Struggling with debt? Ask a debt advisor a question

mum2one

Just wanted to say thank you had to ring the office re my dmp and both people I spoke to were so helpful, just wanted to assure people that if u need to speak to anyone in the office, - they don't bite, xx

kel78

Hi

I was on a DMP with Step Change for over a year and as I'm not too great with money (hence the huge debt!) I decided to start self-administering my DMP and the one with Step Change was cancelled in January.

As I've already said, I'm not great with money and am already finding it a struggle to pay my creditors each month. Is it possible to go back on a DMP with Step Change?

I look forward to hearing from you

StepChange_James

kel78 wrote: »

Hi

I was on a DMP with Step Change for over a year and as I'm not too great with money (hence the huge debt!) I decided to start self-administering my DMP and the one with Step Change was cancelled in January.

As I've already said, I'm not great with money and am already finding it a struggle to pay my creditors each month. Is it possible to go back on a DMP with Step Change?

I look forward to hearing from you

Hi Kel,

Providing a DMP is still your best option then I can't see a problem with you coming back to us. I'd suggest giving our helpline a call and they'll be able to tell you what to do next: http://www.stepchange.org/Contactus.aspx.

If your old DMP has been properly shut down I'd think it's likely you'll need to register again as a new client and we'll go through our advice process with you. If you explain the circumstances they'll be able to look up your old account and make sure it is definitely closed down though.

Hope this helps.

James

fridgeracer

hi,

I need some debt help, desperately please.
I have x3 debts and x1 mortgage. The mortgage is not a problem.

Debt 1: credit card (Barclays) £2000
Debt 2: credit card (Tesco) £2000
Debt 3: personal loan with my bank (Lloyds TSB) £5200

I have x1 job only at the moment: self employed courier / earning £800-£1100 per month gross. After bills and debt payments paid I am always -minus / overdrawn.

My bills and outgoings per month are (* = money i need to put aside per month so i can afford overall yearly cost of whatever it is):

=I barely have any luxuries. Everything is the bare minimum and the food is for 2 people (including me).=
Mortgage 472
Council Tax 140
Flat service charges 108*
Electric 55
Petrol 100
Car 78*
Food 110
Internet 20
Mobile 20
TV Licence 12
Contents Insurance 10
Overdraft Usage Fee 10
Sickness Insurance 18
Personal loan 212
Credit cards 50
National Insurance (class 2 contributions) 13
______________
Yearly car insurance (quoted 1 month ago) 580
Yearly road tax 135
Yearly MOT 50
Yearly car service 180
TOTAL car cost per year 946
TOTAL car cost per month 78.83
______________
Yearly flat service charges (leasehold in a block) 1296
Half yearly flat service charge (must pay every 6 months) 648
Monthly flat service charge (needs to be put aside) 108

I have tried the following for the past 10 months:
- Quit courier job to be taxi driver (not passed knowledge yet + giving up, got 2nd opinions that 50/50 taxi drivers down here may get on a lucky day just 60 quid - I can get that on a lucky day on my courier job)

- Try find another new IT support job (I have BTEC National Diploma IT Practitioners). Sent out around 50 CVs to job ads and spoken with / registered with 5 recruiters in the area. Nothing is happening.

- Research HGV driving. Would need a catC licence for it and costs over £2000 to do it all, don't have the money and don't want to borrow for it and no one would lend it to me anyway.

- Get partner to get a part time job while at college. She has been trying hundreds of jobs for the past 7 months. No luck so far but x1 interview today - fingers crossed

- Taken payment break from mortgage for 3 months when I was made redundant because i had no savings and didn't know how long it would be until i found another job. Luckily i got courier job just in time before that payment break ended around April last year.

- Tried to get working tax credits. I sent an application form in being truthful in all my earnings and all my expenses for doing my courier job. They declined me. I did not appeal.

- Tried to get council tax benefit to not pay it or pay little. I did the assessment and declared my earnings and expenses. They said that i earn "£2" over the threshold amount i need to be getting in order to qualify for "any" level of council tax benefit, so they refused and declined me. I did not appeal.

