£57k in credit card debt

Lissof476

Hello, half witted, head in the sand thats me !, have got myself into massive debt £57k across 7 credit cards - no big purchases just living beyond my means for 4 years and then using one card to pay off another etc etc.

Anyway 6 months ago I decided enough was enough cut all the cards up , got rid of all non essential outgoings - sky, mobile phones, eating out, & reduced weekly shopping bills etc.
I wrote to each credit card company giving full details of my income & expenditure and advised all of them I had £340 left each month after all essentials had been paid (mortgage, house/car insurance, food, heating council tax etc) I split this £340 between them all based on % of my total debt with them, they all accepted & agreed to stop all charges (sounds easy but it wasn't) some of the debts were transferred to debt collecting agencies - but I have never had a visit from any of them ! thank goodness.

My problem is this debt is going to take 14 years to clear ( I cannot afford to pay .01p more) are there any rules around how long a debt can be repaid over with hindsight I am not sure I have done the right thing ? maybe I should have tried to get the balances reduced by attempting to get late payment charges interest etc knocked off before I offered a monthly amount.

I look forward to your advice & would welcome any comments - and yes I have been very very foolish I totally agree,
Regards
Janet

jo6

Hi Janet

Havent been here long but welcome and the others will be along shortly who are absolutely great and will offer great advice..

Welcome and good luck you are 1 step closer to your goal>

poppyg_2

This is a tricky one because I guess that amount of debt is going to take a long time to shift and it sounds like so far you're doing really well with the payment plan

Any chance of maybe increasing your income do you think? Second job or mad ebaying or anything like that? Even survey sites to gain a few extra quid, if not to go towards the debts maybe to give you a bit more of a life

Have you spoken to one of the debt charities? Just wondered what they'd suggest regarding your debts

marksandsparksgal

Just wondering, if the debts are on credit cards, you can try to claim charges for them back, (the court case freeze is only for bank accounts, credit cards can still be chased), and also it's worth looking into seeing if you were missold any PPI (payment protection insurance) with them.

Failing that, I would definetely give one of the free debt charities a ring, either CCCS or citizen's advice, as the advice they give is second to none!

jak

Speak to the cirt advice and see what they say? And you could post you SOA to get some ideas about where to cut back!
Good luck
J
X

poppyg_2

marksandsparksgal wrote: »

Just wondering, if the debts are on credit cards, you can try to claim charges for them back, (the court case freeze is only for bank accounts, credit cards can still be chased), and also it's worth looking into seeing if you were missold any PPI (payment protection insurance) with them. quote]

Good suggestion

Lissof476

Hello, no I haven't spoken to any debt advisors charities etc I am just too embarassed to say how foolish we have been - doesn't seem as bad typing it into a keyboard !

My husband trained as a mechanic when he left school (although hasn't worked as a mechanic for many years) had a career change 14 years ago, but has decided to take on car repairs, mot preps etc which does bring in a little extra cash, I work long hours and we have 2 children so family life is not great at the moment I just feel there maybe no end to it all.

But we do have about £70k equity in our property - I got it valued 2 weeks ago, but am majorly reluctant to sell - don't want to unsettle the children and also we may not get another mortgage due to our poor credit rating.
Janet

10past6

Hi Janet

Welcome, were all here to help is we can, couple of things, can you post your SOA (State of Affairs) click here, this will help to see what your available expenditure is.

Next, have you contacted any of the debt free charities, click here for the contact details, they are very supportive, and worth considering.

As you have high debts, have you considered an IVA / BR, click here for Martins advice.

Any further questions, please continue to post.

10past6

janet_jones828 wrote: »

But we do have about £70k equity in our property - I got it valued 2 weeks ago

Under that situation, you may well qualify for an IVA, this is a form of BR, although you don’t have to sell, basically the way an IVA works, set amount paid monthly for 5 years.
The one advantage of an IVA, creditors CANNOT CONTACT YOU DURING THE COMPLETE PERIOD OF THE IVA.

IVA’s only apply to a very, very, small % of people, your situation puts you in that small %.

In year 4 of the 5 year plan, you may well be expected to remortgage, any equity in your property may have to go to clear your debts, BUT THAT DEPENDS ON YOUR SITUATION AT THE TIME, the downside of an IVA, should you fail to adhere to the agreement your creditors may apply for BR, again, THAT DEPENDS ON THE SITUATION THAT CREATED THE IVA TO FAIL.

The alternative to IVA is a DMP, which is a set amount for the period you owe the debt, this could be 2 years, or 20 years, the downside, creditors always have the upper hand in that, the can if they wish take legal action against you, by obtaining a charging order.

The third option which is NOT an option for you is BR.

marksandsparksgal

Janet, also check out the Up Your Income board, there are a variety of ways you can bring a little extra cash in, be it through doing surveys, joining sites like Quidco.com which give you money back when you buy things, and also checking out https://www.entitledto.com which shows if any benefits you\re getting are right / if you should be getting any.

As others have said, put a SOA up, you'd be amazed how people can whittle your expenses down on here!

And lastly, don't be ashamed, there are so many people in the same boat, and no one here will judge you. It's a matter of sitting down and working out how to put it right, in a way that works for you. No one ever implies it'll be easy, but you can always post here and get a friendly reply!

poppyg_2

janet_jones828 wrote: »

Hello, no I haven't spoken to any debt advisors charities etc I am just too embarassed to say how foolish we have been - doesn't seem as bad typing it into a keyboard !

Janet, you don't have to speak to anyone about the situatiom, if you go to www.cccs.co.uk they have an anonymous online debt remedy thing you can fill in, might be worth seeing what that comes up with

I agree with others about posting up an SOA just in case there are further savings that have been made

I think you are doing well and it's definitely a good move posting on here. I have a large amount of debt too and have had some great advice x