Help AAARRGGGH

BigDebtBoy

Hi
looking for some advice on the following problem
last year i racked up credit card debts of £6000 with the cc i have with my bank (i only had a £2000 limit one minute and without my knowledge they upped it to 6k and me like a total idiot waxed the lot on holdidays clothes Gambling etc etc
now i went into the bank to have a word about getting a loan (i allready owed about 7k on my current loan ) as i couldnt afford the £200 a month min payment especially since the interest was over £100 a month.
now at first they said they would do it as there were quite a few betting site transaction on the credit card (although some of this was money i was transferring to my betting account and then to my bank account as it was better than withdrawing it out of a cash machine on the credit card.
eventually they agreed to consolidate it and gave me a loan to cover everything (around 16k in total approx £270 per month over 60 months) which allthough a lot was just about affordable although not ideal as it meant i would be 31 when i was paid up.
I Told the bank to reduce my cedit limit on my card or not send me another one (as i cut the old one up the day i arranged the consolidation loan) Everyting was going ok but i was struggling to pay for my holiday,clothes for holday,spending money etc.
Then a few months before i was due to go away the bank sends me a new credit card with the same 6k limit which at first i was going to cut but thought i could realy do with the money for my holidays as with my debts i was struggling to pay for my hols etc so i thought i would use the card for this (i could punch my self full on in the face for doing this)
raked up a few grand on the card then i panicked once i had got back of my hols
Then i did another stupid thing i thought i could use the rest of the money on the card on the betting exchanges to pay the rest off.... WRONG
Basically i have maxed out the card again, i am very annoyed that the bank sent me a new card with the same limit after i specifically asked them not to allthough i do admit its my own stupid fault i feel the bank shouldnt have done this (i wish there was some loophole where i could wipe it out because of this but i doubt it)
i feel totally ashamed and stupid all i can think about at night is how the heck am i going to get out of this one

breakdown

Bank Loan £15,000
Main credit card with same bank as loan £6,000
other credit cards £3,500

Income around £1,000 p/m

What The hell am going to do ? any advice much appreciated

The main thing i need to sort out is the £6k credit card as with a £200 a month min payment and just over £100 interest per month its just riddicilous

*Sparkle*_3

There is NO way you can blame the bank for your spending, face up to the facts and get real you chose to spend that money now you got to live with it!
Sorry to be so harsh, but you should have learnt from your lesson the first time around. And STOP living out of your means!!

BigDebtBoy

*Sparkle* wrote:

There is NO way you can blame the bank for your spending, face up to the facts and getr real you chose to spend that money now you got to live with it!
Sorry to be so harsh, but you should have learnt from your lesson the first time around. And STOP living out of your means!!

Hi sparkle
you are bang on i admit that dont get me wrong i was just annoyed that they sent me a new card with the same limit after i asked them not to.
i know its my own stupidity that got me into this mess and i am totally ashamed.
Believe me i dont need telling what a idiot i have been i tell myself that about 300 times a day i am just looking for some advice.
i am commited to paying off the 6k credit card asap even if it means having no money for a year or so
to be honest with all my other debts i hadent been out all year (not even to the pub) so i just had a big blow out on holiday stupid i know but its done now.

skintchick

Bit harsh, sparkle, he has admitted he was stupid.

I don;t know what to suggest as this week I have jelly-brain, but someone will advise you shortly I'm sure.

It will help if you post all your outgoings so we can advise on how to cut back and find extra cash for your debt.

ms_london

Helloooo..

Right, well youve come to the right place. However, you do need to accept the responsibility for your actions - how long did it take you to rack up the £6K credit card the bank "gave" you?? Not long from the sounds of it...

First of all I would advise you to write down your incomings (exactly - not just "ooh around £1,000 a month", it DOES make a difference) and then write down your outgoings, not just your debt, but also your standard outgoings - rent, travel, food, mobile, council tax, water etc etc.

What are the APR's on these CC's & loan? Whats your credit rating like? Could you get a 0% credit card & balance transfer your existing debt?

Ive gone down the "consolidation" route before, a debt which was £4K then amounted to £9K when I kept spending on the CC's I swore I would cut up, so we have all been there.

