Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

StepChange_Private_Messages

Buttonmoon12 wrote: »

Hi

I'm in 26K of debt across credit cards, overdrafts, store cards & loans & i don't know where to start.

I have not defaulted on any of them, however i am only making minimum payments & i know they'll never get paid off in that way. The minimum payments (because they're so high), means im left with absolutely nothing at the end of the month.

My credit score is not good enough to consolidate & im worried about entering a DMP as that means defaulting and i've worked so hard not to default on any of them.

I have no assets to sell and no family to help me.

Where do i begin?

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch and welcome to the forum.

I know it can seem overwhelming to begin with when dealing with your finances, but you've made a great first step already by acknowledging the situation and seeking help. When you're only able to make minimum payments to your debts, I know it can feel like they will go on forever. With our help though, we can find the best solution for your debts and work out a more manageable way for you to pay them back.

The first thing to do is to build a budget that shows what is happening with your money at the moment. By listing your income and all of your essential expenditure, we can then see how much money you have available to go your creditors.

You can start this process by using our Debt Remedy tool on our website. It's free and you can complete it in your own time. Once you have filled it in, it will provide you with the best advice to help with your debts.

Alternatively you can call and speak with an advisor. They can build a budget for you and then explain the option(s) you have available. You can find all of our contact details here.

In the meantime, I know it must seem stressful but, please try not to worry as we'll definitely be able to help you with this.

Take care.
Richard.

AdviceSought

StepChange_Richard wrote: »

Hi there

Thanks for getting in touch. Glad to hear that you're looking to start a plan with us. We'll do everything we can to help.

I can't give specifics about your plan on this forum so to answer your questions it would be best to get in touch. All our contact details are here.

We'll be able to answer all the questions you have including the impact the plans can have on your credit rating. Without knowing more about your situation, it's too hard for me to say from here though.

I hope this has been of some help.
Richard.

Hi Richard

Thanks. I've sent in my forms, along with a cover letter explaining when I'd like payments to start etc.

I would be right in thinking that given as I won't actually have a good rating at all due to amount of borrowings, payday loans etc, a DAS, which will actually see me have everything paid off quicker than if I don't go down this route, would probably have less of a negative impact than going down another route?

On a general note though, without specifics, is there scope for delaying the initial payment by a month or two, or does it always have to start right away?

coolcait

AdviceSought wrote: »

Hi Richard

Thanks. I've sent in my forms, along with a cover letter explaining when I'd like payments to start etc.

I would be right in thinking that given as I won't actually have a good rating at all due to amount of borrowings, payday loans etc, a DAS, which will actually see me have everything paid off quicker than if I don't go down this route, would probably have less of a negative impact than going down another route?

On a general note though, without specifics, is there scope for delaying the initial payment by a month or two, or does it always have to start right away?

What are the 'forms' you have sent in?

The rough timescale I gave in a previous post, on another thread, mainly covers the official timings.

If you let the StepChange team what the forms are, they'll be able to figure out what stage you are at with them - authority to act, full information provided, whatever other stages they have.

Then they can give you an idea how long it will take for them to be able to sort things out, and get to the stage where a formal offer is made to creditors.

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for getting back in contact.

It’s difficult to say what the impact would be on your credit rating as your credit rating is affected by many different factors positively and negatively.

It also depends on where the debts stand on your file currently, although making smaller payments to your creditors will have some negative impact. It's important to remember credit files can be rebuilt and improve over time.

Here is a link to a page on moneysavingexpert.com which is useful to find more about credit files and credit ratings.

If you feel that you’d be struggling to make a payment or need to delay things it’s best to contact the team so they can discuss this with you.

You can find our contact details here.

Thanks
Rachael

AdviceSought wrote: »

Hi Richard

Thanks. I've sent in my forms, along with a cover letter explaining when I'd like payments to start etc.

I would be right in thinking that given as I won't actually have a good rating at all due to amount of borrowings, payday loans etc, a DAS, which will actually see me have everything paid off quicker than if I don't go down this route, would probably have less of a negative impact than going down another route?

On a general note though, without specifics, is there scope for delaying the initial payment by a month or two, or does it always have to start right away?

