Struggling with debt? Ask a debt adviser a question

Former_StepChange_Linsi · 30 May 2017 at 3:54PM

Hi there

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear about your daughter’s situation. I’m glad to hear she’s getting help with her gambling and I’m sure having your support helps a lot as well.

Whilst I can’t really comment about the advice you’ve had previously, we can certainly take a look at your daughter’s situation to see if there are any alternative options we can offer to provide further support.

The next is to create a budget with us. You can help your daughter to do this online using our Debt Remedy tool. After creating a budget Debt Remedy will be able to recommend a debt solution and your daughter will be able to access her tailored advice online. Here’s the link to our Debt Remedy tool.

If you or your daughter have any questions once you’ve read this advice or need any further support, you’ll be able to call us and speak to an advisor. You can find our number by clicking the ‘need help’ button at the bottom of any page in Debt Remedy.

All the best,

Linsi

Akd1961 wrote: »

Hi

After some advice my daughter has got herself in debt through gambling the debts at the minute are circa 15k (without counting what she owes us) I have spone to NAtional Debtline, they said her only options are Self negotiation or something called cash flow, she is not very good at these sort of things. SHe is curretnly getting help for the gabling and also drugs and mental health issues. She has a joint mortgage with her partner and if at all possble does not want to affect this. She is not in defaul yet but is struggling with all the added interest and I am fearful of her mental state. Any help appreciated.

Akd1961 · 30 May 2017 at 4:06PM

Hi

Thank you for you reply, we have started doing the debt plan, need to sit down with her, and will get this done.

Where do we go after that.

Former_StepChange_Linsi · 31 May 2017 at 2:47PM

Hi

I’m glad you’ve started to use our Debt Remedy tool. The next steps will depend on which debt solution is going to be best for your daughter.

At the end of Debt Remedy you’ll be able to access your daughter’s personal action plan. This will explain what the recommended solution is and what you need to do next to set that solution up.

If you do have any questions about the advice or the next steps to take, you can call us directly. Our number is at the bottom of each page in Debt Remedy, you just need to click on the ‘need help’ button.

All the best,

Linsi

Akd1961 wrote: »

Hi

Thank you for you reply, we have started doing the debt plan, need to sit down with her, and will get this done.

Where do we go after that.

Goose_Girl · 3 June 2017 at 1:35AM

Hi, I was hoping for advice on where to allocate payments if I can overpay on debt.

I know exactly where my debt came from - my husband being seasonally out of work (supply teacher) while I was a student & then unemployed and ineligible for benefits for a year.

Thankfully we are both working 9-5, Mon-Fri steady jobs now so can focus on debt. I have a credit card I will pay off next month, which I prioritised to snowball. However I'm stuck on the other two.

£1350 with Co-op - this is my old student acct overdraft which is on a payment plan of £50/mo, reviewed every 6mo, at 0% interest (last review - Apr 17). Co-op is also where I have my current acct

£5,500 with Barclaycard - this account sadly defaulted and is on a payment plan of £150/mo at 0% interest with annual review (last review Apr 17)

After other bills are paid, I can do £50 for Co-op, £150 for Barclaycard and will from mext month have about £250 I can put towards these debts. Should I split it 1:3 like the regular payments or clear Co-op in case they choose to default me? Is there any reason to prioritise Barclaycard, since I am defaulted anyway, from Feb 16? AsI don't have any savings/emergency fund is I better to use the extra for that?

In the 14 months since starting both plans every payment has been on time; the cause of the debt has been resolved so hopefully it will never happen again.

Thank you if you were able to follow my rambling and can offer help and advice!

StepChange_Allen · 3 June 2017 at 1:56PM

Goose_Girl wrote: »

Hi, I was hoping for advice on where to allocate payments if I can overpay on debt.

I know exactly where my debt came from - my husband being seasonally out of work (supply teacher) while I was a student & then unemployed and ineligible for benefits for a year.

Thankfully we are both working 9-5, Mon-Fri steady jobs now so can focus on debt. I have a credit card I will pay off next month, which I prioritised to snowball. However I'm stuck on the other two.

