Deep in debt and need some help please!

susie1979

I am currently unemployed because I am applying for PhDs, having found it impossible last year to make a successful application whilst working full time.

I have been trying for the past week to get through to Debtline and to CCCS, but they are permanently engaged, so I thought I would put this post up and see if I could get any advice from you wonderful people!!!

I have totally run out of money in the last week, and am unable to make this month's repayments, I know that I should have contacted the companies sooner, but a close relative died recently, and it was the last thing on my mind.

My debts are as follows.... (I feel sick writing them down!!!)

Egg credit card £2733.74 (limit £3000); interest free until 01 March; next repayment of £54.67 due 30/01/06

Capital one credit card £877.57 (limit £6500); 0% interest balance transfers, 14.1% interest rate purchases - interest due on purchases this month = £9.54; next repayment of £24.22 due 30/01/06

Virgin credit card £3484.46 (limit £3500); 0% interest balance transfers, 14.9% interest rate purchases - interest due on purchases this month = £4.96; next repayment of £10.36 due 31/01/06

Career development loan, through Barclays: current balance £5736.19; interest rate 8.9%; I am making the minimum repayment of £181.16; next repayment of £181.16 due 28/01/06

Overdraft balance (Barclays) = £2446.10 (limit =£2500); interest rate = £15.6% (o dear!!!)

Please please please could somebody give me some advice! Should I contact the lenders directly and tell them my situation?

Should I contact them by phone? (bearing in mind it is the 23rd today and the next debt repayment of £181.16 is due on 28th!!!).

I would be so so grateful for any help or advice.

Thank you!

bank_of_slate

Hi Susie and welcome to MSE!

You have come to the right place!
There are lots of people on here who have been in similar situations and some worse.
If you phone them up, what can you offer to pay and when?
You need a plan babe! and then once it is agreed with your creditors, you need to know that you can stick to what you have agreed!
Keep trying cccs and payplan, they have some success in freezing the interest on your debts which gives you a better chance of paying it off!
Keep posting!
...Linda xx

Kevicho

Dont panic, there is always a solution

Just a quick note about the PHD, would it may be better to clear out some of the debt first and put it back a year?

Student life is a sure way to get into debt and i ran up a lot of mine, before i was (almost) free of debt

keep trying payplan and thee cccs they have helped a lot of people on here

Also if you can post a list of all your income/outgoings we may be able to help cut down on expenses

bank_of_slate

Also, check out the forum on here called 'freebies - no spend required' There are loads of goodies to be had on there and it helps to satisfy a spending craving!
...Linda xx

Kevicho

You may be able to use the cap 1 card to do some 0% balance transfers, to get £500 into your bank account to enable you to pay these bills, it may be a tight squeeze as the can take a week (dont know cap 1s time scale)

If you do this then i would get on the phone to the other cards and ask for the payment date to be put back a week, just say your expecting the money in but its going to be late, to try and buy a few days breathing room

Kevicho

Id get in touch with cap 1 (ASAP) to see what the time scale is, if it is withing 5 days id go for it, then id try get a few days for the other cards, this is a desperate measure but it will bail you out this time and give you room to come up with a plan

Also cccs is your number 1 priority

Also If the BT doesnt come through in time, borrow from the rents (pay back when the BT comes through), maybe explain to them the situation as well, it seems to be caused by your education so i dont think it would be too big a blow for them

You just need to make sure the money is in the bank when the other companies come to collect :S

as for next month, hopefully CCCs will come up with something

It may mean getting a job and postponing the PHd though

Northernbird_2

Don't panic!> You've come to the right place. Definitely keep trying CCCS and PayPlan but time is of the essence, so first things first, cancel any DDs with your bank that are paid to your creditors. You don't want to be hit by bank charges when they refuse the DD payments due to insufficient funds.

Write down your ingoings and outgoings (excluding creditor payments) and work out the surplus you have to be shared across your debts. Pro-rata the amounts according to how much you owe each creditor and that will give you the amount you can give them (for now).

Write to all of your creditors, explaining the situation, that you don't want to not make any kind of payment, but that this is all you can afford this month and that you are attempting to contact the CCCS in the meantime.

Is there any room for payment breaks?

You do need to speak to the CCCS but this will at least tide your creditors over and you can tell yourself you've done something about it rather than just shutting your eyes (something I used to do!) and hoping it will go away.

You need to concentrate on your essentials (rent, food etc), and then look at what you can pay back. I don't know the details of your whole situation, and your creditors may try and be agressive about, asking you to pay more, but remember you can only afford what you can afford, and everyone on here is pretty fab about money saving and what creditors can and cannot do.

Other people will probably have better advice, but that's just what I would do. I've spent ages on this post, so there's probably loads before mine now!!

Chin up my dear.

bank_of_slate

Excellent news Susie!
It's amazing what just a couple of phone calls can do!
But plucking up the courage and fearing the worst often prevent you from taking the first steps.
You always imagine the worst case scenario, but it rarely turns out better!
keep posting!
...Linda xx

Northernbird_2

Glad you're feeling better about things. Try and remember the feeling of sorting stuff out - that's what I try and do all the time.