debt free can you please help ?

mr-tonyc

I am writing to you concerning my daughters new boyfriend (28) who has moved to Sussex from the Midlands to make a fresh start & a new life.
He is a genuine lad who we like & has been straight with us about his money problems. There are 4 Credit cards debts total £13,000 plus a Bank loan of £22,500. I am trying to help him rectify his financial situation. He split with his partner 5 years ago & the debts from that time plus his child support payments of £66 per week have spiraled out of control.
He wants to make a new start with my daughter & wishes to address the finances.He had kept them secret & was sick with worry.His earnings were about £15,000 p a.
After making a Personal budget sheet I wrote to his credit card companies & offered them a share of his earnings on a pro rata basis.We have not told the bank who have supplied the loan yet until he opens a new basic bank account elsewhere to prevent his funds being removed to pay the loan.
He has now moved South & started a new job & his circumstances have changed. He will have all his living expenses plus rent & child support so there could be less money to address the debts.I shall rewrite his personal budget sheet & resend it to his creditors.
I will then inform the bank loan that we can only offer to pay a fraction of the outstanding amount.The new job will allow some overtime & I`m trying to find extra work ( cash) for him.If the creditors accept the lower payments it will take years & years to pay.If we have extra monies I`m hoping to make extra payments on some of the outstanding debts.I have taken into account all the advice on your website plus I have had some printed matter from the National Debtline.
I am at the stage where I need to get detailed advice from an expert I can trust. Is it worth paying all the creditors or not ( I think its the right thing to do ) but it could take years.
I have a little money & would willingly pay for him to get the correct advice.Can you please please help or advise us who or where we can go from here.I am desperate to help him get straight as I have great faith in him.

trying-very-trying

Hi! and welcome to the site.

You really shouldn't have to pay for the correct advice.
There are several charitable organisations that will help this guy sort out his debt. You could try http://www.cccs.co.uk/ or the national debtline, paypal or cab, they will all give free and impartial advice whatever his position.

You also suggest that you would be willing to pay some of his debts in order to help him, this could be a big mistake. Are you 100% sure that he has learned the error of his ways, and will not incur any further debt??

chevalier

as tvt says there are several sources of free impartial information. If you look at the top of this forum there are links to all of them.

Whilst you indicate that the creditor have taken lower payments, have they frozen the interest and stopped adding charges? If not then the lad will never pay off the debt.

If he needs to open a bank account then have a look at www.quidco.com as there are some banks that give cash back for opening an account.

chev

OberonSH

Hi and welcome. It's really cool that he has so much support. Basically it didn't all rack up overnight, so there's not much he can do except take time to pay it off. If you can him (or yourself) to post an SOA, we can all have a look and see where we can make some saving's for him - mony money to chuck at debt.

The other posters are right - there's loads of help available, as debt is no longer a secret, shameful thing - there's so many of us about! The debt charities can help with contacting creditors, and occassionally can help get an offer accepted where an indivividual can't.

As he's moving, now would be a good time to ebay/amazon off a load of stuff, instant cash to help pay something off. Coming to end of 'car boot sale' season, but if he can get onto one that might help.

findingmyownway

might be worth double checking the amount of child support he pays. £66/week = £264/month. How many kids does he have? It seems a lot on a low wage. I would have a look on the CSA website as they have a calculator to work out appropriate payments.

mr-tonyc

Thankyou for your advice.Will check CSA site now !
Mr-tonyc

rog2

Hi mr_T

As the others have already said - Welcome to DFW. It's good to see that you are taking an interest in your daughter's bf's affairs, and looking for positive ways to resolve his problems.
In addition to CCCS, you can get some excellent, professional and impartial advice from National Debtline (whose letters you have been using) and the CAB (ask to speak to a debt adviser).
But NEVER pay for advice - the 'Companies' that advertise that they can solve your debt problems, or even 'write off' up to 90% of your debt, are only in it for the money - they make huge fees and, at the end of the day, couldn't care less about your daughter's bf.

mr-tonyc

Firstly Many thanks to all for your support & advice.Much appreciated !
The update is that today I had a meeting with Bank Finance advisor about my daughters boyfriend debts.He told us to open a new account.Then present all the facts to the Citizens advice Bureau as they carry more clout which the banks accept more.

His monthly income is £1040

His monthly budget expenditure is £1230
Rent council tax electricity housekeeping maintenance travel clothing phone laundry health plus sundries
As advised on this site New Csa payment will be £39 approx

Credit card & Bank loans £36,387

There is not a hope of paying any loans back as the income is less than the living expense.We have been advised to get the CAB to act for us & present the new bad news to the creditors.We have no funds to make any payments.Therefore the debtor is a man of straw with no money to pay back any loans.We had made an arrangement before the latest news.We have been advised to open a basic bank account with another bank for his wages to be paid in.We will see what happens next.What could happen next my friends.The advice given today is as the lad has nothing what can anybody do? Any advice appreciated. Thankyou all so much ! Mr-tonyc