Since the first year of my degree (1995) I've been in debt and due to bad financial decisions since college, credit cards, loans, overdrafts etc, it got slowly bigger and bigger. Over the past year or so I've managed to stop the debt getting any worse due to agreeing with the bank that they cut off my overdraft, change my switch card to a solo card and move my overdraft into a 'Managed Personal Loan' held at the bank, HSBC. The interest rate on this loan was horrendous and my monthly payment of £40 only paid £10 off the loan while the rest of it went on interest,. Robbing swines!

In an attempt to consolidate with my Egg loan where the interest rate is much better I have borrowed the money necessary to pay off the HSBC loan and put everything into my Egg loan. This would've been great if I hadn't taken on Payment Protection though. This has slapped an extra £7k on top of my existing loan and although I'm covered if I should lose my job, my health or whatever it's left me paying out roughly £300 every month that I could be using elsewhere, like to run a car for example. Ouch!

If it's possible I'd like some sensible suggestions about how to reduce this debt quicker than the final payment date which currently stands at 2013. Would it be worth me calling a few insurance companies to get a better deal on this payment protection or do you think I should just stick with what I have and just try for a better job to pay everything off quicker.

Just a note: I don't need telling that I should've thought about this before I spent so much in my younger years because that won't exactly help me now.

Cheers ;)

P

cancel the insurance and save £300.and use it to reduce the capital of the loan.

do you think I should just stick with what I have and just try for a better job to pay everything off quicker.
P

How easy / realistic would that be, are you happy in your present job? What kind of work do you do?

Solution to debt?! Simple, don't get into it in the first place.

Payment protection is only good for one year and you have to prove to the insurer you are actively looking for a job and if they deem you are not making a sufficient effort they will stop paying!

Plus in order to receive this protection you have to sign on too.

Just a note: I don't need telling that I should've thought about this before I spent so much in my younger years because that won't exactly help me now.

Solution to debt?! Simple, don't get into it in the first place.

Clearly you can't read Rich, either that or you couldn't resist having a dig. Maybe it's comments like this that get you banned from so many other forums. Ya think? ;)

How easy / realistic would that be, are you happy in your present job? What kind of work do you do?

I'm a gas fitter at the moment. Not happy with the company and on the lookout for improvements at present. :)

Solution to debt?! Simple, don't get into it in the first place.

What a stupid thing to say. Poor Pauly is asking for help, and if you'd read his thread properly Rich you'd have seen that he's already asked people like you to refrain from making comments if you haven't got anything contructive to say.

Sorry for the rant, but people with such an obvious chip on their shoulder, who take pleasure in making mean posts like this, make me very cross.

Pauly - I sympathise. While I haven't got debts to match yours, I too am still struggling to pay off various creditors after overspending at university. And I had a part-time job while I was there.

Haven't got any solutions for you though - if I had I'd be using them myself. I guess just try to make more money, maybe take a seocnd job, and keep chipping away at it!

Best of luck x

Solution to debt?! Simple, don't get into it in the first place.
that isnt a solution at all.

i have no solution.. im losing bout 500 a quid a month due to lack of income, i could do more about it but to be honest i cant be arsed! ive never been in debt in my life and im enjoying my loan and college time while i can :) i should be working quite a lot when my time comes to start paying off loan so if you can get by on what money you have and it takes that long to pay it off... then so be it.

could you work more? more hours or overtime or change of job to better prospects? sadly all the moving stuff around and shuffling paper is beyond me and usually gets you no where but more confused!

Rich,

The guy asked for advice not a smart arsed comment!

Bye the way, a solution is the method or process of solving a problem. What you are talking about is prevention which is not what Pauly is asking for advice on.

Ok, I won't preach.
There was something on the news the other day about 'loan companies' ? I dunno what they are called exactly, but they will consolidate all your loans, and set a specific rate to it. i.e. 7% for all ? (I have to admit that I wouldn't have thought aboout swapping loans to reduce rates til I came across another thread here on the SF. Therefore it's possible.)

So...
1) consolidate your loans, and reduce it to a minimum with any company that is willing
2) on top of your normal job, find other means to do odd jobs which pays cash in hand that will help you pay off your debt sooner
3) (not sure if too late) - consider taking out a mortgage on a certain property - if your credit ratings allow. Though this is too risky, cos the market have plateaued a tad. If you did this 3 yrs back, you could've earned around 30k.
4) Declare yourself bankrupted ? Many students considers this option, but it will mean impact on your future life, and borrowings. i.e. mortgage etc

Definitely do 1) and 2) with no further financial risks involved. 3) and 4) need serious considerations !

Pauly,

I think you really should seek advice from one of the specialist personal finance sites available on line.

I regularly use

www.fool.co.uk

which has an amazing range of discussion boards, including a dealing with debt board where you can get advice from a lot of good people who are or have been in the same position.

Without pre-judging what they would say. I expect the initial advice would be to complete a statement of affairs, detailing your debts, interest rates payable and then a complete list of all of your current monthly expenditure. once you have all of the relevant inforamtion in front of you then you can start prioritising and working out ways to repay the capital well before 2013.

Good luck

Thanks for the support so far folks, especially with regard to Rich's no-brained comment. :loopy:

I'm going to cancel the protection and look into some kind of insurance with someone else. Let's just hope it doesn't end up costing me more though. I really don't want to have to pay this off all the way through my 30s. :nono:

Anyone know this coming weekend's lottery numbers perchance. ;)

What about getting an interest free credit card, there's loads of them about at the mo and some are for 9 - 12 months, then at least you could put a chunk of your debt onto it and not have to pay extra on it. I've just managed to pay most of mine off and I left uni 10 years ago. Good luck!
And Rich, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!!

