We'd like to remind Forumites to please avoid political debate on the Forum... Read More » This is to keep it a safe and useful space for MoneySaving discussions. Threads that are - or become - political in nature may be removed in line with the Forum’s rules. Thank you for your understanding.

📨 Have you signed up to the Forum's new Email Digest yet? Get a selection of trending threads sent straight to your inbox daily, weekly or monthly!

Debt-free wannabe

Mutual support and help for those on their journey to becoming debt-free.

DMP mutual support thread part 13 !!
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…
Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question
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…
Charging Order? The myth
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…
The Debt Free Roll Of Honour
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…
In Debt and Wannabe Debt Free? first Steps to take are here, please read, then ask questions.
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…
Reclaiming money back from various payday loan companies
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…
Pls remember Debt-Free Wannabe's for support and help not judgement
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 - Provit & Statute Barred Letters, Defaults, Help and Guidance, All Here...
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 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…
Help please
Hello I’d really appreciate some advice please. I’ve managed to accumulate a lot of debt , about 50-60k on credit cards . I was managing to pay and keeping interest down by balance transfers. But the last 2 years things have spiralled as both my children became ill and are now disabled. I had to give up work and we spend a…
Lowell query re CCA
Hi - My sister has sent many CCA letters and some have come back saying no info can be provided so she has stopped paying (took a lot of persuasion to convince her it was ok to do this!). She has a debt with Lowell and shortly after she sent the letter (about 2 months ago) they wrote saying they have asked Creation…
WIll Natwest help my brother?
HI, I am supporting my brother with some money issues - he is newly divorced and his finances have taken a battering. He has a Natwest Credit card that has a fairly high balance and high interest each month. He is struggling to pay. He is about the sell a property which will allow him to clear the debt but this could take…
Iva or Dmp
Hi! I am new to the community and badly needed help and support. I work as a part time NhS staff and then my husband and I share a LTD company for agency nurses. Last year was really good but agency shifts nowadays have dwindled down to none. I am in need of advice if I go with Dmp or Iva. I spoke with payplan and SC.…
Help with a full and final settlement
Hi all, my previous post has now been closed, but background is that I have several old debts that all defaulted years ago and have now dropped off my credit file. I had been paying for years via Step Change, but was planning to make full and final settlement offers. I wrote to them all first to ask for copies of the…
Help me start my debt free journey.
Hello I'm looking for some advice to start to get debt free. My new job has doubled my current annual wage. I have 3 credit cards with various interest rates and amounts totalling up to £13,000. Due to my previous wage I have not been able to balance transfer onto 0% cards and only been able to afford to pay minimum…
Accept Offer or Refer to Ombudsman
Hi, just after the advice of people that know more than me. The bank have admitted that they did not carry out the appropriate affordability checks on a large loan. 'Our records show that your application for a £23,000.00 loan was immediately approved by our systems and opened on 20 April 2019. A fixed amount of interest…
US medical bill passed onto Debt collector
Hello, cut a long story short I had to visit the ER on my holiday to the states. I received no treatment/X-rays/scans ect. A doctor literally just ‘checked’ me. I had travel insurance and after 40 minutes I was discharged and the bill was going to be sent to my travel insurance. Basically, turns out my insurance was not…
CCA agreement request- identical responses from PRA group but one debt unenforceable and one not
Hi, I have come this way following a few CCA agreement requests with PRA group. Hoping someone can please advise. My husband and I both have several debt with PRA group (originally Barclaycard and MBNA). We both made CCA agreement requests back in January for each debt held with them. My husband received a letter from them…
Affordability complaint with FOS - bank statements
I have 2 Newday Credit cards that I have taken to the FOS. I have been allocated my investigator and she is asking for statements for every time I was issued a credit increase. So basically 2 and 1/2 years of statements. What will they be looking at when they get them? I was always in my overdraft and the statements shows…
Debt Free (for the 2nd time - and that’s the rub)
TLDR - Am I right to be scared of any debt after a long history of problems I’m 56 and been in debt pretty much since I started work at 17. I’ve never been in “trouble” apart from some dicey moments with poll tax in the 90’s, as my income has always been just enough to survive- albeit living from payday to payday. 12 years…
Debt getting out of hand £57k, looking for advice.
Hi All, I have been in debt of some form for the last 9 years and its time to get it sorted. As a brief overview I initially got into a large debt of around £45,000 for training for my dream job, which I now have, fortunately! This was back in 2018, since then I have slowly repaid, moved around on 0% credit cards etc.…
Moved: Credit Card - Promotional rate.
This discussion has been moved.
Loan may default, what happens?
I have a £15k loan with Shawbrook that I have been paying off for the last 2 years. The first year was fine, I made my monthly payments on time and in full but then unexpectedly got made redundant and I had some health issues on top of that. So for the last year I initially used my savings to keep the monthly repayments…
Unsecured/secured loan
Hi I have several unsecured loans and one secured loan, I am having to consider a DMP but I want to know if I can afford to pay the secured will I be allowed to use a DMP ? I can’t see way out of this
Reducing my debt with another loan?
I am trying to bring my outgoings down and so far I have managed to do it with most bills but I have a loan for a car. Because of my situation is high interest. I still have three more years to pay and I am wondering as my credit score is improving. Is there a way of getting a new loan at a lower interest to pay this one…
Merged: Overdraft Debt
This discussion has been merged.
DCA car finance claim help
Looking for some advice I saw the DCA car finance claim on YouTube for findmydcaclaim.com I was curious so I clicked yes probably big mistake. it said fill in your details and sign this to find to find out if you could be owed anything. before I knew it it had signed me up to the claim for a company called Courmacs Legal…
ACI closed accounts (irresponsible/ unaffordable lending)
Hi everyone. I have two debts sold on to ACI. These debts were originally for updraft loans. I have managed to have an irresponsible lending claim upheld by updraft. This was in October last year. I have been going back and forward with ACI as they kept pestering me for the money I was originally due. With the claim being…
New debt added to credit file from AGG - no idea who they are!
Hi, can anyone advise on what to do please. I am trying to clear off last few debts and rebuild my credit file and I have just noticed my transunion score dropped hugely so I was just looking at the report and it seems a new debt was added. It says September last year but I don't recall seeing it before and have only just…

