Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

nomojo46 · 30 January 2015 at 2:03PM

Getting worried - Our situation is not very good, we both work bring home approx. £2500 per month out bills/credit cards/mortgage payments are £2700 so food/petrol is mostly put on credit card.

We owe £150,000 – spread over mortgage, unsecured loan, credit cards, most of the credit cards are on 0% loan has about 5 years left and the mortgage has 10 years left.

We don’t want to go through debt management etcif we can help but it is getting serious, husband does bury his head a little but slowly coming around to watch what he is spending.

I cook from scratch most days,don’t smoke or drink we do run 2 cars which we do need.
Any advice would be most appreciated.

LeeMcl1 · 30 January 2015 at 8:03PM

Can someone advise. I have a credit card with a fairly large balance for which I make minimum payment each month ( never defaulted ) I have been fortunate to receive a small lump sum that would clear 80% of the balance. Given all the years interest paid is it possible to settle the debt @ 80% with the companies agreement and not have the remaining debt sold on or affect my credit report ? I am pig sick of the statement every month & just want it sorted. I've paid the debt @ 25% APR for years !

facingthefuture · 30 January 2015 at 10:03PM

Hello, my husband and I are self employed, we had a bad run and unfortunately used credit cards to exist. 2013-14 was a good year (he earned 18k, me 6.5) but interest payments, bank charges etc are crucifying us. One card is nearly 40%Husband said would do a dmp but wont countenance iva or bankruptcy. We have 2 young teenagers and pay a nominal £80 rent to a family member.
Debt are cc 42k taxman 3k do you think we could get a dmp? If stepchange tell us no to get an iva or go br my husband won't. what are our chances of them letting us get a dmp? how much would we need to earn to qualify? Even roughly? What would the repayments be on 45k?

facingthefuture · 31 January 2015 at 1:07AM

Some of our debt is late rent is due to the office, other debt is cc both biz and private. We are self employed so how do we put it on a soa? Some costs are for both like the landline and internet at home is used a lot for work. I am lost

I just never sleep because I am so worried...I reckon you lot are so savy and have it sussed.

Also how do you put in things like dental? How do you know what it could cost?

deptfreeplease · 31 January 2015 at 6:42PM

I would like some advice on a dept on a loan for £15,000 took out with a bank 10 years ago. 8 years ago I lost my job and was unable to make any repayments so I set up a direct debit from another bank to repay £5 a month. I have continued to do this for the last 8 years but now the bank has written to me asking me to settle the dept for a reduced amount. The dept has ballooned to nearly £20,000 because of interest applied. In the last couple of years I have managed to get a job and save £2,000 and would like to know how I should approach the bank with an offer. Given the amount of time that has passed of was wondering what would be accepted by the bank.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I would also like advice on the effect this will have on my credit report.

rainbow-unicorn-farts · 1 February 2015 at 3:20AM

Hi,
When i was young and naive i got a loan with barclays, they offered an overdraft which i took then opened up an account with lloyds, had an overdraft with them too, got an argos card and had a orange phone contract.. i then lost my job and didn't know what to do, instead of ringing them and telling them my situation i decided to ignore it all. I obviously got letters from them telling me i owed them, and again i ignored them.. now i am older and want certain things in my life like a mortgage and a bank card again, i just don't know how to start rebuilding my record back to good credit.. I really need help.. it has been about 6 years since they have had any contact from me, i have heard all sorts of things like, your record gets wiped ect.. i don't know what to believe and its getting me down..
Thanks for your help.

cupcake1990 · 1 February 2015 at 3:55PM

Hi

Basically i have around £5000 that i owe to 3 different creditors i also have 750 on a credit card but am managing to pay all of my minimum payments at the moment i was paying more but as its gone on longer it creeps up and im unemployed so its my partners wage that were living off and im paying 300 a month to creditors and its becoming a struggle as weve no money for anything else after bills and rent and essentials like gas electricity and so on. Im worried what will happen if i cannot make the minimum payments. I rang one creditor to set up a lower payment plan and they said id have had to have missed a payment before theyll sort one out and it'll be higher payments than my minimum payment is now ... so they want me to be in trouble before theyll help whereas im trying to prevent it. I started ordering things on credit when i was depressed to make myself feel better which was silly it spiralled put of control. I understand its my fault and i need to pay it off im not disputing that im just looking for a way to make it easier so i know i wont run into big trouble with it. They are all shop direct creditors and ive read catalogue debt is a non priority debt.

Thanks in advance

Former_StepChange_Laura · 2 February 2015 at 3:06PM

nomojo46 wrote: »

Getting worried - Our situation is not very good, we both work bring home approx. £2500 per month out bills/credit cards/mortgage payments are £2700 so food/petrol is mostly put on credit card.

