Hitting rock bottom - Massive Help Needed

cazabella2019

Hi all,

I am a first time poster (be gentle) and not sure that I'm posting in the right place, if not maybe you can direct me to where I should be posting:

Grab a cuppa and get comfy, this could take some time to get through all this.

I am 33 and most of my adult life I have been battling this hellish debt demon, not realising that it's getting worse and worse each month, this weekend has finally been the straw that's broken the camels back! I have decided to try and do something about it as I'm exhausted..... Really, really f*****g exhausted, It's making me so ill to the point that I feel I'm suffering mentally with it as I no longer have the ability to think clearly and have no idea when I last slept more than 2 hours a night at a time. I got caught in a pay day loan rut and have never told a single soul about this or anything in this post as I have always felt so embarrassed and ashamed I guess, perhaps if I had then I wouldn't be in this situation now, so I've been hauling this burden about with me for a long time... Hopefully after this I can start to plan a way forward.

I have gotten all my paperwork out and opened years worth of envelopes and listed, sorted into all the companies (which took over the whole living room floor space) and calculated all the monies I owe and I am absolutely devastated and gobsmacked to find out I am nearly £40,000 in debt and my credit score is rock bottom (How the F**K?!?!... The more I read that figure the more I think I've made a typo somewhere in my calculations.... but I haven't, I've double and triple checked). I have listed my debts below but have no idea what to do now..... Is a debt management plan the best option? Most of the below amounts are not recent (have been taken out between 2013 and 2017 I think).

Arrears (as at 10/08/2019):

Important Items

HMRC - £ Need to confirm this amount ** See note below **
Rent arrears ** See note ** - £1,800.00
Optima Legal (Car reposession / CCJ Issued 21 August 2013) ** See note ** - £3,849.47
Moneybarn (Car reposession / CCJ Issued 26 July 2017) ** See note ** - £6521.54
Family loan - £60.00

(All of the below items have already been transferred to a 3rd party):

Telecoms

Tesco Mobile (1) - £277.99
Tesco Mobile (2) - £92.00
O2 Mobile (1) - £593.16
O2 Mobile (2) - £607.50
O2 Mobile (3) - £948.90
O2 Mobile (4) - £595.84
O2 Mobile (5) - £513.98
O2 Mobile (6) - £172.78
O2 Mobile (7) - £157.07

Vehicle Insurance / DVLA

Swinton Insurance - £103.55
One Call Insurance - £230.00
DVLA - £160.00

Payday Loans

SafetyNet - £340.90
Ladder Loans - £2052.91
Provident - £716.00
Quick Quid - £659.14
Pound 2 Pocket - £594.62
Mini Credit - £1,965.00
Wage Day Advance - £1153.40
Pound Access - £285.03
Payday Uk - £433.66
Zebit - £546.79
Morses - £2,400.00
Bonga Loans - £525.00
247 Moneybox - £343.57

Store Cards

Ikano (New Look) - £356.39
New Day (Dorothy Perkins) - £282.83
Shop Direct (Very) - £985.07

Credit Cards

Aqua - £460.11
Capital One - £260.27
Vanquis - £709.60
Barclaycard - £574.94

Banks / Overdrafts

Santander Bank - £1,332.18
RBS - £540.74
B.O.S - £181.72

Entertainment / Lifestyle

Bannatynes Gym (1) - £598.55
Bannatynes Gym (2) - £584.89

Student Loan - £4,031.26 (Doesn't need to be paid back until earn £25,000.00 a year)

Total amount of debt - £39,598.35

** Rent Arrears ** - Normal rent £330 a month - have verbally agreed with landlord a repayment plan of £150.00 a week until completion - should be complete by 31/12/19.

** HMRC ** - I registered for UTR No as I'd done some works for a company for 4 days for the tax year 2016-2017 and never filled in my tax return on time (again because I didn't know how and was to embarassed to ask for help to do it) so I need to contact them tomorrow to find out how much I am due to pay and how much the penalty is for the late submission.

** Vehicle 1 CCJ - Optima Legal - They have agreed they will accept £100.00 a month.

** Vehicle 2 CCJ - Moneybarn - They have agreed they will accept £80.00 a month.

I get paid £1200 per month after tax / national insurance and pension deduction and out of that my bills are as follows:

Rent - £600.00 (which includes arrears until Dec 2019)
Food Shopping - £100.00
Optima Legal - £80.00
Gym - £49.99
Morses - £200.00
Netflix - £10.00


On top of that I think I have a gambling issue... This is the first time I've even thought of it like this and admitted it to myself! To realise this is a massive blow to the gut (because I haven't shed enough damn tears this weekend over the thought of being £40K in debt that I need to add this to it as well). I got caught up using B365, it started with a football coupon on the weekends for a maximum of £10 over both days then it somehow spiraled to spending more than half of the weeks wages every week on the virtual dogs.... Sigh! I think I liked the thrill of winning a few ££'s to start but then when I wasn't winning I was depositing more money to try and get that winning boost again. I have just this minute self excluded myself from that site.

I'm looking for any help / advice / guidance possible please, I am totally lost just now and would be so grateful for someone to help me in the right direction.

Thank you so much for reading my mammoth post (I didn't intend for it to be so long, but there you go!) and I think I feel a bit of relieve, maybe a slight weight lifted at finally being honest with myself and being able to see everything down so I can start moving forward with life one day at a time.

