31 overwhelmed with debt and scared

[Halpert87]

Hi Everyone,

 

This is my first post on here and I am trying to hold back the tears as I type.

 

Ok to give you a brief outline of my current situation

 

I am 31 year old woman with no close relatives.

I am currently in so much debt and I am overwhelmed I am struggling to even be able to give an exact figure at this moment in time and I would struggle to list all the companies and banks that I owe money too. (I will of course get these listed shortly).

 

I would imagine a best case scenario of being about 16k in debt and I'm struggling to reach the minimum payments each month.

Of those payments I can make I think I am only hitting the interest and not the actual debt.

 

I don't have anyone I can turned to for advice and a friend of mine said that this forum is the best and that you guys would be able to help me get my finances in order and help me to figure out the best way of getting my debt down to a manageable level.

 

I have looked at IVA's (I think that's what it is called) before but I wasn't sure if that would affect me later on if I wanted to move house with the rental check?

 

Please can you tell me what I need to do first and help me?

 

Please excuse my lack of organisation and knowledge on this matter and please please can you help me.

I am so scared and worried and I feel so over whelmed by it all. I just don't know what to do.

 

Thank you so much x

[fkofilee]

Hiya - Welcome to CAG...

 

You should be really scared about being in debt... All those collection letters and scary Collection Agencies (DCAs) who will come and take all your personal belongings...

They will take your house, car, even your dog... You should be really scared... -SARCASM-

 

Okay thats enough FKO - But seriously... You've come to the right place and please dont be worried. These companies are toothless. You are just a figure on a paper to them.

 

Going down the IVA route is insolvency.. My partner almost pulled the trigger months ago and I stopped her from doing it because it isn't the right way. 

 

List your debts, how much, and whats currently going on with each one... 

We have a good team and I most certainly will advise where I can.

[Halpert87]

Thank you so so so so much. I will get onto this immediately.

 

you need the companies and the amounts? and the rates? Is there anything else I should include? x

[fkofilee]

Just companies and amounts. 

Any extra info - Dont need rates  

 

We can help

[fkofilee]

I'm will be away for the rest of the evening but another member of the team will be along shortly... 

[AndyOrch]

Do you own or rent your home ?

 

Andy

[London1971]

Yup, you may well find out that many of these debts are unenforceable, and no longer need to worry about them, and an IVA may well be unnecessary.

 

I was nearly in nearly 3 times as much debt as you, and only ended up paying back a few thousand.  If I'd have paid full attention to everything here, that amount would have been zero.

[Halpert87]

@Andyorch I currently rent my house.

 

@London1971 Oh wow! Really? That's interesting. I hope there is a way to help me get this down too.

 

I'll post all my debts on here today. Thank you for taking the time to help me, I appreciate it so much and it is helping me more than you'll realise to have people to talk to about this

[unclebulgaria67]

When you list your debts, can you include  the approximate month/year you took out the account or loan.  Also when the accounts were defaulted, if you have received a default notice and could not pay the amount on the default notice.

 

If you have Government debts such as Council Tax, please state the current position. 

 

Are you currently working ? Do you claim any benefits  ? If you are on low income, have you applied for any help. It would be Universal Credit now and not  Council Housing Benefits, unless you have any existing Housing Benefit claim.

 

 

[Halpert87]

Ok, so I have sat down and done the sums and to say I was a little out on my original debt assessment would be an understatement. The figure I owe is actually ALOT more than I anticipated. Here is the breakdown:

 

MBNA Credit Card - £3,833.61
Barclay Credit Card - £9,914.02
Natwest Over Draft - £2,241.51
Paypal Credit - £2005.88
Littlewoods - £1287.33
Next - £603.98
Other (This is what I owe a friend of mine who helped me, they said they're not urgently needing this money back and to sort out the rest first but I feel a massive sense of need to repay them) - £7,000.00

Total of Company Debts- £19,886.33
Total Debt with extra money I owe friend - £26,886.33

 

Thank you in advance for any help and advice. This figure has been very overwhelming and is a massive wake up call for me.

 

 

 

[dx100uk]

well ignore PP credit nothing they can do to you.

 

you indicate you are paying all the above debts?

 

any of these being paid to a powerless DCA or are all your debts still owned by the original creditors and you've not received a notice of assignment/sale?

 

[Halpert87]

Hi @dx100uk

 

Thank you for your message  

 

Sorry to sound a little dumb but is PP Paypal?

 

I am making minimum payments on all the debts I have (I have missed a few due dates and incurred a few £12 charges) but I am trying my best to pay them all on time.

 

I believe I am only hitting the interest though and not really making any dent into the actual debt.

 

At the moment I am still making all the payments to the original companies and none have been taken over by a debt collection agency.

