Advice needed.......

Wannabedebtfreelad

Hi there,

just looking for some impartial advice, I currently owe about £10000 on credit cards and £6000 to a HSBC loan. I changed jobs last year and have until last week been on the equivalent of an apprentices wages meaning I have used all my savings to top up my bank account each month. I should now start to earn better money (qualified plumber now) but in the interim I have no savings left and money is extremely tight. We own our own house with a rather hefty mortgage from the heady days of self certification and the last resort is to sell the house to clear the debts. I hate the fact i pay so much interest on the two credit cards and have just realised that on my HSBC card I have been paying PPI for god knows how long, should I start a claim against them ? My wife will become a qualified social worker in a years time when we should both be bringing home a decent income but in the meantime how do I make ends meet ?
I have not missed any payments or got into any arrears but i need a manageable way of repaying this debt before I do start slipping into arrears.

Looking forward to some advice

Lad

themull1

When you said the' heady days of self certification', do you mean' i lied about me salary to get a massive mortgage?' What you should do in the first instance is do a SOA which will list all your incomings and outgoings to see if you can cut back a bit, have you rung the cc companies to see if they will freeze/reduce your interest on them?

Maybe, depending on how much you have left on the HSBC loan, you could extend the loan to reduce your payments per month, not ideal, but better than losing the house?'

Wannabedebtfreelad

Yep that would sum up self certification to a tee one thinks.... I am going to speak to my personal bank manager tomorrow and arrange a meeting with her where it may be worthwhile trying the loan extension. I was wondering about asking to take out a bigger loan to cover the whole 16k on a longer term to decrease my cc interest payments and so I have a goal to work towards ???

cloudcuckooland_3

I would speak to the mortgage provider as they may well be able to offer some interim relief to get over this glitch. Are you self emplyed as a plumber? I assume you are. If so your status with your mortgage provider is more unstable than other employees, especially as you have no trading history to call on.
I would go all out to earn money in your new status straight away and as fast as possible. The sooner you can build up some trading history with your bank the better. Go all out to get customers and work all the hours you can - this will convince the banks you are a good bet plus you are covering the bills as well.I am sure there is no need to get rid of the house because you are now a qualified skilled tradesman and these are in demand.
In my area we have something called Checkatrade.com which uses customer recommendations online to pass on bona fide tradesmen. If you can get
yourself into this sort of thing or start it up you will be winning.
Regarding your HSBC card I would definitely look into PPI reimbursement, the trend seems to be in favour of this so take advantage of it and fill in the forms anyway - see what happens.
All the best to you and hoping it works out well for you and your family.

Wannabedebtfreelad

Hi there, I am an employed plumber with a good earning potential now. I can see light at the distant end of the tunnel but just need some breathing space in the interim........

cloudcuckooland_3

Yes I can see loads of potential too - good plumbers are like gold dust in our area!