Where do I start

kittychoo29

Hi everyone.
I'm new to the forum. I find myself sinking deeper into a massive hole of debts, and I can't see a way out.
It's such a complicated situation so please forgive me if I ramble.
My husband and I got married last year. We tried to keep the wedding small but as anyone who has ever planned a wedding will know, when it comes to weddings....nothing is cheap.
Please don't judge me as I already feel bad enough let me assure you, but we stupidly borrowed money towards the wedding. I am on low income and my husband doesn't have great credit. So we borrowed from amigo and another smaller guarantor loan company with myself as guarantor for hubby. The repayments are killing us. If our finances go belly up it will be me that they chase. I'm frightened I could loose my house, which i inherited from my late father. He would be so disappointed with me!! He was so careful with money.
I've also racked up some hefty credit card debts and I'm struggling to meet monthly minimum payments. 
On top of all this, hubby is a qualified tradesman. Last year he did a job for the local shop. Without going into detail there was a fault on the building which husband repaired. However as he explained to the owner, there was potentially more than one issue causing the fault and he could start by repairing the most obvious first, which he did. Now owner has come back saying the fault  isn't fixed, and expected husband to carry out further work for free!!! Husband refused but we have received abusive voicemails and letters shoved through our front door. To make it go away my husband offered to do the work labour free but the owner need to cover materials. He refused and now is threatening to take us to court. My anxiety is through the roof. What if he wins and we end up with a CCJ? We haven't got money saved so couldn't pay any monies back in a lump sum. With all our other debts we wouldn't have much to spare to pay monthly either. If we can't afford payment we could have bailiffs at the door!
My anxiety is so bad. I'm not sleeping, I'm all over the place at work. I don't know where to turn. 
Our home is in desperate need of repairs. We have damp coming in through the back wall. Our cars are on their last legs but no spare money to do the repairs they need (how mine scrapped through an MOT last month I'll never know!!) 
I feel like I've nowhere to turn to. If anyone can point me in the right direction I'd be so grateful 🙏  I feel I'm at breaking point. Its our wedding anniversary next weekend and I'm not even excited. My anxiety won't let me breathe. 

fatbelly

Where you start is with a statement of affairs
https://www.lemonfool.co.uk/financecalculators/soa.php
Please format for mse
That will simplify the complex situation so that we can look at the numbers.

As for the court claim, if it arrives, you defend it. No point thinking further down  the line at the moment. Bailiffs can only be instructed on a defaulted court judgement.

workaholic789

I am just starting out too so I have no advice to offer, but I do wish you the best of luck!

sourcrates

Hi,

Sorry about your situation, hindsight is a wonderful thing, just a few comments to hopefully ease your worries.

The guarantor loans, if you feel they were unafordable, you can make a complaint, full guide is available here -

https://debtcamel.co.uk/how-to-complain-guarantor-loan/

At present, due to COVID-19, you can take two, 3 month payment breaks if you wish (again see debt camel) regardless of wether you have a live complaint running or not.

Might be of some help to you.

Tradesman issues, if local shop does take husband to court, and wins, any redress does not have to be paid in a lump sum, you still have rights remember, normally you would fill in an income/expenditure form as part of the court process, so any payments would have to be affordable.

Sometimes things can go wrong, and if the monthly amount is too much, he can apply for an installment order to reduce the monthly repayment, so whatever happens, what you have to pay should be affordable to you.

Other debts, as a homeowner you have limited scope for dealing with unafordable debt, most opt for a debt management plan, which is an informal way to repay what you owe at an affordable rate, have a look at the stepchange website, they are a debt charity and charge no fee`s.

Maybe fill in a statement of affairs, available here -

https://www.stoozing.com/soa.php

And we can make suggestions to ease your situation, try and relax, theres always a way out of any debt.

kittychoo29

Thank you for your replies. I really appreciate taking the time to write them. I will look into the complaint with the guarantor loan. Its also a relief to read that a CCJ does not automatically equal bailiffs. 
Its very easy to let my anxiety get the better of me. It also doesn't help how alone you feel when in debt.
You have at least eased some of my worries. Thank you all x

Verbatim

Hi,
I'm sorry to hear about your debts. If you start a diary on here you'll get a lot of support and it can be really helpful to have somewhere to vent anonymously. I hope you begin to see the light soon.
Many people on here have used Stepchange as Sourcrates suggested and the relief that the debt is under control is usually huge. Don't use any paid for company. The debt will take longer to clear and Stepchange are the experts and a charity.
Hope you start feeling better soon.

[Deleted User]

kittychoo29 said:

Thank you for your replies. I really appreciate taking the time to write them. I will look into the complaint with the guarantor loan. Its also a relief to read that a CCJ does not automatically equal bailiffs. 
Its very easy to let my anxiety get the better of me. It also doesn't help how alone you feel when in debt.
You have at least eased some of my worries. Thank you all x

It's an awful situation and feeling, and something the majority of us on here have felt at some point in time, so can totally empathise with you.
Keep reading the threads in this money forum and its subs because it really is a valuable resource, you will learn a lot.

TheAble

Sorry if this is an obvious question/answer but as a tradesman does your husband not have liability insurance? Usually folks have this is place to protect against any claims which may arise.
As others have suggested, post an SOA and we will be able to help with further advice.

BigBadJonno

Hi,
I really feel for you, most of us will after having been (or still in) similar situations.
Get everything written down is the best starting place (as advised above).
The other thing to do is not to let the debt get any bigger. Once you have a statement of affairs, you can write to your lenders and ask for help, stop the charges, stop the interest. It's a big step in acknowledging your problems and it's something that I wish I had known about long before I finally found out.
You've been very brave in asking for help, stick at it. Don't let the stigma of debt problems stop you from getting the right help.

With regards to the hubby situation, you say that he is a qualified tradesman, is he self-employed? On what basis was he employed by the shop owner? Or was he just undertaking odd-job type work? Btw, it sounds like my local shop owner...

kittychoo29

It was an odd job type. He was working for a company at the time but agreed to do it as a favour.  A decision he deeply regrets now 🤦‍♀️

BigBadJonno

That's a tricky situation that needs to be handled carefully. Was he competent to be carrying out the work? (a qualified electrician if undertaking electrical work, for example?).