credit card debt

[Deleted User]

hi folks looking for a bit of advice here although i have posted on here before about my credit card debt i went to see a money advisor today at the citizens advice and now iam totally at a loss as to what to do now.long and short of it she said that iam not eligible for a das or dmp in england because of my situation i.e homeowner with some equity that i cannot release,credit card debt of £35000 which i cannot shift because of banks rules regarding affordability.she says that as we as a couple have about £100 a week left after bills that we are not in financial trouble and told me to contact an independent financial advisor for help that will cost me a minimum of £75 for an initial consultation"money i do not have,just before christmas".
her only other advice was to try and claim ppi,i really thought she would have pointed me in the right direction i waited over a month for that appointment.anybody else in the same boat?:(

National_Debtline

obanite wrote: »

hi folks looking for a bit of advice here although i have posted on here before about my credit card debt i went to see a money advisor today at the citizens advice and now iam totally at a loss as to what to do now.long and short of it she said that iam not eligible for a das or dmp in england because of my situation i.e homeowner with some equity that i cannot release,credit card debt of £35000 which i cannot shift because of banks rules regarding affordability.she says that as we as a couple have about £100 a week left after bills that we are not in financial trouble and told me to contact an independent financial advisor for help that will cost me a minimum of £75 for an initial consultation"money i do not have,just before christmas".
her only other advice was to try and claim ppi,i really thought she would have pointed me in the right direction i waited over a month for that appointment.anybody else in the same boat?:(

Hi obanite

Would you kindly confirm that you are based in Scotland (just for the benefit of other posters who might not realise) as advice on your options will differ in some respects from those in England/Wales?

I tak it that you went through a financial statement with this adviser at your appointment? Is there any chance you can post it up here?

I am assuming that she felt you had enough to meet both your household bills and at least the minimum payments on your credit card debts. However if you put a Statement of Affairs (SoA) up here we can see whether that is truly the case:

http://stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

Dennis
@natdebtline

sourcrates

obanite wrote: »

hi folks looking for a bit of advice here although i have posted on here before about my credit card debt i went to see a money advisor today at the citizens advice and now iam totally at a loss as to what to do now.long and short of it she said that iam not eligible for a das or dmp in england because of my situation i.e homeowner with some equity that i cannot release,credit card debt of £35000 which i cannot shift because of banks rules regarding affordability.she says that as we as a couple have about £100 a week left after bills that we are not in financial trouble and told me to contact an independent financial advisor for help that will cost me a minimum of £75 for an initial consultation"money i do not have,just before christmas".
her only other advice was to try and claim ppi,i really thought she would have pointed me in the right direction i waited over a month for that appointment.anybody else in the same boat?:(

There "advice" is all well and good, but you do not have to take it.
You are free to look at whatever debt reduction option you like.
CAB do a good job, but they are normally snowed under with people who may be in a lot worse situation than you are.


National Debt Line may be a better option, or just use Google to see what options you have, you could be looking at a DMP or possibly IVA with that amount of debt.


Any one can do a DMP, its an informal arrangement between you and your creditors, you can propose this yourself, you do not need any 3rd party to do it for you.

[Deleted User]

sourcrates wrote: »

There "advice" is all well and good, but you do not have to take it.
You are free to look at whatever debt reduction option you like.
CAB do a good job, but they are normally snowed under with people who may be in a lot worse situation than you are.


National Debt Line may be a better option, or just use Google to see what options you have, you could be looking at a DMP or possibly IVA with that amount of debt.


Any one can do a DMP, its an informal arrangement between you and your creditors, you can propose this yourself, you do not need any 3rd party to do it for you.

first time i went into the CA they suggested right away to start offering £5 payments to all my credit cards.then when i went back today (different person) that happened,i would have used stepchange but thought they might have been better as i could speak face to face as for money we are really struggling.

National_Debtline

obanite wrote: »

first time i went into the CA they suggested right away to start offering £5 payments to all my credit cards.then when i went back today (different person) that happened,i would have used stepchange but thought they might have been better as i could speak face to face as for money we are really struggling.

I can't really fathom from this why you were given such contrasting advice on the two visits. What is more important is that you get the right advice now. What we can tell you on here will only be as detailed as what you can tell us, so if you have any difficulty putting up an SoA then it might be worth giving one of the free helplines a ring instead.

Dennis
@natdebtline

[Deleted User]

National_Debtline wrote: »

I can't really fathom from this why you were given such contrasting advice on the two visits. What is more important is that you get the right advice now. What we can tell you on here will only be as detailed as what you can tell us, so if you have any difficulty putting up an SoA then it might be worth giving one of the free helplines a ring instead.

