Hello & thank you to all DFW's

Lula-Hula

Well, after skulking around for the last few weeks I've finally plucked up the courage to 'come out' as a DFW. My lightbulb has been flickering for a couple of years but finally 'full beamed' just after Christmas.

I dont want to bore everyone with all the gory details - unless you insist - but basically through a combination of unfortunate & unforseen events, naivety, stupidity:o, overspending, denial & bereavement, I find myself the owner of approx £6,500 :eek: worth of credit card debt.

Ho hum, as I said I ve been skulking for a while reading other posts & thanks to all the great advice on here I discovered that I'm not actually in debt crisis as I first thought :j. I shuffled over to the CCCS site & worked myself out a budget which showed that at the moment I have £300 each month to throw at my debts. Then I moved on to the snowball calculators & based on the current figures I should be debt free by October 2010 .

Current debts : Barclaycard £ 3,780 @ a heinous 29.9 % apr
Capital One £ 2,668 @ a friendlier 14.88 % apr.

I said I'd started snowballing & think I'm gonna get told off now when I say that I'm paying off the Capital One debt first but please hear my reasoning before lynching me.

I intend to keep the Capital One card for emergency use as I have no savings & if I do need to use it then it's a much lower interest rate. I should be able to clear this by August next year & then intend to transfer the Barclaycard balance on to it.

I have been approached by a company who are offering to try & reclaim all the payment protection I have paid on the Barclaycard over the last few years on a no win, no fee basis & should they be succesful I should get over £700 back.

I'm quite keen to do this as I dont stand to lose anything BUT they do advise that if I am succesful in my claim then Barclaycard may demand payment of the whole debt (just to be spiteful i suppose) in full, which I obviously cant pay.

So far I'm quite chuffed that I'm managing to deal with debt myself & although I dont intend to keep the Barclaycard once the debt is paid I am concerned that by them recalling whole debt in full, it may affect my ability to clear the Capital One debt as presumably I will then have to go through a debt management plan & provide SOA which will show that I'm favouring Capital One.

Hoping that someone can offer advice on this little dilemma & thanks again for having enabled me to get this far.

Lula-Hula x

REDMADCURLS

Hi Lula

Think you should take a look at the credit card reclaiming thread, read lots of posts over there about NOT using a company to reclaim your charges but rather doing it yourself. (No fee payable - more saving for you).

And maybe a little peek at 0% credit cards - see if you can move some of that debt to better deals?

I am far from an expert but just wanted to ensure you had a reply -

Good Luck

RMC

Lula-Hula

Hi RMC & thanks for replying,

I dont feel quite so alone now. I dont want to sound whiney & self pitying but too scared to apply for other cards. When the ex & i broke up I discovered that he hadnt paid rent or council tax for months & nearly got evicted but for parents bailing me out & paying off rent arrears.

As I was no longer working I couldnt pay off my overdraft & the bank wouldnt
turn it into a loan becuase I wasnt working so they closed my current account ( 7 years on they still havent pursued me for the debt). I had to claim income support in order to survive & keep other creditors off my back (ex had run up various other debts in my name).

When my youngest started nursery I began part time work & got a credit card which I used to make reduced final settlements on all outstanding debts, naively thinking I no longer had debts, just credit - doh !

I managed account well & earned higher & higher credit limits which I stupidly used, sometimes for emergencies such as car repairs but often just spending on stuff I didnt need. I still had a savings account with another bank & the minimum payments went through this account, until my Monument card was changed into a Barclaycard. As my wages are paid weekly in cash I only have tax credits & child benefit paid into this account so the bank wouldnt open a new current account & also decided to stop any new direct debits & standing orders.

About the same time as the card change over, my mum was diagnosed with cancer & sadly died 4 weeks later, a year ago this week. Dealing with the trauma & grief & so used to just getting statements of how much the direct debit was I ended up missing a couple of payments, more black marks on credit file. Although I am now up to date & making more than the minimum payment each month, my credit rating is shot to bits & for many months last year I really couldnt cope with much at all other than working & caring for my daughter. In February I finally admitted I was falling apart under the stress of everything & went to the doctor who diagnosed depression & put me on medication. I am starting to rebuild my life, on a waiting list for bereavement counselling & have taken the steps I previously mentioned to deal with my debt problems, however due to all the previous credit problems & lack of confidence due to depression I am just too scared to try applying for other cards or accounts.

sorry for rambling & I really dont mean to be whiney or self pitying, just writing it down has opened the floodgates. I really do appreciate your reply, makes me feel a bit less alone so will go to the reclaiming charges board now,

thanks again
Lula

RAS

Hiya

You have had a rough time.

But there really is no need to use a nowin no fee compamny to get your PPI back. First thing is - can you claim on it given what has happened?

If not, then there are a few letters to send out and you should get it back.

No need to pay anyone to do it.

REDMADCURLS

Hi

You most certainly are not rambling or self pitying - in fact the opposite - taking your life in hand and getting help is the sign of a very strong person.

Keep posting - those with greater knowledge than I will soon start posting

RMC

Lula-Hula

Hi & thanks to RMC & Ras for welcome & advice.

Feeling better already . Have signed up with various survey companies in the hope of earning points, prizes or good old cash in order to boost the income & increase the amount to throw at the debts. I know they're not huge compared to some people's and I know I could probably go through a free debt management company & pay less each month but I just want to get shot of them ASAP & do it by myself.

Think I might start a diary to keep me motivated,

Thanks again
Lula