Advice please

mattfitt

Hello all,

I am currently in debt of roughly £4400. I have 2 credit cards one which has a limit of £1100 which I am making the minimum monthly payments towards and another credit card which has a limit of £250 which is standing at £400 now. Each month this smaller credit card occurs a charge of £12 + interest which I just cannot afford to pay at the moment.

I have slipped into the trap of pay day loans and also owe in total roughly £800 which I have agreed payment plans to pay back which will continue until the end of the year.

I also have a graduate overdraft of £2000 which is always maxed, I recently received a letter saying the 3 year period of this overdraft is now coming to an end and will finish at the end of June.

My questions are what can I do about my smaller credit card? I received constant letters asking me to ring them but I am too ashamed/scared to do this. Also if my overdraft finishes does this mean my wages when I get paid will not be accessible?

Thanks for any help offered, I really want to get through this its making me depressed and ashamed of my self.

meow5678

Hiya,
if youre student O/D was anything like mine it'll just mean that the interest-free period ends and they start charging you whilst your in it.

I'm sure many helpful folk will be aklong with some CC advice soon.

925pws

Hello and welcome to the forums

Listen try not to feel ashamed, we have all been there. We are all here to help and support each other.

I'd like to congratulate you on taking your first step to recognising you have a problem and trying to sort it out.

I would recommend contacting one of the free debt management companies such as Payplan or CCCS. They will be able to get you further advice but I think in the meantime if you have a salary coming in and you are in overdraft set up another basic bank account with another provider so that your money goes there without being used to clear your overdraft.

One of the free debt management companies can provide you with a template letter to send to your creditors explaining the situation - you don't have to phone if you don't feel up to it.

I do hope this helps. Good luck on your journey.

camuk81

Matt, try completing the statement of affairs

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

Click the MSE button at the bottom. Sometimes it helps to realise where you are going wrong, before I started this I thought nothing of £70 a month phone bill. Since my lightbulb moment thats halved and its made a huge impact

mattfitt

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1170
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1170

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 350
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 92
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 0
TV Licence.............................. 33
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 22.5
Groceries etc. ......................... 120
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 12.95
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 12
Entertainment........................... 35
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 797.45


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
natwest student CC.............400.......7.5.......0
natwest CC.....................1100......23........0
Wonga..........................400.......58........0
Overdraft......................2000......0.........0
QuickQuid......................320.......129.5.....0
Total unsecured debts..........4220......218.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,170
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 797.45
Available for debt repayments........... 372.55
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 218
Amount left after debt repayments....... 154.55

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -4,220
Net Assets.............................. -4,220

I know I can pay back money every month and have been doing, its just the things I am trying to avoid such as the small credit card being over limit, being charged and ignoring the letters from the bank. As well as my overdraft expiring in one month, these are the things I want to get sorted so I can continue paying back and getting debt free.

mattfitt

I have emailed the people at payday but unfortunately the require me to have a phone to be able to contact them and right now thats one thing I cannot afford.

I may have to tell my partner and user her phone but this could cause more problems.

Should I contact the bank about my credit card that is over the limit to explain to them whats happening or will they demand payment? I have been ignoring it because I cannot afford to pay them back in full at the moment.

kerinat

i would phone cccs it is a free call for advice. Or have a look at their web page. Good Luck

Time_to_face_the_music

mattfitt wrote: »

Hello all,

I am currently in debt of roughly £4400. I have 2 credit cards one which has a limit of £1100 which I am making the minimum monthly payments towards and another credit card which has a limit of £250 which is standing at £400 now. Each month this smaller credit card occurs a charge of £12 + interest which I just cannot afford to pay at the moment.

I have slipped into the trap of pay day loans and also owe in total roughly £800 which I have agreed payment plans to pay back which will continue until the end of the year.

I also have a graduate overdraft of £2000 which is always maxed, I recently received a letter saying the 3 year period of this overdraft is now coming to an end and will finish at the end of June.

My questions are what can I do about my smaller credit card? I received constant letters asking me to ring them but I am too ashamed/scared to do this. Also if my overdraft finishes does this mean my wages when I get paid will not be accessible?

Thanks for any help offered, I really want to get through this its making me depressed and ashamed of my self.

Hi mattfitt and welcome :hello:

First things first, do not be ashamed of yourself, be proud that you are starting to deal with this :T

You need to work on your SOA:

1) you are showing that all of your debts are 0% interest, that can't be correct, especially as there are pay day loans on there.

2) you currently state that you pay £40 gas and £40 electric per month, these are very high for one person. Are these definitely correct or are you paying back debt on these? Can you switch to another provider?

3) your SOA shows that you have £154.55 remaining after all your expenses and your debt payments. Do you really have this money left or is it going somewhere else and you are actually penniless at the end of the month? If it is really there, you need to throw it at your debt, if it's not there you need to work out what you are spending it on and then reduce that so it really is possible to overpay your debt.

You already know your priority is to get the small credit card within its limit and avoid the charges each month. Do not be ashamed and/or scared to deal with that, you have already bared your soul to us, you can phone the bank too

DVardysShadow

mattfitt wrote: »

I have emailed the people at payday but unfortunately the require me to have a phone to be able to contact them and right now thats one thing I cannot afford.

I may have to tell my partner and user her phone but this could cause more problems.

Do not phone them, and whatever you do don't give your partner's phone number or use her phone to ring them, otherwise you may unleash a tsunami of harassment. Just insist that you do not have a phone and keep copies of all correspondence. If they refuse to acknowledge you because you don't have a phone, in the long term this will do them no favours.