Can ANYONE help me? I am losing it here.

Ayrshire_D

Hi

I have just registered for this forum today. I have stumbled across it a few times in the past but today I feel like I really need help.

I have an outstanding loan (inluding interest approx £24k owed) and my overdraft is currently at -£6500.

We bought a new house 6 months ago and with the profit from our old house we paid off all our credit cards, etc and put the rest towards deposit etc for new house.

Didn't have enough profit to clear the above loan, but had approx £3k to put away towards the monthly payments for it.

It was stupid, but in my mind I thought I would work something out by this point to have additional income to cover the loan payments.

Now here I am today, and I simply can't afford to make these loan payments.

I am at my wit's end worrying about this. I feel like I am about to have a nervous breakdown.

I don't know what to do.

What will happen to me when I can't make the payments for this?. It is an unsecured loan but surely they will try to make me sell my house to get their money back?

The problem is - I have only had the house 6 months - if I was forced to sell it, I would have penalty charges etc to pay and would end up LOSING money from the sale, so there wouldn't be any profit left to put towards the debt.

My car is on Hire Purchase. Selling that wouldn't gain a single penny. It is cheaper for me to drive to work than it is for train fare. There isn't a bus route to my work.

I don't know what to do. I am in work at the moment and the worry of this is affecting my work. Now I am worrying about that. Sometimes I think it would be easier if I wasn't even here.

Can anyone help me and give me advice of what the bank will do to me for this? I can't lose my home. It will destroy my marriage.

MrsTinks

Firstly they can't make you sell your home if the debt is unsecure Take a deep breath!
I think your first port of call is to get together a SOA and post it here so we can have a look and see where we can help you to save money and if the route to take is going to be setting up an IVA - I would also recommend contacting one of the free charities that helps with debt problems Links are HERE.
Be honest - speak to your partner and be open and honest about everything. It's the not telling that will be impossible to repair.

Best of luck!

Ayrshire_D

I can't tell her.

I messed up before and we had to use a good chunk of our house profits to clear other debts. It caused a lot of major problems between us. I thought this last one was under control. It is gonna blow up in my face big time if I let her know this has happened again.

With regards to my house - surely even though it is an unsecured loan - if they think they aren't getting their cash back in time they can take me to court, and in turn the court will force me to sell it? (although as I said previously - there wouldn't be any profit...but would they make me sell it and take a smaller house so my mortgage/rent was lower and I had smaller payments? I am in Scotland if that makes any difference).

It's not that I can't make ANY payments, just not the £377 a month loan and the OD interest. I could pay - say £50 a month until I am in a better situation. I also have a bonus from work next month (£750) that I could put towards it

Tiglet

Ayrshire_D wrote: »

With regards to my house - surely even though it is an unsecured loan - if they think they aren't getting their cash back in time they can take me to court, and in turn the court will force me to sell it? (although as I said previously - there wouldn't be any profit...but would they make me sell it and take a smaller house so my mortgage/rent was lower and I had smaller payments? I am in Scotland if that makes any difference).

I don't know whether the procedure is different in Scotland but in England it would be incredibly unlikely that that would happen. If you're having trouble paying, then tell them (possibly through the CCCS/National Debtline etc.) and make the most reasonable proposal you can afford.

chevalier

Hi there
with an unsecured loan you can't be forced to sell you house, the most they could do was put a charging order on the house. Which means that when you come to sell, they would get a share of the proceeds.

Surely you OH knew about this loan you still have if the profit from the other house sale, paid of credit cards etc?

Perhaps the loan company would give you a payment break for this month, with the expectation that the bonus would be put to it next month. But you have to think about, what is your OH going to say when there is a bonus coming and she doesn't see any of it?

Without a SOA we can't really help you trim back your outgoings, also without your OH being on board how are you going to feel when she inadvertantly sabotages your money saving, by say buying a nice outfit, or make up, or booking a holiday?

best of luck
chev

deliciosa

Hey,

Just try not to panic. You are here, which means you have taken the big first step and things will be better from now on. (((((big hug)))) It's going to be fine.

First of all, please post a SOA. There Are people here with a lot of experience and they will be around soon to give you some handy tips on what can be done.
What I would suggest straight away, is from this moment, before you even get "bigger" advice, watch what you spend your money on (every penny counts), and do your (honest) SOA. Facing your debt is the hardest thing, once it's done, things can only be better. Make yourself a big cup of tea and sort it out on paper.
Don't think about moving yet, it might not be necessary. Maybe you will be able to cut your expenditure so much that you won't need to - that's why we need your soa!! Maybe there are benefits you are entitled to. Maybe you can negotiate with your creditors. Trust me these guys here know solutions for everything.
Good luck and chin up

Ayrshire_D

thanks guys. It is a relief to have someone to talk to about this. A 28 year old guy sitting in work with tears in his eyes is looking a bit dodgy, but I am feeling suicidal about this.

I have already gone through and cancelled all Direct Debits, etc that I don't need. I am only paying essential bills now and I am going to do our monthly shopping online tonight to save a bit of money.

I still have £2000 available on my Overdraft. I know I shouldn't be using it but it is giving me a safety net for the moment to help cover the loan payments.

I will try to get SOA done when I have a chance today, but there's not way I am going to have enough left over to pay in full each month.

I feel like I am up debt creek without a paddle.

MrsTinks

First of all if you are really feeling suicidal then please call the samaritans! They are lovely people and they really will help you! Unlike most of us they are trained to help you, we are merely wellmeaning amateurs (no offence to anyone!) who will do our darnedest to help you sort your financial problems out.
However - until we have an SOA then it's VERY difficult to see what ways out you might have. It could be that with some tummy tucking etc we might be able to sort your budget out to allow you to carry on re-paying the loan. Or it might be that the only way out is an IVA etc. But until we get the SOA then we can't really look at that...
Also it would be helpful to tell us HOW you ended up in this amount of debt? Was it just overstretching, or was it holidays, silly spending, cars? I know it sounds nosey but this is really important so we can start to understand how the problem came about and how to help stop it
Also make sure you include in your SOA any money that your partner contributes to the bills and if she doesn't then maybe it's time she did

kittiej

Ayrshire, no amount of debt is worth taking your life for. How would your loved ones feel or say then? " If only he'd told us then we could have helped" That's what.

It's purely money and business at the end of the day, not a trade off in lives.

If you feel that you cannot talk to your OH could you speak to a parent or friend?

Honestly, companies expect to bear losses, they may not like it but it's just how it is, and besides they get their losses back in other ways ie bank charges.

I'm not trying to belittle how you feel cos I know the sickening feeling being in debt gives, I just want you to put things into perspective.

Now dry your eyes and write an action plan, just a couple of sentences to give you some focus.

eg

1) Phone for debt advice, for your own peace of mind and for when you do eventually tell your OH you will have answers for her too.

Please take care xx

monkey22_2

Just wanted to bump you back up a bit.

There'll be loads of excellent advice on its way to you soon. Post your SOA when you can and you'll be overwhelmed with help. Remember, most of us on here have been in exactly your position - there is a way out.:grouphug:

Alisonbel

It's only money, not worth losing your life over. Egg took a charging order out on our house, which turns the unsecured into a secured loan they will just expect proceeds from the house if it is sold and the loan not paid off. Have you spoken to a debt charity? CCCS are fab they maybe able to sort out a payment plan for you.