Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS)

Money is great, while you are earning it, spending and generally enjoying it. However when the money dries up, the memories of enjoying the hard earned cash are more than distant. Especially when you take into consideration the sleepless nights, the fear that cripples your body every time you answer the phone or open a letter or the bank calls because yet another cheque has bounced. As you can probably fathom by now, I have experienced like many people, financial difficulties, severe in fact, to the point where you can't see a way out, ever. Many people had suggestion joining a debt management ... more

I have had poor credit for the past 3 years, i have 4 credit cards and in total my balance for these bloody things totalled almost £9,000! It got to the point where i had filled all 4 credit cards up, was spending more on trying to pay the creditors off than i was actually earning and all i wanted to do was bankrupt myself! I am only just turned 22! I started to ignore the bills and demanding nasty letters coming through the door threatening me with baliffs and county court judgements, they meant nothing to me, they were just words which sounded scarey and the ony thing i could do with them ... more

Ok, so you’ve all seen the television advertisements with the tag lines ‘consolidate all your debts into one monthly payment!’ and ‘We will reduce your monthly outgoings by up to 50%’, and all the rest. Now although these companies may seem like the ideal opportunity to get yourself out of trouble with your creditors just think twice! My Background: = Basically I was the typical university student – very good at spending money! And these days I feel that it is way too easy to get credit as a student and although I should really have had more sense then I just carried on getting everything I ... more

Debt is a subject I find is similar to haemorrhoids. Not just in the fact it's a pain in the arse to have, but also because no one ever wants to talk about it. I am not proud of our debt, neither do I seek sympathy for it, but I am proud to say I have learned from our mistakes, and for that I shall always remain grateful. **Background** I was 18 years old when I met my husband, we were 19 when we moved in together and 20 when we had our first of three children. By the time I was due to have my second daughter we took out a mortgage, in conjunction with a shared ownership scheme. This means we ... more

I had heard about the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) from my boss, he was having a bad time with his finances after getting married so had contacted them for help. During one of our regular chats at work I mentioned that things financially were starting to get a bit tight for us. He advised me to have a word with CCCS as they had helped him out in a similar situation and they could do the same for us. Well I wasn't keen on telling the world I had money problems and was sure things would get better and I kept saying just a few more weeks on benefits and things will be ok. I was only ... more