Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

MRH83

Hi, first time poster here. I have c. £41k of debt (£10k loans, £30k credit cards, £1k overdrafts) which has increased signifcantly over the past 4 years - I was made redundant, my partners health has deteriorated and I was caring for her and my young son while self employed - as a result I wasnt earning as much as was previously the case and we didnt cut back our spending enough.

I went back to permanent employment at the start of 2017 but at the end of 2017 I found out I had cancer. I started treatment in January 2018, fortunately the treatment was successful and I've been back at work for just over a year.

None of my debts are in default as I've been able to make the minimum payments, but I have found over the past year that I have no longer been able to make balance transfers to minimise interest and I'm getting close to the limits on most of my credit cards. I had applied to a couple of lenders for a consolidation loan but have been declined.

Would a debt management plan be suitable given my circumstances, and does it have to include all debts - e.g. can I continue to make the loan repayments in full? The two loans are due to end June 2022

Household income is around £34k, however this may increase to £38k in the next few months - is it likely that my credit card providers would reject a debt managment plan given the level of household income? I would have no issue in making a similar level of payments as I do currently, however it would be helpful if I could get the interest frozen - at the moment I feel that I'm never going to be debt free.


Any help or advice would be appreciated.

StepChange_Rachael

Hi and welcome to the forum.

For accurate debt advice it’s best to have as accurate information as possible, you can use good estimations, but sometimes even small changes can impact solutions and advice. To make sure you recieve the most realistic advice I’d suggest checking your credit file first.

Your basic credit information can be checked for free and will give you information on your outstanding credit cards and overdraft.

There are three main credit reference agencies within the UK, you can check all three to make sure you have all the information, these are, Credit Karma, Clear Score and Experian.

Once you’ve done this you can contact us with details of your income, expenditure and debts to access our recommended solutions.

Thanks
Rachael

savesamantha wrote: »

I have an unknown amount of money outstanding on credit cards (and 1 overdraft - which has now been removed and handed over to a debt collection agency).

All have defaulted and I haven't been in touch with the companies for months. For a long time I was too afraid and ashamed to open any mail.

Right now my income doesn't even cover my basic living costs but I am hoping this will change in the new year when I get more childcare, and can work more.

I know I can get help through StepChange, but do I need the specific amounts with each creditor, or will a rough amount do?

Thanks for your help! First time forum user!

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Welcome to the forum and thanks for posting.

It sounds like you’ve gone through a lot in the past few years and I can see how it would have caused you difficulty in managing to clear the debt. As you’ve mentioned that the debt is increasing, it sounds a good idea to explore your options.

A debt management plan might be a good idea. To find out what would be the best route for you, you’d need to access free and impartial advice. An organisation/charity will be able to tell you if this is the best option and if there are other solutions you can also consider, by reviewing your full financial situation. It doesn’t matter what your income is, if after you’ve paid your household bills and general living costs, you’re unable to meet all your contractual payments with creditors then an alternative debt solution would be an appropriate option. A creditor is only likely to question a plan where a budget shows higher living costs expected of the household, unless there are exceptional circumstances to explain those costs.

If a plan is managed solution through a third party you wouldn’t be able to leave some creditors out, this is because creditors will see this as preferential treatment and those receiving reduced payments might be less likely to stop interest and charges and might take court action to collect for the debt.

I hope this helps and if you’d like to look into your options through StepChange you can find our details here.

Thanks
Rachael

MRH83 wrote: »

Hi, first time poster here. I have c. £41k of debt (£10k loans, £30k credit cards, £1k overdrafts) which has increased signifcantly over the past 4 years - I was made redundant, my partners health has deteriorated and I was caring for her and my young son while self employed - as a result I wasnt earning as much as was previously the case and we didnt cut back our spending enough.

I went back to permanent employment at the start of 2017 but at the end of 2017 I found out I had cancer. I started treatment in January 2018, fortunately the treatment was successful and I've been back at work for just over a year.

None of my debts are in default as I've been able to make the minimum payments, but I have found over the past year that I have no longer been able to make balance transfers to minimise interest and I'm getting close to the limits on most of my credit cards. I had applied to a couple of lenders for a consolidation loan but have been declined.

Would a debt management plan be suitable given my circumstances, and does it have to include all debts - e.g. can I continue to make the loan repayments in full? The two loans are due to end June 2022

Household income is around £34k, however this may increase to £38k in the next few months - is it likely that my credit card providers would reject a debt managment plan given the level of household income? I would have no issue in making a similar level of payments as I do currently, however it would be helpful if I could get the interest frozen - at the moment I feel that I'm never going to be debt free.


Any help or advice would be appreciated.

