Huge credit card debt

InaPickle

kingston_2730 wrote: »

Inapickle, you are truly lovely!! Thanks for your kind words again. It really means so much!! I have actually just been reading up on another thread about reclaiming credit card charges for previous 6 years. Can anyone tell me is it still possible to do this or did it have to be done by a certain date?

I've got to admit, I don't know much about that and I'm not sure what the situation is for CCs since the new 'fair charges' ruling came out last week. I know Martin wrote a post-ruling article on the main forum, so perhaps start there, and carry on reading threads? It's not much, help but I'm sure that someone else will be able to tell you more (although perhaps in the morning! ).

Anyway, it sounds like you are making a good start. Keep reading, picking up information and tips and most importantly of all KEEP GOING! :beer:

hypno06

Credit card charges were NOT affected by the ruling last week, so head over to the "reclaim £000s" red tab at the top of this board and get reading - it is simple, ask for your statements to cover the last 6 yrs (could cost you £10), put the details in the calculator, send in the template letters, wait for them to say NO, write back with the next template letter threatening court, and wait for them to write back saying ok we'll pay you £X, which you say Thank you very much to!

I am more than sure that your income/debt/outgoing ratios are not the worst we have seen. Some of us have been around for a looooong time, and have seen (and had) some pretty shocking figures.......nothing is unworkable! You are in the right place.

I will check in again this evening to see how it is going.

pelirocco

hypno06 wrote: »

Yup.....me.

Had over £100k on credit cards and high interest loans on top of a £175k mortgage. OH and I only earn an average salary between us (mine is above average, his is below average) and at its worst, my minimum payments were £2200 per month, which is way more than my salary was at the time.

With hard work, focus and effort, we never missed a payment, somehow managed to pay everything, and are now down to having £20k debt.....all that without even going on a DMP. My minimum payments are now less than £400 - rather a difference from 3 years ago.

We did it by using the advice on these boards to get extra income in and make savings. We worked on our budgets, made our groceries go further, took in foreign students, took advantage of all the freebies, loopholes and suchlike as we could from MSE.......we sold our second car, etc etc etc

It CAN be done - it IS hard work, it is NOT always fun, and sometimes it feels downright impossible.

But I am living proof that on an ordinary salary, huge debts can be beaten......even if you want to retain a good credit score.

Hypno

Correct me if i am wrong ( because i have only skimmed over your diary ) but weren't you left a sum of money that you used to pay off a lump sum? .....I just dont want to give the op any false hopes

kingston_2730

hypno06 wrote: »

Credit card charges were NOT affected by the ruling last week, so head over to the "reclaim £000s" red tab at the top of this board and get reading - it is simple, ask for your statements to cover the last 6 yrs (could cost you £10), put the details in the calculator, send in the template letters, wait for them to say NO, write back with the next template letter threatening court, and wait for them to write back saying ok we'll pay you £X, which you say Thank you very much to!

I am more than sure that your income/debt/outgoing ratios are not the worst we have seen. Some of us have been around for a looooong time, and have seen (and had) some pretty shocking figures.......nothing is unworkable! You are in the right place.

I will check in again this evening to see how it is going.

Thanks, Hypno. You are an inspiration. I have been reading your diaries. Wish I had half as much energy as you!! That's great about the info of cc charges. I would say that DH and I have a considerable amount over past 6 years. Do you happen to know if you can claim interest on the charges?

euronorris

Hi Kingston.

Stay strong! I know it may seem scary and overwhelming, but you came to the right place and you're not alone!

I would like to ask though, if you have a mortgage and don't want to move, why are you bothered that your credit rating will be ruined for 6 years?

You should be planning to clear the debt and working towards never needing to rely on it again, so having your credit rating shot, shouldn't really affect you. You already have a mortgage so you don't need to worry about being accepted for one.

