Struggling with debt? Ask a stepchange debt adviser a question

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Comments

  • Momo89
    Momo89 Posts: 2 Newbie
    Hi there,

    I currently have £12.5k in debts with consist of 3 credits cards all at 0% and a Zopa loan.

    Tesco card- £3200 credit limit and I owe £2974- 0% for 28 months
    Virgin Credit card £2200 credit limit and I owe £1855-0% for 20 months
    Halifax credit £1800 credit limit and I owe £1600- 0% for 18 months

    Zopa loan £5500 currently paying £140 per month for 5 years. I have been using quite a lot of my credit for personal circumstances such as repairing my car, shopping, travel and gambling sometimes online casino- such as money transfers. I have never miss one single payment, no defaults ever recorded and CCJs. I currently owned a 2 bed flat with HTB with my partner and we are looking to sell it by next year or so to move into a 3 bed house. During December, I have made few credit applications for debt consolation loans but were all rejected due I been doing quite few applications. I have checked my credit report and it is now quite poor due the fact of my credit utilisation and credit applications. At the moment, I am currently paying minimum repayments on all credit cards. I know after 3-4months, my credit score might be a bit fair where I see what options might be available to me.

    Because I have the intention to move into a new property by next year or so, a new mortgage application will need to be made which might be hard for me. I want to know if a debt consolidation loan might be useful for me or a secured loan on my property, but I am sure if secured loan works with help to buy.

    I have no idea about secured loan and want to ask, what if I opt for a secured loan for 12.5K for 7-8years, interest might be lower and my repayment will be less I will use it as debt consolidation loan to pay all those credit cards and Zopa loan. My question is that, if ever I need to sell my currently property, do I need to pay the rest of the secured loan or the full amount I have borrowed before or after making the sell. Secondly, if I go for a new mortgage application, would I be able to add this secured loan onto the new mortgage. Please I would really be grateful if someone could be able to give me the correct advice, I really want to be debt free. Thank you.
  • StepChange_Rachael
    StepChange_Rachael Posts: 375 Organisation Representative
    First Anniversary First Post
    Thanks for your post.

    I can understand your frustration if you’ve been unable to get through to speak with someone. Due to offering free debt advice and support and many other organisations unable to cope with current demand, clients contacting us has greatly increased and we’ve been extremely busy. Unfortunately the climate doesn’t seem to be abating and we’ll do everything we can to help as many people get the debt advice they need.

    I’m sorry to hear you’ve had difficulty, I’m sure that someone will be in contact as quickly as they can, however if you’d like to make a complaint, we’d be happy to investigate this for you. Complaints can help to make sure going forward we’re giving the best service possible.

    If you’d like to self-manage your debt, then of course this is something you can do.

    Take care,
    Rachael





    Fusterclucker wrote: »
    Bit frustrated. Tried unsuccessfully to get through 4 or 5 times over the past two days and i have had no reply to the email send through my online portal.

    I think i will be leaving the step change process and doing this myself. After the initial help and reassurance, its been a mixed bag (at best) since.
  • StepChange_Rachael
    StepChange_Rachael Posts: 375 Organisation Representative
    First Anniversary First Post
    Hi

    Thanks for getting in contact.

    If you secure a debt to the property it acts as a second mortgage, when you sell the property, in most instances the remaining mortgage and secured loan would be paid first. When you’re applying for a new mortgage they are going to look into equity in the property and unsecured debt, as they’ll look at your whole financial situation, it's my understanding you could request the secured loan is transfered to the new mortgage property.

    As you’re considering selling and buying a new property, and this is your main concern in regard to the debt. I would recommend speaking with a mortgage advisor who can discuss your options with you before you make a decision, they’ll have a better understanding of how unsecured debt, secured debt and your credit file might have an impact when looking at mortgage products. If you’d like free mortgage advice to help make your decision you can use our mortgage advice team at StepChange.

    Hope that helps.
    Rachael







    Momo89 wrote: »
    Hi there,

    I currently have £12.5k in debts with consist of 3 credits cards all at 0% and a Zopa loan.

    Tesco card- £3200 credit limit and I owe £2974- 0% for 28 months
    Virgin Credit card £2200 credit limit and I owe £1855-0% for 20 months
    Halifax credit £1800 credit limit and I owe £1600- 0% for 18 months

    Zopa loan £5500 currently paying £140 per month for 5 years. I have been using quite a lot of my credit for personal circumstances such as repairing my car, shopping, travel and gambling sometimes online casino- such as money transfers. I have never miss one single payment, no defaults ever recorded and CCJs. I currently owned a 2 bed flat with HTB with my partner and we are looking to sell it by next year or so to move into a 3 bed house. During December, I have made few credit applications for debt consolation loans but were all rejected due I been doing quite few applications. I have checked my credit report and it is now quite poor due the fact of my credit utilisation and credit applications. At the moment, I am currently paying minimum repayments on all credit cards. I know after 3-4months, my credit score might be a bit fair where I see what options might be available to me.

    Because I have the intention to move into a new property by next year or so, a new mortgage application will need to be made which might be hard for me. I want to know if a debt consolidation loan might be useful for me or a secured loan on my property, but I am sure if secured loan works with help to buy.

