Advice

MsDaisy

Bayeux, you mentioned seeking help for addictions - I don't mean to pry (and you don't need to reply to this post) but if gambling is one of them maybe you could take this time out from your regular job to think about retraining or moving into another field? It could all be part of the moving forward package that you could plan with your family. Hope this helps x

MsDaisy

bayeux wrote: »

thank you both for your kind thoughts. I understand there are probably far less selfish and more needy people than me that need advice. If anyone can help though I have another couple of questions. firstly how much damage does a DMP do even if you come off it quite quickly ? will I be able to get a mortgage again in the future, do I have to wait 6 years and even then does it still have an impact? also we are currently making a payment of about 220 pounds on the one card, would this be enough to cover a total of 40k spread across all the creditors on a DMP ? thanks again

If you google either cccs or payplan (both are debt management companies/charities) you might find some answers to your questions. I don't know much about DMPs but I'm sure some others will.

bayeux_2

hi all

not sure if this will get picked up again on this old post but I just wanted to get some follow up advice if anybody has any regarding the situation I am in now.

Since my last rambling posts some months back I have now managed to get myself back together and have found a new job, one that is reasonably paid and enjoyable, so the future now looks a lot brighter. My question is now how to best deal with my debts and repair my destroyed credit rating.

I have been on arrangements with 3 credit cards for the past 4 or 5 months making nominal payments, these have all been registered with the credit agencies as late or missed payments so the picture looks pretty bad. I would imagine the cards are very close to defaulting me. I want to contact them and explain my change in circumstances but if everyone demands i catch up with overdue amounts and excess of limits we are looking at 5 or 6000 pounds which obviously I dont have. Similarly if they resume interest and expect full monthly payments we wont have enough left to live on. If I increase the payments and they are still holding off interest so Im not meeting my agreement then it will be as bad as defaulting on my file.. Therefore would I be better off just not paying and taking the defaults and spend the next 6 years rebuilding my life and negotiating with debt collection companies? ( as morally questionable as that may be ).

I want to do the right thing but I just think that each company is going to want their share and its going to put us back to square one.

any advice appreciated, thanks

amyloofoo

bayeux wrote: »

hi all

not sure if this will get picked up again on this old post but I just wanted to get some follow up advice if anybody has any regarding the situation I am in now.

Since my last rambling posts some months back I have now managed to get myself back together and have found a new job, one that is reasonably paid and enjoyable, so the future now looks a lot brighter. My question is now how to best deal with my debts and repair my destroyed credit rating.

I have been on arrangements with 3 credit cards for the past 4 or 5 months making nominal payments, these have all been registered with the credit agencies as late or missed payments so the picture looks pretty bad. I would imagine the cards are very close to defaulting me. I want to contact them and explain my change in circumstances but if everyone demands i catch up with overdue amounts and excess of limits we are looking at 5 or 6000 pounds which obviously I dont have. Similarly if they resume interest and expect full monthly payments we wont have enough left to live on. If I increase the payments and they are still holding off interest so Im not meeting my agreement then it will be as bad as defaulting on my file.. Therefore would I be better off just not paying and taking the defaults and spend the next 6 years rebuilding my life and negotiating with debt collection companies? ( as morally questionable as that may be ).

I want to do the right thing but I just think that each company is going to want their share and its going to put us back to square one.

any advice appreciated, thanks

Hi Bayeux,

I'm so glad to see that things are looking up for you. I hadn't seen the date on your first post so was getting really concerned for you; I'm so happy to see that my concern was largely unnecessary and you're in a much better place now

Firstly, what area is your new job in? I know you previously worked in finance so defaults / arrangements to pay could be unfavourable to your career if you're still working in the same area. If you want any specific advice it might be best to complete a SOA template which is in the sticky 'newbie' thread. This will allow people to more accurately see your incomings / outgoings and offer more tailored support for your situation.

I know it's personal and you don't have to answer, but did you and your wife stay together? You mentioned 'we' in your post which makes me think you did and if so I'm really pleased for you - was she more understanding than you expected when you revealed the debts?

Also, are you getting support for your addictions (mentioned in the first post) and gambling? I don't want to be a downer but it's really important to start working towards recovery with these as it would be very easy to slip into old habits when you have a wage coming in and are so stressed with all these debts. I hope your depression is also starting to alleviate with the positive changes in your life, but it's really important to continue with treatment, even if you're starting to feel better.

In terms of paying debts / waiting for them to default - some lenders are definitely much more helpful than others and it may be possible to ask them to freeze interest and fees whilst an arrangement to pay is entered into. However these can stay on your credit report for longer than a default so it's a judgement call. Have you been in contact with CCCS or one of the other debt management charities?