Can't see a way out....

Zulu_Dawn

I'm guessing it was for seven years and the total amount borrowed was around £30k. I also assume you have not been paying it for long. This would all mitigate against gaining much flexibility from Barclays.

In which case, I am tempted to suggest you consider a Debt Mangement Plan via CCCS or soemone like them.

If you could get the interest frozen, and a reduced payment, this would enable you to get to grips with things and really put a hole in your debt.

If yuo are finding things really hard, it may well be worth looking into. It will of course restrict your ability to borrow in the future.

Good luck

ZD

sammyjo_3

No the loan was for £20k but you might be right over 7 years, not sure. We don't really want to go into one of those plan things if we can help it...... just find it so frustrating that Barclays wont help thats all!

Suppose we could always sell a car for the time being as we do have two....

scholt

Hi Sammy Jo

I hope I am not speaking out of turn here, but a £7,000 pay cut is a hell of a lot when you have existing debts. Was this to retrain or follow a new career path?

sammyjo_3

No thats fine..... he was in the Construction trade and basically it died off, he was only on a temporary contract, but he hated it and it made him so unhappy. He is now working on an IT helpdesk, really rubbish pay but should have been bulked up with bonuses, but have just made people redundant so that has been put on hold. He is so much happier now though. Seems silly I know, less money and happier...

Zulu_Dawn

sammyjo wrote:

No the loan was for £20k but you might be right over 7 years, not sure. We don't really want to go into one of those plan things if we can help it...... just find it so frustrating that Barclays wont help thats all!

Suppose we could always sell a car for the time being as we do have two....

Sorry to go on about this but your loan figures just don't add up.

A £20k loan over say 7 years at 10.9% should be around £341. At £435 per month, it is more likely you are paying over five years Therefore you do not have as long to go as you think.

I would definitely try writing to Barclays and telling them that you cannot afford to repay this loan at the current rate and ask them what they can do to help. This line about not having an account is nonsense. My experience has been that there is always some manouverability available if you just ask.

Good luck,

ZD

rog2

Hi sammyjoe,

The BARCLAYS answer seems a bit hard - and it looks, to me, that they are being a bit bl**dy-minded because he closed his account with them. However, if you talk to PAYPLAN, CCCS or CAB about a debt management plan, they would be able to talk to Barclays on your husband's behalf. Because these organisations are charities, their requests are often better treated than those of an individual.

scholt

sammyjo wrote:

No thats fine..... he was in the Construction trade and basically it died off, he was only on a temporary contract, but he hated it and it made him so unhappy. He is now working on an IT helpdesk, really rubbish pay but should have been bulked up with bonuses, but have just made people redundant so that has been put on hold. He is so much happier now though. Seems silly I know, less money and happier...

Hi

Can he maybe transfer some of his construction or computing skills to do a few part time jobs here and there for neighbours etc? Could be a bit of extra cash

freda

All this talk of changing to 0%, refinancing etc is not going to get you anywhere as you are spending almost £700 more than you earn.

Therefore, your option (unless you can increase your income) has to really be a debt management plan (as someone suggested). Try contacting https://www.cccs.co.uk or https://www.payplan.co.uk

However, you also need to re-look at your SOA as it is missing lots of items (some of which may not be applicable to you but its worth checking!):

No gas?
No mobiles?

You hardly drive at all (£30 each) - do you run one or two cars?

You are missing a lot of car costs:

Maintenance
MOT
Tax
Roadside recovery (if applicable)

Also missing:

Birthday/sxmas
Clothing/haircuts
Medical/dental
Ents/going out

You need to keep putting aside a little bit each month, say £25 till you get to £500 for emergencies. How much is in your savings account at the moment?

sammyjo_3

Zulu_Dawn wrote:

Sorry to go on about this but your loan figures just don't add up.

A £20k loan over say 7 years at 10.9% should be around £341. At £435 per month, it is more likely you are paying over five years Therefore you do not have as long to go as you think.

I would definitely try writing to Barclays and telling them that you cannot afford to repay this loan at the current rate and ask them what they can do to help. This line about not having an account is nonsense. My experience has been that there is always some manouverability available if you just ask.

Good luck,

ZD

It has a payment protection thing on it for if he is off sick, looses his job etc. may that is why. I'm a bit scared to get rid of that though just incase anything happens, saying that though there is always work out there, just might not be what we want to do.

I am definitely going to try with Barclays again, at the end of the day it is in their interest to help us before we get to the stage of getting help and they don't end up getting all their money back!

Zulu_Dawn

All this talk of changing to 0%, refinancing etc is not going to get you anywhere as you are spending almost £700 more than you earn.

Hi

I think you/ve misread their SOA. It includes some transfers between accounts that can safely be excluded.

Cheers,


ZD