Boyfriend in £15k debt plus taken out credit in someone elses name

Miss_Independent_3

This is the first time I've used the forum site for advice but I really dont know what else to try - any advice is very welcome.

I've finally managed to get my boyfriend to talk to me about his debt problems which I know are spiralling out of control for him. He wrote a list of everything he owes but he's admitted taking out a credit card in his brothers name!!!

He knows this was wrong and fully regrets it but was so desperate for money to help with his existing debts that he felt like it was his only option at the time. His brother has no idea!

I myself am dealing with my debt with CCCS and a debt management plan but I understand how hard it is to even tell people when things get so bad so I'm trying to help him rather than judge him. I just want to help him out of this situation as he is very ill with it and I am extremely worried about his mental state.

He owes about £15K in total to various people but £5,800 of that is on this credit card. One of his other friends has taken a loan out for £7K in her name but this is an agreement between them and he pays her money each week. The rest is made of arrears of around £1800 with his rent with the council, council tax and water bill which are obviously more important to get paid off asap. He has also borrows money off other friends of around £1000.

He is paid weekly and his has no money left after his bills are paid so cannot make any inroads into his debt.

I know the credit card in his brothers name is wrong, fraud even but he was desperate and now wants to sort it all out but I dont know how he can - he doesn't want to give up his council flat either. |can anyone give me some advice please???

frazzmunch

first thing i would suggest is talk to his brother...scary and seemingly perhaps not feasible but he needs to let him know what he has done before creditors start knocking on his brothers door (letters/phone calls etc), as i am sure his brother would prefer to hear about it from him rather than them...

the council will normally serve a notice seeking possession when you are more than two months behind on the rent...can i suggest that you find out if this has already been done as this has a very strict deadline and needs to be dealt with...if no nsp has been served, he needs to contact council immediately to discuss his situation, probably with a plan to repay the arrears over a period of time...if he already has an arrangement with them, he can request that it is looked at again to see if he can reduce the amount.

council tax payments are important...as you are probably aware, there are severe penalties for not paying...however, water cannot be switched off and depending on which area you live in, he may be able to apply to a trust fund to pay off arrears....

under the government's 'supporting people' budget, councils can refer you to get housing support...this service will assist with negotiations...

the other option is bankruptcy...i would advise that he speaks to the CAB before he makes any decision....

good luck and i hope it all works out for you both...

hypno06

bankruptcy would get rid of the debts in his own name, but not the £7000 loan to his friend, and not the card in his brother's name.

So in this case it is unlikely to solve any problems.

Jenna

Hi,

Sorry to hear that your boyfriend is in debt & that he's so down about it, you sound like a really lovely person to be trying to help him with all this

I just wanted to say (from personal experience) help as much as you can with emotional support but don't loan him anything (if you must help, GIVE money only, don't loan it - it will only put stress on your relationship). Also get as much support for yourself as you can, sometimes in trying to help other people it's easy to forget about ourselves - yet you can't support him unless you're keeping yourself strong.

I don't have any specific advice as you seem to know what you're doing in terms of priorities (which to pay back first etc). I would echo advice to talk to his brother but I know it's difficult with family. Could he stall payments to his friend whilst he gets the Council Tax arrears etc sorted? If you post up an SOA on his behalf we can try to help.

Take care xx

GeorgeUK

Ask you brother to prepare a statement of affairs. (list of income, expenditure and debts)
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Hopefully we will be able to highlight some areas in which he can make savings in his expenditure. He should then try to pay off the credit cards, but depending on the APR's and the balances of each - the order in which to pay or overpay is not yet clear.

His brother's credit score will be affected by what he has done and if there are any late payments or defaults will hinder his ability to get credit or a moretgage/remortgage. This needs to be dealt with asap.

frazzmunch

good point hypno...was in full flow and had forgotten the figures....:rolleyes: