Debt help needed

Yasminakash

Help needed.
I am new to this site. Not sure how to start a new thread. Please either excuse me or guide me. I am drowning in debts. I've been struggling with it for more than a year & managed to scrub every penny to pay minimum amounts to 9 creditors. Now I am in a state that I can't do anything anymore.
I have read few of the posts in this forum . Looking at stepchange in order to go for DMP. I have few questions & worries before I make any decision. I can't bring myself to call them as this is so depressing for me. I stopped paying the credit cards from 1st Nov. They start chasing me. One of them have been phoning me at work too which is very depressing & embarrassing as I do not want any of my colleagues to know my situation.
Any help from any of you are much appreciated.
I have OD of £250 + £500 emergency fund with Barclays. Stepchange debt remedy is advising me to change the bank.
I fonts know if I will get approved for a new bank account therefore am not sure if I should change it or not.
I have 3 Barclays credit card. These all linked with my online banking. If I decide not to change the bank but still going ahead with DMP, will the Bank let me carry on ?
I thought of not including one of the creditors. Am I allowed to do it?
I honestly feel like commit myself. Please help me & guide me in the right direction before I take any stupid decisions.

sourcrates

Hi,

I’ve moved your post to a more appropriate new thread, so you will get the benefit of more responses.

All the feelings you describe are pretty common amongst people in your situation, you need to forget about these negative thoughts, and treat the debt as just another problem to be solved.

Your first step should be to stop ignoring your creditors, they don’t know why you’ve suddenly stopped paying, you have to tell them, that’s why collection activity has started.

A simple letter to each one explaining your current financial situation, and asking for the mandatory 30 days breathing space, is all that’s required.

Then get a new basic bank account, this is essential, a basic account is available to anyone, as no credit check is involved.

Then get talking to stepchange and see which debt solution would best suit you, debt is just money, there are mechanisms in place to deal with it, all you have to do is access them, in a simple and straightforward way.

fatbelly

You need a new bank account not with Barclays (or any other bank where you have debts) in order to protect your income.

Banks have the right of set-off which means they can help themselves to funds in your current account in order to pay other debts in that banking group

Yasminakash

Thanks fat belly.
Apologies if I am being daft. Did you mean to say that I need to open an Account where I don't have any debts?

sourcrates

Yasminakash wrote: »

Thanks fat belly.
Apologies if I am being daft. Did you mean to say that I need to open an Account where I don't have any debts?

Yes he did, any bank that offers basic accounts which whom you have no debt.

Yasminakash

fatbelly wrote: »

You need a new bank account not with Barclays (or any other bank where you have debts) in order to protect your income.

Banks have the right of set-off which means they can help themselves to funds in your current account in order to pay other debts in that banking group

My children have savings accounts with Nationwide which is linked with my current account. I don't effectively use this account as hardly have any money in. As I also a have credit card, will they be able to freeze the money in my children's a/c?

fatbelly

Yasminakash wrote: »

My children have savings accounts with Nationwide which is linked with my current account. I don't effectively use this account as hardly have any money in. As I also a have credit card, will they be able to freeze the money in my children's a/c?

If the accounts are in the childrens' names that is ok. If they are in your name, that could be a problem.

D_M_E

If the childrens' accounts are solely in their own names then Nationwide cannot touch them.

However, if you are named anywhere on the account, such as "trustee" or something then Nationwide could raid them.

Also, when you open a basic account, make sure it is not with a different trading name, for example if debt5s are with Lloyds, don't open with Halifax or TSB as Lloyds own Halifax and some TSB operations - they did sell off some TSB but don't think they solod all of them.

Yasminakash

Thanks Sourcrates, fat belly & D-M-E.

I have managed to talk to 3 creditors & asked them to give me 30 days breathing space. They have agreed to hold the accounts for 3 days. After so many hesitations & I also opened up to my parents, they agreed to help me but of course they are not in a position to clear my debts. I've been thinking as I have a current account (don't use it effectively)as well as a credit card with Nationwide, if I manage to pay off Nationwide credit card , without informing of my DMP plan, will they let me run both the current account & creditcard as normal? Or would they find out ?

Yasminakash

Yasminakash wrote: »

Thanks Sourcrates, fat belly & D-M-E.

I have managed to talk to 3 creditors & asked them to give me 30 days breathing space. They have agreed to hold the accounts for 3 days. After so many hesitations & I also opened up to my parents, they agreed to help me but of course they are not in a position to clear my debts. I've been thinking as I have a current account (don't use it effectively)as well as a credit card with Nationwide, if I manage to pay off Nationwide credit card , without informing of my DMP plan, will they let me run both the current account & creditcard as normal? Or would they find out ?

Hello can someone reply to me please? If I pay off one of the creditors & would like to keep the creditcard, will they allowed me to do it? Can I not disclose this to stepchange? Any change of this creditor finding out about my DMP & withrowvthis card ?

Please someone reply to my both messages?

MallyGirl

The principle of a DMP is that you treat all the debts equally rather than settling one and defaulting on another. Why do you particularly want to keep Nationwide 'clean'?

I would open a new basic account away from all your debts then change your salary to be paid in there. That way you can then control what goes from that towards your debts