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 ...
...point where you can't see a way out, ever. Many people had suggestion joining a debt management programme, pay plan for instance but seeing as at the time I worked in the finance industry, a lot of stigma and bad press is associated with such schemes and I was put off. They promise the world with slogans like" We will slash your debts by 30% and all you have to do is make one small manageable money payment". Sounds too good to be true doesn't ... more

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 programme, pay plan for instance but seeing as at the time I worked in the finance industry, a lot of stigma and bad press is associated with such schemes and I was put off. They promise the world with slogans like" We will slash your debts by 30% and all you have to do is make one small manageable money payment". Sounds too good to be true doesn't it and it is. They neglect to tell you that they take their cut too, a substantial cut at that. They even hide this charge from you with their miniscule small print on the contract which you are pressured to sign without allowing you to read in detail first, the hard sales pitch, usually with them sitting on your sofa, drinking your tea and eating your sandwiches making you feel like they are here to save the day when they are just a another company who want to make money out of you.

Unfortunately dependant on ones situation, many people feel this is there only option and further charges and commission paid to these greedy companies is well worth it to keep the bailiffs off their back. ITS NOT, THE ANSWER WHATEVER YOUR SITATION MAY BE IS THE CCCS!! Whether you are starting to spiral into debt or indeed you have been in debt for some time, help is on tap, from an initial chat to budgeting, payment plans and NO CHARGE.

In 1993, due to the ongoing success of Credit Counselling in the U.S, a pilot test was trialled in the UK by Vic Ware O.B.E. and Malcolm Hurlston who introduced CCCS into the UK in 1993 in Leeds to test whether the approach could be equally effective in the UK. And it was, which led to offices being open in Nottingham, Birmingham and Cardiff, with Glasgow, Newcastle, Chester and London opening shortly after. They are the leading debt management in the UK and rightly so.

The CCCS's code of ethics is:
"We are dedicated to providing confidential, professional counselling and money management assistance to financially distressed families and individuals, regardless of race, creed, colour, sex, social position or financial status. We also aim to foster education on money management and the wise us of credit by consumers."
This is one code of ethics that hand on heart I can say that is never deviated from. They genuinely want to help and usually in every case succeed in doing so! Code of eth

My background is maybe a little different to some of you as my first slope into depth was simply due to being young, immature and loving the free credit feeling. How we grow up eh and realise the errors of our ways. I had an ok paid job, not many outgoings and I had a lovely "free" overdraft, couple of credit cards and a loan. Being irresponsible and thinking I was cool, I spent money on more fun, exciting and rewarding (so I thought at the time) things and paid my bills sporadically. This went on for a few months until the charges got worse and the threats got more serious. By this point I couldn't pay the monthly payments, I had the letters and the calls on a regular basis and I was taking out further credit that was offered to me to pay the charges and before you know it the credit dries up but the charges don't. Nor do the notices of defaults and legal action proceedings.

At this point, someone suggested that I should give the CCCS a call. I didn't have any faith they could help but due to my crumpling nerves and unusable bank account I gave them a call. For the moment I had briefly explained my current situation I felt this huge feeling of relief. They didn't make me feel small although I naturally felt ashamed as I know the wage I couldn't afford to live on is what some 4 member families survive on but they didn't judge. They explained what service they offer and the next stage which is for an appointment to be booked for myself and my dedicated counsellor to go through my current outgoings now and devise a budget so the CCCS can approach my creditors with a payment that I can afford to pay. An appointment was made for the following week.

A week later at the time they were due to call, they did and bit by bit we went through all my incomings and outgoings. Although it wasn't something I want to face, the chap I spoke to made it so comfortable and easy. He listed all my debts, both to creditors and individuals in order of importance and also in order of who was chasing me most.

We went through my rent payments, petrol, food, even to the point of newspaper expenditures and entertainment. They are so helpful to the point if you are spending below their quota for one section, they will allow to bump up other sectors to ensure that once the budget is set, you can stick it and make progress. Once the budget is set you are sent out a pack with what happens next. You are required to sign the budget to say its acceptable and also that you will abide by all the CCCS's clauses of the agreement set which include thins like:

- You will inform the cccs of any changes in your financial situation such as a higher paid job, or rent increases or decreases.
- You will info0rm the cccs if you can't make a payment to them asap so they can inform your creditors.
- You will not take out any further credit whilst paying a debt management payment to the cccs.

