Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

Looking4silverlining

Hello. I hope that I am asking in the right place? 
I am self employed and currently have approx £25,000.00 in credit card debs with 6 different cards. This all came about after my partner suffered an awful illness and neither of us could work for a long time. I have been making the payments ever since (6 years now) I have managed to get some of the debt into 0% interest deals but these are going to come to an end soon and I am now I the position of not being able to go any further at all with borrowing. I would really like to consolidate all of them and get the interest down. I don't know how as I don't own any big capitol. I own my own van (£9k) which is my only hope of earning with my business so I don't want to lose that. I don't think I can do a DRO or IVA as I want to keep the van. Can anyone advise? I am starting to get very stressed and worried about it now. Thanks in advance. 

sourcrates

Looking4silverlining said:

Hello. I hope that I am asking in the right place? 
I am self employed and currently have approx £25,000.00 in credit card debs with 6 different cards. This all came about after my partner suffered an awful illness and neither of us could work for a long time. I have been making the payments ever since (6 years now) I have managed to get some of the debt into 0% interest deals but these are going to come to an end soon and I am now I the position of not being able to go any further at all with borrowing. I would really like to consolidate all of them and get the interest down. I don't know how as I don't own any big capitol. I own my own van (£9k) which is my only hope of earning with my business so I don't want to lose that. I don't think I can do a DRO or IVA as I want to keep the van. Can anyone advise? I am starting to get very stressed and worried about it now. Thanks in advance. 

@Looking4silverlining

You have posted in the stepchange debt advisors thread, stepchange unfortunately they don`t deal with the self employed.

You should re-post this in the general DFW forum where individual members can offer advice.

StepChange_Patience

Looking4silverlining said:

Hello. I hope that I am asking in the right place? 
I am self employed and currently have approx £25,000.00 in credit card debs with 6 different cards. This all came about after my partner suffered an awful illness and neither of us could work for a long time. I have been making the payments ever since (6 years now) I have managed to get some of the debt into 0% interest deals but these are going to come to an end soon and I am now I the position of not being able to go any further at all with borrowing. I would really like to consolidate all of them and get the interest down. I don't know how as I don't own any big capitol. I own my own van (£9k) which is my only hope of earning with my business so I don't want to lose that. I don't think I can do a DRO or IVA as I want to keep the van. Can anyone advise? I am starting to get very stressed and worried about it now. Thanks in advance. 

Hi there

Thank you for your post. 

I'm sorry to hear about your partner, it sounds like it's been a difficult time for you both and I can understand how stressful it must be. 

As Sourcrates mentioned StepChange may not be the best source of support for you, but Business Debtline specialise in supporting those who are self employed and struggling with debt.

You can find out more information here. 

I hope this helps. 

Patience

Jackmahone

A lot of my disposable income is on debt and I feel a pressure from that.  My credit score now shuts me out of best deals 🙄 do I try an pay as much off till 2025 when remortgage.  Advice would be welcomed

Hooley22

Hi. I hope you’re well and I’m in the right place. 

i was wondering if you can help me. I don’t know where to start. I’m 89k in debt with 5 personal loans and 6 credit cards which I’m paying interest on. The reason for this debt was because over overspending and living on credit cards etc, getting loans to pay cards off but then stupidly  spending again on the cards.  I have cut all cards up and stopped using them. I also have a mortgage ( £186k) on the property I own which is worth 256k. I can make the payments each month but that’s it, not much left over and I’d never be paying them off. My credit score is very good I’ve never missed a payment but my utilisation is high so no one will touch me for balance transfers. 

I make 95- 98k a year now as recently I have found a good job away from home but that costs money in itself living away. I was thinking about a dmp but worried about charging orders on my house and my wife being caught up in it. Do you think I could phone credit card companies up and ask them to see what help they could offer me rather than a dmp? Ideally I would love a 2- 3 month payment holiday to get some money in an emergency fund then try and tackle the debt head on but I havnt got a clue were to start. It’s really making me ill with stress. 

StepChange_Patience

Jackmahone said:

A lot of my disposable income is on debt and I feel a pressure from that.  My credit score now shuts me out of best deals 🙄 do I try an pay as much off till 2025 when remortgage.  Advice would be welcomed

Hi there 

Thank you for getting in touch. 

I'm sorry to hear you're feeling pressure with your debts and that it's been difficult to try and consolidate debt now your credit file has also been affected. 

I would always recommend in these circumstances to do a budget, so you can see your income, household expenditure and the full picture of your debts, this will help you figure out whether it would be possible to try and pay off more than the minimum payment to try and reduce the debts before your remortgage. 

If you're feeling that the payment to the debts are impacting your ability to cover your essential living costs, then it may be time to consider seeking debt advice. StepChange would gladly have a free and impartial look at your circumstances. 

You can get started here. 

I hope this helps. 

Patience

StepChange_Patience

Hooley22 said:

Hi. I hope you’re well and I’m in the right place. 

i was wondering if you can help me. I don’t know where to start. I’m 89k in debt with 5 personal loans and 6 credit cards which I’m paying interest on. The reason for this debt was because over overspending and living on credit cards etc, getting loans to pay cards off but then stupidly  spending again on the cards.  I have cut all cards up and stopped using them. I also have a mortgage ( £186k) on the property I own which is worth 256k. I can make the payments each month but that’s it, not much left over and I’d never be paying them off. My credit score is very good I’ve never missed a payment but my utilisation is high so no one will touch me for balance transfers. 

I make 95- 98k a year now as recently I have found a good job away from home but that costs money in itself living away. I was thinking about a dmp but worried about charging orders on my house and my wife being caught up in it. Do you think I could phone credit card companies up and ask them to see what help they could offer me rather than a dmp? Ideally I would love a 2- 3 month payment holiday to get some money in an emergency fund then try and tackle the debt head on but I havnt got a clue were to start. It’s really making me ill with stress. 

Hi there

Thank you for getting in touch, you're certainly in the right place. 

I'm sorry to hear the debt is having such an impact on your health, I understand how difficult it can be trying to figure out where to start. 

Our website explains more about the collections process and hopefully this will reassure you that there is a long and set process before a creditor would consider a charging order on your property.

You could certainly start by trying to speak your credit card companies to see what support they could provide.

It does sound like you've taken the first positive step by stopping spending on the card, if you feel that you're just about covering the minimum payments then I would recommend seeking debt advice. StepChange would gladly have a look at your situation. 

When you're ready and if you would like StepChange to have a look at your situation to help you look at options to help you deal with the debt, you can get started here. 

I hope this helps.

Patience

sourcrates

gerrard88 said:

Hi all

currently have 30k in credit card debts
anyone reccomend a DMP with payplan?

Your asking the stepchange advisor to recommend their rival are you ?

gerrard88

Oops sorry! 

StepChange_Patience

gerrard88 said:

Oops sorry! 

Hi there 

Please don't worry about apologising, it's great to see you're seeking free advice. 

While we wouldn't be able to recommend anyone in particular, the GOV.UK website explains where you can get free and impartial debt advice to help you with your credit cards. 

You can find out more information here. 

I hope this helps. 

Patience