As the name says I owe too much

owetoomuch

Dear All

Please dont judge me, have been burying my head in the sand for a long time, and a lot of the debts I see people have are a lot less than mine.

As a first time poster, but a long time reader I am really looking for some of your excellent advice.

I have got myself into a situation that is really bad and I can no longer afford even the basic minimum repayments on my cards.

I have looked at the National Debtline website but their phone is temporarily out of order so hopefully someone here will be able to help.

First off all the debts are in my name and I am the one who did the spending, I need to get that clear from the start.

As I said earlier I have looked at the National Debtline website and am going to download their pack and start working from there but do I need to include my husbands salary in my working out (as I said earlier it is my debt not his), and while I am waiting to do all the letters should I ring up the various credit card companies and explain I cannot meet the mininum as I get the bills while I sort out a payment plan?

Should I open up a new bank account before sending out letters so my salary goes into a different account, and if so can this be done on line?

Brief statement of my debts below

Monthly Income £1,140

Nat West Overdraft - £3,400
Nat West Loan - £25,00 dont know how much is left still got 5 yrs to run on it - Monthly payment £384
Nat West Gold Card - £10,200 - with payment protection plan payments
Nat West Visa - £6,000 - with payment protection plan payments
Mint Loan - £16,000 dont know how much is left still got 5 yrs to run on it - Monthly payment £238
Mint Visa - £3,000
Capital One - £10,000
Great Universal - £200 - with payment protection plan payments
LX Direct - £700 - with payment protection plan payments

I only made husband aware of the problem this week as I was so ashamed of what I had done, I had even written a letter to him in the event of anything happening to me. I am so worried about all this I am afraid I will end up going off work sick and it will get even worse.

I did contact my bank about this, but they wanted to give me a loan to clear their existing loan and overdraft but no further help on that, dont want to go down that route as I dont think I ever want to get into debt again.

I did look at the CCCS website and they helped me work out a budget based on my salary alone so I can use this on the National Debtline sheets.

There is no excuse for my spending, it was very easy and I take full responsibility for it but can someone please point me in the right direction as I currently cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks for taking the time to read this long missive.

SortingIt_2

Hi there

Firstly you have taken two BIG steps one telling your husband and secondly coming on to this website and posting. Well done you! Now its time to start taking action and really tackling what is upsetting you so much. I too was the same as you and have over 60,000 in debt but I am feeling positive about it all now and am taking small but positive steps to a debt free future.

Can you post a full SOA with all incomings and outgoings- I don't see anything for bills, rent etc. You have come to the right place and the guys here will do their best to help and support you

lynsayjane

first things first hunny, take a deep breath, pat yourself on the back for taking responsibility and making steps towards dealing with your problems and go make yourself a cuppa! Otherwise you'll be sat there hitting the f5 button getting stressed and waiting for posts. Come back in ten and I promise there will be heaps!

In the meantime I'll have a re-read over your post and sort out a few comments for you.

southernscouser

Hello there hun, and well done for posting. :T

OK now first up is the painful bit. Looking at your debts I estimate you are probably in debt to around £65,000! This is a guestimate though coz we don't know your loan balances. :think:

Clearly this isn't sustainable on your income. My advice would be to get in touch with the CCCS. They will offer you free impartial advice. Depending on your cirumcstances bankruptcy could be an option. At the least you need to be on a debt managment plan (DMP).

Right now though you need to do some important things. Firstly, get your spending under control. You need to get your outgoings under your incomings otherwise you will just get more into debt. Sorry if I sound patronising but it's something I didn't even consider when I was getting into debt.

Start a spending diary. Everyday note down how much you have spent, and on what down the last penny! Do a SOA (statement of accounts/affairs) which lists all your incomings and outgoings. If bills are split between you and your OH include these aswell. We maybe able to help you both cut back and save some money.

Secondly, apply for a basic bank account with a bank you aren't with. Arrange to get your salary/benefits etc paid into this one and cancel all direct debits from your current one.

