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Yorkshire175

Hello,

I have currently found myself in what feels like a spiralling financial situation. Almost two years ago I paid for life changing surgery which has been a fantastic, un-regrettable success. This was paid for on a 0% credit card for 10 months and I knew I would be coming into money to almost cover the cost of this. Unfortunately as happens I ended up spending more and with the interest free period ending found myself with £6k on the card. I ended up getting the £3k I was expecting but a few weeks later I lost my job! Now I've used the money for living expenses for the past three months and can no longer afford the minimum repayments on my card which are around £150 a month.

At the moment I'm looking hard for a new job and will take anything but feel there is no light at the end of the tunnel regarding the debt. Everything has spiralled so quickly and I can't sleep at night with panic.

When I do get a new job could I get a debt consolidation loan to make repayments more manageable? I also have an overdraft of £1.8k which I have used and is charging interest.

Please help!

StepChange_James

Yorkshire175 wrote: »

Hello,

I have currently found myself in what feels like a spiralling financial situation. Almost two years ago I paid for life changing surgery which has been a fantastic, un-regrettable success. This was paid for on a 0% credit card for 10 months and I knew I would be coming into money to almost cover the cost of this. Unfortunately as happens I ended up spending more and with the interest free period ending found myself with £6k on the card. I ended up getting the £3k I was expecting but a few weeks later I lost my job! Now I've used the money for living expenses for the past three months and can no longer afford the minimum repayments on my card which are around £150 a month.

At the moment I'm looking hard for a new job and will take anything but feel there is no light at the end of the tunnel regarding the debt. Everything has spiralled so quickly and I can't sleep at night with panic.

When I do get a new job could I get a debt consolidation loan to make repayments more manageable? I also have an overdraft of £1.8k which I have used and is charging interest.

Please help!

Hello,

Thanks for posting, I'm sorry to hear how stressed you feel at the moment. Hopefully we'll be able to offer you some help with this situation.

If you can't afford the full payments on a debt then it is possibly to make reduced payments. Often companies will be willing to freeze interest and charges while you're on a lower payment plan too. This isn't always the case but whatever their reaction, it's important to only pay debts what you can afford so you can still cover your essential living costs.

I'd recommend you get in touch with us for in depth debt advice. You can do this online using our Debt Remedy tool: http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp or by getting in touch with our helpline: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx.

Whichever way you contact us we'll help you plan an income and expenditure budget (sometimes called an SOA on the forums - statement of affairs) and from there we'll give you advice about the available solutions.

A consolidation loan could be a possibility once your circumstances improve but I'd recommend being very cautious before taking one out. I've spoken to many people over the years that have taken out these loans and then spent again on their cards and ended up much deeper in debt. So it takes a lot of discipline to make them work.

I hope this helps and all the best with everything.

Kind regards

James

pliusas

Hi,
I found on Stepchange website I can offer to pay token payment just if I am going to do it less than 12 monhts. It is any chance to do it for 18-24 months? I cannt afford pay more than 1-15 per month (maternity allowance until march2015, after probably no job until autumn 2015 or maybe more and after just probably part time). I have other dept aswell, just I get letter from Vil colections, they need full payment asap. I have no experience to deal with depts on UK (I am non british and english is not my first language, so I found it hard for me explain that I want). I though I can ask Stepchange to help me to deal with them about token payment, but now I am not sure.

yan79

Hi.

I'm Searching for some advice or guidance regarding our financial situation.

I'm panicking a bit as they are starting to spiral and I need to nip it in the bud quick but I'm really poor at the financial aspect of things.

We have 12k of debt that I rely need to get rid of and I'm unsure whether we should consolidate.
I've recently dropped my hours at work after having a baby so we have taken quite a drop but out outgoings have increased.

We have a loan of £8209 due to finish Feb 2017

Tesco visa with £1200 (0%)

MBNA credit card £1931 (0%)

Capital one credit card £100 (don't know the rate)

Plus a £3900 overdraft that we live in and reach the limit of every month. (My Dh ran this overdraft up when he separated from
His ex and was paying her mortgage and bills for ages plus maintenance and now we can't get it down)

We also have high outgoings with CSA payments and childcare for our daughter.

We're also behind on our gas/electricity and this is £200 per month but we owe £700 but I can't afford to get it down

Every month we're going over out overdraft limit and getting charged so much and I'm really starting to worry. I feel like I have so much going out and don't know where to start to help is find our feet.

Any support would be greatly appreciated

X

Former_StepChange_Rory

pliusas wrote: »

Hi,
I found on Stepchange website I can offer to pay token payment just if I am going to do it less than 12 monhts. It is any chance to do it for 18-24 months? I cannt afford pay more than 1-15 per month (maternity allowance until march2015, after probably no job until autumn 2015 or maybe more and after just probably part time). I have other dept aswell, just I get letter from Vil colections, they need full payment asap. I have no experience to deal with depts on UK (I am non british and english is not my first language, so I found it hard for me explain that I want). I though I can ask Stepchange to help me to deal with them about token payment, but now I am not sure.

Hi there,

A token payment plan is a short-term solution that is suitable for some people in certain situations but without knowing your full circumstances it would be hard for me to tell you if this was right for you.

We can still help offer our advice and solutions and there are two ways you can do this.
You can use our online, anonymous Debt Remedy tool available here or you can call us on 0800 138 1111. We are here 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and Saturday 8am to 4pm.

Our advice is free, confidential and impartial and we can talk about your situation and give advice on what to do next.

