Running out of time, needing to borrow in time for xmas...

ciscokid

I am running out of time until christmas to come up with the additional needed money that families usually need around this time of the year. A quick background, I have some credit cards and overdraft which due to some bad circumstances became a little out of control and payments were eventually missed when each card demanded a minimum payment that when combined exceeded how much I could afford. What didn't help was a constant backlog of bank charges/direct debt payments being missed and overdraft charges hitting me hard. For the past 2 years I have been asking my bank to give me a loan which would not only simplify the outgoing expenses on debt each month, it would actually save me considerably in the long run (the APR on the credit cards for example is very high in comparison to a loan). Six months back I fell into the trap of stooping to taking a payday loan to help pay for my sons birthday present but due again to some unfortunate circumstances (namely being out of work on sick leave for 2months) the APR on this loan (just shy of 3000% APR!) eventually meant that the amount I had to repay when I finally was in receipt of my wage again consumed almost the whole months wage. In this time I have been consistently borrowing from these companies at extortionate rates in order to survive, repaying the debt in full each month and borrowing again. As you can imagine, I am losing a fortune in APR each month, and this has made it very difficult to pay the credit cards and my overdraft (My overdraft alone costs me £180 a month, with no end in sight as to when this could actually be payed off).

I am not struggling financially, myself and partner earn a great combined income, if we could roll all this mess into one new debt with lower monthly repayments and a goalpost in sight to aim for, I'm sure we could clear this fairly efficiently and live a less stressful life (currently it really is living from paycheck to paycheck, with a good 1-2 week period before each pay day where we are completely broke). Unexpected costs are popping up all the time which we just cant budget for, we now have xmas presents to purchase, and a £600 fuel bill to pay so we can heat our home (our home has had no central heating since xmas last year, and it is now actually getting quite dangerous how cold it is). I am very annoyed and let down by my bank for not taking the time with me to review whats going with my finances and offer an easy way out. Instead I have been directed to debt management companies etc. none of whom can provide any hope or help, as basically we can afford to repay the debt in our current situation. Every last penny seems to go on debt however, and somewhere along the road in the last six months I developed a bad gambling habit out of depression/frustration which isn't helping matters.

No amount of trying to juggle expenses and looking at ways to blitz our debt is going to raise the money I need to see my family right for christmas and more importantly fix our car and provide our home with central heating. We really just need to refinance with additional money on top, the savings each month in repayment alone will give us plenty of money to look at ways of aggressively tackling our debt once we have a clearer picture of what our debt really is (impossible just now)

Does anyone know if we are able to obtain financial help in the way of a loan from anyone who could sit and look at our figures instead of our credit record? Our bank has helped destroy our credit record and stand to make a fortune over the next few years as a result, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest that this is the reason they have refused to help us with ways in which we could reduce the amount we lose in interest/charges each month. I really feel like I am running out of time here and I am panicing. Would be great if anyone has any advice on how we can raise this money. Many thanks.

PS. Tried additional borrowing on mortage, P2P lending scams (such as Zopa), debt management, CAB..everyone basically...been going down this road for 2 years just seems to be no end in sight...really just need the loan...

ILW

You need to start spending a whole lot less, loans are the reason you are in the state you are in.

More loans will only make things worse.

tamarto

'I am not struggling financially'

typo or delusion?

You need to take responsibility for your financial mess for a start.

katsu

I'm sorry but having read your post I don't think you will get a loan at a sensible APR. Your local credit union might be able to help with a loan to get you out of the payday loan trap but it will be no-where near the amount you want to borrow overall.

It does sound like you are struggling financially as you are in a muddle and can't meet all your commitments in the month, so maybe trying the advice on the DFW board or from somewhere like CAB will help you cut your monthly expenses so you can start to get straight. There isn't going to be "an easy way out" if you've spent the last 2 years getting deeper into the mess.

There is a thread for support for stopping gambling - maybe check that out for support?

I'm really sorry that I can't tell you what you want to hear, but I don't think there is a magic loan solution to meet your needs, so I think you need to get some help in making a plan to clear them slowly over time. As for Christmas - you don't need to get into more debt for Christmas so please have a budget Christmas rather than making your debt worse. I really do suggest you try the credit union and consider the advice from CAB or the DFW board on the juggling expenses and longer term repayment plans.

I hope it works out for you.

talana

ciscokid wrote: »

I am running out of time until christmas to come up with the additional needed money that families usually [STRIKE]need[/STRIKE] want around this time of the year.

Want, not need.
So have a cheap Christmas (I certainly intend to), no-one needs piles of presents. After all, it's only one day of the year.

You're already in a payday loan spiral thanks to buying presents it seems. Needs to stop.

And as said above, make that the start of spending a whole lot less in general.

ciscokid

Please, I am looking for helpfu responses...

I will make this clearer for you to understand.

