my story

secretspender_2

I have been lurking the past few days and am so grateful to have found this site. There are some truly wonderful people.

Anyway where do I start?

I am very ashamed of the trouble I am in and what might happen in the future.

Up until a year ago, I was trying to pay all my debts back. But after months of threatening letters, endless phone calls and people banging on my door at all hours (and hiding in the kitchen until they had gone) I moved house and area without letting my creditors know. It seemed a good idea at the time....

....but a year on, some of them have found me. It was stupid and I know that and i have spent every single night worried sick about it.

i have no idea how much I owe now, I'm guessing around £7k to a bank loan, a credit card, a catalogue, old water bills and utility bills.

My plan is now get my credit report and start contacting them....

Any advise for a silly stupid girl?:(

poppyg_2

i think definitely getting a credit report and making contact with your creditors is best idea then you can work out what you owe. Then next move is probably contacting one of the debt charities

A lot of us on here have done silly things don't worry

themagics

first of all don't be ashamed we all know how easy it is to get in this situation you are doing the right thing by getting your report and contacting them you might also want to consider a debt management plan with an agency you could try payplan we are with them and so are lots of others on here or you could try the national debt helpline or citizens advice which ever path you chose you are on the right one to getting it sorted and we will be here for you all the way goo luck and keep in touch

secretspender_2

thank you so much. I feel sick thinking about it but I've got to do it.

Could I get an agency to contact them on my behalf? I'm too scared to do it

tigzem

I had my head buried for a time too.... it will be hard to start with but once you've done it, will feel much better - good luck xxx

poppyg_2

Of course you can, if you get your credit report and then speak to a charity such as CCCS or Payplan they would contact creditors on your behalf to arrange payments based on what you can afford (and they won't charge you a penny for the service)

Well done for making the first step with taking action with the debt, one of the hardest bits out of the way I think wising up to it all

poorandindenial

The most important bit of advice is to not beat yourself up about it, take what is done as done and start afresh. No-one on here will think you are stupid or judge you for your situation.

Well done for posting on here, there are several things you need to do:

1)you need to find out how bad the problem is, you need to get balances for these bad boys and you also need to know who currently owns them. Get a copy of your credit reference file (you can do this through quidco.co.uk and get paid for taking out a free 30 day trial, just remember to cancel it at the end of the 30 days)

2) you need to work out what sort of shape you are in to repay these debts. To do this you will need an SOA (statement of affairs - I will post a link in a second - consider it posted!) - if you post your SOA up here then people on this board can help you find ways of cutting down what you are spending each month

3) you need some decent professional advice - check out the list in this link, they give good advice and won't charge you a penny (and of course you can come and get loads of advice here from people that have been through it)

HannahandMark

Hi there,

Do not be ashamed of what you have done. You have now been very brave and realistic in realising that you must get this sorted.

Remember to get any informal advice by phone, but anything else in writing. Just come back here with the results, post and get help.

Best wishes

Mark

10past6

Hi

Welcome to the forum

Nothing to be ashamed about, no one knows what's round the corner, we all do what we believe is best at the time.

This is wht I think you should do.

a) obtain your credit report, find out who you owe and how much.

b) Once you've done that, contact the debt charities for further advice.

c) come back here and post your SOA *Statement of affairs, click here.

D) If any creditor contacts you whilst whilst your taking advice, send them this letter:

Your address
Date
Creditor / DCA address

Dear Sir/Madam

Re:− Account/Reference Number XXXXXXXX

I / we are writing to inform you that we are seeking advice and assistance from [enter debt charity name] regarding our current financial difficulties.

To this end, we would appreciate if you could hold any action on the above account for a period of at least 28 days.

Also, during this period, could you please freeze interest and/or any other charges accruing on the above account.

We look forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

Yours faithfully
HTH, and continue to post any questions you have.

jak

It happens a lot. I did exactly that a few years ago. 4 to be precise. They found me too. It was pretty scary but actually when I spoke to them, I made arrangements and it wasn't nearly as bad as I imagined!
I would find out what you owe and then go to the cit advice to find out what to offer the companies. They should be able to advise you or refer you to a debt agency.
Good luck.
J
X

Bismarck

Hi,

Just a quick note to tell you to forgive yourself, pick yourself up and move forward with the rest of your life. Each day from now on can be a step closer to making everything better.

take care