I hope this helps, we look forward to talking to you soon.

Rory

Former_StepChange_Rory

yan79 wrote: »

Hi.

I'm Searching for some advice or guidance regarding our financial situation.

I'm panicking a bit as they are starting to spiral and I need to nip it in the bud quick but I'm really poor at the financial aspect of things.

We have 12k of debt that I rely need to get rid of and I'm unsure whether we should consolidate.
I've recently dropped my hours at work after having a baby so we have taken quite a drop but out outgoings have increased.

We have a loan of £8209 due to finish Feb 2017

Tesco visa with £1200 (0%)

MBNA credit card £1931 (0%)

Capital one credit card £100 (don't know the rate)

Plus a £3900 overdraft that we live in and reach the limit of every month. (My Dh ran this overdraft up when he separated from
His ex and was paying her mortgage and bills for ages plus maintenance and now we can't get it down)

We also have high outgoings with CSA payments and childcare for our daughter.

We're also behind on our gas/electricity and this is £200 per month but we owe £700 but I can't afford to get it down

Every month we're going over out overdraft limit and getting charged so much and I'm really starting to worry. I feel like I have so much going out and don't know where to start to help is find our feet.

Any support would be greatly appreciated

X

Hi,

Try not to panic, I know sometimes the situation can feel like it’s spiralling out of control but the good thing is you've asked for help and there is support available.

A drop in hours can have a huge impact on your budget, especially with the added costs and priorities of having a baby.

Although consolidating debt is one option, you should consider whether or not you can afford the reduced payments especially if something else happened and you weren’t able to make the payments. Sometimes consolidation can cost more once the interest has been added, but the payments could be less.

If you’d prefer to see if you’d benefit from some advice then you can use our 60-second debt check which will ask you questions about your circumstances. Depending on the outcome you can then use our free, online Debt Remedy tool for expert debt advice and solutions.

Alternatively if you'd prefer to speak to us then you can call free on 0800 138 1111 or visit our website for more information.

I hope this helps, you'll get lots of support from the forums whatever you decide to do.

Rory

jaysancort

I have a question - I have a debt from 2005 that should have been statute barred, just got in post now a CCJ claim saying claim was assigned 5 years 6 months after this date in 2011, yet they are only now taking me to court - can they do that? what do I do now?

CW13189

Hello,
I'm only 23 years old and I had a wild few years at university. I spent beyond my means and used a lot of payday loans to cover this. I exhausted a credit card, 2 overdrafts and parents. The cycle would continue, I'd spend my wages, borrow from online lenders, they repayment would bounce and I would be hammered with bank charges. I hid from this debt for quite a while and one day a company called "fresh start" aka Harrington Brooke's took me on. It seemed like a good deal, I pay £180 a month and my debt clears. Problem is it's going to take 5 years more, and they take £25 a month to administer my accounts. I'm earning a really good wage now, £26,000 a year but I have no access to credit. Everything declines. I'm worried about my future. What should I do?

Former_StepChange_Laura

CW13189 wrote: »

Hello,
I'm only 23 years old and I had a wild few years at university. I spent beyond my means and used a lot of payday loans to cover this. I exhausted a credit card, 2 overdrafts and parents. The cycle would continue, I'd spend my wages, borrow from online lenders, they repayment would bounce and I would be hammered with bank charges. I hid from this debt for quite a while and one day a company called "fresh start" aka Harrington Brooke's took me on. It seemed like a good deal, I pay £180 a month and my debt clears. Problem is it's going to take 5 years more, and they take £25 a month to administer my accounts. I'm earning a really good wage now, £26,000 a year but I have no access to credit. Everything declines. I'm worried about my future. What should I do?

Hi there,

Thanks for your message, and I’m sorry to hear you’re worried about your future. The debt spiral you describe is something we hear about every day, and it’s important to remember you’re not alone.

You mention you’re already on a debt solution and are dealing with your existing debts. Some debt management companies are fee-chargers, which means not all of your money goes towards repaying your debts. There are alternatives though, and at StepChange Debt Charity we don’t take a cut of your money.

Depending on the type of arrangement you have with your current debt management company and your financial circumstances, you may be able to switch to a free solution. I’d suggest you get in touch with us and have a chat with one of our advisors about what we could offer you, which may or may not be the same as your current solution. As we are independent and not-for-profit, we will assess your situation as a whole and talk with you about what the best solutions are for you. You can give our helpline a call on 0800 138 1111. It’s open from Monday to Friday from 8am until 8pm and Saturdays from 8am until 4pm, and is free to call from landlines and most mobiles.

You also mention that you’ve been declined for credit and are worried about the implications of this for the future. We would always recommend you deal with your existing debts first. Your credit file works a bit like a conveyor belt, so your credit rating doesn’t last forever and there are ways for you to improve it.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Laura

Former_StepChange_Rory

jaysancort wrote: »

I have a question - I have a debt from 2005 that should have been statute barred, just got in post now a CCJ claim saying claim was assigned 5 years 6 months after this date in 2011, yet they are only now taking me to court - can they do that? what do I do now?

Hi,

Unsecured debts have a ‘limitations period’ of 6 years. This usually means that if you haven’t acknowledged the debt or made payments to it for 6 years then unless the creditor has already taken out a county court judgment (CCJ) against you then the debt normally becomes statute barred.

We’ve covered this in a blogpost we wrote about statute barred debts available here. The article also explains what to do if you think the debt is statute barred and what you can do next.

I hope this helps,

Rory