need some help/advice please with debt

Madbat11

Hi, im wondering if anyone can help us, we are really struggling to meet our bills every month with the amount we owe on credit cards etc, covid, lockdowns and living beyond

 our means has got us in a right mess, we have credit cards with marbles and vanquish that are our main problems, we both have bad credit ratings so swapping to a 0% unfortunately is not an option for us, the interest on these are so high, can i ask if anyone has asked them for any help before? These are our biggest debts that we really need to tackle, we would really appreciate if anyone has any advice in dealing with these companies, 
Thank you so much in advance x

EssexHebridean

First things first, let’s get an idea of the full picture. Complete an SOA (Statement of affairs) using the link in my signature below - make it honest, open and reflecting the way things are right now, not what you think you “should” be spending. Format for MSE, and post into the thread, and let’s see if we can work out the right way forward for you. 

RosaBernicia

Hi Madbat11,

Sorry to hear that things have got difficult but you're in the right place to find a way forward.  If you can pull together a picture of your situation in an SOA, as EH suggests, it will be easier for people to see the potential options and advise. 

RB

fatbelly

We can help you get to grips with this when you provide more detail (soa) but why is your credit rating poor? Are you regularly paying the minimum payments on the cards? Are you on the electoral roll? Have you any defaults on your record at all?

sourcrates

This is just general advice for you, we can tailor it more specifically once we've seen an SOA, generally speaking credit card companies will only agree to short term payment arrangements, so if your problems are going to last longer than say 6 months, your much better off defaulting on those cards and going into debt management, or another debt solution, dependant on your circumstances.

If the payments are unaffordable, then you can simply stop paying.

Obviously we don`t know the extent of your troubles as yet, but just so you are aware, there is always a solution to a debt problem, if it`s unaffordable, you just stop paying, there are mechanisms in place to pay a lower amount over a longer period of time, with interest either suspended or stopped altogether.

Once we have seen the SOA, we can advise further.

enthusiasticsaver

I think that if your problems are likely to be long term then defaulting on the payments and opting for a debt solution like  a  DMP might be better.  Seeing an soa would allow us to tailor the advice specifically to you.  If you cannot afford all your outgoings then you need to prioritise.  Priority 1 is mortgage/rent/secured loans and council tax/tv licence (if you have one).  Food and Utilities are next and any HMRC agreements. Any unsecured lending on credit cards/personal loans/overdrafts is lower priority.  Defaulting will affect your credit record but if it is bad anyway I would not worry about that.  

StepChange_Allen

Madbat11 said:

Hi, im wondering if anyone can help us, we are really struggling to meet our bills every month with the amount we owe on credit cards etc, covid, lockdowns and living beyond

 our means has got us in a right mess, we have credit cards with marbles and vanquish that are our main problems, we both have bad credit ratings so swapping to a 0% unfortunately is not an option for us, the interest on these are so high, can i ask if anyone has asked them for any help before? These are our biggest debts that we really need to tackle, we would really appreciate if anyone has any advice in dealing with these companies, 
Thank you so much in advance x

Hi there

Thanks for posting.

I can appreciate that this last 20 months or so has been very difficult with all the uncertainty around; it can certainly make budgeting and paying bills more difficult.

I'd highly recommend contacting us at StepChange Debt Charity so that we can do a financial assessment of your situation and give you some impartial advice. It's completely free of charge, even to call (you can also do a budget online), and there's no obligation to take up any advice or solutions if you don't wish to.

You can find out how to get started here.

Best wishes

Allen

fatbelly

OP hasn't been back for 5 days now.