I have come here to chew bubblegum and clear debt - and I'm all outta bubblegum AKA the £83,000 saga

Guybrush_Threepwood

Choccygirl123 wrote: »

That's amazing news....to get under 60k in a matter of months is outstanding! Congratulations on tackling the debt, but a bigger well done on facing your gambling.

Thank you, approaching my "1 Year Off" - feeling proud :T

redofromstart

That's great progress, you must be so pleased

Lil_Suga

Well done!! You give me hope, Thankyou

adg89

Guybrush, you haven't updated in a while? I hope things are all ok and you are still stomping all over this debt!

Guybrush_Threepwood

Hello! Apologies for the radio silence!

By way of an update, I'm plodding along, chipping away at the debt bit by bit.

The current number is £52,079.45. So since May 2018 I've paid off £30,956.50. Not bad going in 13 months. I'm down to 9 creditors now, from a starting list of 29 - so 20 separate companies/people paid back in full.

At this rate, i'll be sub £50k by October, but in all likelihood it may be before that. Having paid off so many of the smaller creditors has freed up some of the monthly commitments that I can now apply to the remaining 'bigger' debts. If I'd used a firm like StepChange this would have happened automatically, but because we're doing everything ourselves, I've held off increasing most payments for a few months as we've had other priorities and the funds have been needed elsewhere. But over the next few months, that will probably change and I'll 'up' my payments to some creditors.

In other news, since my last post...

- MoreThan Insurance sent me a refund for £700+ for mis-sold landlord's insursance (from when I let out my old flat for a couple of years a few years back). They contacted me about this which was a complete surprise - but it's helped pay off a few things.

- One of my creditors says I paid them too much interest and are refunding £50 back to me (every little helps!).

- The Financial Ombudsman has got back to me on a case I raised back in May 2018 against one of the short-term lenders I had used. They agree that the firm in question should never have provided me with the loans that they did and the Ombudsman has asked that they refund to me any interest/charges and remove bad marks from my credit file. I raised around a dozen cases with the Ombudsman in total and have had two or three positive outcomes. This one will probably be a few hundred pounds which will help make some more dents in debt!

- I've been on holiday! By being free of gambling and tackling my debts in a sustainable and manageable way has enabled me to enjoy a nice holiday. I know some people believe that those in severe debt should forego luxuries like holidays whilst they still owe large amounts... but I am a firm believer that you need to still enjoy life whilst reducing debt at the same time.

- I received my annual bonus from work back in May which allowed me to repay a family creditor six months worth of payments in one lump sum.

So in short, all is good for the time being!

dawnybabes

You’re doing so well ��

Igamogam

Love your positivism and admire your determination and progress

adg89

Guybrush, how has it all been going! Keen to see where you are now we are three months on!

Guybrush_Threepwood

Sorry for the radio silence.... been a busy few months!

In terms of debt, I'm no down to £47k, with 9 creditors still to go.

One question I'm hoping somebody may be able to help with....

On my Credit Report, some of the Creditors are registering Missed Payments every month. These are where the account went into Default. I understand the Default marker, but I'm in payment arrangements with them all and haven't missed a single agreed payment in almost 2 years. I understand the payments I am making are not the original contractually agreed payments, but is it right that I still get 'Missed Payment' markers when I'm sticking to the agreed post-default plans?

[Deleted User]

Guybrush_Threepwood wrote: »

but is it right that I still get 'Missed Payment' markers when I'm sticking to the agreed post-default plans?

Yes, that's correct. You're not making the agreed contractual payments and once defaulted, it stays defaulted.