forums have been at very high interest rates - 16%, 19% or even 22%. And have been for terms ranging … [Read more...]

What to do if you have problems paying Council Tax

So if you are having problems paying your council tax, you are not alone. This problem has been increasing for many years. Council Tax is the most common priority debt that National Debtline see - 28% of its clients in 2022 had council tax arrears But what can you do if you have arrears? Can you get any council tax discounts or an exemption? Take a few minutes to check you are being … [Read more...]

Has your debt with Hoist been sold to Lowell?

In September 2022, the debt collector Lowell bought Hoist's UK business, with over 2 million defaulted accounts. Most of these debts were loans, credit cards or overdrafts from lenders such as Barclays, Egg, HSBC, Newday and Santander. Lowell is moving over the Hoist accounts to its system. With so many accounts to be transferred, this is being done in batches. When yours is switched … [Read more...]

Pregnant and can’t afford your IVA?

Abby is pregnant and worried she won't be able to afford the monthly IVA payments: My IVA was set up at the start of 2022. There are four debts in it, totalling £13,000. All the debts date from a previous relationship, my new partner doesn't have a debt problem. My IVA payments are £110 a month. I've managed so far, but I now need to buy things for the baby - cot, buggy etc. We are renting and … [Read more...]

I have a letter from a debt collector – what can they do?

If you get a letter saying that a debt has been sold to a debt collector you may be very worried. This article answers common questions about what has happened and how it will affect you: will the debt collection agency (DCA) be horrible to deal with? is it legal to do this? do you still have to pay the money? what about your credit record? what if you don't owe the money? I … [Read more...]

What happens after discharge from bankruptcy?

A reader asked: I went bankrupt in 2021 and was discharged a year later. I am not paying an IPA. My question is about savings. Can I save now without any risk of my savings being taken from me? Also my grandmother wants to give me a large sum of money but I’m not sure if it would be safe so the last thing I want is for her to lose money, so I’ve been reluctant to do it. This article looks in … [Read more...]