Quickest way to pay off £17k

mi33cupc@ke

I wonder if anyone can advise me. We took out a consolidation loan in December 2005 from my bank (Lloyds TSB) for £19,500 at 12.9% paying back £346 per month over 7 years. There is now just over £17,000 left with about 5.5 years to go. We have just cleared our credit cards after shifting some other debts onto them at 0% and now want to concentrate on this big loan. The credit card introductory 0% offers have now all ended. We don't have a brilliant credit score at all and I don't want to apply for any further loans as I suspect we would just get refused for the lower rate ones which would further damage our credit score. Could anyone advise me on the best and cheapest way to tackle this loan? We would like to get it paid off as soon as possible as we feel like its a huge weight on our shoulders.

gemsaysdontdodebtkids

I owe just over £17k from various companies and am paying it off via a debt management company. I just couldn't face the idea of applying for/being denied more credit, and I don't have a home to use as collateral. I'm going to do it the good, old fashioned way, by telling them what I can afford and hoping they'll agree to these reduced payments. With any luck I'll be rid of these debts in the next 4 years.