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  • I recently purchased a Mercedes Benz on their Agility finance and I am paying £361 per month (£388 with the service plan etc on top)... However I recently took a job in London (whichif I hadn't of taken, would have been made redundant from my previous job) which means I get the train which costs me £400 per month!

    I have only had the car 2 and a half months (7th Sept 2012) and have done 2,500 miles but I am really struggling with my finances with having to pay for the cost of the car along with diesel and having the additional expense of the train fare. I really no longer need the car and I am in a complete dilema as I have signed an agreement for 3 years but am in a cycle of having to go into my overdraft every single month just to survive.

    Is there any advice or any way I can get out of the agreement as I can no longer afford it?? I understand that they probably will not care too much as I am still making the monthly payments but obviously I am struggling every month because of it and getting further and further in debt. I really need to try and get rid of it before I get further in debt and paying over £750 on transport a month out of my salary is killing me!

    Any advice or experience would be really appreciated! Thank you in advance for any replies!
  • mum2one
    mum2one Posts: 16,279
    Xmas Saver!
    Forumite
    Hi

    I am new to this so if I don't give enough information please let me know. I am a in serious debt though not a debt crisis.

    I am paying approximately £400 per month of debt.

    £100 to a loan that has been going on for a VERY long time, currently trying to get statements to ensure no charges have been unlawfully made; interest rate 9.9% £2300 outstanding

    £250 to a credit card, 19.9% interest rate £3300 outstanding

    £20 to an overdraft, 19.89% interest rate, £1100 outstanding

    £40 to another credit card, this is the minimum payment, 0% until April 2013 then 27.9% and £2800 outstanding

    I cannot really afford to pay any more per month than £400.

    I work hard as a teacher and tutor as a second job as much as I can.

    Any advice, ideas, help to create a plan to get me out of debt, so that I have a plan and a date when I will be debt free would be much appreciated. I am feeling out of control. I have been paying this much per month for years and do not feel I am making a dent.

    I got my credit score Jan 2012 it was 629 and I do not think it will have improved, but I have not taken further credit since then, and am making regular payments.

    Thank you a very overwhelmed debtor!

    www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

    if you use the above link, don't worry it has a dollar sign and not £ sign, still works the same, - pop in your debts the apr and % of min payment or min payment as the loan, and it gives you 2 choices,
    1st - pay by amount - clear lowest card 1st
    2nd - pay by highest apr rate

    the 2nd way is the quickest - it works out the payments and then snowballs the remainder of the money across and it will give you a debt free date.

    The 2 cards you have with the lower apr could you do a balance transfer and get rid of the high apr card when it starts charging. xx
    xx rip dad... we had our ups and downs but we’re always be family xx
  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
    earwig wrote: »
    Hi i have a dmp with you for the past 5 years owing 6 thousand pounds and have had an increse of money which means that i could aford to make the orriginal payments before i went on the dmp.

    Some of these debt have been passed over to debt collectors and i am worried that if i come of the dmp they will expect full payment which i havent got .

    Also if i stay on the dmp do have to give all of the extra money i get to the dmp plan or could it just be incresed so we benefit from the extra cash to .Dont get me wrong if i do then i will as it will get rid of the debt but after 5 years it would be nice to have a bit extra to do things with and not to have to constantly watch every single penny .

    Will my debtor allow me to stay on a dmp, where i would now be making payment more than the minimum payments they were asking for, eg my capital one card was a min payment of 9 per month with you now i pay 6 per month now i could pay 15 per month do you see what i mean, surely they wont be happy with that as the interest is frozen at the moment and i would be makeing bigger payment than the min payments without intrest beeing charged .

    Thanks

    p.s Sorry for my bad spelling i am trying to get better at it .

    Hello earwig,

    No need to apologise for your spelling, I could understand you perfectly.

    The easiest thing to do would be to give us a call and ask for a budget review. We can then update your income to the new amount and go through your expenditure again. If you have enough money spare to be able to pay more than the full payments for your debts we can talk about you coming off the plan. Usually debt collectors will be happy to negotiate directly with you if you’re payment are around this level as it will be an improvement on what they get through a DMP.

    From what you’ve said though it sounds like you might need some of the extra money for living costs rather than putting it all towards your debts, so the budget review will work out how best to proceed. It might be that staying on the DMP is a better option if you don’t have the money spare to go back to full payments.

    Creating a DMP budget is always a balancing act between paying as much as you can to your debts but also having enough money to live off. If you are finding things a struggle the budget may need reassessing. The tricky bit is making sure you’re creditors won’t think you are spending too much on yourself and not giving them enough, but our advisors are skilled at getting this balance right.

