Best Way Forward

Loopy73

Hi Everybody,

I need some advice on the bast way forward.

I recently went through a tough breakup with my husband and also have been struggling with depression since. I'm now left with around 20K worth of debt which have mainly all been passed on to debt collectors. I've been burying my head in the sand quite a bit and ignoring the letters but I now want to face up to my problems and deal with them.

I work but I'm on a low income whilst I'm studying, however I have now moved back with parents so have little outgoings. I will need to move out at some point so don't really have much to offer in terms of repayments, around £250 a month.

I don't really know where to go from here and any suggestions/help which be much appreciated.

niksyg

Hello!

Welcome to the DFW board. I would suggest creating a SOA by following this link: http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Then post it here so we can have a look at it and help work out ways you may be able to pay off your debt and reduce spending.

The task of going through it all may seem quite daunting, and it might take you a few attempts at it...but keep going until you've completed it as the better the picture, the easier it is to see where you could make changes.

Loopy73

Cheers, I've been through it all with my parents. At the moment with my current wage its going to take me about 7 years to pay it off.

A while ago I remember some of the letters offering me a 50% discount if I pay the rest in full. My parents today have offered to lend me £7000 to pay some of them off and are willing to wait until I finish my course and earning more money before I pay them back. What I want to know is if anybody knows if these companies are likely to accept 35% in full and final payment and wipe the rest off as this will mean I can clear them all.

Thanks for your help.

camuk81

Try it but start lower and have 35% as your ceiling price. Good luck

Gimpsdad

Speak to an Insolvency Practitioner about a one off IVA. All your debt is legally wiped out in return for the one payment which will almost certainly be accepted. Find the right IP and you will probably only need around 5k. If the funds are 3rd party sourced then as long as you offer it on a take it or leave it basis, and making sure you find one who will propose without any fee payable in the event of rejection (I've never seen a one off rejected by the way but better safe than sorry) you could be completely debt free in around a month to 6 weeks.

You cannot really offer the £250 long term as you won't have it when you move out, so the legal protection of an IVA looks good. In fairness, you could also consider bankruptcy as well but that is obviously your decision.