Thanks for the reply - that's reassuring. The loan & 1 card is with Santander. 3 other cards - Capital One, Barclaycard & Tesco. All the above in my name.

Hi all I was hoping to get some advice on what the best course of action would be for the debt that is on the verge of being unmanageable. It's a combination of an unsecured loan & credit cards (approx £34k). At this moment all the payments are being made on time. But there is no wiggle room left & with the interest the amount I can afford to pay each month means I'm stretched to the limit. I'm self-employed & the amount I earn each month varies & is not at all predictable. I took out the loan & maxed out the cards to get a business up & running last year but it has not worked out as planned (c'est la vie) & now I'm treading water. I've been reading through the forums to try & get an idea of what direction I should take but it's left me unsure. So I thought by posting there may be someone who can advise of any options available. I live with my girlfriend (rented) & she's worried if I go down the route of debt payment plan then her income will be taken into account too. Is this likely?