★ ★ ★ Meet your Ambassadors

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

MSE News

Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payment this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.
Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
All State Pensioners in England and Wales will receive a Winter Fuel Payments this winter, though those who earn over £35,000 will see it clawed back through the tax system. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. Here MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis, and we include answers to your key questions.
Which NatWest and RBS branches are closing from 2025? Here's the full list – and banking alternatives
NatWest and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which are both part of the NatWest Group, will shut at least 108 of their bank branches in 2025 and beyond, after the Group announced a further 52 NatWest closures.
Winter Fuel Payments to be reinstated for millions – Martin Lewis explains how it'll work, what it means and if it's an improvement
Winter Fuel Payments will be reinstated to all pensioners in England and Wales this winter – but will be clawed back automatically from those earning over £35,000 a year, the Government has confirmed. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up. MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis shares his instant response and analysis.
Car finance mis-selling update: regulator prepares for compensation scheme – and warns against using claims firms
Payouts for mis-sold car finance could be another step closer as the financial regulator has set out the factors it will consider if it were to introduce an industry-wide redress scheme – though we won't know more about how this will work until after a key Supreme Court decision expected in July. In the meantime, the regulator has warned that you DON'T need to sign up with a claims firm to be included.
Winter Fuel Payments to be extended to pensioners earning £35,000 or less – here's what we know so far
Winter Fuel Payments will be extended to all pensioners with incomes of £35,000 or less this winter, the Government has confirmed. It means nine million pensioners will get the £200 or £300 top-up.
Winter Fuel Payments extension confirmed for this winter – watch Martin Lewis' instant response and his message to the Chancellor
Winter Fuel Payments will be extended to more pensioners this winter – though not to everyone – the Chancellor has today confirmed. However, exact details of who will now qualify still remain scant. Watch MoneySavingExpert.com founder Martin Lewis give his instant response, as well as his key message for Rachel Reeves.
Nationwide Fairer Share: Free £100 bonus confirmed for 2025 – here's who will get it
If you bank with Nationwide, you could get a free £100 paid into your account in June or July as part of the building society's 'Fairer Share' scheme. The bonus will be paid to millions of its current account customers who also have savings or a mortgage with it.
Forced onto a prepay energy meter? You may be due money back as 10,000s to be compensated
If you had an energy prepayment meter forcibly installed or your smart meter was remotely switched to prepay mode without your permission, you could be entitled to compensation of up to £1,000 and may even be eligible to have your energy debts written off.

View All

Debt-free wannabe

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free

Debt-free wannabe

Category List

Discussion List

Confirm your email address to Create Threads and Reply

🚀 Getting Started

Categories

Is this how you want to be seen?

Get our FREE Weekly email full of deals & guides - and it’s spam-free