Is there a way out? :(

chelle85

Hi everyone,
My partner and I have debts of around £26k to 25 creditors. We have been in financial difficulty for a couple of years now due to various unfortunate circumstances but have kept our creditors informed every step of the way. We currently pay £1 per month to each of them as we don't have any disposable income after bills and food etc.
We have sought advice from several charities, tried to get extra income and are in the process of checking we are claiming any benefits we are entitled to. There doesn't seem to be any change in our circumstances which would enable us to pay more than £1 per month tho. My question is, does anyone have experience of debts being written off or are we doomed to pay £1 per month forever?
Thanks! X

rizla_king

You can go bankrupt and be done with it. Not a nice thing to do, but it will give you a fresh start.

MOGGYMALONE

Hi there, would Citizens Advice be able to help perhaps? or even Step Change? There is always a way.... very best of luck

Sazzie23

Hi maybe try stepchange debt remedy for free anonymous advice on what they would recommend, lots of variations due to home ownership, requirements of employers etc etc

Good luck whatever you decide to do

dancingfairy

Well, you could go bankrupt if you can find the fees of about 700 each (yes, really ). There are various organisations that you can apply to that may help with the necessary fees and I think you can get some of that fee waived if you are on certain benefits as well.
Other than that I'd possibly consider stopping paying altogether. You'd already have defaults. Assuming you don't own your own home the worst they could do is take you to court (Where a judge would decide how much you should pay, which may be 1 pound per month). You may get lucky and a creditor may decide to petition for your bankruptcy and save you the fees. The only problem with this method is you might have to dodge bailiffs for a while, although once they've established you haven't got 2 pennies to rub together they should back off. When push comes to shove the bailiffs can tell who genuinely doesn't have any money at all (frankly your second hand stuff - or anybodys for that matter is probably not worth anything in relation to any debts they might be collecting, especially when they'd have to pay auction fees, removal costs, storage costs etc etc).
I'd have a word with one of the debt charities such as National debtline or StepChange or your local CAB.
I'd probably try and get a grant for the fees to go bankrupt as it would probably be better to get it over and done with but that's just me. That's assuming that your prospects of getting a significantly better job/promotion etc in the near future are low and you are not in a profession where bankruptcy could cause you a problem and that you don't have any equity in your house (if you own one).
df
Edit: a list of charities/organisations that have funds for bankruptcy assistance is available on the bankruptcy board I believe.