What is the problem exactly then?
Major problem: The debts. If did not have them or they were less on payments per month I would be able to afford to live. I am planning to sell up and move in around 2 years, and will use the equity to pay the debt - but in the meantime i am drowning. I am always overdrawn. Normally only by around £200. Sometimes I might get lucky and make more than I did the previous month and get to pay it and be at £0 / in credit. But this month I got paid the lowest ever - 790. For some bizarre all the bills and outgoings mounted up to 1451. No luxuries, just basic food, fuel, and bills, energy usage. I don't know if business will pick up and if it does not, I'm going to hit my overdraft limit (1700) and i`ll be ruined.

- Help. Please. What else can I do? How does DMP work and do I even qualify? I asked in the bankruptcy forum if i could go bankrupt and they said no and referred me here.

- If i get DMP will it ruin my credit rating completely and render it impossible or not affordable for me to get a 2nd time buy flat / house later on in life?

StepChange_James

fridgeracer wrote: »

hi,

I need some debt help, desperately please.
I have x3 debts and x1 mortgage. The mortgage is not a problem.

Debt 1: credit card (Barclays) £2000
Debt 2: credit card (Tesco) £2000
Debt 3: personal loan with my bank (Lloyds TSB) £5200

I have x1 job only at the moment: self employed courier / earning £800-£1100 per month gross. After bills and debt payments paid I am always -minus / overdrawn.

My bills and outgoings per month are (* = money i need to put aside per month so i can afford overall yearly cost of whatever it is):

=I barely have any luxuries. Everything is the bare minimum and the food is for 2 people (including me).=
Mortgage 472
Council Tax 140
Flat service charges 108*
Electric 55
Petrol 100
Car 78*
Food 110
Internet 20
Mobile 20
TV Licence 12
Contents Insurance 10
Overdraft Usage Fee 10
Sickness Insurance 18
Personal loan 212
Credit cards 50
National Insurance (class 2 contributions) 13
______________
Yearly car insurance (quoted 1 month ago) 580
Yearly road tax 135
Yearly MOT 50
Yearly car service 180
TOTAL car cost per year 946
TOTAL car cost per month 78.83
______________
Yearly flat service charges (leasehold in a block) 1296
Half yearly flat service charge (must pay every 6 months) 648
Monthly flat service charge (needs to be put aside) 108

I have tried the following for the past 10 months:
- Quit courier job to be taxi driver (not passed knowledge yet + giving up, got 2nd opinions that 50/50 taxi drivers down here may get on a lucky day just 60 quid - I can get that on a lucky day on my courier job)

- Try find another new IT support job (I have BTEC National Diploma IT Practitioners). Sent out around 50 CVs to job ads and spoken with / registered with 5 recruiters in the area. Nothing is happening.

- Research HGV driving. Would need a catC licence for it and costs over £2000 to do it all, don't have the money and don't want to borrow for it and no one would lend it to me anyway.

- Get partner to get a part time job while at college. She has been trying hundreds of jobs for the past 7 months. No luck so far but x1 interview today - fingers crossed

- Taken payment break from mortgage for 3 months when I was made redundant because i had no savings and didn't know how long it would be until i found another job. Luckily i got courier job just in time before that payment break ended around April last year.

- Tried to get working tax credits. I sent an application form in being truthful in all my earnings and all my expenses for doing my courier job. They declined me. I did not appeal.

- Tried to get council tax benefit to not pay it or pay little. I did the assessment and declared my earnings and expenses. They said that i earn "£2" over the threshold amount i need to be getting in order to qualify for "any" level of council tax benefit, so they refused and declined me. I did not appeal.

What is the problem exactly then?
Major problem: The debts. If did not have them or they were less on payments per month I would be able to afford to live. I am planning to sell up and move in around 2 years, and will use the equity to pay the debt - but in the meantime i am drowning. I am always overdrawn. Normally only by around £200. Sometimes I might get lucky and make more than I did the previous month and get to pay it and be at £0 / in credit. But this month I got paid the lowest ever - 790. For some bizarre all the bills and outgoings mounted up to 1451. No luxuries, just basic food, fuel, and bills, energy usage. I don't know if business will pick up and if it does not, I'm going to hit my overdraft limit (1700) and i`ll be ruined.

- Help. Please. What else can I do? How does DMP work and do I even qualify? I asked in the bankruptcy forum if i could go bankrupt and they said no and referred me here.

- If i get DMP will it ruin my credit rating completely and render it impossible or not affordable for me to get a 2nd time buy flat / house later on in life?

