My lifes in a mess! I owe about £8,000 in total on different cards, Ive been trying to pay £85 to £100 a week to cover them all & pay off extra, but just found out that after 14 months only £450 has actually come off the debt, but ive paid in over £5,000!!! Ive applied for all 0% credit tranfers, to try to get all the monies owed into 1 account but have been refused by them all. I need guidance to get my life back on track urgently please. Im on disability living allowance & have more going out then I have coming in.

Thanks in advance Ann

Hi Ann,

Try not to stress (debtors prison is no longer allowed) I would advise you purchase your experian credit score and let us know on this forum where you are with it. This will help give us a more accurate idea of what your options are.

Hi Ann,

I'm glad a Barclays expert has given you some advice & you will get the Experian credit score they mention. A friend of mine had debts & got an IVA?? which wrote of some of the debt & allowed them to pay off a manageable amount per month. Citizens advice might also be able to offer you some support.

There is always support if you need it & a way forward.

Biffa

Hya, Ive done a check & this is what it shows

This score suggests you are a very high risk borrower. The majority of applicants with this score may have repayment difficulties if they take out any more credit.This score suggests you are a very high risk borrower. The majority of applicants with this score may have repayment difficulties if they take out any more credit. Your score is: 450 on a scale of 0-1000
A higher score generally indicates that lenders will consider it less risky to lend money to you.
This score reflects the information held by Experian on the date shown here: 10/03/2008Your credit score category is:

Very poor This score suggests you are a very high risk borrower. The majority of applicants with this score may have repayment difficulties if they take out any more credit.

not good huh!

Hi back Biffa, whats an IVA?

Ann

Hi Ann

I noticed that you said you had more money going out than coming in. As a first step I would suggest writing all of your monthly income and expenditure down and seeing how much the deficit there is, and whether there are any areas you can make savings.

If you still find that you are struggling you have a few options.

1) Try and consolidate your debts into one place (e.g. a loan) on a lower interest rate - although from what you have said its seems that you have tried to do this and have been unsuccessful.

2) Contact your creditors and ask if they can stop charging interest for a period of 3 to 6 months to help you get back on track - this very much depends on the creditor and your payment history with them

or

3) Contact a debt support service such as the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS) who will be able to explore debt management options with you. The CCCS are a charity and as such do not charge a fee for helping you.
Depending on your circumstances they may suggest a debt management plan. I am on one of these and it means that I make a monthly payment to the CCCS who then distribute a fair amount to each creditor. Also by going through a recognised group such as the CCCS creditors are much more likely to freeze interest for an indeterminate period of time...although obviously this cannot be guaranteed in all circumstances.

You also asked what an IVA is. IVA stands for an Individual Voluntary Agreement, and is a formal alternative to Bankruptcy. You pay a percentage of your debts for 5 years and then any debt remaining is wiped off. Whilst this sounds attractive, it should not be entered into lightly. An IVA is a legal agreement between you and your creditors and if you fail to make your agreed repayments then you are highly likely to be declared bankrupt. Also whilst in an IVA, your credit score plummets and many landlords and estate agents will not allow tenants who have an IVA.

I hope this advice is useful, and well done in taking the first step towards sorting out your debts....by asking for help.

All the best

Ollie

Hi Ollie & thanks for replying. I have been refused by everyone for a 0 % balance transfer but had not thought of a loan, can you recommend the best people to ask for a loan please & i'll try that 1st

Thanks Ann

PS I have just paid up my barclay card account,yesterday wooo, so thats 1 less debter, Im wondering now that Im paid up with them if if worth conacting them again to see if theyll allow me another 0 % balance transfer.

Thanks again Ann

Errr how do I cancel the Experian credit score ? I dont want billing every month. I do have slight dyslexia so it takes me forever to follow destructions lol

Ann

hi ann

Good website very usefull tips and a lot more independant then this website.

To cancel the credit report, you need to contact them and ask them to cancel or they will keep charging you card every month. The same thing happened to me and a lot of other people i know

Hi! There is a great charity that helps people with free good financial advice - Christians Against Poverty - capuk.org - they just won The Times Best Small Company to work for in the UK. They dont just help Christians they help anyone and give good advice....try them!

Hi back Penny, I contacted Christians Against Poverty xmas 06, They contacted all my debters, telling them all that I was in financial difficulties, that's why my credit report is so low!!! That did more damage than good!!!

I did not know they were making me bankrupt & that they didnt offer payments to the majority of my debters, yet took money off me to pay them for their services.!!!

It took me ages to back pay everyone & catch up on payments because of all the late payment fees etc, so I do NOT recommend anyone using them unless your prepared to go bankrupt!!!

Ann

First - do not, under any circumstances, go to anybody who promises to clear your debts. They will charge anything up to or beyond 15% and may well not pay your creditors. FREE organisations are:

• PayPlan - 0800 716 239: www.debtclinic.co.uk
• Consumer Credit Counselling Service - 0800 138 1111: www.cccs.co.uk
• National Debt Helpline - 0808 808 4000

Also your local Citizens Advice Bureau, though they are sometimes fully stretched. Also, if you are working, do you belong to any union as they often have a Benevolent Fund who may help with finance or advice. Go to your local library and ask if they have a copy of a book giving details of all charities which give fiancial help - sorry I cannot remember the name - and see if you fit any of their criteria. If you can repay £5,000 in one year, that is incredible and good for you. If you had paid that sort of money via any of the above three organisations, you would be virtually clear by now. So stick with it, and the hard work will pay off.

Also your local Citizens Advice Bureau, though they are sometimes fully stretched. Also, if you are working, do you belong to any union as they often have a Benevolent Fund who may help with finance or advice. Go to your local library and ask if they have a copy of a book giving details of all charities which give fiancial help - sorry I cannot remember the name - and see if you fit any of their criteria. If you can repay £5,000 in one year, that is incredible and good for you. If you had paid that sort of money via any of the above three organisations, you would be virtually clear by now. So stick with it, and the hard work will pay off.

Sorry, on reading previous posts, I should have added that, if possible, under no circumstances take out a consolidation loan either - these can be a minefield and cost you far more in interest in the long run, especially if they are offered over stupid lengths of time like 25 years or even 10 years