Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

StepChange_Aidan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81918759#Comment_81918759

Hi,

Thanks for your post. I’m sorry to hear how you’re feeling.

Your creditors might not accept a PO Box for correspondence or require a residential address as well. Some letters (for example, default notices) will need to be sent to your last known address.

Arrears notices will usually be sent automatically when you start to miss payments, your creditors will usually send a default notice after three or four missed payments.

There’s a guide to dealing with contact from your creditors here.

Have you given your partner permission to open your letters? Please be aware that it’s against the law for him to open post that is not addressed to him (without a reasonable excuse) and can be a form of economic abuse. If you feel this is the case, there is help available.

Are the reduced payment plans you’ve set up with the creditors a temporary arrangement or a long-term plan? If you need to discuss your situation in more detail or would like any further help, please get in touch.

Regards,

Aidan

esj13

Hi,

I'm looking for some advice;

I have amassed approximately £75k worth of debt. It's a mixture of a Loan, Credit Cards and revolving retails credit accounts.

I can't even explain how it has happened because I don't have anything to show for it. All I can safely say is that it is a result of living beyond my means and only making minimum payments. It seems to have accrued over the last 4 years and it has crept up because of my self-reassurances that "one more spend" won't impact me too much, to the point I am now here.

Up until last year I was up to date with payments, but I was left with so little money each month I had to rely on the cards again just to live. It got to a point where I just felt I had to stop paying.

As a result I have been getting letters daily which have been stuffed in a cupboard, out of sight, out of mind.

Today I got one that said if I do not reposed, it will be passed onto a solicitors, who will apply for a CCJ, adding more costs to the balance.

I am drowning in this, and it is consuming my every waking hour with doom-ridden thought and I am panicking I am going to lose my home.

I am up to date with my mortgage payments, but I have little equity at the moment (not enough to clear the debt if I were to sell), and I worry if I wanted to sell up and move somewhere cheaper, I wouldn't be able to because of my other debts.

My partner and I jointly own the house with a mortgage. My partner is not in any arrears with creditors and only has a credit card and two lines of credit which we used for home improvement.

What can I do?

ManyWays

That is a lot of debt, stopping paying if you could not manage the minimum payments was necessary. Losing your home is incredibly unlikely, but it is stressful and not safe to carry on ignoring the debts.

If you can post a Statement of Affairs (a good format is here https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php) in a separate post, people here can talk about your options. Please give the lender names and your best estimate of what you are actually spending money on at the moment, not what you think you should be spending.

If you aren't including your partner's income, then leave out their debts and add a note to say what expenses they are paying and what expenses you are only paying half of the cost of.

badenmorgan

I would like to get advice for my mother in law who we believe has dementia but this is undiagnosed and she is not accepting help (either with memory clinic or help with care). Just recently her family discovered she has now also run up a series of debts and trying to sort this has been problematic without power of attorney or being the secondary account holder. My mother in law is being bombarded with messages to pay but she has been unable to remember how to make payments also. Please can anyone advise the best route to take with utility bills until power of attorney can be obtained? Thank you for your help.

StepChange_Sylwia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81925793#Comment_81925793

Hi,

Thank you for your post and for sharing this with us.

The first thing we would always recommend is that you complete a detailed income and expenditure form so we can give you more tailored debt advice on how you can deal with your debts.

You can do this by registering with us here:

StepChange Debt Charity. Free Expert Debt Help & Advice

We would also recommend that you contact your creditors, prioritising the one who has threatened legal action, and tell them you are getting debt advice from StepChange and ask them to place your account on hold for 30 days (or more). This is called forbearance.

Your property is not in any immediate risk, as long as you are paying your mortgage and you don't necessarily have to sell it to pay off your debts.

Hope this helps in the short term.

Regards,
Sylwia

StepChange_Sylwia

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81928795#Comment_81928795

Hi,

Thank you for your post.

It can be really hard to help someone if they are not accepting help.

In order to be able to deal with things on her behalf, you will require for your mother in law to sign a Power of Attorney or (individual) Letters of Authority. Alternatively, you should be able to phone the companies with her there. She would need to answer the security questions for the company and give permission for you to speak to them. They may be able to add this to their file as an ongoing authority.

If you require debt advice for your mother in law, you can contact us, with her permission (using one of the methods above).

Hope this helps.

Regards,
Sylwia

badenmorgan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81929372#Comment_81929372

Thank you, much appreciated.The problem seems to be a stubbornness to admit she has a debt problem. My wife now has access to her (mum's) British gas account to pay the bill which hasn't been paid since Dec 2025 and we think debt collectors are involved but unless she grants power of attorney we can't set up direct debits or deal with whatever else might be owed

DesperateDeb

I was here quite a while ago and unfortunately I’m back again. I’m trying to work out what to do about my debt as I’m struggling to pay it off. I’ve got £10345 loan debt with Abound and £1789 on a Vanquis credit card, so just over £12000. I’m making minimum payments of £40 on the credit card and the repayment on the loan is £246.42 and it’s crippling me.

Any advice would be appreciated as to what I can do now as I can’t make the repayments and live off my wage.

StepChange_Aidan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81931787#Comment_81931787

Hi,

Your mother-in-law would need to grant power of attorney or give permission for you or your wife to act on her behalf, but it can be difficult for people to talk about their debts or admit that they have a problem.

We have some more information about helping others with debt problems here.

Regards,

Aidan

StepChange_Aidan

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81934724#Comment_81934724

Hi,

Thank you for your post.

It’s important that you prioritise your household bills and living costs over the credit card and loan repayments. If you’re struggling, I would suggest cancelling any direct debits or standing orders set up to pay the creditors and for now, only pay them what you can realistically afford, even if this is less than the minimum contractual payment.

In the long run, you may want to consider setting up a Debt Management Plan to repay the debts at a reduced rate, or there could be some other solutions that are more suitable for you.

To be able to give advice, we would first need a full budget to understand your situation. If you’d like to create one and review your options with StepChange you could use the Debt Advice tool on our website.

I hope this helps,

Aidan