PLEASE HELP :( unsecured debt of 35k

Jamese_2

Hi guys,

i have been stupid and managed to blow 35k worth of debt!! not proud but now i cant pay back the minimum repayments....

My brother is currently not paying his creditors and getting hassle but he is just ignoring them - i think he is going to try settle at a reduced amount. i believe he has around 40k unsecure debt.

I have read on here that you are probably better off not paying them and ignoring the hassle you will get off threatening creditors - then saving the money up to pay a reduced sum?

Im 23 so a mortgage in the next 6 years is out the window regardless whether i pay off the debt slowly because i wont be able to save for a deposit?

does anone have real inside knowledge on this stuff? my brother appears to be getting away with not paying them at the moment - its atleast been 6 months and they havent even managed to order a CCJ on him yet.

so the things i would like to know are:

if i stop paying how long can i hold off court judements for?
How long will it actually take creditors to file a ccj on me?

Basically i need to know what should i do? because if i have no money left to spend on anything after my minimum goes out - plus the interest that keeps getting put back on my debt... whats the point in living like that?? bankrupt would be better than that?

please advise - i really need to find out all my options and how long things take to go through for action to be taken against me for non-payment, if thats what it has to come down to?

I know my bro is currently getting away with it but i just dont know if thats a good idea?

Thanks guys

bottleofred

Hi Jamese,

Your Brother may be getting away with not paying the creditors at the moment, but they will hand the debts over the debt collection agencies who will pursue him for the money. Regarding your situation, when you stop paying the minimum payments, you normally end up with defaults on the account within 3 months and this is enough to stop you getting a Mortgage, never mind ccjs. I suggest you post your statement of affairs, so people can advise you how to save money. I also advise you contact the consumer credit counselling service or citizens advice who will give you advice on how to get sorted out. If you do stop paying, some creditors may eventually get ccjs, while others may get defaults on the accounts.

Good luck

gfplux

Do you believe that you have a mental illness that has caused you to get in to debt?

MrsTinks

Also worth facing the fact that your creditors can apply for a CCJ at ANY POINT in the next 6 years and even after that if a judge believes they have tried to get you to settle the debt and you have been purposely avoiding them... For £35k I'd say they will be pretty keen to use everything they can to get their money back!
Don't let your brothers extreemly bad example make you think that ignoring creditors is EVER a good idea! If you ignore them they will come to your house, they have even been known to call your work and last thing you want are debt collectors on your doorstep first thing in the morning or bailiffs clamping your car at 5am and sitting waiting for you...
Post up your SOA on here so we can see how bad the situation really is - do you have anything to show for the £35k? Car, gadgets, anything? Anything you can sell to try and pay some of the debts off?

dmg24

In October you only owed £7,500 - how have you managed to spend £27,000 in two months?

poppy10_2

dmg24 wrote: »

In October you only owed £7,500 - how have you managed to spend £27,000 in two months?

On his other thread he's mentioned his problems are due to a gambling addiction.

fozmcfc

poppy10 wrote: »

On his other thread he's mentioned his problems are due to a gambling addiction.

Went from £7500 to £10k in 4 days on previous posts as well.

OP you need professional help with your gambling before you do anything else, otherwise you are not getting to the crux of the matter.

As a heavy gambler upto 2 years ago I know what it is like to be addicted. I spent the best part of 25 years waisting virtually all my spare money and building up debts at their highest between 17k and 20k and having spent I would say £100k + gambling.

I would try gamcare or GA for advice and support. They may even be able to give you advice on contacting your creditors and how to approach them.

Jamese_2

Yea thats right i basicallt gambled it all away.... got a serious addiction problem with it - and now its worse than ever because you cant even watch a football game without 3 or 4 adverts per break showing about betting on this betting on that its unreal.

I have no option anymore but to contact my creditors and tell them the freeze the interest and i wont be able to pay them anything for now - thats all i can do. I have no assets i have nothing to my name, so unfortanately it looks like ill have to deal with them harrassing me... but i cant give them anything!!

Anymore help i would be much appreciated for it

North_Star_2

James,

I think its best you need to sit down and talk to somebody who can help you emotionally to get your priorities right so you can face your debt head on, I owe a similar debt to yourself yet not through a gambling addiction but moreso when I was younger (22) I bought new car after new car every 3 months-6months because I loved the thrill of new cars on HP and Loans, now they were not Porsche type cars just like £12,000 bracket cars but everytime I changed one I lost more n more money by refinancing and the value of the car to the effect now that my Credit Report has 33 different credit agreements over the past 8 years (25 or so settled with no defaults) and as a result now I cannot get any further credit via a card or a loan because of the credit I have/had in the past even with a really high credit score on experian....what I am trying to say is you are not alone facing your debt and its better to talk and inform all your creditors about your struggles right now because I for one owe a similar amount to you and am struggling myself to keep a head above water but the last thing I would do is hide because they will find you and also your will effect your future by avoiding creditors because nobody will touch you with a barge pole.

The more aware a company is of your trouble the more understanding they may be and they may offer help via reduced payments etc but the more advanced warning they have the better for you, sadly there is probably no quick fix solution its simply a case of getting yourself on the long road to recovery and dealing with your problems financially, I believe an IVA could help you but that again is a last resort and also it effects your credit file for in the future, I sympathise with your situation as I am in the same boat thru my own fault and addiction is a hard thing to overcome regardless of the no doubt sarcastic pillocks that attempt to be funny reply sometimes on MSE but you are the sole reason you are in this strife and be strong enough and honest enough to accept it and fight back, properly.

Stuck_1

if you was playing on-line black jack or Roulette you could go through 10k in no time, the next spin or hand comes around so fast it cant be
compared to normal Casinos where your bets would be spread out more, its lethal.

tallyhoh

Are you getting help for your addiction? You need to sort that out ASAP otherwise you will just run up more debt.