 

Thank you so much for all this help x

 

 

[dx100uk]

yes pp is paypal.

 

if you go look in the debt collection section of the library

you'll see a pro rata letter

send that to everyone.

 

they MUST help you by freezing interest and refraining from penalty fees [which are all unlawful and reclaimable along with any other fixed sum penaly fees like letter/phone/debt management etc, you might have been ever been charged]

 

if any refuse, then send the failed pro rata letter.

 

if you state you are going to make a £x PCM payment then do so until/unless they refuse your offer/fail to freeze int/charges. do not await acceptance

this will show your goodwill.

[Halpert87]

Ok, So should I send that to PP aswell or should I just ignore them?

 

Will sending the pro rata letter to all of the companies lead to my credit score lowering?

Will I be black listed from any companies?

 

Thank you so much, this not only helps but also relaxes me as I have been unable to sleep or eat through the stress of this debt x

 

@dx100uk is this the template I need: 

 

 

Edited July 21, 2019 by Halpert87

[dx100uk]

yes

blacklisted ??

 

you need to get upto speed thats an old wives tale

but yes ofcourse it will effect your credit worthiness but I suspect that's the least of your worries

but certainly consumer credit debt is nothing to lose sleep over!

 

there a credit file guide 

 

 

[London1971]

There's pretty much stuff all any of those debts can do to you, if you don't own a home, apart from sell them to a DCA. As for renting another house, when you move, I went down the guarantor route for several years, when I needed to move and never had any trouble.  There really is no need to worry at all.

[Halpert87]

Wow! There is so much information to take in and so many different ways to deal with it. I guess being in the situation I am in with no family, no inheritance coming to me ever, I just want to get myself to a place where I am financially stable and have no chance of losing my home and becoming homeless. This is a big fear of mine.

 

@dx100uk My father used to tell me he was blacklisted from different places and I always thought it was a real thing, so embarrassing oops . Thank you for the link to the the CRA file, I've downloaded it now and having a read through. This whole situation has definitely made me realise how much I have to learn about my financial situation.

 

@London1971 & @Kegimus Thank you both for your advice. I am very confused about the IVA issue. I have been thinking about it for sometime now and have heard many conflicting stories.

 

What should my next move be?

Should I contact my creditors and find out when the accounts were open?

Or should I just send of the Pro Rata letters to them all?

Do you guys need to see my incomings and outgoings?

Or is that irrelevant at this point?

[Kegimus]

I would continue to get advice from the other two people and not me as I have no expertise on it just wanted to let you know my story and where I’m at now

[London1971]

Listen to @dx100uk

 

Do as he says in the earlier posts, with the Pro Rata letters

 

Nobody on this site has an agenda other than to help.  Any one running an IVA, DMP or whatever, wants to make money from you.

[Halpert87]

@Kegimus Thank you and I am glad you're in a much better place financially now hopefully I will be there soon too.

 

@London1971 Thank you so much for your advice. I will make a start with the Pro Rata letters immediately and see where that takes me.

 

I will keep you updated and if there is anything else I should know or do please let me know and I will make sure it's done x

[dx100uk]

get things running and stable then we will start nit picking things apart if needs be.

 

as I've answered on kegimus own thread already ill not repeat what I will post there here

but SERIOUSLY never ever consider any around your neck things like IVA,DRO,trust deed, or whatever until every debt is check thoroughly 

 

 

[AndyOrch]

Have you never heard of  Debt Relief Order Halpert ?

 

Could be a quicker way to resolve your issues....yes the advice above would resolve your situation eventually but its a very slow process.

 

https://www.gov.uk/options-for-paying-off-your-debts/debt-relief-orders

 

Andy

[Halpert87]

Thanks guys, It's so nice being able to have people I can talk to about this.

 

I have heard of DRO but I wasn't sure of what the difference was between that and an IVA. I also wasn't sure how it would restrict me financially in the future...

 

It stresses me out to think of debt collectors turning up at my home, or continually being harassed on the phone by them. 

 

I just want to get myself debt free, financially savvy and then I can make sure I never allow myself to get in this situation ever again. x

Edited July 22, 2019 by Halpert87

[AndyOrch]

2 minutes ago, Halpert87 said:

 

I have heard of DRO but I wasn't sure of what the difference was between that and an IVA. I also wasn't sure how it would restrict me financially in the future...

 

 

 

Read the link...completely different to IVAs...12 months and you have  a clean slate...thats why I asked earlier if you owned your own home..as you dont you would most certainly qualify 

[Halpert87]

@Andyorch So 12 months and It's all cleared? The only thing that I would be concerned about is that I have a car on a PCP plan... Would I have to give that up if I did a DRO?

 

I'll have a read into this now. In the meantime what are the major disadvantages of a DRO?

 

Thank you x