There are professionals who give financial advice, I dont know if they charge you, but it may be an idea to consult one to see if there is a better way of paying off your loan. Maybe a better paid job if you can find one.

Anyway, nice to see you are trying to do something about it - good luck.

Pauly, Perhaps try the Citizen's Advice first, their advice is free and should be totally unbiased and objective.

Best of luck mate:thumbsup:

Thanks for the support so far folks, especially with regard to Rich's no-brained comment. :loopy:

I'm going to cancel the protection and look into some kind of insurance with someone else. Let's just hope it doesn't end up costing me more though. I really don't want to have to pay this off all the way through my 30s. :nono:

Anyone know this coming weekend's lottery numbers perchance. ;)

Hi Pauly,

I wish you well in your endeavours. The two things you intend to do here were the ones I was thinking seemed the best options. Its always difficult to recommend financial advice to others without knowing all of the circumstances, but as a general rule if your job lools safe and you are in good health, I think payment protection seldom looks like a good deal. Its always a good idea to shop around for better deals, as the financial services industry is so competitive these days. The other thing I would advise you to be (if you are not already) is to be very wary of so called independent advisors. Take a built in crap detector with you whenever you seek advice from them.

I'm going to cancel the protection and look into some kind of insurance with someone else. Let's just hope it doesn't end up costing me more though. I really don't want to have to pay this off all the way through my 30s. :nono:


I wouldn't bother with any form of insurance - if you do lose your job you can come to an agreement with companies you owe to take a "repayment holiday" until you find work. They will agree to it as what else are they going to do?

So have that as your fall back and in the mean time put every penny you would have spent on insurance into reducing the amount of capital you owe - this reduces the interest which frees up more cash to pay of yet more of the capital. Then it's a positive circle of ever decreasing debt. These insurance schemes are where companies make a lot of money as they rarely pay up.

Also top site (www.moneysavingexpert.com) look at all your outgoings and then look at the guide for each of those area's here - should be some savings in there somewhere.

I dunno whether others know, but if a student go to uni in this day and age, they are likely to come out with at least 15k in debt, if not more. Just fees and living costs alone. Neither mind leisure costs. no such thing as a grant or free money from the government any more.

Well, at least you're keeping positive about it all. If I didn't have family support as a student, I dunno how I would've made it through either.

Maybe I've been watching too many of those tv progs. Simple maths time. Stop or limit unnecessary spending. Reduce increasing interests. Increase money earned. (Lots of notices for odd jobs here. Maximise time Vs money earned ratio.) Maybe in time it will reduce the time it needs to pay off the loan. 2013 is a loooong time ! At least u seem to acknowledge the problem now, rather than escape from it and spends further.

Above all, keep positive. :)

do not even contemplate debt concolidation companies or financial advisers that charge.
the fee could be used elsewhere - i am talking fthrough experience both personal and via clients.
personal protection insurance is useful for year one - however most companies would listen to your condition and arrangements could be made for that year anyway.
if your credit is not a problem -try moving things around. unfortunately if its not then knuckle down & reduce whatever debts you can. just gone through the same procedure so my wife can change jobs & drop 4k a year.

I'm going to cancel the protection and look into some kind of insurance with someone else.


Why are so you so keen on paying through the nose for payment protection?.

You are paying on behalf of the lender for an expensive insurance policy that will repay them in the event of your default!. No wonder loan companies love them, they get heavy commission selling the policy and also avoid carrying much of the risk. Better to throw the insurance premiums at the outstanding capital and pay your loan off earlier.

Payment protection is generally a rip off and often doesnt pay out when you want it to. I have tried twice to claim on this type of insurance. Once I had time off work with a complaint and they wrote to my doc. Because I had had this complaint before, (ie before I took out the loan) they wouldnt pay out. It was a technicality though. I was off work because I tore a disc in my back. I had in years past visited my doc with back pain (not a torn disc) but they still wouldnt pay out.

On another occasion I had to leave a job due to ill health, but again, another creditor used a similar argument as above and got out of paying. Although Ive got rid of my debts, I wont preach because about 5 years ago I was in a similar position. But I wont take out loan protection again.

I have heard many people contemplate declaring bankruptcy these days, and they end up with much smaller monthly commitments. I dont know the ins and outs of this, but I would be interested to hear from someone who has done it.

I'm on the phone to them now to get rid of the protection. Just waiting for them to answer. :roll:

Edit: All done. Let's just hope I don't lose my job or crash my van in the next few months. :hihi:

I saw one of those advert lorries in a field next to the motorway the other day with this link:

http://www.wecanwriteitoff.co.uk/

Give them a call and see what they can do, but beware some of these companies can charge you a lot for their services.

debt consolidation shows up on your credit file as an "arrangement" and reduces your credit score.

i cancelled my insurance similarly with RBS and saved £75 per month - they then however decide to refuse any & all applications for increased credit card amounts or overdrafts.
i didn't have debt problems i just didn't want to pay extortionate insurance fees.

I saw one of those advert lorries in a field next to the motorway the other day with this link:

http://www.wecanwriteitoff.co.uk/

Give them a call and see what they can do, but beware some of these companies can charge you a lot for their services.

My sister went down this route and although it cost her a long time with no credit rating it killed her debt and allowed her to start again. I have only just got my credit rating back up where I want it since getting back on the electoral roll so I wouldn't really consider this route as practical for me, not while I can make the payments I need to every month anyway. :)

If I ever get seriously in arrears then I'l consider this. Cheers for the link though. :D

I think the main thing about being in debt is to get a plan together and make sure that each month you are clearing some of it and now getting in any further.

