What do people think of this....thoughts, opinions please..

donmonster

Hi

I just realised I had access to this great site from work today and so can read the posts - didn't think I was able to before but anyway here I go!!

I just wanted to get peoples thoughts, tips, opinions on my situation and share my problems and the things that matter to me. I understand that there are many people on this board who will be worse off than me - but I think at the end of the day what we are all here for is to share our experience and tips with others.

I spent 5 years at university and during that time I reckon I racked up about maybe £15k in debt. I then moved to London and of course had the money thrown at me, Graduate loans, credit cards with high limits and a big £14k loan from Egg. I admit my spending was over the top and I was living beyond my means but the main problem was I started gambling. this went on for about 2 years until one day my borther noticed I did not go out much and asked if he could help by getting a consolodated loan out for me to help me with my re-payments for uni debt.

It was then that I came clean - about my addiction and everything and I must say I have had great support from my family. Initially my father went overboard when we talked, called me all the names under the sun ect and could not understand how stupid I had been. However I realised this was his reaction and he still loved me no matter what. The person I felt worst for was my girlfriend who had to go through 2 years of bad moods when I lost and erratic behaviour. Thankfully, and I am very lucky as I also gambled a lot of her money, she is still by my side today something I am erternally grateful for.

So without going on I had racked up Debts of about £50,000 once they had all been taken into account. Of course I wanted an easy way out - I see all my friends being able to afford the ncie things - and more than anything I want to be able to give my girlfriend all the nice things!! I wanted to perhaps do bankruptcy - but was told by the CCCS - who were the first people I contacted that I could not do that due to some of the Debt being gambling related. They said the law may be changing - but I have not heard any update on this.

So they put me on a DMP and the payments started. I will admit that I did lie about my rent as I wanted a little extra than they were giving me - maybe this was wrong - but I think it would have driven me mad trying to live in London with the money in the budget. I was paying about £274 a month. I then got a new job and a good payrise and currently pay £474 a month to them.

So I want to ask people for their advice - the way I see it, it is going to take nearly 9 years at this rate - and it is this exact figure that is getting me down. So what can I do? Should I perhaps look nito getting an IVA or some equivilent so that I will be free in 5 years? Or can anyone tell me do companies ever write off Debt on DMP after a while? I suppose at 27 I just see me having this hanging round my neck until I am almost 40 - and I don't want that!! Obviously I will get pay raises as I go on - but another thing is I don't really enjoy my job and only stick in the banking industry as it allows me to pay more off my debt.

Just looking for peoples opinions really as this really gets me down and I want to at least be able to see some light at the end of the tunnell. I know I have had the utility of this money and I should pay every penny back but God it is hard :-(

Thanks for taking the time to read this....

DiggingOut

If you find a shortcut, you may always regret it. If you pay it all, since you really did borrow the money yourself, you will always be proud of paying it all.

Can you do anything at all evenings or weekends to get a little more in? Sell Kleeneze or something like that? Even an extra £25 a week would cut that 9 years down quite a bit, even if you can only stand to do it for 6 months it would help....

Probably the best thing you can do is work really hard at your job, learn what you can, and get promoted. You might even get into a job that you enjoy more than what you are doing now.

I have a very good job, but I don't love it. The reason I work is to pay the bills. You don't have to love it. Hopefully someday you'll be able to get a job you love.

Nine years from now, you'll be 36. Now, that may seem immensely old to you, but I'd rather not talk about it. I do think it is good to be looking at ways to shorten that nine years, but do it by working hard and paying what you owe. You won't regret it.

mountainofdebt

9 years may seem a long time but it will soon go and you may find that as you get pay rises you can afford to pay off your debts sooner than you think.

I really don't know the ins and outs of getting an IVA but be careful....would getting an IVA affect your career prospects, especially as you are in the financial industry????

Spendless

If you hadn't lied about your rent, how much quicker would the debt have been paid off?

Talon_Karrde

It must be very easy for people with no debt to talk about 9 years not seeming as long as it does, and being 36 not being that old, but i guess that knowing your peers will maybe have paid a good deal from their mortgage, and being affording "nice" stuff.....
I don't know, i wish i could take it all away from you....sometimes life's a real *****, i only know that what the others say does make sense. You will get that sense of achievement...stay positive, if you really feel you have reached rock bottom, then the only way is up. I know the value of a good woman....there is nothing to beat that support, soak it up....be together and beat it. If it doesn't kill you, it'll make you stronger.

deemy2004

Why not make your self unemployment, get rid of any assets you have.

Then write to the creditors telling them your unemployed, with no assets and that you can't repay the debt.

Worth a shot

Some may write it off.

peterbaker

Deemy, as Diggin_Out put so well, followed by others' agreement, disowning debt so easily is not laudible when you have the capacity to pay eventually. Abdicate this and what will be abdicated next time? Surely this is not the kind of discipline we wish to promote in our fellow citizens?

And from a more selfish viewpoint, I for one don't see why the interest rates I pay should be inflated to take care of someone else's gambling debts or any other debts just because he or she is tempted not to pay.

Debt_Free_Chick

Getting debt written off for no good reason is likely to be impossible, IMO.

The creditors will want to see a statement of your income & expenses and your ability to meet the repayments. If you can't meet the minimum repayments, they will (eventually) agree to a repayment plan. If you don't agree to a repayment plan willingly, then they'll go for a County Court Judgement (CCJ) and the Court will set the repayment plan. If you don't co-operate with the Court, then the judgement will usually impose immediate repayment of the full amount owed.