    Hope this helps.

    James
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at Need to Sleep

  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
    Hi

    I am new to this so if I don't give enough information please let me know. I am a in serious debt though not a debt crisis.

    I am paying approximately £400 per month of debt.

    £100 to a loan that has been going on for a VERY long time, currently trying to get statements to ensure no charges have been unlawfully made; interest rate 9.9% £2300 outstanding

    £250 to a credit card, 19.9% interest rate £3300 outstanding

    £20 to an overdraft, 19.89% interest rate, £1100 outstanding

    £40 to another credit card, this is the minimum payment, 0% until April 2013 then 27.9% and £2800 outstanding

    I cannot really afford to pay any more per month than £400.

    I work hard as a teacher and tutor as a second job as much as I can.

    Any advice, ideas, help to create a plan to get me out of debt, so that I have a plan and a date when I will be debt free would be much appreciated. I am feeling out of control. I have been paying this much per month for years and do not feel I am making a dent.

    I got my credit score Jan 2012 it was 629 and I do not think it will have improved, but I have not taken further credit since then, and am making regular payments.

    Thank you a very overwhelmed debtor!

    Hello,

    Thanks for getting in touch. It can feel overwhelming when you are in debt, but it sounds like you are doing well. You’re making regular payments to your debts and aren’t taking any more out, so you’re moving in the right direction.

    Mum2one has made some really good suggestions, though I would recommend planning a budget before committing to payments. It might be that paying the full payments on your debts is unaffordable for you.

    Our online advice tool, Debt Remedy (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) can help you plan out a monthly income and expenditure budget and will then make recommendations on how best to deal with the debts.

    If you prefer to talk you can give us a call and we can help you will this (http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx).

    All the best.

    James
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at Need to Sleep

  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
    I recently purchased a Mercedes Benz on their Agility finance and I am paying £361 per month (£388 with the service plan etc on top)... However I recently took a job in London (whichif I hadn't of taken, would have been made redundant from my previous job) which means I get the train which costs me £400 per month!

    I have only had the car 2 and a half months (7th Sept 2012) and have done 2,500 miles but I am really struggling with my finances with having to pay for the cost of the car along with diesel and having the additional expense of the train fare. I really no longer need the car and I am in a complete dilema as I have signed an agreement for 3 years but am in a cycle of having to go into my overdraft every single month just to survive.

    Is there any advice or any way I can get out of the agreement as I can no longer afford it?? I understand that they probably will not care too much as I am still making the monthly payments but obviously I am struggling every month because of it and getting further and further in debt. I really need to try and get rid of it before I get further in debt and paying over £750 on transport a month out of my salary is killing me!

    Any advice or experience would be really appreciated! Thank you in advance for any replies!

    Hello,

    Your options would depend on the kind of agreement you’ve signed up to. We’ve a blogpost that looks at the difference between hire purchase and credit agreements (http://moneyaware.co.uk/2012/10/hp-or-a-credit-agreement-that-is-the-question/). There are also lease arrangements, where you never really own the car and the payments just pay for you to keep the car until the agreement runs out.

    With it being in the very early stages of the finance it is likely that options won’t be great regardless of the kind of finance. The small print of your paperwork should tell you what options you have to end the agreement early but there is a strong chance there would be a lump sum left over to pay after getting rid of the car.

    It may be worth giving us a call (http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx) if you’d like to talk things through once you know what sort of finance it is.

    Regards

    James
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at Need to Sleep

  • Hi I have just joined this site so not sure if im in the right place. I have been careful with my finances for the last 8 years now since being discharged from bankrupcy. I have just got a credit check though and found a ccj on there. This is from 2010 and was a dispute with a landlord (he never did the repairs so we moved out and refused to pay that months rent- which coincidentally backfired on us whn he sent a summons to court for a ccj), however we paid the outstanding balance before the court date and I never thought any more about it. How do I remove this from my credit report? and should it have been there in the first place if it was settled outside of court?
    many thanks.
  • StepChange_James
    StepChange_James Posts: 861 Organisation Representative
    emi9903 wrote: »
    Hi I have just joined this site so not sure if im in the right place. I have been careful with my finances for the last 8 years now since being discharged from bankrupcy. I have just got a credit check though and found a ccj on there. This is from 2010 and was a dispute with a landlord (he never did the repairs so we moved out and refused to pay that months rent- which coincidentally backfired on us whn he sent a summons to court for a ccj), however we paid the outstanding balance before the court date and I never thought any more about it. How do I remove this from my credit report? and should it have been there in the first place if it was settled outside of court?
    many thanks.

