Debt-free wannabe

If you need help with your debts, this is the thread for you. This is a new thread, as the old one was getting a tad long. Trained advisers from StepChange Debt Charity are here and waiting to answer your debt questions. They're a friendly bunch so please don't be shy! There are three ways to get in touch: 1 - Simply post…

Welcome to the DMP mutual support thread Part 13 !! Here you can find help in starting and running your DMP, self managed, Stepchange, Payplan and any other DMP all welcome here, but we do encourage you to use a free service, not one you pay for. There is help on getting interest and charges stopped, how to start with an…

I feel that this is so important that I thought a new thread should be made to highlight the importance of understanding the law on Charging Orders and how many people are stuck with their property in the false believe that they have had a Charging Order put on their property. In particular the thousands of Northern Rock…

Update December 2018. We started this Debt Free Roll of Honour back in 2006 and since then there have been some fabulously inspiring stories, which you'll see if you read below. To read the most recent debt-free announcements click the double arrow above to head to the last page of the discussion Back to Martin's original…

People post on this board looking for advice on many different debt topics. However its sometimes difficult to post in the right place, so, if you are wanting general advice from our panel of regulars on your debt issues, and how to go about solving them, you create a new thread using the big red "create new" button, top…

Hi all just wanted to share some good news regarding payday loan companies..... From early 2011 until mid 2014 I too was caught in the payday loan trap, all my own fault may I add, I borrow the money and in the end paid every penny back, would estimate 15000 over the years maybe 20. Early this year I saw all the news…

This thread provides guidance about some good first steps you should take if you are in debt and want to get debt-free. It doesn’t matter how big or small your debt is, or whether you are comfortably paying your debts and looking for advice on where to cut back further or struggling to cover your basic needs - we are here…

Martin (Lewis) made the following announcement a few years back. But the link in the stickies is broken. Anyhow, here is what Martin said: "Dear Money savers..... Debt Free Wannabe is one of my favorite boards on this site. It's also one which runs a delicate balance. Many people who have serious debts have hidden them for…

Debt-Free Wannabe Sticky - Please read for links to important topics and help Hi folks :) This is the Debt-Free Wannabe Sticky where links to all current important tools and information will be posted. Links: (1) Those who are new to debt, and want to know where to start, check out these first steps :…

Statute barred debts and the Limitation Act Statute Barred debts. A debt will be "Statute Barred" if there has been no acknowledgement of the debt by you making a payment or in writing within the relevant limitation period. The debt would then be legally UNENFORCEABLE, unless the creditor has already taken legal action…

I have finally gotten some defaults now but I have a few questions: Q1) Opos Limited: I have started my first payment to Opos Limited collecting for JAJA CC due to them saying in an email that they have not been able to contact me and therefore have no option but to return the case to their client and advising legal action…

Afternoon all, I have had a read through a lot of the topics and it’s a great resource and full of great advice. I’m hoping for a bit of advice with my situation. I got into a bit of trouble back in 2018/19, leading to missing payments and subsequently defaulting on a few credit cards and a loan. I have since paid off all…

hello I am now in the stage of having received default notices, and letting them go through (aka the 14 days period) I’ve received letters saying the whole amount is now due and I am unable to make monthly payments. Do I wait for the DCA to send me a letter then set up a payment plan with them? NatWest had a default…

Currently on a debt management plan and have sold our house to release equity to pay off our debts. We have a couple of issues with this we owe 56k and have 50k available but I am currently 8 months pregnant and our car is broken - cracked windscreen, doesn’t lock, front door doesn’t close properly and we cannot fit all 3…

Hi all, I have been going through a self managed DMP thanks to the advice I gained here over a year ago. I have been paying token amounts to around 8 creditors which are mostly credit cards but also a loan. They all accepted this and I have been making payments on time. Last month I wrote to them all with the standard CCA…

