My Partner is Unemployed with £20k Debt

Nick_K

Hi Everyone,

I am sorry if this isn't the right place to post this.

Me and my partner are 30 years old, and we have been together for nearly 3 years. I have just purchased my first property solely in my name, and my finances are in good order. Unfortunately, my partner's finances are in shambles. I knew that she had some debt but I finally managed to convince her to share everything, and it is much worse than I imagined. Between loans, credit cards, overdrafts and car repayments, she owes over £20k. To add to this, she has just finished a year of full time education and currently has no work. She is looking for work, but it isn't going well as she is a newly qualified teacher in a time where all schools are shut and nobody seems to be hiring. 


She has taken out loans just to cover loan payments, and her minimum payments currently add up to over £600 p/m. She has just started claiming universal credit which pays about £400. She has promised to send me a full breakdown of her debts, but I'm not sure what I can do to help. I have just taken on a mortgage and I'm not sure I could take out a loan to help her consolidate her loans, even if I was comfortable doing that. She has been paying most of the loans for years, and has paid back the amount borrowed in that time. Is there any hope that any of her creditors would consider writing off the remaining balances? Other than that, I'm simply at a loss for ideas. I would appreciate any advice on this matter. It has weighed on her mental health for a long time, and it is already causing me a great deal of stress.

As is stands my partner has not defaulted on any of her loans, but we see this as imminent at this point. 

Many thanks,

Nick

Grumpelstiltskin

Do not take out a loan to cover her debts.
She really needs to come on here herself and put up an SOA so the great people on here can advise her on the best way forward.

Karonher

I would be very surprised if any just wrote of the debts. If they did then everyone would be taking out credit and then saying they could not afford to pay. I am not doubting that she is genuinely trying, but doubt they will make an exception.

Fatsdom

Could she move in with you, to reduce her costs? You could perhaps cover the groceries etc, but don't give her a damn penny. It'll disappear down the black hole. 

sourcrates

If you can`t pay your debts, then there is a range of debt repayment options available, dependant on circumstances.

How close to 20k is she ?

Any possibility of getting the debt under 20k ?

A DRO (Debt relief order) may be the way out if the debts can be brought under the 20k mark.

She would be an ideal candidate if -

# she is not a homeowner

# has debts of 20k or less

# no car worth over £1000

# no assets worth more than £1000

# has less than £50 disposable income left, not including debt repayments.

Nick_K

sourcrates said:

If you can`t pay your debts, then there is a range of debt repayment options available, dependant on circumstances.

How close to 20k is she ?

Any possibility of getting the debt under 20k ?

A DRO (Debt relief order) may be the way out if the debts can be brought under the 20k mark.

She would be an ideal candidate if -

# she is not a homeowner

# has debts of 20k or less

# no car worth over £1000

# no assets worth more than £1000

# has less than £50 disposable income left, not including debt repayments.

If she was able to continue her repayments, the total left to pay is currently £20,001.47. Based on her settlement balances though, the total is £17,167.15. 

Looking at the requirements -
# She has around £2,000 in a help to buy ISA. (which she is prepared to use in order to repay some of her debts)
# She has a car which is probably worth more than £1,000, however £4,672.75 of her debt is made up of the car repayments, which at this point probably exceed the value of the car.
# I would say she meets all other requirements.

Thanks you

sourcrates

Something to get advice on then, contact one of the debt charities in my signature, don’t make the mistake of consolidating.
Good luck.

RAS

Definitely, get her to contact step change, national debtline or Cab, but use the links in sourcrates' signature because there are sharks out there who set up duplicate sites to fleece people.

If she's under 20k DRO may be the way to go even if she has to sacrifice the car. But she needs 121 advice without pressure.

ohdearhowdidthathappen

Definitely don't take debt out for her, but it's lovely you're trying to help her.
Has she done a budget, made sure she's cut everything to the bone; mobile, insurances, food etc?
Could she sell her car and anything else; jewellery, clothes etc? 
While she's looking for a teaching job, she should get ANY job she can.  Could she tutor? TEFL? Babysit? The summer hols are looming, could get a job in a playscheme/kids club.... if not; care work is always in demand.  Sign up with agencies, you can earn good money working evenings and weekends...
Now's a good time to be looking for a teaching post ready to start in September, is she applying to everywhere in a 20 mile radius, she might have to commute a bit to secure an NQT post.

JayRitchie

What are the interest rates on the debts?
I wouldnt take out a loan to pay off her debts - there are so many issues with this - but if you could let her stay with you for free she should be able to look for work which would provide enough income to make inroads into the amounts outstanding. Schools will be looking for staff again in September, and there should be opportunities for tutoring, babysitting, summer schools etc. What subject and age group does she teach?

[Deleted User]

What ever you do, do not take out a loan to pay your partners debts, what happens if she leaves you? You will be saddled with a debt that is not yours and she could be running up debts again. Any work is better than no work even filling supermarket shelves.