    Hello,

    A CCJ wouldn't be registered if the debt was cleared either before the judgment or within a month of the judgement being made.

    It should be relatively easy to prove that this debt was repaid before the court date, so I would recommend getting this CCJ removed from your credit report. Here's a link that talks you through how to do this: http://www.trustonline.org.uk/understand-judgments-fines/removing-a-ccj.

    As mentioned on the above page, be very wary of other organisations that offer to remove CCJs for a fee.

    Hope this helps.

    James
    I work as a debt advisor for StepChange Debt Charity (formerly CCCS) and have specific permission from Martin to post on these boards to try and help those in debt. Read more information on StepChange Debt Charity in the Debt Problems: What to do and where to get help article. If you find you're struggling with debt and you need further help try our online advice facility Debt Remedy

    If money worries are keeping you awake, read Paul's success story at Need to Sleep

  • earwig
    earwig Posts: 1,097
    I've been Money Tipped!
    Forumite
    Hello earwig,

    No need to apologise for your spelling, I could understand you perfectly.

    The easiest thing to do would be to give us a call and ask for a budget review. We can then update your income to the new amount and go through your expenditure again. If you have enough money spare to be able to pay more than the full payments for your debts we can talk about you coming off the plan. Usually debt collectors will be happy to negotiate directly with you if you’re payment are around this level as it will be an improvement on what they get through a DMP.

    From what you’ve said though it sounds like you might need some of the extra money for living costs rather than putting it all towards your debts, so the budget review will work out how best to proceed. It might be that staying on the DMP is a better option if you don’t have the money spare to go back to full payments.

    Creating a DMP budget is always a balancing act between paying as much as you can to your debts but also having enough money to live off. If you are finding things a struggle the budget may need reassessing. The tricky bit is making sure you’re creditors won’t think you are spending too much on yourself and not giving them enough, but our advisors are skilled at getting this balance right.

    Hope this helps.

    James

    Hi James

    Thanks for you reply i have had the increase for a while now and have a bit of savings in the bank around £ 1500 will i get in trouble for not saying about them stright away .

    I was going to try and save some more before my review in june should idothis or just phone up tell themabout the savings and the increase will they want proff of when i got the increase or will they not be that bothered as long as i told them now . just dont want to get done for with holding information from them .


    Thankyou earwig
    i cant slow down i wont be waiting for you i cant stop now because im dancing
  • wickesy
    wickesy Posts: 18
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    I'm in a slightly unusual situation that I need some advice on. I currently owe just over £28,000 over 7 credit cards and I am able to pay the minimum payments on all of them, plus a little bit extra on a couple, largely thanks to the fact that I live with my Dad completely rent free. I have worked out that carrying on the way I am I could be debt free in around 4 and a bit years

    Around 5 months ago I met my girlfriend and, as she also lives with her parents, we would now like to move in together but we can't afford to do it without me contributing to all the household bills. Our plan was to find somewhere, move in and then for me to go on a DMP but our only worry is that the credit card companies will want to know why I suddenly cannot afford to repay them and will force me to move back in with my Dad. Is this something that is likely to happen, or is it reasonable for my girlfriend and I to be able to live together without having to wait 4 years for me to become debt free - bearing in mind I am 41 and she is 33.
    Total debt at LBM: £32,340.84
    Total debt now: £0
  • Cee
    Cee Posts: 237
    First Anniversary Combo Breaker
    Forumite
    Hi,
    I'm trying to sort out a bit of a dilemma and not sure the best path to take.

    Having just found I have to pay out double for my bank overdraught fee now and trying hard to pay off higher interest accounts first, I'm now faced with either paying my overdraught off to the point I'm just paying off the £1 a day limit or paying off a credit card and trying to clear the other debts at high interest.

    I'm not sure now which is the higher interest.

    The overdraught is now £2 a day until its in the black or the credit card is 29.9% apr.

    I'm thinking of going to the bank to ask for them to change it so I can repay it off and close the account or do I go to the credit card company with the same tale.
    I will have access to £2000 that has come from a family member to help me out and don't want to make the wrong decision. I've tried on 3 occasions to try and get this debt cleared and no loan company will take me on which means I can't get rid of it due to the interest on the accounts. My total debt is just under 8000 and I know I can clear it with this assistance.
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