Help for a friend

nugsy

Hi to all
My friend is having a lot of finance problems and has asked me for help....so I thought I would ask here.
She is considering going bankrupt.

She has reduced her hours from full time to 4 days a week to help with her mum who is ill. She hasn't just run up her debt, but hasn't faced up to it.

She earns £800 p.c.m and has debts to barclaycard for £3380.51 and Nat west for £23814.38. She told me today about this debt when she recieved a letter from a solicitor representing Nat West who wanted to increase her monthly payment to £120 from £56.
Her monthly out goings are
£43 to Barclaycard
£275 Rent (she shares with another girl)
£90 for some bills she pays (includes water, TV/phone and council tax)
£30 Gas & electric
£29 Mobile phone
£5 life insurance
£29 car insurance
£80 cigarettes
Including the £120 this will add up to £701

This leaves her £99 for petrol and food. She needs her car for work and for getting to her mums.

I have advised her to try to stop smoking and she does want to but she appears to be in a difficult place with the debt and her ill mum.
I also asked her to change her mobile to a better deal.
I am not sure if bankruptcy is the right answer. Her credit history is a mess and I am not sure how she can get out of it. We rang the solicitor and they won't budge with lowering the payment, she had a previous agreement to pay the £56 which she has never defaulted on. They said that as their debt is larger than the barclaycard debt, something about pro rata then she should pay more to them and barclaycard should get less. They won't lower the payment either.
I am seriously worried about my friend health and want to help as much as I can. Is going bankrupt the answer.
Thanks

magentadreamer

I think your friend might be best off talking to CCCS or Payplan - links are above and they might be able to help with a DMP

Oldernotwiser

It just seems so obvious that there's a choice here between eating and smoking! Surely she won't be prepared to go bankrupt just so that she can keep on smoking?

nugsy

No she hasn't chosen one over the other. Her dad just died and now she is trying to care for her mum which has increased her smoking. She realises that she needs to stop smoking. I don't think she chooses to smoke whilst thinking about going bankrupt. She just feels in a hole with no way out. That's why I offered to help.