Hi there,

It was good advice that you got over on the bankruptcy boards, as your equity in your property is more than the total amount of your debt bankruptcy wouldn't be a good option as you'd lose more than you gained.

I couldn't say if a DMP is a good option for you at the moment as I don't know enough about your finances. They can be a good way to reduce payments to debts to an affordable level and we'd communicate with your creditors on your behalf.

There are other debt solutions too which might suit you better though. Whatever the best option is we'll be able to tell you the impact on your credit rating. It's unlikely anything you'd do would make it impossible to get a mortgage in the long term, but your credit history might take a knock if you make lower payments to these debts for a while.

I'd suggest you get in touch with us and we can give you in depth advice.

The first thing to do is visit our online debt advice service Debt Remedy (http://www.stepchange.org/msehelp) to help you find a solution to your debt problem quickly.

Debt Remedy will assist you in completing a financial statement with information on your household, employment, income, expenditure and debts. From this the service will automatically determine your options.

To help you fill in the form, it’s best to gather together information about:
• Your income
• Your expenditure
• The creditors you owe money to

You’ll receive a downloadable advice booklet providing a tailored solution for you based on your current circumstances and advice on ways you may be able to improve your situation.

If you’re not confident with computers or would like to speak to an advisor then you’re welcome to ring our Helpline on 0800 138 1111 (free including from mobiles). We’re open Monday to Friday 8am - 8pm and Saturdays 9am – 3pm.

If you phone us it may be possible to refer you directly to a debt advisor for immediate advice. Alternatively, we will arrange for an appointment to be booked at a time convenient for you.

All the best.

James

fridgeracer

StepChange_James wrote: »

All the best.

James

thanks, im going to do the online thing as soon as i can

Ireallywanttobedebtfree

Hello. I need some advice on the best way to move forward to clear my debt. I have £8k on a loan. I have £3400 on a credit card. I have £4500 in my overdraft. I can afford £600 per month to get this cleared ASAP. What is the best way for me to do this? I really need help.

Thank you

kel78

StepChange_James wrote: »

Hi Kel,

Providing a DMP is still your best option then I can't see a problem with you coming back to us. I'd suggest giving our helpline a call and they'll be able to tell you what to do next:

If your old DMP has been properly shut down I'd think it's likely you'll need to register again as a new client and we'll go through our advice process with you. If you explain the circumstances they'll be able to look up your old account and make sure it is definitely closed down though.

Hope this helps.

James

Thanks a lot James

ohdddear

Hello
I've been making payments to my cc's but nothing left over and been struggling so decided to contact the companies. It was late so contacted one but didn't get through to right dept but who I spoke to was saying as I've been making the minimum payments and haven't missed then they generally won't help me. Is that right? I was hoping for a lower rate or a small reduction in the payments.
I've done a soa and not much else I can cut back on.
I went on the step change website and did something online which suggested cutting back. Help x

StepChange_Private_Messages

Ireallywanttobedebtfree wrote: »

Hello. I need some advice on the best way to move forward to clear my debt. I have £8k on a loan. I have £3400 on a credit card. I have £4500 in my overdraft. I can afford £600 per month to get this cleared ASAP. What is the best way for me to do this? I really need help.

Thank you

Hello,

It’s really good you’re tackling your debt and paying it off – you’ll benefit greatly from this and it’ll feel great when you’re debt free!

The first thing I would advise you to do is budget all of your outgoings. Prioritise things like rent, household bills, food, insurances etc to make sure you can afford the £600. To double check you've included everything you can go through our online budget tool – Debt Remedy – it’s free and you don’t have to give your name.

Then pay the minimum on your loan, credit card and overdraft. What’s left from the spare £600 pay towards the most expensive debt (the one with the highest interest rate). You might not be able to overpay on the loan so it’ll be between the credit card and overdraft.

When one debt is cleared off move to the next one (always making the minimum payment on all of them).

If you’re £4500 into an overdraft it might be a good idea to change your bank. The bank can always withdraw your overdraft facility so it’s safer to have your wage paid into an account with a zero balance. You would still need to pay in the overdraft interest to stop you going over the limit. This is a personal choice the bank may never withdraw this facility; it’s just something to be aware of.

Hope this helps.

Good luck!

Jess