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I am very in debt and very confused, all help welcome

Hi, last night I realized that I can no longer carry on with my head in the sand. So I have taken it out and now don't know where to start! I owe £11,000 on Credit cards have a personal loan of £7,000 I earn £18,000 and can barely scrape the interest of the top of my Credit cards.
My Mum did exactly the same a couple of years ago and I should have known better, I feel like such a failure. Tonight I plan to tell my Father who has no patience and will probably make me feel even worse.
I contacted debt matters yesterday and they advised me me to take out an IVA but I started to panic and said I needed time to think before I entered into the process.
I am also trying to emigrate to Australia as my Mother and partner now live out there and I am worried that an IVA may affect my visa application. Is an IVA even the right way to go about this?
Any help and advice welcome, I appreciate I don't owe that much compared to others but I am panicking to say the least!
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Comments

  • Hello Kat and welcome
    You are undoubtedly in the right place for supportive advice. Take a few days to think about it before choosing any particular debt busting route, but first post your SOA (statement of affairs) so that people can see your position and provide suggestions.
    http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html
    It would be more helpful if you knew exactly the outstanding balance on each debt and the APR.
    Hopefully you've already read other posts and have gleaned some advice from them. The good people on here will hopefully respond to your SOA with good advice.
    Please don't panic - and you're not a failure - it's only money!
    And please be aware - there are a number of free impartial debt charities that will help you find the right solution for FREE.
    "I have enough money to last me the rest of my life, unless I buy something"
  • Hi Kat,

    Your post rang so many bells for me, I was in the same situation just after christmas, I couldn't sleep, I felt sick it was a horrible time, no one is aware of my debt and keeping it to yourself certainly doesn't help!!! But you are not alone hun!!! I contacted Payplan (0800 917 7823) and a lovely chap called Ray helped me so much! They offer free advice, you do not have to pay them a penny! I have entered what they call a Debt Management Plan which means that I pay my debts back over a period of time, as much as I can afford, taking into consideration my living expenses. They will deal with your creditors on your behalf, so you don't have to deal with them.

    It is scarey taking your head out of the sand, but you will feel so much better knowing you are on the way to solving your problem rather than making it worse, which is what I did!!

    You are not alone!!!
  • Thanks, I am at work at the moment and have none of my paperwork but I have some rough figures:
    Barclaycard up to the limit £5200 22%APR
    MBNA up to the limit £3200 unsure of APR
    Lloyds up to the limit £2300 19% APR there is a balance transfer of £1000 on there which is at 6%
    Halifax up to the limit £1000 I pay £20 a month and £17 interest goes on..nice
    I have a loan with Barclaycard which I brought my car with but it's a personal loan and I am halfway through paying it £7,000 to go at £240 a month
    I am £500 into my overdraft with Barclays and £100 in my lloyds overdraft.
    I also have a credit rating of 8 which does not bode well when trying to get a new credit card at 0%
  • Thank you Discogirl, it is reassuring to know I am not the only one! Think I only have half my head out of the sand until I tell my Father! I just realised I missed out a capital one card with £500 on it at 35% APR...ouch
  • Pollycat
    Pollycat Posts: 35,078 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Savvy Shopper!
    Hi Kat and welcome
    When you've posted your SOA, I'm sure you'll get lots of advice on how to cut down your expenditure and start to deal with your debts.

    Do you actually have to tell your Dad about your financial situation tonight?

    Maybe if you could hang on a bit, get things sorted in your head, take the advice you'll get from here on board and THEN present your Dad with not so much of a problem but more of a 'this is where I am and this is what I'm doing to move forward' scenario, he may be more supportive.
    I hope so, anyway. You're not the first person with a debt problem and you certainly won't be the last. Just point him in the direction of this board if he thinks that.

    Regards
  • Hugs

    You are in the right place - I considered an IVA (thorugh payplan) and they couldnt have been more helpful - TBH by the time I had got it all out in the open and looked at the real figures - I posted SOA on here. Its turned our lives around - we didnt do an IVA in the end..but am paying off debts slowly but surely.

    What about leaving talking to your dad until you have sorted out your SOA and thought it through and made some clear determined plans (or even just thought out various scenerios)

    That way you feel better because you aren't putting yourself up for a telling off but are putting your hands up and saying OK this is the mess/situation I am in - and THESE are my ideas to sort it out.

    He can't but admire you then for taking the bull by the horns??
    Just a suggestion.

    Motivation is the key to sort out so much so it be a shame ot have your confidence bashed (even if its meant well) before you have started to steady yourself.

    Hugs to you, ignore my rambles!!!!

    much love xx
    Total debt 26/4/18 <£1925 we were getting there. :beer:
    Total debt as of 28/4/19 £7867.38:eek:
    minus 112.06 = £7755.32:money:
    :money:Sleeves up folks.:money:
  • whoops we posted at same time - kinda just what Polly said above me xx
    Total debt 26/4/18 <£1925 we were getting there. :beer:
    Total debt as of 28/4/19 £7867.38:eek:
    minus 112.06 = £7755.32:money:
    :money:Sleeves up folks.:money:
  • RAS
    RAS Posts: 33,786 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Katie

    Please halt all further communication with debt matters. Even if they do not charge, they will refer you to a company that does charge.

    The fees for an IVA are anything from £5,000 to £10,000 on top of what you pay back to the creditors.

    IVAs are very rarely suitiable for people without houses with equity or jobs to protect - before the credit crunch CCCS reckoned tey were appropriate for a full 3% of their clients.

    please contact one of the debt charities here http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan#help and post an SOA here.

    There are also a lot of things you can do to reduce your debt if it is appropriate, but until we know more about your situation we cannot help you.
    The person who has not made a mistake, has made nothing
  • Thank you all so much for your responses, it's already lifted a small weight off my shoulders. I will endeavor to do my SOA tomorrow at home when I can make sure I put everything down. Thanks so much for the advice on debt matters I came really close to going down that route last night, and someone else suggested DCM apex and they have been trying to get in contact. I gave debt matters a lot of information last night, but I presuming they can't do anything without my say so?
  • You didn't give them any bank details did you?
    Capital ONE :£2,208.00 (£50.00 pm) . Welcome Finance £4,588.10 (£99.90 pm) . Black Horse Finance £1,882.52 (£84.00 pm) . Owing to Parents £5,000 (£140 pm) .
    TOTAL: [strike]£14,126.56 [/strike] £13,678.62
    'Proud To Be Dealing With My Debts'
    The Official DFW Nerd Club : Member 1138
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