Debt panic - advice needed

pam36

I am new to this site and am in need of some advice, I have debt with my bank of around 10,000. I have lost hours at work recently and am really struggling, housing benefit has stepped in, and working family tax will go up a little im sure. All my utilities and rent is currently up to date but i have this huge bank loan and credit card bill which costs me around £280 a month and its getting to the point where i dont think i will be able to make payments then get charged, I also have 2x overdrafts that im in and out of all the time. I have contacted my bank and told them i am struggling and there answer is to loan me more money which i do not want. I need desperately to bring down my payments to be able to continue paying all the important stuff. Should I leave my bank for another and then treat this debt as a separate thing, or should i be able to get me bank to take less? I am worried about bailiffs ETC. but am more worried about keeping my roof over mine and my 3 children's heads and be able to feed us all. please any advice for quick action would be amazing. Sorry i have posted this else where but realised it should be in here

mildredalien

Hi pam36,

If you post up an SOA (statement of affairs - http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html) we can take a look at your incomings/outgoings and see if we can give you some advice on how to start figuring this out.

I would also recommend ringing one of the debt charities (CCCS, Payplan, or Citizens Advice) for some free, impartial advice about the best way forward. The first step of getting everything out there in black and white is the hardest, good luck

pam36

Hi thanks for your reply, i have posted a private message to CCCS on here, I really want to get this sorted before i start to miss payments and things get out of control.

mildredalien

The best way is to really try and be as realistic as possible about your spending and how much your outgoings are vs your income. Hopefully, with some tightening of the belt here and there you can reduce your outgoings (or increase your income) to make sure you make payments and work out a plan of action to tackle the debt. It is possible that your income just won't cover the minimum payments etc. in which case you might want to look at a debt management plan. Not an easy course to take and it will mean defaulting, but it might be the way forward to make sure you can make your payments without getting into MORE debt.