Why am I not being allowed to consolidate my debts?

Skint_Catt

sirwilliam wrote: »

Hopefully then they can be more sure that I AM paying off the debts, not just adding to them...?

How will they know this? They won't know if you're racking up more payday loans, CC's or other finance elsewhere & won't do this again!

rising_from_the_ashes

What's your annual salary - around £30k?

You're debt is almost 70% of your annual income and it's very unlikely you'll be able to borrow more, sorry.

It's really not the best way forward - even if you manage to pay off the £1200 in the PDLs and then have the £1200 "extra" - you're still not going to be able to make significant headway into clearing things.

You'll still have a shortfall by the time the missing items in the SOA are added in - how are you going to fund this moving forward without resorting to PDLs again?

william2074

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

I'm sorry but I just can't see them letting you have more money ...... and it'll even more unlikely if it's not going to satisfy all your debts.

I suggest it because it will ultimately mean I can 'get by' on those debts and they become manageable. My PDL monthly repayments (including the 'final' Wonga one this month) are £1,630. If I get those reduced into a 'standard' loan with Natwest for example even if I was repaying let's say £200 per month, that would reduce my monthly commitment from £2,114 as per my SOA to £684, giving me a little breathing room rom the £843 I have available each month...

rising_from_the_ashes

I honestly don't think they'll give you any more money .... and by asking for more (which will show up the PDLs etc as they will be on your credit file) it will show you're obviously having trouble meeting your commitments - they may well call in your overdraft.

Brogden

Payday loans which I started in the middle of this year have caused untold damage to me. They are not all gone. I am a bit older than Sir William and took this route being in a rush to raise cash for an emegency in the early summer. At the moment it is very difficult to budget anything because these payday b******s (not Wonga anymore) are there and get in the way.

I sympathise.......I had the Wonga experience. On a Sunday in the car park at our local Asda going shopping, I had a call from Wonga advising they couldn't get all of the loan repayment and interest (sure I knew it was due and coming) out of my account because of the bank's security policy. I had to sanction the payment of the final third as a fresh payment on my debit card. I felt I had been gang beaten, was lying in the gutter and the gang was coming in for the second assault. I wandered around the supermarket in a daze, trying to hide the feeling and wondering how I had ever allowed somebody to take so much from me. It was one of the most depressing experiences of my life. I do sympathise.....I do and I am still not completely away from this although Wonga and one other payday lender for me is gone (for good, for good!)

Speaking of consolidation.....I understand the points made by others on this thread. For a while I have thought 'lend me the money and I'll sort out my problems.' I have thought and thought - racked my brains until I fall asleep. I have now well and truly concluded ....simply ........the money is no use unless it is mine. If I have money in my hands but it is borrowed and not mine then it is no use. If it is borrowed from somewhere (no matter what the APR and no matter how competitive the deal) it is no use. It is simply robbing Peter to pay Paul. All my efforts are to survive on what is mone and (of course repay the whole lot - payday and traditional lenders.)

I read the thread started by Sir William with interest as I was all ready top go for a consolidation loan but it fell through (my fault.) If I had been more on top of the game it would have gone through. Where would it have taken me? Well it would have meant I could have continued my life with a reasonable credit score. Over a peroiod, however the consolidation loan may have made matters worse. I discussed things with CCCS and the advisor told me this was a 'blessing in disguise.' It still doesn't feel like that as I now have to adjust payments to creditors to 'make them fit the budget' with all of the damage this inflicts on the credit file. The overall wisdom is that I am dealing with what I have and not looking for additional finance. Its not ideal. The only way any of this could have been ideal is to not have had debt in the first place!

All the best Sir William and everybody.

Brogden.

rising_from_the_ashes

Brogden - great post and wishing you well on your journey.

William - I have been where you are (£23k debts on a salary of £15k..... - the days when money was literally thrown at you) - I consolidated & said it wouldn't happen again but I didn't address the reasons for the debt, I didn't cut up the credit cards and I ran up another £17k .... and consolidated again.

It was only when I was back up to £6k the third time that the lightbulb lit up and I sorted myself out.

I know you feel there's no way out but to borrow more - but trust me - it's not the way.

If you do a DMP and get loads of bonus money / big salary increase etc - then you'll be able to pay it off quicker and be debt free quicker (and start to rebuild your credit file quicker)

AlyBaly

Hi sirwilliam and welcome to the forum. I have nothing much to add the the advice above BUT I have been in your position and consolidation was not the answer. We did not have payday loans but numerous credit cards, we spent years going round and round in the consolidate, whoopeeee we have nothing on the credit cards, lets treat ourselves to something nice, oops credit cards at limit lets consolidate again.

It ended up with us being in a trust deed (IVA in England). We have just made our last payment today and now look forward to saving. A hard journey and a lot of lessons learned .
I really hope you can sort something with your bank tomorrow but if you don't PLEASE look at getting sorted out with a DMP or whatever way is best for you sooner rather than later. It is scary but so is waking up panicking about how you are going to pay your debts, once we were up and running with our Trust Deed we got peace of mind and could actually sleep at night.

I wish you luck and will pop in tomorrow to see how you got on. Keep posting if necessary, you will get moral support here and a wealth of great advice x

Brogden - a great post, and I wish you all the very best on your debt free journey x

meer53

sirwilliam wrote: »

Anyone think a better approach would be for me to ask for let's say £3,000 to consolidate the PDLs, then most of the borrowing would be with Natwest?

Might they then consider bundling up the borrowing I have with them into one sum at a lower repayment rate? Hopefully then they can be more sure that I AM paying off the debts, not just adding to them...?

Beware of asking for all your borrowing with your bank to be consolidated. We're quite happy to agree this where i work if a customer asks, BUT if we did this, (dependant on what else we can see ie, PDL's etc) we would probably close the customers account and any other accounts they have with us. I would maybe ask the manager what they can do to help you and negotiate from there, rather than go in asking for a set amount.

I can't see them offering you anything at the moment, it all really depends on how they react to your employment situation. Although i hope i'm proved wrong !

ineed

mo786uk wrote: »

To give you the flip side, I managed to consolidate (12k) at a young age (24) and managed to keep repaying without spunking all my money away again.

It took a lot of pressure of having to pay 5-6 different cards. And even if it did cost mroe it was worth it for the reduced hassle/stress.

I cans ee why the bank wouldnt wnat to risk it though. And 20k is a lot of money.

Funny this is basically my situation now.

I'm 24 and posted here before about whether I should consolidate my £12,600 joint debt with partner (now £12,295) which is for two different things.
My bank offered me a good deal on an unsecured consolidation loan over 6 years after I posted which would have meant greatly reduced fixed monthly payments but an extra £2,500 on top interest. I'm tempted for the reduced payments but the advice I got here was sound and made me think twice about it, do I really want that extra interest.

My bank were eager to lend to me I think because I’ve had various credit since I was 18 and all payments I’ve ever made on anything have been early and over the minimum payment, so I guess they think I’m unlikely to default. I've also never had a payday loan and I’ve read on here alot that banks don't look fondly on them, so they might be unwilling to lend to you because of that as well as the large sum maybe OP? Have you tried talking to the companies, to see if you could make token payments? Sometimes if they know your struggling they will Freeze interest I’ve read.

cutestkids

Please heed the advice you have been given on here, if you go to your bank and try to increase your credit with your current situation you run the very real risk of them calling in your overdraft and then you really will be in a mess, looking at your situation I would agree with a DMP as being your best long term option.