Help and advice needed

Dory35

Hi all,

I'm really looking for advice. I am on a debt management plan with Stepchange. I have taken out additional credit with uncle buck for £325 and provident £250 because of car and household costs that were unexpected. I am really worried as I keep getting into more debt. I stupidly gambled online to try and get some money but lost it. I owe 02 money of about £900 due to my own stupidity. I'm worried as 02's letter states that I could go to court, bailiffs etc. I don't have that money!!! I'm on a tight budget.
Really scared that Stepchange will end my DMP as I took out extra credit.

sourcrates

Hi,

Your not the first, you won't be the last, to fall off the wagon.

What you need to do is stop gambling online, you don't win, deep down you know that.

You should be budgeting monthly for things like car repairs, I suggest you revisit your budget, and rectify that error.

As far as stepchange goes, they will of heard it all before, in fact posts like yours crop up all the time, just be honest with them, admit you !!!!ed up, and they will be fine with you, they don't judge you, they should be able to add the new debts to your plan.

Ignore what 02 are saying, you should know the propaganda train by now, it will be a DCA next step, not court or bayliffs.

Make the call.

Dory35

Thank you for replying. It's not the first time I've added debts to Stepchange and I really don't want get kicked out from Stepchange for adding debt.

Karonher

If they do stop your plan there are other companies to go to. You could also do it yourself. If this happens, tell the new creditors you are on a DMP and make them an offer.

I don't know what the situation is with taking credit when on a DMP but there is bound to be someone on who will know.

National_Debtline

Hi Dory35,


I understand your concern because whilst debt management companies like Step Change are there to help and not to judge, they do need a level of consistency to make the DMP work, so if you have added debts before there is a risk they may not allow it again. You probably know better than us how flexible they will be based on what happened last time.

Karonher is right, if they do cancel then you could look at other free DMP providers (if Step Change can't carry on with it at this time), or self manage or possibly consider another option all together - such as a Debt Relief Order. Depending on your circumstances and debts perhaps a fresh start is the answer. A DRO is a way to get debts written off for people who owe less than £20,000, have less than £50per month available for their debts and have less than £1000 worth of assets, plus you can have a car worth up to £1000. If you think this may be suitable you can read more about it here. The key thing to remember is that there is always a solution in a situation like this, it may just be that a DMP doesn't suit you at the moment. Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

datlex

OP, on top of your debt is the issue of gambling. I think you should get support for this. Debt Organisations will understand that gambling can cause debt and may be able advise a local support group for you.