Advice Urgently Needed, PLEASE!!!!

WhatDoIDo?

Hi,

First of all, HELLO

I must say how much of a relief it is to see that I'm not alone with my debts problems and that there is a place such as this where people can ask for advice and not be judged or humiliated.

Hopefully someone will be able to offer me some advice or answer a couple of my questions.

Please bear with me as I reckon this will be a lenghy post, lol.

I am 31 years old and currently run a business along with a friend. The business isn't doing too well and will possibly close down in the next month or two. The only debts the business have are a loan with £560 left to pay and a CC with £924 on it. Both are in our names. The credit card is £30 / month and the loan £62 / month - both with HSBC (who we bank with).

Personally, I have unsecured debts totalling £40,000 and have been living on loans for the past 24 months while trying to get the business of the ground (not ideal and very silly thing to do but.......).

They are as follows:

Loans - Barclays £22,000 (I think this inc. expected interest though as my loan was for £17,000 - does that make sense?)
Northern Rock £3000
Cahoot £9000

Credit Cards - Lloyds TSB £5500
Capital One £3000
Barclaycard £2000

I also have a joint loan with my Girlfriend of around £30,000 which we took out 2 years ago using the equity we had in our house with Northern Rock.

I currently have no income as the business isn't providing me with one - it's barely breaking even itself.

I am in the process of finding a job but I'm having difficulty finding one that will pay enough to cover my monthly outgoings. Yesterday I applied for 6 positions and have been knocked back from one already, fingers crossed for the others. My monthly spend is as follows:

Mortgage / rates / insurance / food - £710.00 (I need to get an exact breakdown but that is what I pay into our joint account)
Mobile - £35.00
Barclayloan - £410.00
Northern Rock loan - £110.00
Cahoot loan - £155.00
Lloyds TSB CC - £110.00
Capital One CC - £100.00
Barclaycard - £40.00
Travel - £80.00
Bits and pieces - £40.00

Total - £1790.00 / month

I have gone through my monthly spend and can't cut it back anymore. I never go out, I cut my own hair (lol, honestly :rotfl: ), I don't smoke, haven't bought clothes for about 6 months etc. etc.

I am behind payment on my Cahoot loan and Lloyds CC by one month (they are contacting me at the moment for payment) and soon will be with my other creditors. I have about £350 in my account which I want to use to get up to date with the two creditors but don't know if thats the right choice as I'd rather put it towards my mortgage payment.

My partner if fully aware of my situation and agrees that an IVA may be the best option.

I read on another forum (using a link from this one) that some people have sent their creditors a letter explaining their situation along with a cheque for a couple of pounds just to show that they have acknowledged their problem while looking at the option of an IVA. Is this worth doing and if so how long can you keep it up for?

I also read somewhere (CAB website I think) that you have to pay to set up and IVA is this right? I am looking at going through either CAB, CCCS or Payplan if an IVA is right for me.

Can I cancel my Payment Protection on my loans and CC's, how do I do this and will my creditors allow me to with me being so close to being in arrears with them?

And lastly, if I do go for an IVA what will happen to the joint loan with my Girlfriend and my business loan and business credit cards. The business is registered as a partnership.

I think thats everything.

Thanks very much for your time and hope for some good advice.

quantumleap

I think the first thing you should do is contact CCCS or payplan in order that they can provide you with some FREE professional advice.

You should also apply for jobs that you are qualified for rather than ones that will cover your outgoings. Surely it is better to be earning something rather than nothing. In my view it is also easier to find alternative employment if you are employed.

WhatDoIDo?

Just to follow up:

I have just been on the National Debtline site and saw this letter:

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/temp/5925_85071.pdf

I'm thinking this may be a good idea just until I know exactly what I'm going to do. What do you think?

WhatDoIDo?

quantumleap wrote: »

I think the first thing you should do is contact CCCS or payplan in order that they can provide you with some FREE professional advice.

You should also apply for jobs that you are qualified for rather than ones that will cover your outgoings. Surely it is better to be earning something rather than nothing. In my view it is also easier to find alternative employment if you are employed.

Thanks for the quick reply

The jobs I have applied for are all within the sector I'm experienced in and have even looked at jobs such as stacking shelves or working behind a bar, which should (hopefully) be quite easy to get but as you say, I think I need to speak to CCCS etc first.

quantumleap

It's certainly not a bad idea to give it a go if you think it will help. However, I cannot stress enough that you should talk with the CCCS or payplan in order to get some professional advice.

The reality is that you are paying out over a grand a month to service your debts and you aren't earning any money so whilst suspending interest etc for a short period will help, ultimatly you need to take more permanent action.

WhatDoIDo?

Yeh, I'm going to contact one of those today. How about CAB, or will they just put me in touch with CCCS, Payplan etc? I read that they will actually contact your creditors for you just like CCCS etc.

quantumleap

If you feel more comfortable with CAB as a starting point then by all means do that.

Becks_in_Debt

I am sorry to hear about the position you are in, I would contact your local CAB, that is who I deal with, they are very helpfull, and free and they deal with all the creditors for you and as they are volunteers you will find the person that you deal with has prob been in the position you are in so they will not judge you

lynzpower

dont waste your time with the CAB, Idf go straight to paypal or cccs first.

the bottom line is you cant go into an IVA until you are earning.

Can you wind the business up now? What is the business in? Does it have stock?

WhatDoIDo?

The business is an art gallery so does not have stock - all the art belongs to exhibitors.

I can't wind the business up for another 2-3 weeks. I'm thinking the best thing to do is walk away from it and leave it in the hands of my business partner to do with it what he wishes.

Hopefully I'll get a job within the next week or two and then I can get on with an IVA, but for now (as you all suggest) I need to speak to someone.

lynzpower

but does it have ANYTHING you can sell? A printer? Doormats? a kettle? Anything at all to bring a few quid in

What do you have that you can get up on ebay pronto- youll need to do something to get some cash coming in and pronto

Also youll need to sign on as looking for work, call jobcentre plus they will take your detials and start your claim today if possible. Call your local authority and see if you can claim for your council taxs benefit. or housing benefit.

Where do you live, could you just get involved with any old job agency and do any old job, just to bring money in and pronto. Gumtree is a good one, theres lots of random work on there, especially in london?