£1350 with Co-op - this is my old student acct overdraft which is on a payment plan of £50/mo, reviewed every 6mo, at 0% interest (last review - Apr 17). Co-op is also where I have my current acct

£5,500 with Barclaycard - this account sadly defaulted and is on a payment plan of £150/mo at 0% interest with annual review (last review Apr 17)

After other bills are paid, I can do £50 for Co-op, £150 for Barclaycard and will from mext month have about £250 I can put towards these debts. Should I split it 1:3 like the regular payments or clear Co-op in case they choose to default me? Is there any reason to prioritise Barclaycard, since I am defaulted anyway, from Feb 16? AsI don't have any savings/emergency fund is I better to use the extra for that?

In the 14 months since starting both plans every payment has been on time; the cause of the debt has been resolved so hopefully it will never happen again.

Thank you if you were able to follow my rambling and can offer help and advice!

Hi there

Thanks for your post.

We'd recommend making fair, pro-rata payments to the debts. Because the debt to Barclaycard is more or less four times the size of the Co-op one, that means we'd recommend paying around four times as much to Barclaycard in order to be treating them equally.

The more you pay, the sooner they'll be gone of course, but it's important to balance that with making sure you have enough money to pay your bills and living costs so you could keep a modest amount of money aside for emergency costs.

I hope this is helpful. If you'd like any further help or advice beyond this, you're very welcome to visit www.stepchange.org and register with us for free.

Allen

Midd · 4 June 2017 at 11:53AM

Hi,

I am looking for some advice on money/balance transfers and which would be the best option for my current situation to get myself debt free.

I am a 2nd year graduate with two active graduate bank accounts both of which are due to expire. One I have a £1,500 overdraft limit and the other £1,000, both of which I am towards my limit on. I also have a £1,000 limit credit card, again of which I towards my limit. I am looking for a way to consolidate my debt to a 0% credit card and arrange monthly repayments to get myself debt free and wondered the best way to go around this.

Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks

LeaPea · 4 June 2017 at 1:49PM

Hi Linsi,

Thanks for the reply. The link to the debt remedy tool doesn't seem to work for me? Is it correct?

Thanks,

Leanne

StepChange_Rachael · 5 June 2017 at 9:33AM

Hi

Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

Transferring debt to a lower or 0% interest rate card can be a good option for people able to make the minimum payments and clear the debt without incurring further charges, however if this is not the case and you’d struggle to pay back the debt and cover the minimum payments then consolidating debt is unlikely to help and can cause further financial difficulties. As a debt advisor I couldn’t recommend consolidation.

Many banks do offer these options but to find out if you’d be eligible you’d need to apply first.

There are ways to do soft searches that have less of an impact on your credit file and there are sections on moneysavingexpert.com that can provide further advice on this.

If you would still struggle to meet the minimum payments to service the debt then I’d recommend taking a look at the other options available to you.

You can find our anonymous and free Debt Remedy tool here to explore your options.

Thanks
Rachael

Midd wrote: »

Hi,

I am looking for some advice on money/balance transfers and which would be the best option for my current situation to get myself debt free.

I am a 2nd year graduate with two active graduate bank accounts both of which are due to expire. One I have a £1,500 overdraft limit and the other £1,000, both of which I am towards my limit on. I also have a £1,000 limit credit card, again of which I towards my limit. I am looking for a way to consolidate my debt to a 0% credit card and arrange monthly repayments to get myself debt free and wondered the best way to go around this.

Any advice much appreciated.

Thanks

Help_needed_please_2 · 5 June 2017 at 5:04PM

Hi, I am after some guidance please. I am trying to recover money for a duff car from the man who sold it to me. He is 'trading as'. I have tried all ways but his story keeps changing and a friend told me to file court papers which I have done. An acknowledgement of service has been filed which is fine, but he has put his wrong date of birth, does this make any difference, it doesn't just look to be a simple mistake but done deliberately and I am perplexed. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Moragg · 5 June 2017 at 7:27PM

HI, I could really do with some advice.

I have about £25K debt, mainly on interest free credit cards. I am paying off very very slowly but surely.
I'm paying about £500 a month debt repayment and I never have any spare cash.
My house looks like students live in it and I feel frustrated.

I was wondering if it was a good idea to release equity from my mortgage to pay off debt and do my house up. My house is worth 240k and my mortgage is 130k.

I'm worried about paying lots of interest as I think this is an expensive way of paying off loans, but I'm fed up with a scruffy house and no cash.

Any advice gratefully received.

Moragg

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