When the bills start coming in send them token payments, even if it is only £1. The CCCS should go all through this with you anyway but you can get the ball rolling with regards to the new account.

Thirdly, there is no quick fix. It is gonna be crap at times, but, you will always have the support and advice from this board. We do not judge you. We are all in the same boat.

Good luck

SS :beer:

Tashja

Hi !!

Welcome to the board.

(((big hugs))) to you for facing up to your debt and telling your DH - like Sortingit says these are the 2 biggest steps to overcome and I am sure as soon as hubby has got his head around the problem he will be a great source of support.

If you can post an SOA I am sure we will be able to help.

T xx

yellowmonkey

Hi

owetomuch.

Well done for posting. Do not worry about the size of your debt as if you only owe £1000 and you do not have the means to pay back then it is a burden.
No one will judge you on here and you will get good advice.

I would open a seperate bank account(one that is not linked to any of your creditors). I know on the Payplan site you can find a list of banks and their affiliated patrners. I would advise you do this first. I applied online for mine (Halifax) and it only took about 8 days before the account was up and running. It is nice to have your salary somewhere safe where no one but you can decide who gets what. Most banks etc are available to apply online now so should not be a problem.

I did include my OH's salary as it gave me more to offer my creditors. I listed that i pay everthing but she doe's contribute to food etc.

I did send a token payment with a letter explaining everthing and also advising that i wish to be only contacted by letter. So far they have stuck to this.

There is light at the end of the tunnel and well done on entering the start of the tunnel.

All adventures start with the first step :T

Good luck

ym

lynsayjane

owetoomuch wrote: »

Dear All

Please dont judge me, have been burying my head in the sand for a long time, and a lot of the debts I see people have are a lot less than mine.

noone is here to judge you. we all got into a mess one way or another and we'll give you all the help and support we can.

owetoomuch wrote: »

As I said earlier I have looked at the National Debtline website and am going to download their pack and start working from there but do I need to include my husbands salary in my working out (as I said earlier it is my debt not his), and while I am waiting to do all the letters should I ring up the various credit card companies and explain I cannot meet the mininum as I get the bills while I sort out a payment plan?.

You can contact your creditors yes, I'd highly suggest doing it by post though and also informing them that you will ONLY deal with them by post. It is almost a guarentee that they will start calling you demanding more money and being aggressive about it. I'm sorry to have to tell you that but you need to be warned. However do not listen to what they say, they will talk of you losing your home etc but it's pants!

owetoomuch wrote: »

Should I open up a new bank account before sending out letters so my salary goes into a different account, and if so can this be done on line?

yes if you have debts with your regular bank then you should open an account elsewhere. It has been known for banks to 'steal' your wages to cover their debts once they know your struggling. You can do it online and I'd also suggest signing up to https://www.quidco.com for it. you can get £50 cashback for opening an account wiht alliance and leicester, they can do an overdraft swap at 0% for the first year etc so it might be a good account for you.

owetoomuch wrote: »

Nat West Overdraft - £3,400
Nat West Loan - £25,00 dont know how much is left still got 5 yrs to run on it - Monthly payment £384
Nat West Gold Card - £10,200 - with payment protection plan payments
Nat West Visa - £6,000 - with payment protection plan payments
Mint Loan - £16,000 dont know how much is left still got 5 yrs to run on it - Monthly payment £238
Mint Visa - £3,000
Capital One - £10,000
Great Universal - £200 - with payment protection plan payments
LX Direct - £700 - with payment protection plan payments

it would be very helpful if you could also include apr's, min payments, credit limits so we can possibly suggest a few little moves to lower your interest payments.

also cancel the payment protections, they rarely pay out and it's an added expense that you can't afford. I'm not sure how it works but I think there is a way of reclaiming it if there was any doubt you were missold these, but someone else may know for sure.

owetoomuch wrote: »

I only made husband aware of the problem this week as I was so ashamed of what I had done, I had even written a letter to him in the event of anything happening to me. I am so worried about all this I am afraid I will end up going off work sick and it will get even worse.

please please please don't take this the wrong way but how could your husband not notice you spending thousands of pounds more than you earned? did he have no inkling something was wrong?