Have a think about it and I think you'll realise that you won't need anymore credit. Plus, if you already have 100k in unsecured debt, I doubt you will be offered anymore for a while anyway. I can't be sure, but I expect that you have reached your credit limit.

kingston_2730

Euronorris, Thanks so much for your advice. My main priority out of this is to keep our home. The reason we got into all this debt is because of it and that we trusted a builder that we never should have. I would be absolutely destroyed if we have to lose it. The only reason I am worried about credit being ruined on a DMP is because our mortgage deal is up in a year from now and we will be hoping to re-negotiate some sort of deal. Our mortgage is also very high at 243,000 so any change in interest rates will drastically affect us. What I was thinking is maybe we could keep paying minimum on ccs until next nov when mortgage deal is up, lock into a 5 year deal and then start DMP. A few people have mentioned that our credit rating is probably ruined by now anyway but actually no, that is not the case at all. In fact, we have a good rating thus far. I recently was accepted for virgin 8000 limit and nationwide 4000 limit which are both on zero percents. I have since been turned down though for others I have applied for so I would say that it has just about run dry.We have not missed any payments on anything. Problem with us is we only have about a quarter of the cc debt on good interest deals the rest are so high and we're finding it increasingly difficult to get anymore good interest offers. I would love to hear all the advice that you wonderful people have, keeping in mind that my absolute main and probably only priority is that we don't lose our house. I am still working on SOA, still nervous about posting it as I know it will shock you folk and I don't know if I could cope with somebody telling me I'm screwed and just to claim bankruptcy. Thus far, all responses on this thread have been absolutely wonderful but have been reading other threads were people were told that they would never get out of the debt unless claiming bankruptcy :eek: and I know psychologically I could not cope with being told that at the minute. Therefore, could I request that only the really positive and helpful people (like the ones replying to my post so far) continue to post and that anyone who has anything unhelpful or less than supportive just keep their thoughts to themselves. Many thanks xx will get SOA up soon promise

50broke

Hi, I have 83k debt, 207,000 mortgage, was earning about 80K last year down at least half now due to OH losing job and decline in my business due to recession. i am on DMP with CCCS, credit screwed yes, but we can eat!! Benefits of DMP creditors will all usually freeze interest and charges, only pay what you can afford after taking out all living expenses, downside of DMP credit screwed and defaults for 6 years. Good luck.......

pepe2008

If you can sort out a DMP with, say, CCCS and get your Creditors to accept 0% deals this will more than make up for any increase in your Mortgage Rate when it comes up for renewal.

Your credit line could well have dried up without your score being affected much. ( I was still an 'excellent' credit risk the day before I pulled the plug on £64k of CC debt!!!)

If you are still paying your Mortgage, thats all the Mortgagor is interested in. DO NOT try to turn your CC debt into SECURED Mortgage Debt!!!

You have to start viewing your situation as a whole, not as individual Accounts. Fill in the SOA or any other Financial Statement template you can find, look at how the expenses are ordered...PRIORITY DEBTS! The rest are also rans and they know it.

Repossession and Forced Sales/Bankruptcy are very expensive and most will try to avoid this if at all possible. There are 'easy-outs' offered by many unscrupulous Companies but they will cost YOU a lot of money. NOBODY can 'write-off' your Debts without using precisely the methods described in countless posts on this Forum and IVAs are only good in a very FEW amount of cases....very, very few!

Theres always someone on here who can help.

DVardysShadow

kingston_2730 wrote: »

I would love to hear all the advice that you wonderful people have, keeping in mind that my absolute main and probably only priority is that we don't lose our house. I am still working on SOA, still nervous about posting it as I know it will shock you folk and I don't know if I could cope with somebody telling me I'm screwed and just to claim bankruptcy.Thus far, all responses on this thread have been absolutely wonderful but have been reading other threads were people were told that they would never get out of the debt unless claiming bankruptcy :eek: and I know psychologically I could not cope with being told that at the minute. Therefore, could I request that only the really positive and helpful people (like the ones replying to my post so far) continue to post and that anyone who has anything unhelpful or less than supportive just keep their thoughts to themselves.

Let's face it, people start off their debt free journey hiding under the sink, but they have to be blddy minded to see it through. Yes there are some unhelpful people who tell everyone to go bankrupt but equally there are helpful people who will tell some people the same because sometimes it is genuinely good advice.

So, please don't start this off by demanding that you only get the answers you like, it is a form of denial. Just filter the answers according to the attitude of the poster. If your main and only priority is to keep the house, you are actually more likely to lose it - because you are putting the house above becoming debt free and losing focus. Put becoming debt free as your primary goal, let the house look after itself. That is genuinely the best chance with the house.

kingston_2730

I just went through cccs thingy and feel that some of the budget recommendations are undoable ie. max 240 a month for petrol? We have 2 small cars which we only really use to go to work and back and to son's rugby on sat and we are struggling to stay within our budget of £350 Does anyone know are these figures set in stone or is there some negotiation. I am professional who works in the community and my job involves my car also DH has a one hour journey to work so not much we can do about that as we live rurally