How can I reduce my payments? 21 February at 8:21AM in Loans 8 replies 791 views

christy55

Hi Everyone, looking forward some advice as I’m in a complicated situation - I am recently divorced and have had to take a loan in order to pay for solicitor fees etc. However, my ex had agree to pay off the joint account and credit card and has failed to do so. I have had to continue to make monthly payments to these in order to prevent further penalties to my credit score as I am jointly named on the accounts. HSBC have refused to help on this matter. So I am now paying off my loan plus credit cards plus a joint account debt which totals £800 per month. 

My question is how do I reduce this payment? I am self employed and have 3 incomes so my salary is slowly building to a decent amount and I am making good progress but I only have 2 years of accounts for 1 of these businesses. I would like to consolidate all the debt and make the monthly payments smaller so easier to handle but my ex has left me with 3 late penalties in my credit score which are now over 5 months old....help and advice much appreciated! Thank you

zx81

You would need to refinance to either a longer period or a lower rate.

However, with a poor credit history and lots of existing debt, that's very unlikely.

Visit the DFW boards for advice on cutting costs and losing the debt.

coachman12

"However, my ex had agree to pay off the joint account and credit card and has failed to do so."
________________________________________________________________________
This is an interesting statement. Was her agreement legally binding ? Was it agreed in divorce settlement ? Did your solicitor know about this at the time ? If so, it could be an answer for you.
Believe me, I understand that the last person you want to talk to again is a solicitor, but it is recommended if the statement in quotes ( above) was legally agreed, you should pursue it rather than letting this aspect mess up your finances. It could be a way out and worth the legal cost, which would be small-fry compared to the large bills you faced for the whole divorce costs.

sourcrates

christy55 said:

Hi Everyone, looking forward some advice as I’m in a complicated situation - I am recently divorced and have had to take a loan in order to pay for solicitor fees etc. However, my ex had agree to pay off the joint account and credit card and has failed to do so. I have had to continue to make monthly payments to these in order to prevent further penalties to my credit score as I am jointly named on the accounts. HSBC have refused to help on this matter. So I am now paying off my loan plus credit cards plus a joint account debt which totals £800 per month. 

My question is how do I reduce this payment? I am self employed and have 3 incomes so my salary is slowly building to a decent amount and I am making good progress but I only have 2 years of accounts for 1 of these businesses. I would like to consolidate all the debt and make the monthly payments smaller so easier to handle but my ex has left me with 3 late penalties in my credit score which are now over 5 months old....help and advice much appreciated! Thank you

Quite often in these situations the ex that has been left with the debt has to enter some kind of debt management in order to make the payments more affordable, you will be unlikely to obtain a consolidation loan at a good rate of interest, plus that is not the recommended way forward when tackling debts anyway.

The only way to preserve your credit history is to throw everything you can at the debt, if that is not possible, then Google "debt management plan stepchange".
Do some research on your possible options, sometimes when life throws you a curve ball, to quote an American analogy, you just gotta start again from scratch.

DCFC79

Remember your score isn't important, what is important is your history which is what lenders can see.

On_my_way

I would call your solicitor and tell them what is happening.
Also, you need to get your name off of anything that you can and remove her name from things that you are paying off- the sooner that you financially un-link the better. 

On_my_way

DCFC79 said:

Remember your score isn't important, what is important is your history which is what lenders can see.

Yes- but not paying creditors is not going to look great 

bickerstaff

I agree. You would need to refinance to either a longer period or a lower rate.

MEM62

coachman12 said:

"However, my ex had agree to pay off the joint account and credit card and has failed to do so."
________________________________________________________________________
This is an interesting statement. Was her agreement legally binding ? Was it agreed in divorce settlement ? Did your solicitor know about this at the time ? If so, it could be an answer for you.
Believe me, I understand that the last person you want to talk to again is a solicitor, but it is recommended if the statement in quotes ( above) was legally agreed, you should pursue it rather than letting this aspect mess up your finances. It could be a way out and worth the legal cost, which would be small-fry compared to the large bills you faced for the whole divorce costs.

OP  You need to answer this point.  Was the divorce settlement legally binding?  This will impact where you go next with this.