Don't feel bad because you got into debt. (Most people are). Just feel good you are doing something about it.

My main plan was to get rid of that odious HSBC loan and when the extra cash appears in my bank account (hopefully tomorrow) I'll be able to do that. Yay! :banana:

Thanks to my newly improved credit rating I've also opened a new current account with Alliance and Leicester so I'll soon be waving goodbye to those greedy, incompetent pratts at HSBC. Also I called up A&L the other day to check my account was being switched over properly and I was greeted with, "Hello you're speaking to Ruth in Leeds, how can I help you today?"

OH YES!!!! :clap: An english person from an english town. :D

That's a whole other thread though. ;)

Pauly,

Great Minds think alike .... I’m also leaving HSBC for Alliance and Leicester ... much nicer company and like you say, English people on the phones. Plus you get loads of perks for free like holiday cover etc if you are paying in enough each month!

debt consolidation shows up on your credit file as an "arrangement" and reduces your credit score.


Just a word on this - 'debt consolidation' if it's in the form of taking out a larger loan to pay off all the small ones is perfectly fine. It's only if you go into a 'Voluntary Arrangement' (the exact wording) that it shows on your credit file. A 'VA' is only a step down from a bankruptcy, in that it is you making an arrangement to only pay for example £5/month when you owe £1000s to a particular company, and maybe only paying them £500 in total.

Consolidating your debts, on the other hand, means that you pay off all the smaller debts in total, but add it all together into one big loan that you pay off monthly for a fixed number of years (maybe five or ten, depending on the monthly payments that you can afford right now). This way, all the small debts are paid in full right now, freeing you to only service the one large loan, on monthly payments that don't vary. The new large-loan company lend you enough money to pay all the small ones off right now, in full.

There is a BIG difference.

my brother has tried to get a top up on his mortgage for home improvements. only to find that he has a default notice from a credit card. he says it is totally his fault that it got there (bury head in sand springs to mind)! hoe long will he have this for any one know?

Pauly, there's lots of good advice on www.moneysavingexpert.com, everything from best loan deals amd mortgages through to supermarket freebies. Check it out. Hope you get yourself sorted!

Contact these people:-

www.payplan.co.uk.

They will sort it out and not charge a fee.

what was your degree in ? could you use your knowledge to provide private tuition a few nights per week to others who are studying the same thing,for a fee ?
have you thought of passing your details on to private builders ? i would think that they may need your skill when doing conversions etc.

We have been through all this.

How much is the debt?

If you can live off your income without dependance on credit, if you do not own your own property, then the best course of action is bankruptcy.

If you have assets that can be taken, you should look at negotiating with your main creditors. They will take something rather than nothing (bankruptcy) and that sometimes can be as low as 10% of the original debt repayed over 5 years.

Pauly,

Cancelling the loan insurance was a good move. If the loan isn't secured against anything such as your house, there's no need for you to be insured against not being able to make payments cos it's the bank which'll lose out if you can't pay.

The best thing you could do now is to have a really critical think about what you spend and whether you need to spend it. You might be able to go out one night less each month, or spend less money on clothes, or hobbies or whatever. Seems harsh, but remember that every bit of money you don't spend can be put towards paying off the loan faster.

Also think about any other ways you can earn extra cash. Maybe a part time job, some working on the side or whatever. And don't be tempted to spend any of the money - put it all towards paying off the loan.

A couple of tough(er) years now could mean you pay the loan off years earlier and get your life back sooner.

How much is the debt?

If you can live off your income without dependance on credit, if you do not own your own property, then the best course of action is bankruptcy.

.

Fundamentally disagree with this, if at any stage in the future Pauly you wish to purchase a house or a major item like a car then you will drastically reduce your chances of finding a competitive offer if you enter into any form of arrangement. Despite recent legal changes bankruptcy still leaves a mark against your record.

the money owed is due to your past decisions, you created the debt and should imo feel some obligation to pay it.

Fundamentally disagree with this, if at any stage in the future Pauly you wish to purchase a house or a major item like a car then you will drastically reduce your chances of finding a competitive offer if you enter into any form of arrangement. Despite recent legal changes bankruptcy still leaves a mark against your record.

the money owed is due to your past decisions, you created the debt and should imo feel some obligation to pay it.

Bankruptcy only stays on your record for six years. Morality notwithstanding, if you have a large amount of unsecured debt, don't own your own house and don't have a large income (ie. considerably more than your outgoings), bankruptcy is an option worth considering. Under the new law you can be discharged within a year - I've heard that in Sheffield they're aiming to discharge straightforward cases in three months. If you do want to consider this, I'd suggest you seek advice - Sheffield Debtline on 0808 800 2237 can give you free advice on this, or any other options you're considering - I'd suggest ringing them rather than taking advice from the Forum.

We have been through all this.

How much is the debt?

If you can live off your income without dependance on credit, if you do not own your own property, then the best course of action is bankruptcy.

If you have assets that can be taken, you should look at negotiating with your main creditors. They will take something rather than nothing (bankruptcy) and that sometimes can be as low as 10% of the original debt repayed over 5 years.

What you are talking about is and Individual Voluntary Arangement or IVA for short. This is arranged through an Insolvency Practitioner, you cannot do this yourself and it does not guarantee your assets will be safe but does mean if accepted by the creditors you will be free of the debt after 5 years. However the majority of your creditors must agree to the IVA. Once entered into any failure to pay the agreed amount will mean that your Trustee will petition for bankruptcy.

Fundamentally disagree with this, if at any stage in the future Pauly you wish to purchase a house or a major item like a car then you will drastically reduce your chances of finding a competitive offer if you enter into any form of arrangement. Despite recent legal changes bankruptcy still leaves a mark against your record.

the money owed is due to your past decisions, you created the debt and should imo feel some obligation to pay it.

