Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

facingthefuture

I live in a small community and have unsecured debts to credit cards. My husband is self employed and just about hanging in but otherwise not embroiled. Citizens Advice has suggested I get a DRO but I was wondering would it be published in Stubbs Gazette? Who would find out about it? I don't want to harm my husbands biz and he has always cleared his debts but people not trust him if my situation became public knowledge. I am worried sick. Does anyone know? I know it would be on the online Insolvency registrar thing if you searched it but worried some accountant in the town would see my name if it was in a magazine!

Former_StepChange_Rachel

facingthefuture wrote: »

I live in a small community and have unsecured debts to credit cards. My husband is self employed and just about hanging in but otherwise not embroiled. Citizens Advice has suggested I get a DRO but I was wondering would it be published in Stubbs Gazette? Who would find out about it? I don't want to harm my husbands biz and he has always cleared his debts but people not trust him if my situation became public knowledge. I am worried sick. Does anyone know? I know it would be on the online Insolvency registrar thing if you searched it but worried some accountant in the town would see my name if it was in a magazine!

Hi there, thanks for getting in touch. I'm sorry to hear of the worry you've been dealing with and can certainly see how it's made things more difficult for you.

As you’ve mentioned, if you were to get a Debt Relief Order (DRO), it would be added to the Individual Insolvency Register and will be removed 3 months after the DRO ends. It will not be logged in Stubbs Gazette, which is only available to businesses that subscribe to it, not to members of the public.

Hope this helps put your mind at rest. Please write again if you have further questions.

Kind regards

Rachel

matildasmum

Hello there,
I hope you can help! My husband has been self employed for 5 years, we have always saved for the income tax bills, but the business has been quiet for the last 4 months. And so since the July tax bill we have been unable to save, for fear of going over his over draft limit.Before he went quiet my husband bought a ramp for £4000 on an interest free credit card. He has also borrowed £2500 from his dad to update his diagnostic computer system. He also now has a £3000 over draft.
How our fortunes have changed in the space of 3 months. He has decided to fold his business and has a start date for a new job. But what on earth do we do about his tax bill in January and about clearing these debts? His monthly salary of his new job is fine, but not enough to pay off these debts? Help I am having sleepless nights and am actually really angry with him for burying his head in the sand... Even though I know I should be supportive.

Former_StepChange_Laura

matildasmum wrote: »

Hello there,
I hope you can help! My husband has been self employed for 5 years, we have always saved for the income tax bills, but the business has been quiet for the last 4 months. And so since the July tax bill we have been unable to save, for fear of going over his over draft limit.Before he went quiet my husband bought a ramp for £4000 on an interest free credit card. He has also borrowed £2500 from his dad to update his diagnostic computer system. He also now has a £3000 over draft.
How our fortunes have changed in the space of 3 months. He has decided to fold his business and has a start date for a new job. But what on earth do we do about his tax bill in January and about clearing these debts? His monthly salary of his new job is fine, but not enough to pay off these debts? Help I am having sleepless nights and am actually really angry with him for burying his head in the sand... Even though I know I should be supportive.

Hi there,

Thanks for your message. I’m sorry to hear about your situation and how frustrated it’s making you. The important thing is that you’ve recognised it’s something that needs to be dealt with, and from what you’ve told me about your circumstances it sounds as though we can help.

I’d suggest your husband gets in touch with us for free and impartial debt advice. We’ll be able to take a look at his financial situation in more detail and recommend the best way for you to deal with the debt. We have over 20 years’ experience helping people in similar situations to your husband, and are able to offer a range of debt solutions which you can read about here: http://www.stepchange.org/Howwecanhelpyou.aspx

There are a couple of ways you can get advice from us. Our online Debt Remedy tool takes around 20 minutes to complete. You’ll need information about your finances to hand when you complete it, such as income, outgoings and debts. Debt Remedy will be able to provide you with a recommendation based on the information you input, and we also have a web chat team on hand to help you if you need support. You can access Debt Remedy here: http://www.stepchange.org/DebtRemedy.aspx

Alternatively your husband could give our free Helpline a call on 0800 138 1111 to speak to an advisor. It’s open from 8am until 8pm from Monday to Friday and 8am until 4pm on Saturdays, and it’s free to call from landlines and mobiles.

I hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Laura

Damo12

Hi I've been in Debt most of my adult life but I am really struggling at the moment, my debts are almost £40k and am up to the limit on nearly every card. I am currently in the process of setting up a current account with a different provider as I owe Natwest who am with now the most money! Not sure what to do now? I don't have any assets or a mortgage, Regards Damo.

tafflaff

My wife took on a cafe in a struggling village with the hope she could turn it around. When she viewed the cafe the Property agent said that the rent would be on a month to month basis.

She was delighted to be 'accepted' to take on the cafe. She kept her head above water for a few months but then fell ill and started to struggle. Not wanting to fall into debt she decided to close the cafe and give notice of a month to the property agent.

We had a letter a week later saying that she owed the rest of a years rent, some 6000 GBP. On checking the contract she found out out that the contract was for a year. We have no hope in hell of paying the debt, no valuable assets, rented accomodation - How should we handle this and can my business be touched as I was not on any contract and none of the debt is mine?

StepChange_Jen

Damo12 wrote: »

Hi I've been in Debt most of my adult life but I am really struggling at the moment, my debts are almost £40k and am up to the limit on nearly every card. I am currently in the process of setting up a current account with a different provider as I owe Natwest who am with now the most money! Not sure what to do now? I don't have any assets or a mortgage, Regards Damo.

Hi Damo,

Thanks for posting.