This month my repayment looked like this

hbos 200
mbna 200
barclay 100
wonga 600
mem 185
pay day express 385
bank overdraft charge 155
bank overdraft fee 35
TOAL: £1860

What I want it to look like is this

newloan £350
(based on loan of 15k over 5 years)


1860 - 350 = £1510 more in my bank each month. £1510 less spening a month!!! What would you do with £1510 extra a month!?!

This isn't rocket science...

The payday loans will continue to occur because my outgoings now exceed my incoming. I am trapped, I constantly need to reborrow. Excuse my french, but this is bullsh*t...there has to be a way of making the banks see sense in all of this and be able to provide me a better solution, namely a loan to sort it all out.

The overdraft charge has happened every month for 2 years. 24 x £150 = £3600 wasted on the bank, with the £1000 overdraft remaining unpaid. This could go on for as long as I live, its a guranteed money spinner for the banks. I realise why they have no interest in helping me now.

The credit cards could take a long time to clear. As the above is more than I can afford to repay in debt each month, at least one debt gets missed each month, which in turn leads to charges, interest, and just prolongs the life of the debt. A consolidation debt has an obvious end date, a goal post to aim for. This current mess does not.

The upshot of all this is that there is no spare cash each month and my families life suffers asa consequence. We dont' spend money on luxuries or holidays or any other stuff people in my sort of job should be able to enjoy....if I didn't have children I would have long since quit my job, went on the dole and just refused to pay anything back, went bankrupt....I don't want this..I want to pay my debts, I just don't know how Im expected to survive like this...I asked my bank 2 years ago for £6000 to clear my debt as I knew I was about to have a shaky couple of months where I might have a lot of expenses that could hinder my debt repayment, they wouldn't help...last year I did the same for 10k...now its up to 15k....

if anyone reading this can get a good apr% loan and wants to take it on my behalf and charge me £100 a month for the luxury you could make yourself a very easy £6000 over 5 years (more if you add it to your savings....) I just don't know what Im supposed to do short of topping myself?!

ps. this was in response to the first two posts...

Pee

I would consider what you really need to spend on Christmas, and also post a SOA so that you can see where your money is going.

I think, like me, you see a good income as being an excuse to spend like everyone else seems to, thinking I earn more than them and if they can afford it, surely so can I. I can only say, read Vanity Fair, noone ever has and noone ever will be able to understand another persons financial circumstances. I don't know how other people, who earn a lot less than me, manage. I only know that even with a good income, you have to be very careful.

Pee

Is it worth seeking debt counselling from CAB or similiar?

ciscokid

Im sure there are lots I can do which will take time before any savings can be realised, but I have been trying that option for the past 2 years....and getting nowwhere. I am now at the stage where my bank = £0, we have bought no presents for christmas, and more important that some plastic crap which the kids will break anyway is we have no money to heat our house...I dont stay in teh same house as my kids during the week (cost cutting measures, 2nd car sold (70 mile round trip with no public transport links) so I stay at a friends house in the city during the week nice and warm while my partner and kids enjoy wrapping up in as much blankets and covers as they can find and going to bed after supper because its too cold to sit up and watch TV. If this sounds a bit mellodramatic, I honestly don't know how they feel because I only have to suffer it at the weekends....

happyhaddock_2

Go to the CCCS website www.CCCS.co.uk and put all your figures in their Debt calculator (it cost nothing).You can't afford a new loan

Apples2

There are many many people in the same position, unfortunately, there is no simple way out of it.

This line in your post is particularly apt:

Six months back I fell into the trap of stooping to taking a payday loan to help pay for my sons birthday present but due again to some unfortunate circumstances (namely being out of work on sick leave for 2months) the APR on this loan (just shy of 3000% APR!) eventually meant that the amount I had to repay when I finally was in receipt of my wage again consumed almost the whole months wage

Unfortunately, this type of loan is the only one open to you at the moment, you have already experienced what happens when you commit to this type of loan and "hopefully" won't go back down that route.

Christmas is a complete aside, you won't find any quick wins these days. The banks HAVE now seen sense and are no longer willing to throw money out to people who are unable to manage their finances.
Unfortunately for you, that means no more consolidation loans. History has proven them to be a bad choice.

Consolidation loans are tremendously difficult to come by, if you managed to find one, all that available credit on those cards leads to a MUCH worse place later on. It has for so many people in the past, it is people like you who are now suffering.

I've lost count of the amount of posts where people DID get their consolidation Loan but now claim it was mis-sold as they cannot afford that much for the next XX years.

Easy for us to say but the only sensible advice can be to forget Christmas this year and focus entirely on getting out of this hole. There is a way but it needs ridiculous commitment.

The CCCS would be a good place to start, sounds like your credit file is already smashed so other options may be preferable to an SOA and getting out the hard way.