The black mark remains on your credit records for 6 years.

Not sure if this has been suggested yet, or even if it's a possibility, but have you thought about getting a 2nd job?

If you got, for example £6 p/h and did 15 hours per week (3 x 5 Hour shifts?), you'd probably get about £300 - £320 a month after tax. Have the direct debit for your loan come out 2 days after the 2nd pay packet goes into your bank and tell yourself that it'snot even there. The money you save on cancelling the insurance should be used to increse your monthly payments to shorten the loan period.

HI Pauly,

Do like GHS1961 suggested and have a read round on www.fool.co.uk . The 'Dealing with Debt' board is a tremendous resource, and a great source of support. Theres tutorials there on analysing your debts, and ways of dealing with them. Theres also some inspiring stories on there from people coping with phenomenal debts.

You dont asy how large your debts are, but £300/mo on a loan suggests theyre fairly substantial. Some tips:
1) Reduce your outgoings as best you can - anything you save, chuck at your debts

2) Consider taking on additional work, either overtime or a second job - not only does it get you more money, but it uses up your spare time ;)

3) Be wary of 'debt consolidation' companies. With a few exceptions, they are in it to make money. It doesnt sound to me as if your debts are so large that you can't deal with them yourself.

4) Read about snowballing on the fool.co.uk website and apply this technique if you can. i.e. Make minimim payments on all debts, they throw everything you have left at the most expensive debt (the highest interest rate). When thats cleared, move on to the next most expensive. (Not sure this applies in your case)

5) If you have credit card debts, try and get a 0% interest on balance transfers. BUT be very careful, if you use the card for purchases, any payments you make will come of the interest-free bit, and youll start getting charged interest on spending. Best plan: get the card and cut it up.

hope that helps - good luck!

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. I'm currently looking for more work and at the moment it's all 'thanks but no thanks, we'll keep your cv on file' etc but I'll keep an ear out for that. I cut my credit cards up a long time ago so there's no need to worry there. I don't like having them in my wallet anyway as they're far too easy to use. :blush:

The insurance on the loan has been removed so it's back to the amount I actually borrowed but I've kept the payments the same so hopefully it'll get paid off that bit quicker. I just checked my bank account and the extra cash is now in there so I'll be getting rid of that rotten bank loan today and after that it'll just be a case of chipping away at the Egg loan bit by bit over the next few months/years.

I'll have a look at the websites you were all kind enough to forward onto me and will keep you updated on how things go. Thanks ever so much for all the info. :D

Getting rid of debt is all about having the motivation to help shift it. Sounds like you're motivated enough, so just keep at it.

Whilst working more and more to help shift debt sounds like the best plan, you still have to balance it with having a life.

"Quality of life" time - Time you already work = Time you have left to do extra work :thumbsup:

Umm renting a cheaper place ;)
Moving back in with the parents perhaps?
Cancel the payment protection.
Working a few extra hours to get some extra cash and also to give you less time to go out spending your hard earned (Erm yeah, thats what I should be doing!!)

Will keep thinking... I'll be in the same boat as you in a few years!

Hi pauly just stumbled on your thread
i'm £17,000 in debt and i worked out it will take me 4 and half years to pay this off
i have now set up a standing order to my mums account for an extra £300 and this has dropped the time to about 2 and half years
i'am now living on minimal cash and it killed me at first but now i'm getting used to it
my suggestion to you is do you have anything you don't need that you could sell on ebay cause i'am currently doing that and realised i can pay even more
off
Anyway good luck mate and don't worry about it most of the population is in debt
Craig:)

With VA whats the catch? Say if you had £20k in debt on some credit cards, can anybody approach one of these insolvency practitioners and say they cant afford the payments? It seems such an easy, inviting way to write off debt!

What if you're a house owner and dont intend taking out a mortgate in say the next 10 years - for instance, me! Just bought a new house, dont intend moving for a good 10 years. Whats stopping me saying "sod it - dont want to pay my credit card, loans etc, lets write it off"?

Do you have to prove you cant afford it? whats the new law, the adverts on the radio regarding this kind of arrangement refer to "new law".

Cheers

With VA whats the catch? Say if you had £20k in debt on some credit cards, can anybody approach one of these insolvency practitioners and say they cant afford the payments? It seems such an easy, inviting way to write off debt!

What if you're a house owner and dont intend taking out a mortgate in say the next 10 years - for instance, me! Just bought a new house, dont intend moving for a good 10 years. Whats stopping me saying "sod it - dont want to pay my credit card, loans etc, lets write it off"?

Do you have to prove you cant afford it? whats the new law, the adverts on the radio regarding this kind of arrangement refer to "new law".

Cheers

It's not as easy as that, the Insolvency Practitioner/trustee has the power to look into all of your finances. All your assets are taken into account.

Below is a Q&A regarding IVA

1. What is an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)?
An IVA is a contract between you and your creditors. You pay an agreed monthly sum, usually for 5 years. This is divided up between your creditors, who accept the sum in settlement of the amount you owe them.

2. So how much will I be required to pay?
The monthly payment depends on your income and expenditure, and is agreed so that it will be affordable to you. A standing order authority will be set up and your first payment must be made within one month of work commencing on your behalf.

3. What sorts of people enter into IVAs?
Simply people who cannot pay their debts. If you cannot pay your debts as they fall due, you are insolvent and the law gives you two alternatives - bankruptcy or an IVA.