    I have no idea about secured loan and want to ask, what if I opt for a secured loan for 12.5K for 7-8years, interest might be lower and my repayment will be less I will use it as debt consolidation loan to pay all those credit cards and Zopa loan. My question is that, if ever I need to sell my currently property, do I need to pay the rest of the secured loan or the full amount I have borrowed before or after making the sell. Secondly, if I go for a new mortgage application, would I be able to add this secured loan onto the new mortgage. Please I would really be grateful if someone could be able to give me the correct advice, I really want to be debt free. Thank you.
  • Tlynn0412
    Tlynn0412 Posts: 1 Newbie
    I’ve racked up around £15,000 of debt across credit/store cards, personal loans and payday loans (I know), and I’m making enough working full time to just about cover the payments but with nothing left over for anything else. I thought about a consolidation loan and balance transfer cards but my credit is so bad now I can’t get approved for anything anywhere. I’ve contacted my lenders and lowered the monthly payments and have made an appointment with my bank to discuss refinancing my loans but I’m not sure what other options I have as I’ve still got barely enough left over to cover the basics. I’ve also lowered all my spending and don’t buy anything that’s not an absolute necessity so there’s nothing left to trim off my budget.

    Any help or advice would be much appreciated!
  • lardeedeedar
    lardeedeedar Posts: 10 Forumite
    Hi I have a £1k OD costing me and I have a credit card with outstanding £800 balance amount and another credit card I can get 4.5K 0% balance transfer on for 3.5% charge. My question is...can I apply for a balance transfer for the £800 and the additional amount of £1k I want to pay off my OD. Then transfer the excess £1k cash from my balance transfer back to my bank to pay off my OD? Thanks
  • User_060921
    User_060921 Posts: 108 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post
    not quite sure you are in the right part of the forum.

    @rachel

    Making a complaint is going to help me. I do have a reply to the online portal message now, where the advisor has completely not read my message properly and now i dare say i am waiting 2 days for another reply.


    Disappointing.
  • Pennypanj
    Pennypanj Posts: 22 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Hi, I have been looking at the SC website as I have such a lot of debt and am getting into more debt on a monthly basis just to pay my outgoings.
    I have completed the Income/ expenditure form but am not sure where to allocate for my childrens extra curricular activities. They amount to.around £70 per month which sounds alot when I say it out loud but divided by 2 kids doing separate things its just how it is. Where would I record this on the form and is this allowed on a DMP?
    Many thanks.
  • StepChange_Rachael
    StepChange_Rachael Posts: 375 Organisation Representative
    First Anniversary First Post
    Hi

    Thanks for your post and welcome to the forum.

    It sounds as though you’ve been making some good first steps by concentrating on your budget and making reductions where possible, however, if this is still causing you to struggle with payments and you’re cutting back so much that day to day life is a struggle, then I’d recommend looking at alternative debt solutions.

    Even if you’re able to refinance your debt, based on what you’ve mentioned it sounds as though the payments would still be a struggle to meet and the interest might still mean the time frame is longer than you’d like. Before deciding on the route you’d like to take I’d recommend exploring all your options and first getting some debt advice. You’ll then have a full picture of the solutions available for you. I’d recommend getting advice through a free debt advice organisation/charity and If you’d like to do this with us at StepChange then you can find our contact details here, we’d be happy to help.

    Thanks
    Rachael



    Tlynn0412 wrote: »
    I’ve racked up around £15,000 of debt across credit/store cards, personal loans and payday loans (I know), and I’m making enough working full time to just about cover the payments but with nothing left over for anything else. I thought about a consolidation loan and balance transfer cards but my credit is so bad now I can’t get approved for anything anywhere. I’ve contacted my lenders and lowered the monthly payments and have made an appointment with my bank to discuss refinancing my loans but I’m not sure what other options I have as I’ve still got barely enough left over to cover the basics. I’ve also lowered all my spending and don’t buy anything that’s not an absolute necessity so there’s nothing left to trim off my budget.

    Any help or advice would be much appreciated!
  • StepChange_Rachael
    StepChange_Rachael Posts: 375 Organisation Representative
    First Anniversary First Post
    Hi

    Thanks for posting.

    It’s my understanding that you can balance transfer a number of products as long as the balance transfer product is high enough to cover them, as you have £1800 of debt over two products I can’t see why you wouldn’t be able to balance transfer both on to the card, as the total is well under the full availability they’ve allowed you to have. Sometimes the product is either balance transfer or cash transfer as some creditors or types of product work differently, so I’d recommend checking with the credit provider first.

    Thanks
    Rachael


    lardeedeedar wrote: »
    Hi I have a £1k OD costing me and I have a credit card with outstanding £800 balance amount and another credit card I can get 4.5K 0% balance transfer on for 3.5% charge. My question is...can I apply for a balance transfer for the £800 and the additional amount of £1k I want to pay off my OD. Then transfer the excess £1k cash from my balance transfer back to my bank to pay off my OD? Thanks
  • Tryingtogetstraight
    Tryingtogetstraight Posts: 4 Newbie
    Really struggling here. Last year I had no money for food for a couple of weeks as my car cost so much money to get through MOT. I am on a DMP. Have not had a carpet in my bedroom for 3 years, a fridge that leaks water and a fence that blew down in the winds. I have some money coming to me and, although I am struggling through, my car needs more money spending on it, well over 1k, maybe up to 2k (it’s very old). Am I not allowed to spend some of the money on a car, given that the car I have is already ready for the scrap yard. This has caused so much depression that I am now off sick. I do need a car.
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