If you don't comply with that, then the creditor can apply for a Charging Order against your property. If you have no property, then they will obtain a Bailiffs Warrant.

As a final resort, they can petition for your Bankruptcy.

At any point in this process, the creditor may appoint professional Debt Collectors - another hassle to deal with.

Donmonster - no. You won't get the debt written off. The only variation is if you have a lump sum and you offer a Full & Final Settlement. You need to pro-rata the lump sum and offer some to all your creditors, not just one of them.

Or you could die - then your debts (assuming they're in your name only) fall to be dealt with by your Estate.

HTH

donmonster

Hi folks thanks for the many replies - I really appreciate it - and I just wanted to get some ideas of what is available and what is out there.

I had thought you could get up to a 1/3 of the Debt written off if you offered to pay them off. Can anyone tell me what is the problem with paying one creditor off at a time and not the others - i.e If someone offers to take £2000 for a £3000 debt would it not be best to clear that if possible and then just increase the payments to the others as a result of not having the debt you have just paid off anymore?

I have no property at all - only my motorbike - which I think would break me to sell - and as I also use it every day....

Regarding the point about unemployment Deemy - what do you mean by this - actually quit my job and then claim I am unemployed? Don't think I could do this - as apart from perhaps pushing my partner over the edge it would leave me with no money whatsoever...how does this work?Talon thanks for your message - I suppose it just gets to me when I think of how long it will take - yes some of it is self pity but a lot of it is just like "This is going to hang over me forever!!" However I am in a better situation than a lot of people - I can always afford to eat and go out the odd night and hopefully this year get a holiday. The thing is some will say you should save that £1000 from the holiday and pay off the Debt but I think my girlfriend would go mad - and I would loose friends if all of a sudden I could never visit or go away with them. Perhaps I am still living in a make believe world and peiople think I should not be having these treats as I have already had years of fun with the money.....who knows...

Spendless as for lying about the rent - I think I perhaps gave myself an extra £200 - but anyone who knows what the CCCS budget is like - especially living in London - will know that it is just not feasible to have any sort of life on that budget - I don't care what anyone says!! There is also the issue of work peers wondering why you are never out etc or can't afford to do anything - it is a thin line....As for the IVA affecting my prospects I am not sure - I changed job once already while I had the debt - and it was not an issue - mind you I was only on a DMP then...but who knows?

Digging out - I have thought about perhaps trying to get a part time job - but I could not really do much during the week due to the longish hours I work during the day - usually about 8:30 - 7pm (not that long maybe but as for fitting in another job it is) I suppose maybe I should try it - but I always think really I do earn enough not to have to work 2 jobs.

Perhaps I should cut out some of my 'treats' and put an extra £100 a month in? However when I think about that I think should I just put that £100 a month into an ISA or something so I have a lump sum say in 2-3 years to pay off one of the Debts and hopefully get a discount?

Thanks for all the opinions / thoughts - it is good to talk to people who know / understand.

fazer6

Don't bother storing money away in an ISA to earn you 5% when you have debts which cost you 14%. You save money by paying off the debts quicker and then saving when you're in a better position.

I know what you mean about not selling the bike. I use mine for commuting too and rides out are the only social life I have. It saves you money anyway because of the low tax and high mpg. I've started to save about £5 a week since I started using the bike for work again.

Why don't you list all your expenses each month to see if people can see areas where you can make changes to give yourself an extra couple of pounds to pay off the debt. Don't forget even an extra £10 each month could bring your debt free date a lot closer. To save money on going out without saving face you could always refuse to go on a night out because you're going out on the bike the next day. Your mates will stare at you in amazement that you don't want to get so drunk you feel awful all sunday, so point out the adrenalin rush you can get from you bike. Power to weight and smiles per miles we beat performance cars which cost 100 times as much. I chose a bike over alcohol years ago and my non bike friends still don't understand.

Have you downloaded martins budget planner and the snowball calculator (search the forum for a link, I always forget where it is). Use the budget planner to see where you can cut back to give you extra money to pay things off. Then feed that information into the snowball calculator and watch your debt free date come closer and closer.

donmonster

Thanks Faser6 - I suppose I don't need to ask what sort of bike you have :-)

The reason I was thinking of saving was because I believed that they usually write off the Interest - so you are not paying any interest on the Debt - I know IF do this anyway...they charge it each month then after a few take it all off.

I must admit I do not really budget - but starting next Pay Day I will list everything that I spend as I suppose that should give me a better idea. I know one thing I spend too much money on food in work!! I will have a look at the snowball calculator and the budget planner tonight / tomorrow when I get home.


Basically this is what I know at present:

£800 - into joint acct each month for rent, bills and £50 (each) for food - this gives us £100 for food shopping but I must admit we probably spend over this a good bit.

£474 - to CCCS

£100 - to girlfriends Debt (So you can see the total is already nearly £600)

£130 - goes into savings

£30 - gym

£50 - mobile phone - usually this figure

£40 - football - play twice a week

£30 - petrol - approx cost per month

At present do not put anyhting aside for Insurance, repairs, tax for bike etc - will just use savings....

Once this is all taken I am left with £1017....I suppose it is a lot and I should put more forward - but out of this I pay extras like food during the day, going out, etc etc...I realise looking at this though I should probably put more into Debt....