sinkng in quick sand

roadrunner_3

I need help and advice re my debt problems. I'm sinking quick am feel so close to drowning with no life line. I have managed to build up a staggering amount of debt over the last few years. At first it wasn't a problem I was earning very large salary so making all the payments on the laons & cards was never a problem.But foolishly I lost complete track of my borrowing & spending, and those who owed me money were becoming less ans less forthcoming with their payments. Some of my worst debtors are members of my own family & I am finding it really hard to make them realise just how precarious my fnancial situation is.Now through various circumastances I have found I am now finding it more & more difficult to make my monthly commitments. I ma now earning a lot less than I was previously, I have worked my way through all my savings in a vain attempt to keep my head above water.I cannot remember the last time I had a decnt night's sleep because of the worry.
I have tried contacting some of my creditors to explain the situation so at least I can make some kind of reduced payments to them. Some have been more helpful than others, but each month is becoming more & more of a struggle.I did speak to someone on the national debt helpline & have discussed DMP's & IVA's but am unsure which path to take as I know that some of the paths on offer mean that I will not be able to do my job any more, aing the situation a million times worse.The irony is,is that I work in the finacial services indusry & my job means that I have to advise people on money & investments yet mime are in such a mess! I NEED HELP BIG TIME BERFOE I GO MAD

STUDENT_2-2

send us details of everything so the rest of us can help in full details

roadrunner_3

I can barely bring myself to type it but between banks, credit card others I owe about 90k
Bank HSBC CC & loan approx 28k
egg cc & loan:23k
capital 1 cc: 3k
mbna:12k
cahoot:7k
morgan stanley:6K
rbos:12k

I am owed approx 35-40k from family. But I have no idea if/when I will ever see this again so I have discounted it. I have done a detailed budget plan & after my necessary expenditure eg rent, travel, food emergencies etc I think I have around £1000k to spread between my creditors which at the moment comes no where near to meeting my obligations

Magentasue

No wonder you can't sleep. Have you sought help from CAB or one of the other free debt counselling services? What interest rates are you paying? Have any of your creditors frozen interest?

Malestrom

If your family owes you money then they need to be paying you that money back! Why should you be taken for a ride for nearly 40k????? Basically you have given them all completely free gifts of money which you are now having to pay back. Why are you writing this money off? Was it loaned officially with a drawn up credit agreement or did you just give them cash and tell them to pay you back when they can? This really stinks and I feel sorry for you in this regard. Do you own your own house and do you have any equity?

roadrunner_3

I have contacted National Debtline, FCL & ccsc within in the last few weeks and I will be speaking with them again shorty. I have had some information form payplan but am a bit wary of them as I have not heard good stories about their service. RBOS have frozen the interset on my accounts and have agreed to reduced payments for a few months at least. my interst rates range between 6.9% and 16% which unfortunately for me is with MBNA (they have actually hung up the phone on me on every occassion I have tried to contact them). But I will be trying agian first thing tomorrow

Debt_Free_Chick

Firstly, deal with your creditors in writing and insist that they only contact you in writing.

A DMP should not affect your job at all (unless you work in a bank where it might be considered to be "misconduct"). An IVA also should not affect your job. Bankruptcy might, but only if you have a very specific profession. Can you tell us why you think your job might affected? What is it you do for a living?

You say you have a budget ... if you care to post it here, we may be able to suggest ways you can cut back.

Back to the DMP, this is the National Debtline Pack. If you haven't already done so, read every word. There's a lot of information, but it's easy to understand. It also has sample letters to send to your creditors and tips for dealing with them, when they are unhelpful. Most of them are unhelpful, at first. They can't tell those who genuinely need help from those who are simply "trying it on". This is why you deal with them in writing, you send them your budget, you list ALL your other debts too and you offer a pro-rata payment. All of this explained in the Self Help Pack here

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_factsheets/debt_advice_england_wales.php3#3

As for those who owe you money ... what can I say. If you haven't done so before, be blunt. Tell them how much you owe and tell them that due to their debt, you are facing bankruptcy. Get them to agree to pay you £x per month - surely they can afford something?

roadrunner_3

Thanks for the advice from those who were kind enough to leave me messages.
First thing I did this morning was to write to write to some of my creditors so hopefully I will get some responses soon.

Re: my job, I anaylse investments made by others & indirectly give advice to others as to what investments they could be looking at. I am not allowed to give advice directly to the public

I have made a budget below. I have tried to include all my expenditure here
net income £2100
Outgoings: rent £450 (this includes all gas, electricity, rates, council tax etc)
mobile telephone:£30
Line rental: £25
TV license: £15
Satellite TV: £50 (but am looking into reducing the package)
internet: £18
groceries etc: £200
Clothing; £50
Car tax: £15
petrol: £60
MOT/carinsurance:£38
car maintenance/service: £10
other travel:£135 (season ticket)
dental medical: £45
birthdays/exams: £20
emergencies: £20

surplus = £909
As you can see this does not leave nearly enough to cover payments to creditors at the rate most of them are asking, but it is enough to make some kind of regular, if somewhat reduced payment. Until I can get back some of the money I am owed this is all I can do.

As for those that owe me cash. Re family members: For those I can get hold of I have summoned a war council & plan on telling them straight the seriousness of my position. Think many of them think I am just being a drama queen. If only!!

Any tips on how I can cut back will be gratefully received
Thanks for listening

mountainofdebt

You may not want to do this but have you thought about producing evidence of your problems at this council of war? At least that way they will realise that you are not being overdramatic.

Magentasue

roadrunner wrote:

Outgoings: rent £450 (this includes all gas, electricity, rates, council tax etc)
mobile telephone:£30
Line rental: £25 £55 a month for phone seems very high.
TV license: £15
Satellite TV: £50 (but am looking into reducing the package) Or get rid? Lots of people manage without - could you?
internet: £18 Cancel and use work/local library?
groceries etc: £200 Check out Moneysaving Old Style Board for ways to cut down to £30 a week or less for a family
Clothing; £50 Wow! Maybe you have enough clothes now?
Car tax: £15
petrol: £60
MOT/carinsurance:£38
car maintenance/service: £10
other travel:£135 (season ticket)
dental medical: £45 Unless you have a health problem this seems very high.
birthdays/exams: £20
emergencies: £20

It's very easy, of course, to point out ways other people can save money! But maybe you have been living and spending the same way you did when you didn't have money problems? At the risk of sounding like your gran, twenty years ago when I had no money, I went without a washing machine and TV. When I did get a TV, it was black and white. No mobiles then, and the phone was set so I could only receive calls. When it got to the end of the month and the money ran out, so would the food! Most nights we had baked potatoes for dinner with little else, breakfast was always porridge. I didn't like it but gradually these things came back and now, looking back, it doesn't seem so bad!

SnowyOwl_2

Roadrunner, just a question...why do you have a season ticket and a car? Couldn't you just make do with the season ticket and then supplement with other public transport. Do you ever make journeys which could be made by public transport using the ticket you've already paid for? If you get rid of your car totally you would also get rid of all those car bills and the problem that will arise when your car needs replacing. Maybe the transport thing is something to consider.

Also, is there any way you could shorten the length of journey on the -train/tube, eg by getting on at a later stop or getting off earlier and walking? eg I used to walk from Notting Hill down to Chelsea, and back, and saved about £50 a month or so just because I didn't travel through zone 1 on the tube - it was worth doing.