We owe £150,000 – spread over mortgage, unsecured loan, credit cards, most of the credit cards are on 0% loan has about 5 years left and the mortgage has 10 years left.

We don’t want to go through debt management etcif we can help but it is getting serious, husband does bury his head a little but slowly coming around to watch what he is spending.

I cook from scratch most days,don’t smoke or drink we do run 2 cars which we do need.
Any advice would be most appreciated.

Hi there,

Thanks for your message and welcome to the forum. Acknowledging the fact that you may need some support in dealing with your debts is a big first step to take.

You mention you don’t want to go through a debt management company, which is understandable, but you may wish to consider some other options. We are a debt advice charity and offer free and impartial advice to people in debt. We also provide a range of debt solutions which you can read about here: http://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou.aspx

I’d suggest you get in touch with us. We’ll be able to look at your financial situation in more depth and recommend the best way for you to deal with your debts. You can do this online through our Debt Remedy tool: https://www.stepchange.org/debtremedy It usually takes around 20 minutes to complete, and you’ll need some information about your income, outgoings and debts to hand.

Alternatively you could give us a call and have a chat with one of our advisors. Our helpline number is 0800 138 1111 and it’s free to call from landlines and major mobile networks. The line is open from 8am until 8pm from Monday to Friday and from 8am until 4pm on Saturdays.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Laura

Former_StepChange_Laura · 2 February 2015 at 5:03PM

LeeMcl1 wrote: »

Can someone advise. I have a credit card with a fairly large balance for which I make minimum payment each month ( never defaulted ) I have been fortunate to receive a small lump sum that would clear 80% of the balance. Given all the years interest paid is it possible to settle the debt @ 80% with the companies agreement and not have the remaining debt sold on or affect my credit report ? I am pig sick of the statement every month & just want it sorted. I've paid the debt @ 25% APR for years !

Hi LeeMcl1,

Thanks for your message. As you’ve been making the minimum payment each month and haven’t defaulted, it’s not likely that they will accept 80% of the balance as a full and final settlement. Usually creditors accept full and final offers if the account has defaulted as it’s likely to take them a long time to recover the debt through monthly payments.

However you can always get in touch with your creditor and ask if they would accept your offer. You can read a bit more about making a settlement offer here: http://www.stepchange.org/Debtinformationandadvice/Debtsolutions/Settlementoffers.aspx

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Laura

Former_StepChange_Laura · 2 February 2015 at 5:05PM

facingthefuture wrote: »

Hello, my husband and I are self employed, we had a bad run and unfortunately used credit cards to exist. 2013-14 was a good year (he earned 18k, me 6.5) but interest payments, bank charges etc are crucifying us. One card is nearly 40%Husband said would do a dmp but wont countenance iva or bankruptcy. We have 2 young teenagers and pay a nominal £80 rent to a family member.
Debt are cc 42k taxman 3k do you think we could get a dmp? If stepchange tell us no to get an iva or go br my husband won't. what are our chances of them letting us get a dmp? how much would we need to earn to qualify? Even roughly? What would the repayments be on 45k?

facingthefuture wrote: »

Some of our debt is late rent is due to the office, other debt is cc both biz and private. We are self employed so how do we put it on a soa? Some costs are for both like the landline and internet at home is used a lot for work. I am lost I just never sleep because I am so worried...I reckon you lot are so savy and have it sussed.

Also how do you put in things like dental? How do you know what it could cost?

Hi facingthefuture,

Thanks for your messages. With regards to your questions about a DMP, there’s no minimum or maximum income that you need to have coming in. A DMP is normally a suitable solution for clients who have some money left over each month after paying their priorities like food, accommodation and utility bills.

There’s not enough information in your message for me to say whether or not a DMP would be the best option for you and your husband or how much you would need to repay each month, but it’s certainly something we can look into for you.

I’d suggest you get in touch with us and have a chat with an advisor. They’ll be able to talk to you in more depth about your financial circumstances, put together a budget and work out the best way for you to deal with your debts. We offer free DMPs as well as a range of other solutions, which you can read about here: http://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou.aspx

You’ve also mentioned a couple of points you’d like clarification on when it comes to putting together a statement of affairs (SOA). I understand that as you’re self-employed this might seem a bit more complicated, but it’s a situation our advisors are familiar with. The budget we can help you put together can include budgeting for one-off costs such as dental work, and the advisor will be able to talk through any other expenses you may be concerned about.

You can give our helpline a call on 0800 138 1111. It’s free to call from landlines and major mobile networks, and is open from Monday to Friday from 8am until 8pm and Saturdays from 8am until 4pm.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,

Laura

Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

Comments

Categories

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