AdviceSought

StepChange_Rachael wrote: »

Hi
If you feel that you’d be struggling to make a payment or need to delay things it’s best to contact the team so they can discuss this with you.

Hi Rachael, thanks.

I've sent an email to the Scottish team, as with the hours I'm at work, and my living situation, it's really difficult for me to make or receive confidential phone calls just now...

D_S_Lovell

I have a couple of loans and credit cards with a lot to pay . I recently was unable to work and I'm self employed . Now just got back to work but loans and cards are in arreas and I'm not sure what to do think it will be a few months till I'm back on track and able to pay .

PunkyEmily

Hi there,

So I seem to have found myself in hole which I am very concerned about. For as far back as I can remember I have always struggled with money and have found over the years dipping in and out of loans, payday loans etc.

I am currently in debt (this is the first time I have admitted this, even to myself really) and I like to often brush over the subject.

I am paying off £200 monthly in loan repayments and am always in my overdraft of £2700 so I'm going to go with being approx. £5000 in.

I was wondering how, first of all, to get rid of my overdraft? I know this will take a while and i'm aware of HOW to do it, spend less! But I was wondering if you had any tips to give me to be a good position again?

Many thanks!

Bleeboop

My husband is still working, although suffering with a long term illness. We have credit card debt of about £13,500 and can only pay minimum balance. Because we still have a mortgage. We tried to borrow money from the Halifax and were turned down because of 'affordability' criteria. How can we get out of this mess? My Halifax card minimum payment keeps going up every month even though I am not using it any more.

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for getting in contact.

I’m sorry to hear you’re going through a tough time at the moment.

There’s certainly a way forward to deal with your debts and creditors until your back on track.

The type of advice and recommendations would depend on your individual situation and the type of debts you have.

To be able to tailor advice and recommendations to you I’d need a good idea of your income (even if this is nothing at the moment), expenditure and the debts you have.

Creditors are usually much more negotiable and understanding if you've had advise from a third party.

StepChange debt charity provides free and impartial advice and being a registered charity there's no obligation to go forward with any recommendations.

We are here to advise and support you to find the best way forward.

Our Debt Remedy tool is a good way to be able to access our recommendations. Once completed you’d be able to access your personal action plan that you can download as a PDF file to take the next steps forward.

Please follow this link to the Debt Remedy self-help tool.

If you’d rather discuss the situation over the phone you can find our contact details here.

Thanks
Rachael

D_S_Lovell wrote: »

I have a couple of loans and credit cards with a lot to pay . I recently was unable to work and I'm self employed . Now just got back to work but loans and cards are in arreas and I'm not sure what to do think it will be a few months till I'm back on track and able to pay .

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

I know it can be difficult to get out of a working overdraft. It’s hard to see what it is exactly you have available each month and how much you’d be able to afford to pay back, especially when unforeseen costs occur.

One way to help you work out your finances it to create a monthly budget and stick to it as best you can. Working out what would be affordable to pay back the overdraft each monthly to pay it off in the long term.

If you feel you’re struggling with your finances by relying on further borrowing to keep on top of monthly payments to your loan, household bills or general living costs then I think you’d benefit from some tailored debt advice.

Our Debt Remedy tool is a really good way to create a budget and get advice based on your individual situation.
You’ll be able to access our advice once completed as well as your budget in a downloadable PDF file called your personal action plan.

You can find the link to the anonymous Debt Remedy self-help tool here.

Thanks
Rachael

PunkyEmily wrote: »

Hi there,

So I seem to have found myself in hole which I am very concerned about. For as far back as I can remember I have always struggled with money and have found over the years dipping in and out of loans, payday loans etc.

I am currently in debt (this is the first time I have admitted this, even to myself really) and I like to often brush over the subject.

I am paying off £200 monthly in loan repayments and am always in my overdraft of £2700 so I'm going to go with being approx. £5000 in.

I was wondering how, first of all, to get rid of my overdraft? I know this will take a while and i'm aware of HOW to do it, spend less! But I was wondering if you had any tips to give me to be a good position again?

Many thanks!