I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling at the moment.

It’s good to hear you’re looking at your options when it comes to dealing with your debt.

You mentioned that you’re in the process of changing bank accounts and this is something we often encourage.

It’s normally a good idea to set up a new bank account with a bank that you don’t have any debts associated with. We’d usually recommend setting up a basic bank account for this as these kinds of accounts tend to not need credit checks. You can read more about these here:

http://www.stepchange.org/Debtinformationandadvice/Budgeting/Moneymanagement/Basicbankaccounts.aspx

Regarding your overall situation, I think you’d benefit from some free debt advice and as a charity this is something we can offer.
You can get in touch with us over the phone and have a chat with an advisor about your situation.

They’ll ask for information about your budget, income and debts and will use this to recommend any
debt solutions available to you.

You can find out how to get in touch with us here: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

We also have an online debt advice tool called Debt Remedy. Debt Remedy works in a similar way to our Helpline, except you just need to enter your information online. You can find Debt Remedy here:

http://www.stepchange.org/Debtremedy.aspx

I hope this helps,

Jen

StepChange_Jen

tafflaff wrote: »

My wife took on a cafe in a struggling village with the hope she could turn it around. When she viewed the cafe the Property agent said that the rent would be on a month to month basis.

She was delighted to be 'accepted' to take on the cafe. She kept her head above water for a few months but then fell ill and started to struggle. Not wanting to fall into debt she decided to close the cafe and give notice of a month to the property agent.

We had a letter a week later saying that she owed the rest of a years rent, some 6000 GBP. On checking the contract she found out out that the contract was for a year. We have no hope in hell of paying the debt, no valuable assets, rented accomodation - How should we handle this and can my business be touched as I was not on any contract and none of the debt is mine?

Hi there,

I’m sorry to hear about this situation and can understand you must be feeling worried about it.

If the contract for the cafe was for the full year and this was signed by your wife, then the property agents are within their rights to stick to it. However, if you feel they have mislead you, or given you incorrect information, it might be worth making a formal complaint to them about it.

In terms of the outstanding debt, as your wife has given notice on the property, this should now be considered a ‘non-priority’ debt. A non-priority debt is one that we’d tend to encourage you to make payments towards after your essential bills (such as council tax, utilities and rent) and living costs are covered.

It might be worth getting in touch with the company requesting the remaining rent payment as you might be able to come to a repayment arrangement. A repayment arrangement can help you repay the debt at a rate that suits your budget.

You can read more about this here:

http://www.stepchange.org/Debtinformationandadvice/Debtsolutions/Arrangingdebtrepaymentswithcreditors.aspx

Alternatively, if you’d prefer, you can give our Helpline a call for some free debt advice. If you’d like to, you can talk to us on behalf of your wife. One of our advisors will talk through your budget with you and will be able to recommend any debt solutions suited to your situation.

You can find out how to get in touch with us here: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

You asked about the impact this debt could have on your business. If you’re not on any of the agreements for the debt then it’s unlikely this will impact you.

I hope this helps.

Jen

Jb15

Hi,
Would appreciate any advice as I really don't know what to do!

I have £12k on 2 different credit cards...a debt which has grown quickly due to financial difficulties of my partner. I also have a car on credit. It's the cc debt they i would like to tackle right now to make my outgoings lower

I earn around 30k in a secure job and have a £135k mortgage on a house that's worth about £220k. I own it on my own and have a year to run on my fixed rate. I have a lot of unsecured debt so don't think I can borrow any from my equity to pay any of my debt off.

I am about to lose any contribution from my partner again so am desperate to get rid of some of my outgoings - the 330 per month cc debt would be great to shift.

A friend suggested a loan but I need to get the monthly payment to around £100 if poss.

My credit score is very good 985 out of 999.

Any ideas?
Many thanks

Former_StepChange_Rachel

Jb15 wrote: »

Hi,
Would appreciate any advice as I really don't know what to do!

I have £12k on 2 different credit cards...a debt which has grown quickly due to financial difficulties of my partner. I also have a car on credit. It's the cc debt they i would like to tackle right now to make my outgoings lower

I earn around 30k in a secure job and have a £135k mortgage on a house that's worth about £220k. I own it on my own and have a year to run on my fixed rate. I have a lot of unsecured debt so don't think I can borrow any from my equity to pay any of my debt off.

I am about to lose any contribution from my partner again so am desperate to get rid of some of my outgoings - the 330 per month cc debt would be great to shift.

A friend suggested a loan but I need to get the monthly payment to around £100 if poss.

My credit score is very good 985 out of 999.

Any ideas?
Many thanks

Hi there, thanks for posting.

I’m very sorry to hear of the stressful situation you’ve been dealing with.

You mention that your friend recommended taking out a loan in order to pay off your debts. We wouldn’t usually recommend this as a course of action. If you’re already struggling with your current debt repayments, taking out further credit may make things more difficult. If you’re considering something like a consolidation loan, it’s really important to weigh up the various pros and cons first. We have a blogpost that goes into this in further detail: http://moneyaware.co.uk/2013/01/to-debt-consolidate-or-not-to-debt-consolidate/

From what you’ve told us, it certainly sounds like you would benefit from some free and confidential debt advice. We can take a look at your budget and explore possible debt solutions you may want to look into. Our online advice tool Debt Remedy can help you put together a personal action plan in around 20 minutes: http://www.stepchange.org/debtremedy.aspx

Alternatively, we have a team of advisors who can go through your budget and look into your options with you over the telephone. Visit our contact us page for more information: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx

Kind regards

Rachel