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I have done it and you can too!
eliotjo
Posts: 8 Forumite
Hi,
I am new to MSE but wanted to share my experience with you. I got myself into a huge amount of debt trouble a few years ago (£165,000 credit card and unsecured loans plus £232,000 mortgage). My wife knew nothing about any of it, apart from the mortgage, as I dealt with all finances. The more I tried to hide it, the worse it got - classic debt spiral with nothing - absolutely nothing - to show for it. Eventually it got so bad and was affecting my life so much that I walked in front of a taxi. I don't believe I wanted to harm myself; it just seemed like a natural thing to do. It certainly woke me up to the problem.
I contacted CCCS (Consumer Credit Counselling Service) who were fantastic and made an oppointment to have a telephone interview with them. Just talking to someone about it made all the difference and I summoned up the courage to tell my wife. Those 2 things were by far the most difficult things to do - admitting it to myself and to those that I love.
The CCCS put me in touch with a local firm of solicitors who were expert in dealing with such matters. They explained my options and the implications for each option. I chose the IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) route, rather than Bankruptcy, and my many creditors accepted a repayment of 28p in the £. This meant some tough times, but after 18 months, I was clear of my creditors. That was nearly 2 years ago now and I remain debt free (apart from the mortgage).
Once you face the problem, everything else is just a process you go through. As long as you are reasonable with them, your creditors don't want to put you into any further trouble.
One other important thing to note is that throughout the process, nobody judged me for what I had done. All they wanted to do was help.
If this helps just one person, it will have been worth it, so Good luck!
By the way, I have just started the process of reclaiming around £8-10,000 of Bank fees/charges, that contributed to my debt. It will be very sweet to get that back! Thanks to MSE for the guidance in that process.
I am new to MSE but wanted to share my experience with you. I got myself into a huge amount of debt trouble a few years ago (£165,000 credit card and unsecured loans plus £232,000 mortgage). My wife knew nothing about any of it, apart from the mortgage, as I dealt with all finances. The more I tried to hide it, the worse it got - classic debt spiral with nothing - absolutely nothing - to show for it. Eventually it got so bad and was affecting my life so much that I walked in front of a taxi. I don't believe I wanted to harm myself; it just seemed like a natural thing to do. It certainly woke me up to the problem.
I contacted CCCS (Consumer Credit Counselling Service) who were fantastic and made an oppointment to have a telephone interview with them. Just talking to someone about it made all the difference and I summoned up the courage to tell my wife. Those 2 things were by far the most difficult things to do - admitting it to myself and to those that I love.
The CCCS put me in touch with a local firm of solicitors who were expert in dealing with such matters. They explained my options and the implications for each option. I chose the IVA (Individual Voluntary Arrangement) route, rather than Bankruptcy, and my many creditors accepted a repayment of 28p in the £. This meant some tough times, but after 18 months, I was clear of my creditors. That was nearly 2 years ago now and I remain debt free (apart from the mortgage).
Once you face the problem, everything else is just a process you go through. As long as you are reasonable with them, your creditors don't want to put you into any further trouble.
One other important thing to note is that throughout the process, nobody judged me for what I had done. All they wanted to do was help.
If this helps just one person, it will have been worth it, so Good luck!
By the way, I have just started the process of reclaiming around £8-10,000 of Bank fees/charges, that contributed to my debt. It will be very sweet to get that back! Thanks to MSE for the guidance in that process.
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Comments
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hi mate just read your post allthough yours is a lot more money than mine the problems are just the same and i hope my outcome is the same. youve just spurned me on to do the same cheers garyglesga.0
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What a lovely post, eliotjo. Well done to you :T I'm sure you'll be an inspiration to loads here.0
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Good luck Gary!0
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I dont want to knock your post, but given your debt and your payment of 28p in the £, that means you paid back £46200 to your creditors, which you did in 18months. That equates to a monthly payment of over £2500 - and that figure doesnt include any fees on the from the Supervisor.No Longer works for MBNA as of August 2010 - redundancy money will be nice though.
Proud to be a Friend of Niddy.
no idea what my nerdnumber is - i am now officially nerd 229, no idea on my debt free date0 -
What is your point?0
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Look forward to the future now. There are no such things as mistakes - just learning experiences.Successful women can still have their feet on the ground. They just wear better shoes. (Maud Van de Venne)Life begins at the end of your comfort zone (Neale Donald Walsch)0
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Will you be giving your £8k-£10k in reclaimed bank charges back to the creditors? After all they decided to write off 72% of your debts for you which enabled you to have a fresh start.
Well done on sorting yourself out by the way.0 -
I said originally eliotjo, I wasnt kicking the post - £2500 seems alot to pay each month - though given your level of debt and the accepted offer i can see it would have been higher previously.
As far as I was aware, IVAs rarely run for less that 60 months (excluding final settlements) and as you were able to pay £2500 i couldnt see a creditor agreeing to less than the 60 months as this would mean most of their debt was paid.
Not knocking you - possibly a lack of understanding by me. Think its gret you done it in the time you did.No Longer works for MBNA as of August 2010 - redundancy money will be nice though.
Proud to be a Friend of Niddy.
no idea what my nerdnumber is - i am now officially nerd 229, no idea on my debt free date0 -
The details of my IVA were agreed at a Creditors meeting on August 10th 2004 and it was satisfied on 27th May 2005. I have never heard the 60 month time period that you mention....perhaps I got a favourable settlement because I was keen/willing to pay it off so quickly?0
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Well Done Eliotjo. I am pleased that you found that an IVA was the best solution for your situation and that you managed to pay it off so quickly.
I hope you do get your bank charges refunded. :beer:I am NOT, nor do I profess to be, a Qualified Debt Adviser. I have made MANY mistakes and have OFTEN been the unwitting victim of the the shamefull tactics of the Financial Industry.
If any of my experiences, or the knowledge that I have gained from those experiences, can help anyone who finds themselves in similar circumstances, then my experiences have not been in vain.
HMRC Bankruptcy Statistic - 26th October 2006 - 23rd April 2007 BCSC Member No. 7
DFW Nerd # 166 PROUD TO BE DEALING WITH MY DEBTS0
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