4. Are there any other options ?
You could get all of your creditors to reschedule your debts, but this may be difficult if you have a lot of creditors. Some banks and building societies have debt counsellors, and you could try speaking to them. Bear in mind that unlike an IVA, an informal arrangement offers no guarantees. One or more of your creditors could change their mind at a later date, or charge you higher rates of interest later if your circumstances improve. You may also take longer to finally clear your debt.

5. What are the advantages of an IVA?

We help you to calculate what you can afford, and you make just one payment to your client account by standing order each month. The payment amount is the same over the whole period of the IVA unless your circumstances change and you can afford more. Typically, your circumstances will be reviewed annually.
Once your IVA is approved, all of your creditors are legally bound by its terms, as long as you keep paying your agreed monthly sum.
Once the agreed term of your IVA is over (usually after 5 years) you have no further obligations to your creditors. At this point you stop paying the monthly sum, and can start afresh.
Your employment will probably not be affected. In fact, your employers will not know about your IVA unless you choose to tell them.
Unlike bankruptcy, an IVA is not advertised in the local press and does not exclude you from running a business or lead to many professions terminating your employment.

6. What do I need to do?
Before your IVA proposal is put to creditors you need to sign it as a "Statement of Truth". You do not need a solicitor for this: you simply read it and sign it. We prepare all documentation for you and also contact your creditors on your behalf (and if necessary we will make an application on your behalf to your local County Court for an "Interim Order").

A creditor meeting will then consider your proposal. You will not usually need to attend as typically most creditors do not attend, voting by proxy instead. Even if creditors do attend, the meeting usually only lasts for between 15 - 20 minutes. Someone from Debt Free Direct will chair the meeting, and you need to be available at the end of a phone line during this period.

7. What else should I know?
You might actually pay more out in an IVA than you would if you were made bankrupt. This is because bankruptcy income contributions usually only last for 3 years, whereas contributions in most IVAs last for 5 years. This voluntary increase in the total payment should make your creditors sympathetic to your proposal.

8. Will my home be safe?
You will not usually have to sell your property when in an IVA. If you do own your home, you need to take reasonable steps at the end of the IVA to make any equity available to your creditors (usually by re-mortgaging). This requirement is also true for bankruptcy, except that bankruptcy often means you do have to sell your home.

9. What if my creditors don't agree?
At least 75% of votes (in value) at your creditor meeting must be in favour of your IVA proposal. Creditors can suggest modifications to your proposal and you can choose whether to accept them or not.

If your creditors don't vote in favour you will still have the option of an informal arrangement with your creditors, or of bankruptcy.

10. Do I have to pay any costs?
You pay only the affordable monthly amount you agree to. This covers both your payment to the creditors and our fees (which we will agree with the creditors). Providing you keep to the agreement for five years, any debt you can't afford to repay will be written off by your creditors.



Your home is not safe.

It is not an 'easy' option.

Try citizens advice website theres something called an admin order look it up

Try citizens advice website theres something called an admin order look it up

Only for debts less up to £5000 in total.

Hi pauly just stumbled on your thread
i'm £17,000 in debt and i worked out it will take me 4 and half years to pay this off
i have now set up a standing order to my mums account for an extra £300 and this has dropped the time to about 2 and half years
i'am now living on minimal cash and it killed me at first but now i'm getting used to it
my suggestion to you is do you have anything you don't need that you could sell on ebay cause i'am currently doing that and realised i can pay even more
off
Anyway good luck mate and don't worry about it most of the population is in debt
Craig:)

I'll have a look around for some sellable items. There's my iPaq h1940 (http://www.sheffieldforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=89525) that I don't use anymore so it's in the For Sale section of the forum and if it doesn't go from there I'll try eBay. There's probably a few things in the attic that I also don't need so I'll have a root around up there. :)

Only for debts less up to £5000 in total.

No it says less than £15,000

No it says less than £15,000

WRONG

You can get an Administration Order if:

* You have at least two credit debts;
* You have at least one county court or High Court judgment against you;
* Your debts*are*under £5,000.

i think you should speak to your crediters try and reduce the amount i did and saved £12000 out of £24000 which is 50 pence in the pound the sums was accepted as full and final settlement .so when you have got them to accept just remortgage or get a loan and pay them what a relief 4 me i feel great

Debt! Anyone got a good solution?

Don't spend any money.

www.moneysavingexpert.com is a fantastic site for debt advice :)

edit: freeze your credit cards, means you have to wait for them to thaw if you want to use them, negating the effect of impulse purchases :P

Solution to debt?! Simple, don't get into it in the first place.

Life is much easier and cost effective when you live with your parents. Soon the real world will hit you when/if you move out mate :)

Since the first year of my degree (1995) I've been in debt and due to bad financial decisions since college, credit cards, loans, overdrafts etc, it got slowly bigger and bigger. Over the past year or so I've managed to stop the debt getting any worse due to agreeing with the bank that they cut off my overdraft, change my switch card to a solo card and move my overdraft into a 'Managed Personal Loan' held at the bank, HSBC. The interest rate on this loan was horrendous and my monthly payment of £40 only paid £10 off the loan while the rest of it went on interest,. Robbing swines!

In an attempt to consolidate with my Egg loan where the interest rate is much better I have borrowed the money necessary to pay off the HSBC loan and put everything into my Egg loan. This would've been great if I hadn't taken on Payment Protection though. This has slapped an extra £7k on top of my existing loan and although I'm covered if I should lose my job, my health or whatever it's left me paying out roughly £300 every month that I could be using elsewhere, like to run a car for example. Ouch!

If it's possible I'd like some sensible suggestions about how to reduce this debt quicker than the final payment date which currently stands at 2013. Would it be worth me calling a few insurance companies to get a better deal on this payment protection or do you think I should just stick with what I have and just try for a better job to pay everything off quicker.

