need some credit card dept advice, just been made redundant, not sure what to do now?

robbie84

Hi, im a 25 year old in quite a bit of dept. I lost my job a few weeks ago, and im not sure what to do with my credit card bills now, i owe about 8k.,

Ive moved back home with my parents for now, which is fine for a bit but i need to get this sorted.

The Truth is ive had these credit cards for over 6 years now, since i was at uni, and they have just slowly creeped up, the interest is at 29% on one of them and im sick of them, i must of paid them over 5k in interest.

I work in news production and i know its going to take a while to get another job and deffintaly a pay cut, so i got to do something? cant go on like this!!! only got enought cash for 2 more months payments.

Does anyone know any good options, i know it sounds extreme but the idea of bankruptcy seems appealling to me? mainly because id like a clean slate.

Are there any better options out there? also what happens if i just stop paying the payments??

owe and what is that stuff out there about there beeing unforcable credit card agreements pre 2007??? is it true they can just right the dept off?

anyways any advice welcome, cheers Rob

boredofbeingathome

Hi Rob, sorry you have lost your job not a pleasant time at the moment eh?

First things first, you need to write to your creditors explaining situation and offer them a token payment or if you can't afford anything say so.

There are template letters on National debtline website.http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#4

Next there are rules about unenforcable loans etc. There is a sticky about it at the top of the forum. It is a minefield and won't get you out of the problem you have at the moment.

If you are thinking about bankruptcy, then that is another route which is not always easy and you need to fully read up about it as circumstances may change in the future and there is a new govt legislation coming out which may be more suitable..again that is on the bankruptsy forum. You will also find stickies there with a lot of template letters on them.

There is also a forum about redundancies as well and there will be a lot of advice on there for you.
I suppose at the moment your head is reeling with it all. Take your time to think everything over, don't act in haste, plan what you are going to do. Talk to cccs or any of the other debt charities who will give you Free advice.

Good luck, Bob.

chevalier

Don't now pay them. What I would suggest is that you write to each of your credit cards saying you have been made redundant and enclose a £1 token payment. Tell them you are taking financial advice, and also looking for a job.

This is just a way of saving some of your money for the mean time. And means you can pay any priority bills like council tax and rent

Merlinexcalibur

owe and what is that stuff out there about there beeing unforcable credit card agreements pre 2007???

Dunno where you got that from, apart from me mentioning as an example and nothing else in a post I made this week. No, the debt cannot be written off so I don't know where you got that idea from. Cos I never certainly said that anywhere I am aware of.

So, you work in news production, then? Mmm.

BR is popular this morning isn't it?

mainly because id like a clean slate.

Don't think so. It's never that easy.

Are there any better options out there?

Yes, talk to CCCS like BOB suggested. I wouldn't consider BR because there ARE other ways to deal with debt. Such as talking to CCCS or any of the other free debt charities out there first.

If I were you I'd claim some form of benefit if you know you are not going to survive much longer. Just me, though. Only sensible thing to do and you wouldn't doing anything wrong by claiming JSA whilst out of work. Pride is one thing, starving is another. Sorry to be so brutal but with debt you have to be in order to survive it. And claiming benefit would also be what CCCS suggests or if you are already claiming what others you could be entitled to.

But don't listen to anything I've said here because word has probably got around ... judging by the fact someone has been stalking me over 3 sites I joined a while ago in the last hour ... Pitiful. They must be bored.

Wondered why my wireless broaband on 3 mobile ceased working 2 hours ago for some reason. Right after I'd been reading here as it happens.

Merlinexcalibur

Oops, I said a bad thing, there. Must be catching it off some of the nastier pieces of work here on MSE. What was I thinking, there. :rolleyes: