My SOA

awaytogoyet

Hi Darktimes
Just echoing what Lindsay has said - be very careful about who you approach re an IVA & indeed debt management advice. There are a lot of sharks out there who are purely interested in making money out of other people's misfortunes. Go only to a non-charging organisation, such as the Charity many people here have had very good experience of.
I think, as well as putting a plan into operation, you may feel a weight lifted from your shoulders after talking to them.
I also wanted to congratulate you on having come so far, in every respect of your life - it may not seem like it to you now, but I think you will be a much better person for these experiences in the long term - developing an understanding of life, a compassion, an empathy and a broader view & wisdom that many people never achieve.
For the moment, try and prioritise & view the situation in 'bite-sized chunks'. Have a weekly, monthly yearly plan & try only to think about the challenge of the moment. I'm a great believer in assessing the 'big picture' in order to have your 'lightbulb moment', face up to the reality of the situation & decide to confront it, but after that to keep thinking about the 'big picture' can be very depressing and demoralising - as it can seem insurmountable. It isn't though - just take one piece at a time & eventually you will get there. See it all as 1 step at a time along the right road, instead of going backwards down the wrong one.
Lots of luck & best wishes to you.

Sus1e

In answer to your question - the CAB is the Citizens Advice Bureau (spl?)

fatbelly

Find your nearest CAB here

angelavdavis

darktimes wrote: »

I'm going to try applying for 3 more CC's, Halifax, Alliance & Lester and another one mentioned on this website which i dont think I already have a card with... Its annoying that they dont tell you who actually own the companies before you apply!
Then, if I still cant shift it onto a 0% then i may have to start looking at maybe a loan (if they'll let me have another one of those!) or just have to pay as much as I can off this damn thing and stand the interest as best i can.

Post on the Credit cards forum - the guys on there know who owns who!

I am all for reducing the interest rates, but I can't emphasise enough not to go down the consolidation route - many of us have been there done it and got far larger debts as a result. It works for some, but only when you have the self-control not to spend again until you have cleared the debts and you end up paying so much more. Some people need to experience the pain of doing everything in their power to pay off the debts the hard way to learn the lesson.

jamesd

darktimes, an IVA won't prevent you from getting a mortgage indefinitely but it will increase your interest rate. For example, Alliance and Leicester will give a near prime mortgage when the IVA has been satisfied for three years, or heavy adverse if it's just six months from the end, while BM Solutions (HBOS) will do it with light adverse rates after six months.

Given the prospects of paying an extra 2000 a year in interest I'm sorry to say that I have to agree with the other recent posters now: IVA time. You simply can't pay the debts and interest on them without the debts growing so you have to use the IVA now to stop that from happening, else you'll end up bankrupt for twice as much money instead.

angchris

hiya :hello: just wanted to recommend swiftcover to you for car insurance. after getting what i thought was the best deal last year this year i managed to shave another £187 off my quote plus £35 back if you go through quidco :j https://secure.swiftcover.com/EN/Home/Default.aspx?tabid=46

mystic_trev

darktimes wrote: »

I dont wanna do any scheme which will stop me getting a mortgage.

I'd clear your existing debts before taking on a major Financial commitment.