credit Card Debt help

eddsy_2

Hi

I would be gratefull if anybody could assist me with my own situation. I am 69 years old, married and own my own home with no debt on it. We are both retired and after doing a budget and cost cutting exercise can just pay our way each month on our pensions. Over the last 5 years I have bulit up about £26,000 of credit card debt on 4 cards trying to service my car business which has collapsed especially over the past 2 years! I am now struggling to pay the minimum payements each month from the last of our savings, which will run out very soon.

Therefore what are my options? what would happen if I contacted the lenders to say I cannot pay? Any help would be most appreciated.

Regards

E

cozasmom

Hi - glad you posted this debt , I to am in a similiar problem and have been for the past two years. I have credit card debt of about £16k but purely due to business problems and although I have managed to transfer to 0% for the last year , these deals now coming to an end and due to O/H being ill for last nine months now struggling to make minimum repayments . So any replies to your post will be able to help me. I am tempted to write to credit Cards and ask for a break of say 3/6 months (as hopefully o/h should be back at work soon ) but I am frightened to do so and I dont want to rock the boat ... frightened of upsetting the good credit rating we have at moment ,but cant see any other way ...has anybody else done this pls ? and if so what was cc reactions. Just so fed up of waking up in the night and worrying - we have no probs with mortgage payments etc just CC Copanies - so if we cannot pay Credit Card Comaanies what is the very worse scenario... will we lose the house ...any advice grateful

Thanks

eddsy_2

Anybody please!

CannyJock

Sounds like one for the Debt-Free Wannabe board to be honest. Not sure there's a lot you can do to switch the balance elsewhere.

If you're basically looking for advice on how to default on the debt and get a negotiated settlement to save you money, or advice on IVA's or bankruptcy then that'd be a better place to start.

lisyloo

Hi eddy,

Have you applied for pension credit?
I'm pretty sure there are calculators available on-line where you can easily check whether you will be allowed this benefit.

BTW - Do either of you have disabilities?

Just thought I'd check, because I look after my husbands parents finances.
They are in their eighties so older than you, but they get pension credit, attendance allowance, carers allowance, blue badge, free car tax, free council tax.

It seems to me to be a very unfair system and I've seen both sides of it because before being disabled my husbands parents struggled like you.
So in the past they didn't have enough to live on and now they jsut keep being give more and more.

Anyway, do check out what you are entitled to.
You make well get pension credit if you have no savings.

never-in-doubt

http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ is a good start