Boilingpoint2019

Hi. I'm new to the forum and really struggling.
I have approx 30k in debt, credit cards and catalogues. Since having children my income has dropped to £600 per month. My husband gives me £300 per month as a 'top up'.
I'm drowning in debt. I am paying reduced payments/no interest on a lot of this already however my debt is still £500 per month, which isn't sustainable.
Our house is solely in my name and is worth approx 90-100k. I cant release any of the equity (approx 20k) due to my income being so low and my credit score being very poor as a result of making reduced payments and having used up my 'credit allowance'.
My husband has an old ccj which prevents him from being added to the .mortgage. He helps where he can but his salary isn't great either.
I've been looking at an IVA as I have approx £100-£130 per month to spare. My worry is the fact that the house is only in my name and how it would affect us. What are the chances that we would lose our home? Does this happen? On top of this I work for a police force, just as admin in the offices, not in a police officer role.
Is an IVA suitable for me? Weve reduced every outgoing we have, sold everything we can. We have no more ways to cut back or make more money. Household outgoings currently £2000 per month, not including food, fuel and spending. Income currently £2300 so we have £300 per month for everything (husband works shifts and his fuel is approx £90 a month and mine is £50).

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Welcome to the forum and thanks for your post.

I’m sorry to hear you’re going through a difficult time at the moment. From what you’ve mentioned so far I definitely think an alternative debt solution is the way forward as £500 a month is clearly unaffordable. I’m not sure if the £2000 you’ve listed as household outgoings includes the payments to creditors or not, if it doesn’t then I’d be concerned if you’d have £100-130 a month left to the creditors, as you’ve mentioned the additional costs such as food and fuel are not yet included. However, I think it’s really important that you speak with a debt advisor who could help you find a suitable solution.

An IVA won’t risk you loosing your property as an IVA protects assets. You’d be expected to try and release equity in the fifth year but the chances of doing this are slim because of the impact the IVA has on your credit file. You wouldn’t be expected to release equity through selling the property.

It sounds unlikely that an IVA would affect your job, but you can always double check as it would be written in your contract, or you could check with HR in privacy.

Before taking any steps towards one solution in particular, I’d recommend getting free and impartial advice to find the best one for you and your partner. Some companies will look at getting you an IVA without considering if other solutions would be more appropriate and IVA’s do have fees included, sometimes upfront fees, so it’s important that you feel confident this is the best route for you. If you wanted to speak with StepChange to explore your options you can find the link here.

Hope this helps.
Rachael

Boilingpoint2019 wrote: »

Hi. I'm new to the forum and really struggling.
I have approx 30k in debt, credit cards and catalogues. Since having children my income has dropped to £600 per month. My husband gives me £300 per month as a 'top up'.
I'm drowning in debt. I am paying reduced payments/no interest on a lot of this already however my debt is still £500 per month, which isn't sustainable.
Our house is solely in my name and is worth approx 90-100k. I cant release any of the equity (approx 20k) due to my income being so low and my credit score being very poor as a result of making reduced payments and having used up my 'credit allowance'.
My husband has an old ccj which prevents him from being added to the .mortgage. He helps where he can but his salary isn't great either.
I've been looking at an IVA as I have approx £100-£130 per month to spare. My worry is the fact that the house is only in my name and how it would affect us. What are the chances that we would lose our home? Does this happen? On top of this I work for a police force, just as admin in the offices, not in a police officer role.
Is an IVA suitable for me? Weve reduced every outgoing we have, sold everything we can. We have no more ways to cut back or make more money. Household outgoings currently £2000 per month, not including food, fuel and spending. Income currently £2300 so we have £300 per month for everything (husband works shifts and his fuel is approx £90 a month and mine is £50).

lily0790

I had two mobile phones with Plusnet six years ago for my children. When I got them new ones
I called and cancelled the contracts. Except it materialises that only one of the contracts was cancelled.

When I discovered this I called Plusnet and they could see the mobile hadn't been used in over a year and said they'd put it through to another department to get the debt cancelled. No one got back to me. When I contacted them they said the debt had now been passed to a debt agency and they would be in touch.

Four years on and no-one has been ever been in touch with me nor have I had any correspondence( my contact details are all the same).I have contacted Plusnet on numerous occasions and they say its nothing to do with them now. So on my credit file it shows the debt to Plusnet. So there is a debt( which despite me disputing it I have offered to pay all along) but there is
no one to pay it to . How can I resolve this?

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for posting and welcome to the forum.

I know it can be very frustrating when creditors aren’t providing you with the information you need to resolve an issue. I’d recommend making an official complaint to Plusnet, outlining your complaint and that you’d like it resolved and the debt removed from your credit file as was originally agreed in the phone call you had with them. If you make a formal complaint, through the official channels, which will be outlined on their website, they’d have to take it seriously. The most likely route of making a formal complaint is written complaint or by email. They’d then have eight weeks to resolve the complaint, if they don’t resolve it to your satisfaction within this time, you can take it the communications ombudsman. They will then look into the complaint impartially.

