hellllllppppp!

dannigirl

i have £16000 on 5 different credit cards. 3 of them are 5% apr for life of balance but 2 are 18% apr and very expensive. I am only making minimum payments so debt is not reducing at all! I am only working 4 days a week at minimum wage and now my repayments plus monthly rent are more than my income! i am very very worried as really don't know what to do can anyone advise? shall i try for 1 loan to consolidate? where can i get this? i don't want to go down the iva bankruptcy road but is it my only option? i am now borrowing more on my cards to pay my bills please please help.

MyLastFiver

It may be that a DMP (debt management plan) is more suitable for your needs. Be very wary of consolidating - it may not make things better. The root cause of your problem is that you spend more than you earn, for whatever reason. If you can post your SOA we can offer more specific advice. See sticky at the top of the board for SOA template.

DarkConvict

As above, - http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Post it in MSE format.

Your living beyond your means if you income is less than what you are spending, the fact you are in significant unsecured debt already sadly only goes to prove the fact further.

A DMP might work, but you have to watch out that 1, it will ruin your credit file for 6 years like a bankruptcy would albeit now as bad, due to the defaults you get.
But what you need to watch out is if these minimum repayments are not met, do you still get a low APR, i.e. if you miss the payment does your APR go from 5% to 36%, if this is the case a DMP might not be suitable.
If it takes significantly more than 6 years to clear the debt, and you do not work in a job like finance where bankruptcy will end your career it might be a suitable option.

miss_lisalou

dannigirl please don't despair, there is always help out there, it's just a matter of owning up and asking for it.

I think you should speak with the Consumer Credit Counselling Service initially. You can ring them up or contact them via this forum for initial advice. IVA/Bankruptcy are quite drastic, and it could well be that the CCCS can arrange a debt management plan for you with less severe consequences.

I was in a simialr situation last year, with unsecured debts of £30k, so over time these repayments and my essential monthly outgoings exceeded what I was earning. I'm sure I felt exactly as you do now. I am now on a plan with CCCS, who took all of my finances into account - my earnings, outstanding debts, monthly bills, money to live on etc, and arranged for my creditors to accept lower monthly repayments. It will take another 4 years to clear, but at least I am paying the money back and the overall debt is going down and not increasing for once! Please speak to them before considering the other options you mentioned. Feel free to PM me if you want more info. x