Just a note: I don't need telling that I should've thought about this before I spent so much in my younger years because that won't exactly help me now.

Cheers ;)

P

Sympathise mate with you as I am in debt as well.

I've heard things about IVA's where if you pay an amount to a company they will sort out all your debts for you- and you will be clear after 60 months I think they said.. however looking into it- they say you can only apply if you can afford £160 a month minimum for your debts which is a lot to ask of someone.

I went to Rotherham Debt Management Centre near Rotherham bus station who were very helpful and sorted me out no end- that was a few years ago now but they didnt ask any cash from me so it was all good.
Give them a try if they are still running!

Good luck with it though mate.

Solution to debt?! Simple, don't get into it in the first place.

Why are people picking on Rich for this comment?
Its a true comment and I was sure was not meant with any malice- my parents have said this to me time and time again and its very correct.

But still, having x amounts of credit cards thrust at me was appealing to me at 18 years old!

I don't know how these things work in the UK, but over here that nice little 6 percent credit card you are happy with will leap up into 25% if you are five days late with your monthly payment, not only with that card but also with every card you own. This is usury of the worst kind. We are fortunate in having no charge independent credit counsellors who will negotiate with the companies to reduce your payments over a longer period without hurting your credit rating.
My best advice to young people is try to control your card spending at an early age, because retirement time comes along awful fast, and its very tough living on OAP or Social Security as we call it without still having a lot of debt. I decided to cash out money which was only earning a couple of percent to pay off cards at much higher percentage. Not much money left for a rainy day, but it feels really good telling those loan sharks to go stuff it.

Why are people picking on Rich for this comment?

Because it's a pointless answer and not a solution to the problem since I'm already in debt. Plus I'd already said that I was asking for advice and not tactless smart arsed remarks that would be of no use to me whatsoever. :roll:

Cheers for the other comments though. Appreciated. :thumbsup:

Hi Pauly, I dont know if this would help but I have a DMP (debt management plan) with a company called CCCS.

CCCS (consumer credit counselling service) are a charity run company so you pay no extra money to them and they do not make a profit out of your struggles.

CCCS will organise for you to speak to a counsellor and this counsellor goes through with you all your outgoings and expenditure to find out what your surplus of salary is, but the best thing about this is they take into account things like newspapers, magazines, trips to the cinema, how much you spend on lunch, how much you spend on clothes, childrens pocket money etc etc.

For example my difficulties arose when I was had to cut my working hours from full time to part time because my son was having a few problems, obviously with the cut in pay my outgoings were now exceeding my income so having outgoings of over £300 a month was difficult to say the least.

After I found out about CCCS and I contacted them and spoke to a counsellor and went through my finances, I now as a result only pay £57 a month instead of £300, and okay it may take me 22 years to pay it all off, but the fact is I can afford £57 a month and I dont mind paying that for as long as it takes.

CCCS were able to contact all my creditors and get the interest stopped, they were also able to ensure no baliffs or threatening letters were sent out, they explained to me that baliffs have no rights whatsoever to enter your property without your permission and they can intimidate the hell out of you but they have absolutely no rights at all.

She said that creditors can refuse to except the DMP as much as they like but the fact is that if this went to court and the courts can see you have made attempts to repay through CCCS which are a recognised charity, the creditors will have to pay all the court costs for wasting time.

Because CCCS are a charity run debt managing service most creditors know about them and accept their debt management plans.

I get sent regular statements from CCCS and every year they call me to review my circumstances and to go through my outgoings with me.

This has really worked for me with my circumstances so I highly recommend them.

www.cccs.co.uk

Hope this helps you.

Jo

I tried the wecanwriteitoff.com that you suggested we call, and what a result. I now pay my debts in one payment, much lower than what I was paying. I was a bit unsure at the time, as people have aways advised me that debt management makes matters worse. But my interest has stopped on my cards, and the payments is something I can afford, the advisors are very helpful and they kept me completely informed of what was happeing. This was a god send thankyou.:thumbsup:

Credit Consumer counselling service. That's all I can say. They are excellent. Cut up your cards, and learn to get your stuff with cash. Iv'e lived and learnt. Thankfully I didn't lose everything, or too much, but would never get back into the deadly financial spiral again. Way too stressful. By the way the CCCS is a charity, charges nothing, and it really helps as long as you want to change your ways and can admit it's a problem and you are not coping.

I tried the wecanwriteitoff.com that you suggested we call, and what a result. I now pay my debts in one payment, much lower than what I was paying. I was a bit unsure at the time, as people have aways advised me that debt management makes matters worse. But my interest has stopped on my cards, and the payments is something I can afford, the advisors are very helpful and they kept me completely informed of what was happeing. This was a god send thankyou.:thumbsup:

They are a fee-charging outfit though - each payment they take 10% of the difference between your old and new (total) repayments for themselves. Then at the end they take 15% of the (total?) saving that theyve made you. Oh..and they take your first months payment in its entirety (as a setup fee)

Frankly theres plenty of charity-based organisations who will help you for nothing. And in addition, these companies do not do anything that a motivated individual couldnt do themselves in any case - with tons of excellent advice/instruction also available for free.