BabySteps234

Poor you! It’s horrible when you tot those figures up for the first time isn’t it! I also owe £40,000 (or did.... ) we are making good progress since I had my eyes opened (as you have done this weekend) in January 2019. These are scary numbers but when you start reading through everyone’s diaries then you will soon come to realise that you are not alone in this debt hell and although that doesn’t help you in practical terms it does help you keep motivation and feel supported.

My advice would be to go and speak to your GP about the gambling and the stress of the debts. They can help to point you in right direction for help. I’d make that a priority.
I would take off the student loan from your list of worries as it’s not something you’re having to repay back yet - you have more pressing things to deal with.
I’m in a different situation to you as a homeowner so I would consider bankruptcy in your predicament - if you phone the step on helpline they will advice you. They will at very least be able to write to people and explain debt is having an impact on your wellbeing and reduce those payments for you. If you phone HMRC and explain the situation then they do have agencies that they put you in touch with to help.

Good luck and hang on in there!

MovingForwards

Well done for taking the first step, many of up have been there and come out the other end!

Others will be along to offer advice about the gambling.

At first glance I would ask if you have thought about bankruptcy? Give you a clean slate (assuming by your wages and CCJs you do not work in law/finance/utilities/police/prison service etc).

DCFC79

Well you've posted in the right place and you have made the first step in wanting to deal with it.


Complete an SOA, we can suggest what to cut back on.


Whether you go bankrupt or not is up to you but seek advice first, speak to 1 of the free debt charities, stepchange and payplan are 2.

JayRitchie

Hi

Didn't want to read and run. I'm afraid I have no wisdom to offer for your circumstances but there are posters on here who do and I'm sure things won't be as bleak as they may appear when they have given some thought to your options.

It might be worth you noting:

- whether you are a homeowner or have any other major assets
- the type of work which you do
- whether you might expect any significant increase in pay in the next few years.

Savvy_sewing

I believe there is a way of reclaiming the extortionate payday style loans etc
I am sure someone will come along to tell you how.
Definitely do a free debt advice agency.
Look at your cost of living essential spends versus your income.
Then make sure that what you have offered to repay you can afford, or do your SOA, do a realistic budget and get help to write to all your creditors and explain your situation.
Ask for interest to be stopped as it's making your debts worse.
Some will do that.
Change your daily routine so that you don't go where you gamble, and get help with that asap.
Owning up to Debt is the first step.
If you have multiple debts look at paying the minimum off to most of them and then do down one debt first. Usually the one with the highest % of Apr.
Then snowball the payments could be a way to help you clear one debt at a time.
I wish you luck. Keep asking, keep learning and don't give up, maybe bankruptcy is the way to go, but the debt advisor will help you.

sourcrates

Hi,

40k in debt will take you a lifetime to clear by normal repayment methods, I would seriously consider bankruptcy with all you have going on here.

Debt management on your disposable income will take far too long, bankruptcy will see you discharged after 12 months, and free of all your debt, to me it’s a no brainier.

But I would caution you first, to run your situation past National Debtline or Stepchange, see what they recommend.

In bankruptcy, all CCJ’s are extinguished, and the debts are qualifying debts for bankruptcy too.

Fresh start is what you need after reading your post.

[Deleted User]

Only a debt charity like Stepchange can really advise. I too have a serious debt that is growing despite making payments and it was not a debt management plan at all I was offered nor bankruptcy but help with a template for breathing space/token payments and the old mantra of not being pressured into paying more then you can afford.

I received templates which I will build into a complaint; worst case they even told me how much my property was an estimated worth.

A really worthwhile chat that takes around 50 minutes to complete which I had wished I'd made sooner.

username901

As above, bankruptcy.

Bit also get help with your gambling issues, otherwise you'll be back here in 3 years time.

Stop repaying your payday loans right now, build up a savings fund.

cazabella2019

Thank you for taking the time to reply.

I know it's not the worst thing in the world it just feels like it just now.... At the end of the day, it's money and nothing that can't be sorted and the realisation that i'm not the only person going through this is slightly reassuring, we're not perfect humans and we make mistakes, it's the only way to learn.

I have taken a few emergency days as holiday from work this week to try and get my head around this and figure out my next plan of attack. I'm currently writing and prioritising a list of things to do over next few days and going to start keeping a diary everyday. I will get in touch with Stepchange for the best option for dealing with my debt and I will contact Gam Care for help with Gambling.

I don't earn very much in my job so i'm actively looking for something that pays better, I also am half way through an open university degree (funded by part time fee grant - Scotland) which will hopefully open up more doors for me in future.

I've just got my equifax credit report for the first time. There are items that state settled such as my Barclaycard amount, I haven't paid this so how can this be settled? I don't quite understand, if someone can advise how that happens.

Thank you.

Iwantanewlife

Hey!

Well done for taking your first step. Honestly, now you have hit yourself with reality and are putting together a plan you will instantly start to feel more in control.

I think you need to call step change just for clarity, however, the way i see it is this:

Your income is relatively low, even if you got a new job that is not going to be enough (i suspect) to attack debts of £40k. You have no assets, and your credit score is shot in your own words. If i was you, i would definitely go bankrupt. Give yourself a clean slate and start again. It will be your quickest and your most effective option. Trust me, its not as scary as it sounds!

However, whatever you chose to do, you need to make sure you dont fall back into this trap again when it is sorted. Get help with the gambling, make sure your supported and you feel like you are not carrying this alone. Also post a Statement of Affairs on here, people will be able to help you with your budgeting and you will start to re think the way you look at money.

This forum, has been an absolute god send to a lot of us!

Good Luck for the future, keep us posted. x