Am i doing the right thing?

DEBT_23

im 24 next week and figured if i didnt contact a DM company soon i will never be debt free... heres my story

at 18 ( young and stupid i know) i got 2 credit cards with Halifax £3000 limit on each... straight to the max , i also got a personal loan with Halifax for £7500, and also a personal loan of £5000 from Natwest..
at 19 i was out of college and work and defaulted on all 4 debts... after token payments, debt letters and avoiding telephone calls i have last week rang up a DEBT MANAGEMENT CO and arranged to clear it off. he says im looking at £200 p/m for 5 years and then im DEBT FREE.
if i had of done this sooner i could be debt free soon enough.

little downside tho i have been with lloyds tsb for 5 years and had a credit card with them tho i had 1k on it the had to include it onto the IVA which meant that this morning i had to go and get a basic bank account with a different bank and say goodbye to my lovely current account.. no more paying online or internet banking.. tho i did get myself into this mess.


i know i have done the right thing , im still young and have no kids im able to sort my credit out, i sometimes feel alone and peed off when i think of how stupid i have been..
i will be on here more often posting updates and gaining advice and words of wisdom. thanks all. x
nat

welshpaula

hi nat just to let you know i have a basic bank account with nat west after i went bankrupt i have internet banking and can pay bills etc online the only thing i havent got which i dont want is credit and an overdraft !! good luck paula x

Deep_In_Debt

Yep, I got the Natwest Step account too. You can apply for it online.

Have you spoken to any of the debt charities to make sure that an IVA is right for you? CCCS, Payplan, National Debtline and CAB all offer free, impartial advice and recommend what's best for you. CCCS have an online debt remedy which will show you the best course of action.

Good luck.

DEBT_23

the other solution was a DMP which was cheaper each month but would take 10years and would result in me paying it all in full, with the IVA its 5 years then im debt free and they will be writing off approx 7k of the debt.
200p/m for 5 years i will gladly work a little overtime and cut back on going out knowing im debt free in 5 years. thanks for the info the natwest card isnt a option for me due to me owing them 4k of the 5k loan i took out 5 years ago

are there anyone on here currently on their IVA how are you dealing with it, have you had any problems that i could also come across in my iva? thanks

postingalwaysposting

Is your iva with a debt charity? Dont ever go to someone you have to pay a fee to be with, it may take you longer to pay it off. I would take deep in debts advice and if you havent already go to a debt charity and see if they have different advice or a better agreement

MrsTinks

Don't use a debt management company - you need to call one of the organisations in my signature who'll do a better job and won't charge you for it so more of your money goes on paying the debt and makes you debt free faster

10past6

DEBT_23 wrote: »

i have last week rang up a DEBT MANAGEMENT CO and arranged to clear it off. he says im looking at £200 p/m for 5 years and then im DEBT FREE.
if i had of done this sooner i could be debt free soon enough.

Wo, wo, wo, slow down.

OK, several issues concern me here.

a) why do you prefer to use a fee paying company, that CANNOT do anymore more for you than the debt charities? *I've directed the question in a way you can see there is no difference between the debt charities, and a fee paying company, only difference, you pay for one and not the other*

b) you've mentioned IVA, have you looked into whether you qualify for an IVA, many, many people DON'T, this forum has numerous thread about members who've been missold IVA.

Many fee paying debt management companies only have one interest, and I can assure you, it's not YOU.

Do as much research as you can, ask as many questions as you need to, contact numerous debt charities to obtain the best advice, and this should be your first point of call, click here.

Good luck

poorandindenial

Re: the IVA - I agree with everyone that has posted - check it out with a non fee agency first, you will find that your debt free date will probably be sooner than they are claiming when you aren't paying their fees. Also have you read up on IVAs - here is a guide in case you wanted more info:

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/pdf-iva-guide.pdf

It will help you to second check whether you are definitely eligible for an IVA and also whether it is right for you.

DEBT_23

I was told of someone who is in a DMP that the charity ones work for the bank not me thats why they dnt advertise on tv
and that they will try and get more of the debt as possible that the companiers who work for us ? is this not right?

who should i contact then to arrange to clear my debts?

i was also told that as my debt is over 15k i have 3 debt creditors that i qualify ? do i not, im unsure as what to do now.

Deep_In_Debt

I hear what you are saying Debt-23 about being debt free in 5 years rather than 10 years. I could have chosen the IVA route and been debt free in 5 years but both CCCS and NDL recommended a DMP which at present will take me 9 years to clear. I'm on a DMP with CCCS and no way will it take me 9 years to be debt free - I'm due to pay my mortgage off in 5 years and my debt is far higher than yours, so will be debt free before then. With the help of the people here, you can become debt free within 5 years.

I've not got one but apparently Co-Op are very good for a Cashminder bank account. From what I have read here, you can apply via telephone, manage the account on-line and get a Visa Electron card. Might be worth a shout?

Deep_In_Debt

No, the charities do not work for the banks. That is total ball hooks!! They are funded by the finance industry but give free, impartial advice to you. They work in YOUR interests and not the banks.