Firstly Do NOT USE a debt company that charges a fee.You will need as much as possible to go to your creditors.
Pay plan require you to have about£250 at the end of the month, after your living expenses,(disposable income) to pay your creditors before they will take your case,
Go to the CAB and get a "DebtPack"..and ask for help.
Basically, you write to all your creditors telling them you are having difficulty with your debt and asking them to freeze interest (a holding letter)
You then prepare income /expenditure sheets for YOUR use only
You then send EVERY creditor a financial statement using the info you have prepared on the income /expenditure sheets
You then make a PRO RATA offer to each creditor based on the debt owed to each, using your disposable income
So, if you owe one creditor £2,000 and another £20,000 you have to pay the latter 10 times the former.
You cannot under this arrangement choose to pay one creditor more than the PRO RATA amount even if they try to persuade you otherwise.
Once they have all agreed to this arrangement if you miss a payment to any of the creditors even by one day all bets are off and you may be in the sh*t.
The creditor may, after a few months, ask for another financial statement to ensure that your financial position hasn't changed
GO TO THE CAB, you have nothing to lose and you are not the only one they see.
Hope this helps.
Dave

edit
I think payplan only take on debts over £5k.
Living expenses have to be reasonable....eg. they probably won't agree to you spending £50 a week on fags and drink.

my brother has tried to get a top up on his mortgage for home improvements. only to find that he has a default notice from a credit card. he says it is totally his fault that it got there (bury head in sand springs to mind)! hoe long will he have this for any one know?


Limitations Act on consumer credit contracts is 6 years so it's a case of damage limitation and get in touch with the finance people as rapidly as possible to sort it out.

The only other comment I'd add to all of this excellent advice is to ensure you make your loan repayments as close as possible to the receipt of the monthly update because the accrued interest will be less.

My sister used a non fee charging company b4 wecanwriteitoff.com and basicallly you get what you pay for. Yes they are fee charging but the service I received in comparison to the CCCS what second to none. They saved me somewhere inthe region of £600 per mopnth, so paying them £60 per month for their service wasnt an issue. This is much much lower than the interest I was being charged on my cards before, so what If I have to pay I am still saving £540 per month. These people at the CCCS and other charitable organsations havnt really got a valid reason for giving you the sort of service you get from wecanwriteitoff.com, as they dont make any money, so if u want to leave them "Big Deal" they aren't loosing any money. :thumbsup:

Firstly Do NOT USE a debt company that charges a fee.You will need as much as possible to go to your creditors.
Pay plan require you to have about£250 at the end of the month, after your living expenses,(disposable income) to pay your creditors before they will take your case,
Go to the CAB and get a "DebtPack"..and ask for help.
Basically, you write to all your creditors telling them you are having difficulty with your debt and asking them to freeze interest (a holding letter)
You then prepare income /expenditure sheets for YOUR use only
You then send EVERY creditor a financial statement using the info you have prepared on the income /expenditure sheets
You then make a PRO RATA offer to each creditor based on the debt owed to each, using your disposable income
So, if you owe one creditor £2,000 and another £20,000 you have to pay the latter 10 times the former.
You cannot under this arrangement choose to pay one creditor more than the PRO RATA amount even if they try to persuade you otherwise.
Once they have all agreed to this arrangement if you miss a payment to any of the creditors even by one day all bets are off and you may be in the sh*t.
The creditor may, after a few months, ask for another financial statement to ensure that your financial position hasn't changed
GO TO THE CAB, you have nothing to lose and you are not the only one they see.
Hope this helps.
Dave

edit
I think payplan only take on debts over £5k.
Living expenses have to be reasonable....eg. they probably won't agree to you spending £50 a week on fags and drink.


The only problem my sister had with the Citizens advice, is that the lady she dealt with didnt really specialise in one particular area, she can give you advice on debt/drugs/law, but a debt company specialise in one area. This is what you pay for proffessional advice, I would always recommend a fee paying company and pay for the help

How many people have been back to their creditors to discuss losing the payment protection? and succeeded?

Try: Consumer Credit Counsilling Service.

i don't know much about debt but i can recomend you get a better job. if you want to contact a friend of mine it may well work out that you can be earning £2000 + on top, gas fitting!

give me a pm if you want

1. Well done for canceling your Loan Insurence, Egg make out that you're in lots of danger if you don't have it, however they make a lot of money out of them so they should be ignored.

2. If you have incurred any bank charges over say £15 for unpaid cheques, gone over overdraft limit, missed credit card payments etc and If you're persistent you should be able to get all those charges back. The website is called consumer action group, have a look.

3. Definately prioritise which debt your make extra payments to, starting with highest interest rates.

4. Shop around for better loan deals. egg will not repay your loyalty, if you can find a better interest rate apply and if successful switch. Better still, if you have the willpower to take advantage of Interest free periods on credit cards....do it.

5. do not make yourself bankrupt or anything of the sorts.....its giving up and as a result you'll feel **** about yourself. More organisations are using your credit reference, rental agancies, mobile phone companies and forget about getting a mortgage

Reply deleted

This sounds very trivial but I left Uni with a load of debts and have also struggled to reduce them, but i found making a list of everything i spend down to the last penny really useful. Then you can see where a lot is wasted, cut back on little things like buying lunch out - take food from home, as my mum always said....look after the pennies and the pounds take care of themselves...so true!

I asked RBS 3 years ago to rwemove the payment protection on my card - and 3 times was sent forms and sent them back - and they still charge me for it so i am taking it up with them.

ALso when i was made redundant after my employer went bust i was told i did not qualify - so i asked for all my payments back

it'll be going legal soon if they refuse to pay it back

Payment protection is a total rip off. Banks make more money out of this than they do by lending money. Would never recommend taking it out.

If you run in to trouble, such as losing work, the best thing is to inform the bank. They will generally give a payment holiday.

Money Saving also has very good information about reclaiming bank fees.

Payment protection isn't always useless.
We had 6 months of mortgage payments taken care of when my SO's contract ended unexpectedly.

Cyclone. You are correct. What I meant to say is that it is normally very expensive for the level of cover given when purchased.

It is often much cheaper to purchase it seperately if one wants it.

get a loan to pay of the loan!!