If any clauses are not adhered to, they have the right to termination any agreements made. And the best thing is all clauses are to benefit you. While a sensible budget is being put in place you are instructed to write letters to each and every creditor you are including in the debt management programme informing them of what you are doing and that if they have any issues regarding the money outstanding to them that they need to contact the cccs direct. The cccs even give you a template letter so minimal effort is required, especially when considering what you will receive in return.

The cccs liaise with your creditors to get them to freeze your interest so ok you may have already received charges but from this day on they are frozen which means you will have a much better chance of clearing them. As much as your creditors don't legally have to agree unlike IVA's (Individual Voluntary Arrangements), they usually do as its better they get little payments regularly instead of getting nothing. Yes they may well threaten to take you to court but if that's the case and you do get a ccj, they then get no money at all as you don't legally have to satisfy them unless you intend to obtain further credit. And to be fair if you are the stage of ccjs', then whether you wish for credit or not, you will more than likely be declined anyway, especially from the high street.

Once you have made these first hard but rewarding steps the cccs do the majority of the work for you while you can plan how to get your life back on track in a realistic timeframe, set again with the advice of the cccs. I had around 8k of unsecured debt at the time and I was given a payment of £97 for 5yrs for it be cleared. However around 12months after starting the programme, interest from one account hadn't been added on so they re-jigged the figures and included this extra 2k too. Every 6months your budget is re-assessed to see if there is any way you can increase your payments to finish the programme quicker.

One reason this scheme works so well is the debts are cleared using the snowball effect. This where you pay a set amount to each debt every month. The smaller debts will obviously finish earlier than the larger ones so say for instance you have three outstanding loans:

1st paying £30p/m for a £2000 balance
2nd paying £20p/m for a £500 balance
3rd paying £40p/m on a £1200 balance.

For the first 25 months you pay a total of 90p/m on a total balance of £3700, after that period the £500 loan is cleared. You still carry on paying the full 90p/m as now you are used to paying it, that extra 20p/m will in turn ensure that the loans are paid earlier than if you only carried on the remaining 70p/m required. Then once the £1200 balance is cleared, the whole 90p/m will go on the £2k balance which will result in it being paid even quicker, hence the snowball effect, once one is cleared the next debts clear quicker and quicker and before you know it you have snowballed so much there is nothing left to clear.

This really should be the point where I list all the down sides of using the cccs but I can't as there is nothing that I would change about the service or the company except that they are not known to as many people as they should be as they really are the most effective, helpful and sensible option for getting out of debt. There are scores of other debt management programmes available but none without a cost to the customers, you. There is the option of IVA but if you default on an IVA, you will end up getting charges and restrictions of your property if you own and are at risk of losing your home as they have the right whereas due to the cccs being a charity they work in your best interests, always.

If the cccs doesn't work out on indeed you can't commit to the payments due to your situation getting worse then there is of course the bankruptcy option. Although I wouldn't suggest it as a first option, it is a final option if required but once you have spoken to the cccs a manageable budget will more than likely be able to rectify the situation. In some occasions there maybe too much debt against your incomings and they may not be able to help with a management plan, but they will still advise you on your best option and offer assistance to receive the correct help required for your personal financial circumstances.

I cannot praise the cccs enough, for everything about them as a company and as individuals themselves, they are informative, professional, full of compassion and love and they are a fantastic way to end the horror of debt, well get you on the path towards it, of course, like any avenue taken, it ultimately depends on new found willpower that wasn't obviously originally there otherwise you wouldn't have taken the unsteady, rocky road of debt but they give you a bloody good start.

I got into debt, bad and learnt the lessons I wish I had been told many years ago. It's not big and not clever but it's also nothing to be ashamed of providing you want to sort it out for the better. A lot of it I feel is actions and consequences I guess and when the going gets tough, you hide and put your head in the sand and brush the issues under the carpet, I know I did anyway but making those calls and keeping in touch with creditors and facing your problems, however scary and hard it may seem at the time, its better than the unknown and the constant chasing and threats. Hope this has been a help to at least a few of you and if you are in need of financial help, you will not find any better than the cccs. 

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