im 18 with an unhandleable debt :(

snowqueen555

You're at university right now or this coming September? Most banks offer 0% overdraft with the student bank account, that will last the entirety of your studies plus longer, HSBC offered me 5 years free overdraft, sorry thats all I have to say, good luck.

ShAnE

Will you be living at home? If so could you carry on working part time and take out a student loan to effective clear your debt?
I recently came out of uni with £25k of student loans, so if you have the opportunity to study and stay at home(especially in your situation) take it. You can always move out in the second year if you really feel the need to experience student life.
But if you're working, you can almost get by without a student loan, so could use this to clear the decks.

gloryninja

im actually in college now but going uni this september. my parents not the issue right now as they are steady now so i ask my parents for money sometimes when i need it, its just the debt i have now seems unbearble. we do get LSF (Learner Support Fund) every term but my sixform only gives it out twice a year so im still waiting for the other cheque.

also im going to get £80 refund from somewere, is it wise for me to decrease my overdraft as soon as the £80 hits my bank? that way atleast im decreasing the overdraft?

HLMencken

Hello gloryninja

I work as a specialist debt adviser. Firstly, I really think you need to go and get some free debt advice from somewhere such as CCCS or your local Citizens Advice Bureau (for your nearest bureau go to google 'adviceguide'. there's also a lot of information on there about how to deal with debt).

If you gather up the latest letters from your creditors and write down your income and outgoings (or better yet, use the statement of affairs link posted by RAS and print it out) and take it with you then an adviser should be able to give you options for dealing with these debts.

One thing they will definitely advise you to do is to open up a new basic bank account (thats one with no overdraft or credit facility attached) with a different bank to the one you are currently using and to have any income paid into this account- you should also make sure you transfer any direct debits for essential commitments to the new account. They will probably provide you with a list of the different accounts you can get with different banks and building societies. As long as you keep the overdraft you will not get anywhere with your debts- believe me!

Secondly- how old were you when you took out this credit? If you live in England and Wales, were under 18 and the debts are in your sole name then these agreements may be legally unenforceable as long as they were not taken out for essential items (e.g. food, shelter, clothing). I don't want to get your hopes up on this but I would advise you to have a specialist look over the original agreements as you may be able to challenge these debts.

I also agree with the others- you should not be dealing with this at your age nor on your own.

It would be better to bite the bullet sooner rather than later and get some help with this.

Wishing you all the best with it all and try not to let it get you down.

mattlincsuk

I had the same problem at 20, and believe me, i'm still paying the price for it. Lloyds TSB have a great "Customer Support Unit", I rang them when I had no where else to turn, and they gave me a consolidation loan at 9%, for £145 / Month, which covered me for £9,000 of debt! I wasn't able to get a normal loan from then, but by ringing the customer support unit, being honest and detailed about my financial situation, they helped me, you could do the same?

Yes, I will be paying for the next 8 years, but after that, it's debt free. I also learnt my lesson. Once sorted, cut up credit cards, don't go near pay day loan sites, and BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET!

Good Luck :cool:

donnap83

I got caught up in credit cards at 18. Thought i was cool etc being 18 and having a CC. Boy was I wrong. Defaults here there and everywhere, debt collecters, CCJ's and lots of head burying in the sand on my part....

...Racked up an impressive £8000 debt. Everything went to payment plans with the DC's, 10 years on and I'm down to my last £80 of outstanding debt. It's been a long few years, but my credit file is clear off everything bar my current accounts/CC's and i'm slowly building my credit profile back up.

Hang tight, take the advice of the members here, hell, i wish i'd had their help 10 years ago!

You can do this!!

cattyboo

Bless you hun you've got so much on your plate, and (sorry if it sounds patronising, it's not how it's meant!) at such a young age too.

Sounds like you're taking the problems of the world on your shoulders. While it's natural to want to help loved ones when they need it you must be careful not to overburden yourself, I'm sure your parents wouldn't accept your help so readily if they knew it was putting you in such a sticky situation. Maybe you can talk to them and let them know the real deal? Honesty is the best policy.

You said you have siblings but they are married...just because they're married surely it doesn't mean they can't help?! Do they know how difficult the situation is for your parents? Or for you? Could you confide in one of them?

Chin up hun, where there's a will there's a way and with a bit of determination and perseverance you'll make it through. A friend of mine who used to work at the CAB always said that debt problems can always be sorted, it may not be fun to do but can always be manageable. I'd recommend going to talk to them (the CAB) and they can help you make a manageable plan. All those little steps in the right direction add up, just keep moving forward. Hope things get better for you love,

C xx

chopper_99

I don't think you've answered the question about how long your mobile contract is yet. you need to accept that you don't need a fancy phone, and you can't afford it. Sell it as mentioned above and buy a cheap phone to put your sim card in. Use the money you get for the phone to pay off some of the debts. If your contract nearly up then go on Pay as you Go, if it's not nearly up then try to reduce your tariff to something more realistic.

GEEGEE8

Can you stick it out until the summer and get a full time job until you get to Uni? That would give you 3 months of full time work, £800 a month roughly.. you could clear those debts very quickly x

DVardysShadow

mattlincsuk wrote: »

I had the same problem at 20, and believe me, i'm still paying the price for it. Lloyds TSB have a great "Customer Support Unit", I rang them when I had no where else to turn, and they gave me a consolidation loan at 9%, for £145 / Month, which covered me for £9,000 of debt! I wasn't able to get a normal loan from then, but by ringing the customer support unit, being honest and detailed about my financial situation, they helped me, you could do the same?

Yes, I will be paying for the next 8 years, but after that, it's debt free. I also learnt my lesson. Once sorted, cut up credit cards, don't go near pay day loan sites, and BUDGET BUDGET BUDGET!

Good Luck :cool:

Consolidation loans really are not the answer here. You cannot eliminate debt with debt. And swapping credit card debt for a loan will put the OP on an unsustainable treadmill of having to meet monthly payments, when their opportunities for income are limited to vacations. The likely result is that the OP will feel forced to find other lower grade [= more expensive] credit to keep the loan going. This suggestion is a few more steps down the road to ruin.