Dennis
@natdebtline

hi did the soa don`t know if i have missed stuff

also included my partners debt.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 1
Number of cars owned.................... 0

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1320
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 800
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2120

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 376
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 23
Council tax............................. 125
Electricity............................. 56
Gas..................................... 78
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 20
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 20
Internet Services....................... 20
Groceries etc. ......................... 320
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 130
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 15
Contents insurance...................... 10
Life assurance ......................... 9
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 15
Haircuts................................ 20
Entertainment........................... 30
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 30
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1364


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 46500....(376)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 46500.....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
credit card....................14200.....240.......19
credit card....................6250......160.......0
credit card....................3300......73........0
store card (partners)..........1000......80........0
store card (partners)..........2000......80........0
credit card....................1300......33........0
credit card....................3700......80........0
credit card....................950.......50........0
credit card....................3111......72........0
credit card....................1800......46........0
credit card....................585.......14........0
credit card....................439.......25........0
Total unsecured debts..........38635.....953.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,120
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,364
Available for debt repayments........... 756
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 953
Amount short for making debt repayments. -197

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total HP & Secured debt................. -46,500
Total Unsecured debt.................... -38,635
Net Assets.............................. -85,135

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.stoozing.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Divingmad

Hi Obanite,


just a couple of pointers. Your SOA says you pay £130 a month for petrol, yet no car is stated, but if you have a car, you have not included for road tax/insurance etc.
Also, your food budget could be trimmed, £320 a month is quite high, there's loads of ideas on the old style board where meals can be made at a reduced cost.
Is you council tax amount costed over 10 or 12 months? If 10, then can you ask the council to re-calculate over 12, that's reduce your monthly outgoings.
And lastly, the amounts paid to the CC's, are these the minimum amounts or set amounts? If you look at a snowball calculator, it may help by paying the minimum on the free ones, and directing the surplus against the higher interest ones (or paying off a smaller one to get you started).
HTH
DM

[Deleted User]

Divingmad wrote: »

Hi Obanite,


just a couple of pointers. Your SOA says you pay £130 a month for petrol, yet no car is stated, but if you have a car, you have not included for road tax/insurance etc.
Also, your food budget could be trimmed, £320 a month is quite high, there's loads of ideas on the old style board where meals can be made at a reduced cost.
Is you council tax amount costed over 10 or 12 months? If 10, then can you ask the council to re-calculate over 12, that's reduce your monthly outgoings.
And lastly, the amounts paid to the CC's, are these the minimum amounts or set amounts? If you look at a snowball calculator, it may help by paying the minimum on the free ones, and directing the surplus against the higher interest ones (or paying off a smaller one to get you started).
HTH
DM

hi and thanks for replying...the car is a motability car which belongs to my son who is disabled i use that amout taking him out runs and the like.credit cards are the minimum cant see any way out of this i had so much hope for today with the citizens advice.

National_Debtline

Hi again Obanite

Thanks for posting up your SoA, it makes things much clearer.

It does indeed suggest to me that you need advice on ways of reducing those credit card repayments to more affordable levels. I don't think any degree of cutting back will allow you to safely meet the existing minimum repayments.

The Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) would make a lot of sense here, given that it can protect you against any further interest, charges and legal action whilst allowing you to set up an affordable debt-repayment programme. Please note that a plain old DMP cannot offer these same guarantees.

You should seek a locally based approved money adviser who would be able to advise further and potentially set up a DAS for you. You can find their details using the Search function at http://www.dasscotland.gov.uk/help-centre/money-adviser-search

As an aside, are you repaying the capital on your mortgage, as opposed to interest only?

I'm sorry that your experience of the CAB was disappointing but rest assured that there are ways out of this predicament.

Dennis
@natdebtline

[Deleted User]

National_Debtline wrote: »

Hi again Obanite

Thanks for posting up your SoA, it makes things much clearer.

It does indeed suggest to me that you need advice on ways of reducing those credit card repayments to more affordable levels. I don't think any degree of cutting back will allow you to safely meet the existing minimum repayments.

The Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) would make a lot of sense here, given that it can protect you against any further interest, charges and legal action whilst allowing you to set up an affordable debt-repayment programme. Please note that a plain old DMP cannot offer these same guarantees.

You should seek a locally based approved money adviser who would be able to advise further and potentially set up a DAS for you. You can find their details using the Search function at http://www.dasscotland.gov.uk/help-centre/money-adviser-search

As an aside, are you repaying the capital on your mortgage, as opposed to interest only?

I'm sorry that your experience of the CAB was disappointing but rest assured that there are ways out of this predicament.

Dennis
@natdebtline

thanks for that.... the mortgage is a one account with rbos and is interest and repayment,i will look at that das link you post.i really thought that what the CA was going to help me with but alas no,should have done something about this years ago,cant believe i was so dumb.
thanks again everyone who posted.

[Deleted User]

right one of the cards that i pay the most to and is killing me is my hal one card.apparently they have a debt management team according to their call centre staff.they said if i phone them they may be able to stop that interest or drastically reduce it making that debt for once go down and maybe reduce that payment.point iam making is looking at my circumstances would it be worth me doing this or iam i better just going through stepchange. i was thinking that if i could get this debt going down like the others then maybe i could have half a chance and maybe get another job on the side.i dont want to completely throw in the towel but that is what i feel like doing and its not me.