Depending on when the note was entered on your credit file, it may fall off soon. Notes on your credit file don’t last longer than six years once the creditor stops updating it but to resolve the situation as soon as possible I’d recommend making a formal dispute. It’s best to resolve the situation as well in case the collection agency eventually do get in contact and try to take the matter further.

Hope this helps.
Rachael

lily0790 wrote: »

I had two mobile phones with Plusnet six years ago for my children. When I got them new ones
I called and cancelled the contracts. Except it materialises that only one of the contracts was cancelled.

When I discovered this I called Plusnet and they could see the mobile hadn't been used in over a year and said they'd put it through to another department to get the debt cancelled. No one got back to me. When I contacted them they said the debt had now been passed to a debt agency and they would be in touch.

Four years on and no-one has been ever been in touch with me nor have I had any correspondence( my contact details are all the same).I have contacted Plusnet on numerous occasions and they say its nothing to do with them now. So on my credit file it shows the debt to Plusnet. So there is a debt( which despite me disputing it I have offered to pay all along) but there is
no one to pay it to . How can I resolve this?

Timeforchange19

Hi we are 18 months of finishing our extended Iva (6 yrs not 5). My sister said they may make us sell our house at the end is this true? We are currently in negative equity.

We are struggling every month to manage. Most months we run out of wage by the middle of the month. We have 2 celiac children who’s diet costs a small fortune and we make sure they are fed, but I generally don’t eat unless my hubby is home so that I can save food. We currently have no heating or hot water as our boiler has gone and our shower has packed in too we manage to get enough hot water to was the kids in warm water but we’re showering in cold water. I just can’t take much more living like this and if they then say we have to sell our house well what has been the point. My husband is a teacher I was a teacher but can’t work due to ill health anymore but surely we shouldn’t be living like this. I just feel like throwing the towel in xx -sorry for such a negative first post

sourcrates

Timeforchange19 wrote: »

Hi we are 18 months of finishing our extended Iva (6 yrs not 5). My sister said they may make us sell our house at the end is this true? We are currently in negative equity.

We are struggling every month to manage. Most months we run out of wage by the middle of the month. We have 2 celiac children who’s diet costs a small fortune and we make sure they are fed, but I generally don’t eat unless my hubby is home so that I can save food. We currently have no heating or hot water as our boiler has gone and our shower has packed in too we manage to get enough hot water to was the kids in warm water but we’re showering in cold water. I just can’t take much more living like this and if they then say we have to sell our house well what has been the point. My husband is a teacher I was a teacher but can’t work due to ill health anymore but surely we shouldn’t be living like this. I just feel like throwing the towel in xx -sorry for such a negative first post

Hi,

Firstly, apologies for posting on the stepchange advice thread, but I thought it necessary, second, don’t listen to your sister.

Just to put your mind at rest, your house is not at risk, you will be asked to remortgage at the end of year 5, if that’s not possible, then another year of payments is the norm.
Your house is never at risk in an IVA, they are designed for homeowners, so assets are protected, all this should have been explained to you.

If your struggling on the budget you have, speak to your IP, don’t suffer in silence, if you don’t tell them, they cannot do anything about it can they.

StepChange_Rachael

Hi

Thanks for your post.

I’m sorry to hear you’re struggling. You certainly shouldn’t have to live without heating and enough food. There might be organisations in your area that can offer immediate help in terms of food and heating, it’s worth searching online to check.

As Sourcrates has rightly said, your house isn’t at risk in an IVA. It’s unlikely you’d be able to release equity in the final year any way due to the impact an IVA has on a person’s credit file and like you said there isn’t any equity to release. Even if a person could release equity this wouldn’t be by a forced sale.

I would also recommend speaking with your Insolvency Practitioner, IVA’s do have some flexibility and there might be adjustments that can be made to make the budget more liveable while you complete it.

Hope this is of some help.
Rachael

Timeforchange19 wrote: »

Hi we are 18 months of finishing our extended Iva (6 yrs not 5). My sister said they may make us sell our house at the end is this true? We are currently in negative equity.

We are struggling every month to manage. Most months we run out of wage by the middle of the month. We have 2 celiac children who’s diet costs a small fortune and we make sure they are fed, but I generally don’t eat unless my hubby is home so that I can save food. We currently have no heating or hot water as our boiler has gone and our shower has packed in too we manage to get enough hot water to was the kids in warm water but we’re showering in cold water. I just can’t take much more living like this and if they then say we have to sell our house well what has been the point. My husband is a teacher I was a teacher but can’t work due to ill health anymore but surely we shouldn’t be living like this. I just feel like throwing the towel in xx -sorry for such a negative first post