Are there any items that you have bought recently, i.e. the clothes for your holiday?? etc etc that you could return or sell on ebay to try and recoup some of the funds?? How old are you? (if you dont mind me asking....).

There are plenty of ways to deal with this, but first of all you need to stop spending money you dont have & start living BELOW your means. Do you have an overdraft? Cancel it. You also need to accept responsibility & accept that it isnt the banks fault so it wont be "wiped off", you need to start repaying what you have spent im afraid.

If you have any questions, just ask.

Ms_London

*Sparkle*_3

Well you've come to the right place, I'm still a newbie so i'm sure other more experienced memebers can offer you some advice, visit these boards regular it keeps you motivated.
Normally what memebers ask you to do is post your incomings and outgoings.
Its all about cutting back and saving money and paying off your higher interest rates first.
But you have to learn that you cant go out and spend ike you used to, change of life style.

Good luck and i dont mean to be soo harsh.

*Sparkle*_3

I know it was harsh but i think it was needed, "How dare the bank send me 6k to spend" come on you have your own brain and big enough to make your own decisions, wouldnt you think ok i'm already 15k in debt i will just cut up the card??

skintchick

But he also said: " i do admit its my own stupid fault "

Anyway, what we need is his outgoings and APRs and we can get cracking....

System

BigDebtBoy wrote:

i was just annoyed that they sent me a new card with the same limit after i asked them not to.

Hi

If that happens again, just send it straight back to the card issuer.

I wouldn't go beating yourself up over this, best to use your energy resolving the problem. From your posts I gather you're about 25 or 26. Are you solely trying to get the debt paid off or do you also want to change your attitude to spending? Ex, do you want this all sorted by the time your hit 30? Are your finances gonna be affected by family, kids, partners etc?

If you really want to draw a line and sort the debt out, I'd give CCCS a call and ask for their help.

If you think you have a problem with gambling, you might find it useful to try to get help with that too. I'd certainly cancel all of your online bookies a/c's and take them out of your favourites/ delete cookies.

May also be of use to post which bank your loan is with.

Best wishes
Dave

BigDebtBoy

Hi Guys thanks for the replys

First of all i have no idea what the apr is and seeing as i run my own business thats pretty poor show
The credit cards i have are as follows
Hsbc - £6'000
Capital one - £1'600
virgin - £2'000

Loan is with Hsbc as well Just under £15'000

My Main aim at the moment is to sort out the credit cards as the loan is just about managable without me having to live off pot noodles and value beans and toast but with them alltogether its a nightmare so i need to spend the next x amount of months sorting out the cc's first i would have thought

Income varies as i said i run my own business so its not a regualr amount wage but roughly averages out at just under £10000 a month so call it £900

Outgoings Monthly

Main loan with my bank £14'500 = £270
Main Credit card = £200
Virgin Card = £35.00
cap one = £35.00
all based on minimum payment which i need to up especially on the 6k one as it will take ages to pay off when i am paying £100+ interest a month

Gym - £35.00 (cant cancel this as it keeps me fit phsyically and mentally)
Mobile Phone - £40.00 tied down to 18 month contarct with 12" to go
Food - £80.00
Beer & Fags etc £70.00
Records cd's £100.00 this is for my djing but i am not currently getting paid for this so will be cutting this down by about half to help pay off debts

Thats About it i live at home as i cant afford to move out and i am lucky that i dont have to pay any rent at the moment (parents know my circumstances well not quite as bad as it us but they know its not good) as long as i pay my own way (there is no way they can help me out money wise as they are both in very low paid jobs )

I have no idea what my credit rating is whatsoever

would i be able to get a 0% credit card and transfer the bulk of my 6k card to that as paying £100 a month interest is like a kick in the teeth when you are trying to pay off the full amount as quick as possible

i also have a bussiness loan and overdraft but thats seperate from all this and kind of pays itself as i invested most of it in stock so i am keeping that seperate from all my personal stuff

BigDebtBoy

Oh Yeah i will be selling a few things on ebay to help out stuff that i want to keep but my prioty is paying off the debts as its dragging me down so maybe an extra £150/200 a month there until i run out of things to sell :rotfl: