Happy New Year to all and thank you for taking the time to read this.

Myself and my husband have always struggled financially but always managed to keep our heads just above water but now we are in over our heads and not sure what to do.

Without giving the whole story, due to no work, mental health issues and a huge amount of wrong decision making we have got ourselves into a mess that we dont know how to deal with.

We have racked up loads of debt on credit cards, Loans and Payday loans just to try and survive and we are sinking.

I know we have to deal with this and Bankruptcy could be an option but I am so scared of the implications and stigma.

LTB

post up a brief of the debts in issue

if not done already, do an income/expend for yourselves see what if any disposable is available.

hey no big sweat

we can sort this

just take a big breathe and calm down.

the more info you can give us the better.

it might help you better to also go start a new thread in the payday loans section

as I would suspect that many of those PDL lenders have given you loans when they should not have done

and you can start irresponsible lending claims against each one

as I bet you credit file were already shot to pieces

and you had other PDLS running already.

an IRL claim typically results in the debt being wiped out.

as for you other debts

as advise

list them here.

who was the original creditor

when you took the loan out

how much for

what type of credit

who you pay now

defaulted date

Thanky ou ford for your reply.

Credit cards:

Aqua/Marbles/Cap 1 total approx £4000

My loan with Bamboo £4000

Husbands Loan with 118 118 £1500

Payday loan Myjar £1000

Unsecured loan with Nemo finance £40,000 (This is going back 10 years after house repo. Loan was secured, now unsecured but still outstanding).

I will do income/expenditure but trouble is husband is self employed courier and there is no pattern to his income so cannot know what he will earn one month to the next, its never a lot. Thats why we have so many debts, been using them to live on, stupidly.

I was working for a few months in a care home but it made my depression worse and I also have ADHD.

O dx100 thank you so much for your kind words.

We feel really stupid and ashamed t the situation we are in.

We have always worked in one way or another, mainly self employed for the last 10 years but since our house was repod we have struggled to try and make ends meet. We have never received any benefit except Tax Credits and when I did approach them last year for some help they wouldnt help because my young son still lived at home.

I will do a full list of everything if its required.

Please don't feel embarrassed, you're by no means the only ones in this situation. The important thing is that you're confronting your problem, we can help you sort this.

HB

We feel really stupid and ashamed t the situation we are in.

Don’t!

Many of the folks here who will be helping you have been there.

Relax. You’ve taken the first step towards resolving your problems.

hey, no worries.

an income/expend is just to see for yourselves about how much you are in a negative or positive each month. try a rough estimate if you can.

as said, the payday loans can be claimed on.

presume then now you are not a property owner?

are any of your older debt threads still outstanding

at what stage are you with the debts; paying anything, defaulted, court threats, when taken out, any cca requests, etc

Thankyou all for your support so far, it is very much appreciated .

Ford in reply to your questions,

the situation is this,

Yes there are a couple of old DCA things which have come to light that are older.

The oldest thing (and the biggest) is this Nemo loan which was secured

but when the house was repod in 2007, it became unsecured.

Nemo managed to get a judgement granted against us in about 2008/2009 and this only happened because we were unaware at the time that a court claim had been issued and we were therefore not able to defend it.

We moved around quite a bit in the first 3 or so years after loosing our home.

Even though we have a judgement against us, we havent really paid anything.

We did pay token payments of about £20 pm for a couple of years but in the last 3 years we stopped because we just havent been able to afford it.

Every now and then Nemo rears it ugly head but this time I have told them I cant afford anything but its just a matter of time before they are pushing again.

the trouble is, I dont think this debt will ever go away.

I am not a youngster and its like a big black cloud hovering in the distance.

With regards to the other debts,

The Bamboo loan is one month in arrears and they have not been very helpful with my situation when I contacted them.

Another payment is due this week and they wont be getting it because I dont have it.

All the c/card, other loan payments are upto date although a couple of the crap 1 cards are over limit because of charges which I know I can reclaim,

but they may not get paid this month because we have had no income for 6 weeks and when we do get some in a weeks time,

I have to pay rent, and essential bills first.

The trouble is we have been borrowing from Peter to pay Paul so to speak but it must stop now as its making us ill.

We live in a council house.

hi

thanks for the info, useful.

unless your judgment can be set aside and then successfully defended on, then it may still be owed.

and, unless it could then otherwise be written off due to health etc.

it is quite a large amount,

and bankruptcy may well be a way forward to get rid of it and everything else (bank'y includes existing judgments).

bankruptcy doesn't have the old stigma that it used to have. and you don't have any property.

maybe though see if the payday loans can be claimed on,

and the credit cards, challenged/written off, first.

if you feel comfortable being able to do so.

i don't know your full circumstances,

but it seems that unless most of the debts (mainly the 40k one) can be written off,

then bankruptcy may be the way forward, to get rid and start afresh.

i hate to see debts making someone ill, its not worth it.

see what the guys say.

have you been to the likes of cab, nationaldebtline, etc, for their opinion.

You are already receiving help from others on CAG. Just a few things I have noted.

You are not claiming any benefits you may be entitled to. Suggest you visit sites such as Entitled to or Turn2us and enter your details. See what you can claim. If you are struggling healthwise, you might choose to see your GP, if you have not done so far. If you have a health condition, even if you did not pass a DWP medical assessment, your local Job Centre should look at what job searches you can do. If you claim Universal Credit without notifying of any health condition, you are expected to do at least 35 hours a week job searches.

In regard to the Nemo and other debts, IF you decided to get rid of debts by using bankruptcy, this might not affect you that much. If you were renting privately then it might have been a problem, but if you live in a council property, this is not affected by bankruptcy. This is something you should look into. Why live with debts causing you stress, when there is a perfectly standard way of getting rid of debts ? Donald Trump has been bankrupt several times and many who have eventually been successful, have had bankruptcy or significant debts problems at some stage.

Secured debts like Nemo have a limitations period of 12 years for capital and 6 years for interest. Although it might be unsecured now, it is still a secured debt per its original terms. This means 12 years possible enforcement from when you last made a payment. See how it goes negotiating with companies you have debts with, but keep all options open.

Don't keep struggling on, when there is help out there. If you don't ask or find out for yourself, you will never know.

Ford

No not yet.

I have looked at Stepchange online and did the assessment and Bankruptcy came up as the resolution but for me that would be a last resort

I think and I would need to do my homework first.

The trouble is, its very difficult to see clearly and make the right decision when we are so stressed with it all and have a track record of making wrong decisions which has sort of led us to this situation in the first place, if you see what I mean.

@unclebulgaria

Thank you for your comments Unclebulgaria67.

As far as benefits go, we tried a year ago to get a bit of help,

the first time ever we have asked and the local council messed us about so much and in the end they expected our young son to cough up most his wages (he is on a low wage) or they wouldnt help so we told them to poke it!

As far as medical assessments, both myself and my husband have been under the GP for depression and other mental illness.

hi

yes, the more opinions the better; from cag, cab, nat debtline, etc, to help you make the right informed decision.

imho, from the info you have posted, bankruptcy seems to be the best way forward (mainly due to the 40k judgment), unless they can be written off.

Thank you for your comments Unclebulgaria67. As far as benefits go, we tried a year ago to get a bit of help, the first time ever we have asked and the local council messed us about so much and in the end they expected our young son to cough up most his wages (he is on a low wage) or they wouldnt help so we told them to poke it! As far as medical assessments, both myself and my husband have been under the GP for depression and other mental illness.

Suggest you look into this again. There is so much free help out there. The various charities such as Mind, Rethink have loads of information on their online sites and freephone helplines. Don't let one unhelpful person from your local council put you off. Most councils now have trained staff to help with benefit enquiries. Your nearest Citizens Advice centre might also have more help available, as they are assisting with issues caused by roll out of Universal Credit.

What income per month have you got coming into your house, your husband and yourself and how does this compare with your monthly outgoings ? Don't advise on here for your privacy., but write down for yourself a list of expenses and see how a typical recent months income compares.

If self employment iincome is not enough because the type of trade is just not paying, then changing to an employed job with regular income should be considered. Many self employed people would prefer to just struggle on, rather then work for a company as an employee.

Visit Entitied to or Turn2us and see what benefits you can claim. If you are not fit for work, then you need a sick note from your GP to submit to DWP.

Link to Rethink section on benefits.

https://www.rethink.org/living-with-mental-illness/money-issues-benefits-employment/welfare-benefits-and-mental-illness

If you are eligible for benefits, get your claim submitted asap, as they rarely backdate any entitlement.

posts regarding the nemo loan are now here

https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?472641-Threatened-with-High-Court-Writ-Could-really-use-some-help

My loan with Bamboo £4000

Husbands Loan with 118 118 £1500

payday loan Myjar £1000

Myjar - HCSTC - We can help with this

118 Money - HCIL - We can also help with this.

Bamboo - Is this loan done by a Guarantor?

You said Payday Loans in your original post. Am I missing something or have you missed something out ? (Plural)

Myjar - HCSTC - We can help with this

118 Money - HCIL - We can also help with this.

Bamboo - Is this loan done by a Guarantor?

 

You said Payday Loans in your original post. Am I missing something or have you missed something out ? (Plural)

Hi fkofilee,

When I said payday loans I meant Myjar,

I also had quidee but thats finished because they were sold as payday loans and reasonably short term although I am on my third myjar loan and each time the offer is for more money and longer terms.

Bamboo - no guarantor.

I would appreciate if you could give me some guidance with these as I cant pay them.

should I offer token payment of £1 rather than pay nothing?

Many thanks

no you start an irresponsible lending claim on EACH ONE

start a new thread in the PDL section.

keep these off this main thread

you can even send an IRL claim for the ones you've paid off

dx