Hi, I've been getting stressed about debt for a while now, and even though I've been subscribed to the MSE newsletter for ages, somehow didn't even think about checking here for advice! I moved into my first house a few years ago, and as I'd only rented furnished places before, owned basically nothing, and that combined…

Hi everyone, I’m posting because we’ve reached the point where our £60,000-ish debt is becoming completely unbearable, and I think we need to be brutally honest with ourselves and get some outside perspective on what we should do next. Our money problems really started towards the end of 2024, when my wife was made…

Hi all Thank you in advance for any guidance or advice you can offer me as I begin my journey to becoming debt free. I am intending to enter into a DMP as I find myself drowning in debt after a change in circumstances and honestly years of bad choices. I was planning on doing this via step change but have been reading the…

Hello all, I've embarked on my becoming debt free journey a few months ago after struggling with it for years. In short - a bit over of 30k debt over multiple CC'd, a couple of cash loans, and then Klarna and to top it of a few payday loans, 11 lines of credit. I've then started to fail behind on payments as the 0%…

Hi all, first time posting. I'm a bit out of my depth with this so apologies if I get the terms wrong. I pulled my credit file recently and found two old credit card debts I'd sort of put to the back of my mind. The first is with Cabot, around £9,900. The file says it was originally a Barclaycard, opened December 2012, and…

I sent off my affordability claims to four of my five creditors today. In total, I have six credit cards and two loans, with around £75k of debt. I earn £82k. For a long time, I honestly felt like I was the only person in the world who had managed to get themselves into this amount of debt. I’ve carried a huge amount of…

hi all Very new here. Have been reading a lot over the last few days and it’s been so helpful and supportive and has helped my worries no end so I want to start with a thank you. I’ve got myself into a lot of debt and I think self managing a dmp will be the way to go but want to sense check it and also ask a few questions.…

Hi everyone, I’m hoping someone with experience of DMPs might be able to give me some advice, as I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed and don’t really know where to start. I’ve spoken to StepChange about my situation and they’ve talked me through a Debt Management Plan, but I’m still unsure about the practical side of actually…

I have an existing debt management plan with Payplan due to end in just under 6 years, with around 8K left. Since this arrangement was made, I have added 9 k in debt from loans and credit cards. I have a further 31K Cabot debt, passed on from a Northern Rock loan in 2008. That defaulted in about 2010 and doesn't show on…

Hi there, I’ve been making small payments to Resolvecall for a while now and I contacted them the other day as I suddenly realised I had no idea what this payment was for (I’ve had so much debt for so many years I’ve lost track embarrassingly). They have responded to me with the below. Can anyone offer any guidance as to…

Hi! I’m finally in a position where I can start making offers to my creditors. I have been on my DMP 4years and I still have 5y left on it. this is the letter I’m thinking of sending PRA group regarding my account. This is 30% of the total. Would you add or take away from it? “Dear Sir/Madam, I am writing to you regarding…

Long post… thank you if you get to the end! I'm hoping there may be people here who have been through something similar and can offer both practical advice and a bit of support. After many years of nose diving, about 6 months ago, my family ended up in severe financial difficulty and were eventually evicted from our home.…

I’m not sure if anyone has any experience or can signpost me in the right direction. Being chased for a Capital Contribution order of nearly £150k that I knew nothing about regarding Legal Aid from a company called Advantis. Thought it was a scam but unfortunately it’s not. All relating to a historic court case (don’t…

I'm exploring a tactic: Breathing space Setting up DMP via Stepchange If interest and charges are not frozen by the creditors, self managing and then defaulting What I would like to know is if anyone has experience of deploying this sequence (or similar), either accidentally or on purpose. As per my original thread, my…

I want to check if the following emails that I sent in 2022 constitute anything that would count as acknowledging the debt: Can you please double check your records as to my knowledge I have paid this outstanding amount in around June or July 2020 after the outcome of my appeal for a fee reduction. and then: Thank you for…