Using own banks help

ST88

Would you advise going to your current bank to help pay off all debt including debt that isn’t with your bank eg catalogue payments, loans from other places? 

Brie

Do you mean advice on how to pay things off?  Or to try and get a consolidation loan?  

If it's advice you need you could start with a statement of accounts (SOA) from the top stickies on this board and post it here for advice on tidying up your budget.  Alternatively NationalDebtLine or StepChange or CAP or CMA at some food banks have advisers that can help.  They'll need to construct an SOA of some sort so you can start the process for them.

As for consolidation loans = I doubt you'll find anyone here that would recommend them.  If you have debt all this does is give you more.  And banks are reluctant to give you any kind of credit if you are already struggling to meet your current commitments even if you tell them that you'll use the loan to pay off the other loans, catalogues, CCs etc.

Grumpelstiltskin

You must remember banks are out to help themselves not their customers.

No harm in talking to them but as soon as they start talking about a loan at xxx% you must say thank you and walk away.

sourcrates

ST88 said:

Would you advise going to your current bank to help pay off all debt including debt that isn’t with your bank eg catalogue payments, loans from other places? 

No, certainly not, for the same reason I would not advise going to your dentist for advice on birth control, your bank is not in the debt advice business, they would just refer you to the debt charities for advice on your whole situation.

Charities such as Stepchange and PayPlan, National Debtline, all offer free and impartial advice on dealing with problem debts, as do we on this forum, and if its a consolidation loan you were thinking of, then as the poster above has said, they are not a good way to get out of debt, they are brilliant at keeping you in debt for years longer than is necessary, and for paying 1000`s over the odds in interest, but as a debt solution, they suck basically.

If you want help paying off your current debt, complete your SOA and post it on here.

This is the link -

SOA Calculator (stoozing.com)