owetoomuch wrote: »

I did contact my bank about this, but they wanted to give me a loan to clear their existing loan and overdraft but no further help on that, dont want to go down that route as I dont think I ever want to get into debt again.

you made the right choice there, though the loan would have lowered your monthly payments you'd probably have been paying back much more, banks can be so irresponsible when you ask for help.

owetoomuch wrote: »

There is no excuse for my spending, it was very easy and I take full responsibility for it but can someone please point me in the right direction as I currently cannot see any light at the end of the tunnel.

there is always light my dear, it's just that sometimes it's so cloudy you miss it. It's always easy to overspend and yoru right there is no excuse, but you are here now and you are facing up to it and dealing with it so you deserve a huge round of :T for it!

owetoomuch wrote: »

Thanks for taking the time to read this long missive.

anything to stop me finishing the housework!:rotfl:

owetoomuch

Thank you for you kind support, I am here with tears streaming down my face, my daughter has asked why I am crying, I told her I was reading a sad story. My husband has been totally great about this.

Here goes, I get paid in just over a week so that is not time enough to get my salary paid into a different account, if I start this process what will happen to my direct debits that are due to come out after that date?

My salary is used to pay most of the bills and my husbands is used for rent, shopping, petrol and a very occasional night out when we can afford it. We dont get to go out very often.

This is what comes out of my salary only

Salary £1140 + £110 in Tax Credits and Childrens Allowance


Council Tax £125.70 pm
Electricity £80 pm
NW Loan £383.86 pm
Mint Loan £237.90 pm
TV Licience £11.37 pm
Washing Machine £16.99 pm (was £18.99pm)
Sky £29.00 pm (will be contacting them to reduce this as only need basic package and Disney currently on a 3 month trial for movies seemed like a good idea at the time as we dont go out much but dont watch them)Pet Insurance £20.62 pm
Phone Bill - Varies but usually between £35 and £45 pm (family in another country)
and then comes all the minimums on the various cards which I now cant meet.

His Salary varies, but usually about £1,100

Out of this comes
Food - learning to cut back on this but currently £75 pw (including 2 dogs)
We both smoke - £60 pw, dont ask me to give up right now as I cannot handle that as well
Child care - £70 pw
Car - £10 pw in petrol, no money put aside for tax, repairs, insurance, mot etc
My Travelcard £14 pw
Mobile phones - both on pay as you go about £25 per month max

As you can see this does not leave very much at the end of the day.

Can anything be done on my cards/catalogues which have payment protection plan payments on them?

When I am dealing with all of this do I also send letters to my loan lenders asking for a reduced payment?

I know our shopping might seem extravagant but it isnt I have started to shop in pound shops for some of the items so this should come down eventually.

Thank you all again

southernscouser

Oh blimey, thanks for reminding me! The first thing I meant to say was phone up all your credit card companies and cancel the payment protection. Don't let them fob you off with all their spiel and don't accept a reduced rate. They will try it on to keep you paying it. Cancel it completely and ask for a letter of confirmation to be sent to you regarding this.

Do you have any PPI on your loans? If so, take a look at this thread where you maybe able to get it cancelled.


If you feel up to it then phoning your creditors and explaining that you are having financial difficulties and telling them you are seeking advice from the CCCS may help. However, be warned, there are some complete @ssholes working in the credit industry and they will lie and threaten you if you don't pay them what they want. House being reposessed, being made bankrupt, balliffs blah blah blah! It's all intimidatory tactics. If you feel you can take it all with a pinch of salt, then phone them.

Otherwise write a letter saying you are having difficulties etc and you enclose a payment (even £1 will do) as a goodwill gesture until you have sorted out your situation with the help of the CCCS.

Personally my first call on Tuesday (bloody bank holiday :rolleyes: ) would be to the CCCS. But in the mean time apply for a basic bank account at a different bank to ones you hold accounts with.

poppy10_2

How much is your rent/mortgage?

owetoomuch

We dont pay rent or mortgate as it comes with the job