Since the first year of my degree (1995) I've been in debt and due to bad financial decisions since college, credit cards, loans, overdrafts etc, it got slowly bigger and bigger. Over the past year or so I've managed to stop the debt getting any worse due to agreeing with the bank that they cut off my overdraft, change my switch card to a solo card and move my overdraft into a 'Managed Personal Loan' held at the bank, HSBC. The interest rate on this loan was horrendous and my monthly payment of £40 only paid £10 off the loan while the rest of it went on interest,. Robbing swines!

In an attempt to consolidate with my Egg loan where the interest rate is much better I have borrowed the money necessary to pay off the HSBC loan and put everything into my Egg loan. This would've been great if I hadn't taken on Payment Protection though. This has slapped an extra £7k on top of my existing loan and although I'm covered if I should lose my job, my health or whatever it's left me paying out roughly £300 every month that I could be using elsewhere, like to run a car for example. Ouch!

If it's possible I'd like some sensible suggestions about how to reduce this debt quicker than the final payment date which currently stands at 2013. Would it be worth me calling a few insurance companies to get a better deal on this payment protection or do you think I should just stick with what I have and just try for a better job to pay everything off quicker.

Just a note: I don't need telling that I should've thought about this before I spent so much in my younger years because that won't exactly help me now.

Cheers ;)

P

At the risk of being pedantic, the best solution for debt, is not to get into debt problems in t' first place.

At the risk of being pedantic, the best solution for debt, is not to get into debt problems in t' first place.

I cannot believe you have made the same comment after 2 years without even noticing you had made that comment two years ago!

Although I will agree you have a valid point, I must stress, some people due to the way the system works have to get into debt in order to Earn a living.

You make the perfect person to campaign for student loans to be student learners allowance. Say a person passes their course and gets a job, the loan should be wiped clear.
Opposed to somebody claiming benefits over a much longer period which total more than the student loan.

I cannot believe you have made the same comment after 2 years without even noticing you had made that comment two years ago!

Although I will agree you have a valid point, I must stress, some people due to the way the system works have to get into debt in order to Earn a living.

You make the perfect person to campaign for student loans to be student learners allowance. Say a person passes their course and gets a job, the loan should be wiped clear.
Opposed to somebody claiming benefits over a much longer period which total more than the student loan.

My Bold.

If I didn't HAVE to claim benefits as a sole source of income because of being disabled and therefore unable to do full time work, I wouldn't.

I am fully aware that some people on here hate me for being on benefits and consider me a "drain on their taxes", but they all read the Daily Fail and therefore their opinion is irrelevant.

but they all read the Daily Fail and therefore their opinion is irrelevant.

Dear god (any god) Rich, please drop the Daily Mail issue! If only you realise, you do more to publicise them than I'm sure you mean to. I can't see the paper without thinking ooooh, Daily Mail! (Much as previously I wouldn't have touched it)...

And...edit..also please stop including in every post you make about you being disabled. Again, if only you realise, there are SOME people on here who just see you as another poster, because they're new or haven't noticed you. You really don't have to keep on bashing the point home. You could actually just be a 'normal person' (as much as any other poster lol) if you didn't keep mentioning your issues! :)

OMG this is an old thread! Pauly hasn't been a member of SF for a couple of years! :o

There comes a point when reviving an old thread just becomes ridiculous

StarSparkle

Are the daily mail readers ganging up on rich again?:hihi:

My Bold.

If I didn't HAVE to claim benefits as a sole source of income because of being disabled and therefore unable to do full time work, I wouldn't.

I am fully aware that some people on here hate me for being on benefits and consider me a "drain on their taxes", but they all read the Daily Fail and therefore their opinion is irrelevant.

When I am able to I will give you a job mate.
And the daily mail comment - I have read it, but I have never bought it.

When I am able to I will give you a job mate.
And the daily mail comment - I have read it, but I have never bought it.


I'll wait for Rich's million excuses as to why he can't take you up on your offer mate.!

jt

At the risk of being pedantic, the best solution for debt, is not to get into debt problems in t' first place.
I seriously hope you never end up in over your head in debt and find out how tough it can make every aspect of your life.
If you have never been in debt you might think you can make gimpy comments like that and be all smug, quite the opposite actualy.

didnt you say on a post recently your MUM would have killed you if you had spent a few quid on some chocolates, i hope your still at school for your sake pal.

Unless mummy and daddy are zillionaires, these days, with the withdrawal of maintenance grants for students, and the introduction of student loans a few years ago, it's unlikely that any student is going to leave Uni without a significant millstone of debt around their necks.

edit to add,

Pauly, I sincerely hope that you got things sorted out, back when this thread "didn't have whiskers" (:hihi: ) and that you managed to get things onto an even keel financially.

I totally sympathise.

What strikes me about the nature of debt is the sheer hypocrisy of the institutions lending the money. MBNA recently increased my interest on my card from 6.9% to 34.9% (!) which in some scenarios could cripple someone financially. Although the smallprint does advise a 'variable' rate of interest there is no pragmatism here whatsoever. Morevoer, when customes invariably call in to say these payments are unaffordable, it often falls on deaf ears, despite the fact that such rate increases are almost directly linked to the huge financial mismanagement of these institutons, and their desperate attempts to increase/recuop revenue.

At the risk of being pedantic, the best solution for debt, is not to get into debt problems in t' first place.

What a stupid and pathetic comment! If you can’t help someone then keep your opinions to yourself, no one wants to read your tripe!

Mod Note:

As the poster hasn't been active for a couple of years I've decided to lock this thread. If any user feels it is necessary to start up a thread on dept generally, please feel free to do so, or alternatively contribute to any of the credit crunch threads currently running.