Lots of debt

[CoffeeAndCake]

Hello,

 

I'm trying to get as much advice as possible about the best way to tackle my debt. I can't afford the minimum payments and mentally I can't handle it anymore.

 

I currently owe:

 

Barclaycard £5000

Vanquis £3000

Capital One £3200

Wonga £660(ish)

Natwest £1250 (overdraft)

Halifax £1200 (overdraft)

Very £1000

 

The Hfax overdraft is my current account. I've requested an application pack for a basic bank account with Co-Op, and will be switching everything across.

 

I've sent letters to all of them except Hfax saying I'm in financial difficulty, and have made token payments by cheque. I cancelled the CPA to Wonga and emailed them to tell them, but got no reply.

 

Both my son and I are disabled and my husband is a carer for us. All of our income is benefits. My husband doesn't know the full extent of the debt - it's all in my name. Someone suggested that if I used a DMP to get my debts below £15,000, I could get a DRO. Is that an option? I don't care about my credit rating, it's shot to hell anyway. How long can I make token payments for?

 

I'm worried they're going to take all of my money away. Please help.

[unclebulgaria67]

Do you own any assets such as your home ?

 

If the answer is no, then you may qualify for some form of debt relief and should contact someone like Stepchange who are the main debt charity.

 

Link to Stepchange here

 

If you own any assets such as your home which has equity in it, this may stop you being eligible for debt relief and you should still seek advice about the best way forward from Stepchange. You may be able to make small token payments for each of the debts, once it is worked out what you could afford. But this would be better than getting hassled for the debts, with threats to enforce the debts against your house, in the form of charging orders.

[CoffeeAndCake]

Thank you for your reply.

 

No, I don't have any assets - I rent my home and have no savings.

[dx100uk]

how old are these debts please

 

dx

[CoffeeAndCake]

Hi dx,

 

Wonga is within the last month.

Capital One and Vanquis were taken out ~2010.

Barclaycard was 2012.

Hfax overdraft was 2007.

Natwest overdraft was 2005.

[rebel11]

Hi CoffeeAndCake

 

Have you been mis-sold PPI on any of your accounts/loans that you can claim back?

 

Have you got default charges on any of your accounts that you can claim back?

 

Have you made a Hardship Claim to your bank to claim back penalty charges?

 

Read 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8 in my signature.

 

It could be that they owe you money.

 

Don't panic, things seem worse then they actually are.

[CoffeeAndCake]

Thank you rebel, I will have a read and get back to you. As far as I know, I don't have any PPI and I've been very good at not going over my overdraft and making payments.

[CoffeeAndCake]

I've checked through my accounts, and I've only ever missed payments with Very, who charged £12 each time. The only other charges I've had are from Halifax for the overdraft at £1 a day, and that's gone on as long as they've been charging that - I do have all of my Halifax statements.

 

All I've heard back from my creditors so far is a "thank you for your payment" letter from Wonga and a text from Very. Is there anything I should be doing?

[unclebulgaria67]

Is there anything I should be doing?

 

It is really worth you phoning a debt advisory service such as Stepchange. They are a debt registered charity and don't charge you for their services. They have a freephone number and a callback service on their website. I think your husband will find out about the debts anyway at some point because of letters/phone calls etc, if that is your worry about phoning Stepchange.

 

I am a bit concerned that you will struggle on with this, just getting online advice, when if you don't own any assets, don't have income apart from benefits, you might qualify for some form of debt relief. If you can get rid of these debts using a debt relief solution, it is going to save you a load of hassles and worries over many years.

 

Sorry to be a bit personal and blunt, but sometimes I see people struggle through because they are anxious about making phone calls, prefering to get anonymous advice from online forums such as this.

[CoffeeAndCake]

Thank you unclebulgaria.

 

I have begun making plans to start a DMP with Stepchange. I'm delaying it by a couple of months so that I can build up an emergency fund using the payments that I would have been making. I'm not going to lie, the idea of making that phone call is very daunting but I have to do it if I want to get rid of this debt. I WILL make that phone call.

 

I really appreciate your advice. I promise I'm taking it all on board.

[dx100uk]

yes its always better to use these people BUT

 

just remember

 

NO-ONE will question the debts

nor if they are all true

or

enforceable.

 

that's your job!

[unclebulgaria67]

Thank you unclebulgaria.

 

I have begun making plans to start a DMP with Stepchange. I'm delaying it by a couple of months so that I can build up an emergency fund using the payments that I would have been making. I'm not going to lie, the idea of making that phone call is very daunting but I have to do it if I want to get rid of this debt. I WILL make that phone call.

 

I really appreciate your advice. I promise I'm taking it all on board.

 

If you have not already spoken to them, it might be worth doing so, before you save up any money. I am no expert on debt relief options, but I know with some of them e.g DRO you can't have more than £x amount saved up. It would be worth you speaking to someone at Stepchange to see what options you have now, rather than leave it two months.