Friday 17 August 2007

I feel I need to share some thing with you all!!

First off I am not looking for sympathy I just need to write this down and I can't see a better way of doing this then telling my blog friends.

One of the main instigators in my downfall at the beginning of the year was debt, I will give you a little insight before hand.

Four years ago I had a lovely house, a company car, mobile phone and laptop as well as a very well paid job.

I decided because of health reasons I had to give the job up, it was based in West Yorkshire and the travelling was really starting to get me down.

At the time I didn't think much about anything just decided I had to leave, a few months down the line the savings had dwindled and the mortgage still needed paying, whilst I was so well paid I had numerous credit cards all thrown at me by the bank because I had such a good income. All I add where paid off each month with no problems.

When I got to the point where the savings had gone I started to make the minimum payments on the cards and that's when I started to get in the shit, I also did the classic when the money had run out half way through the month paid for food and fuel on cards.

By the time I got paid every month every penny and more was due on cards and loans.

I decided to down grade my house so sold it and bought a cheaper one, this was a mistake from the start because I hadn't had a full survey I found all kinds of things wrong with it as I moved in, It cost me £3k in the first week.

So the spiral started borrowed on the cards again to keep afloat and before I knew it I was back to square one again.

I consulted a debt management company about a year and a half ago but because I wasn't able to claim for such things as sky television my left over wasn't a true figure and it always left me short each month.

I pulled away from them about September last year and tried to manage things myself, but there always seems to be the unexpected just round the corner, mainly car problems but also the two weekends away I have done. Both had been booked a while and it was a waste to cancel them.

Anyway this morning I have been dropped with a CCJ for nearly 10k and I have no idea how I am going to pay it, they are also only one of 11 other creditors.

I am doing really well in my new job and look like I may be promoted again real soon but I am loathe to get anymore money because I will just be going on like this for the rest of my life.

Like I said in the beginning I am not looking for sympathy I appreciate I have got myself into this mess I just needed a sounding block.

I have contacted an insolvency practitioner this morning with the intention of going bankrupt I just want to be able to answer the phone again and not dread the post man calling.

The most embarrassing thing is my best mate is a debt collector and she now has accounts for me too.

I want to move on from this and at the moment this is the only way forward I can see without being chased for the rest of my life.

Thanks for listening guys and gals....xx

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hello!

I can seriously sympathise with you 110%, first off if you think going bankrupt will be a good thing go for it but be sure to look into how it will affect your house as it’s your main asset. I shall be honest I always am I declared myself bankrupt back in December 2001 with £12,000 worth of debt and it was the best thing I ever did, I was officially bankrupt for two years as the debt was under £20,000 and now have a certificate of discharge, the bankruptcy stays on my credit file till this December then it is removed. I think now a bankruptcy under a certain amount just runs for one year.

Walking out of that court having such a large amount of money removed was amazing, it was like a huge weight off my shoulders and I never regretted it.

I was sensible for a while with my money but this past couple of years I have got myself into debt again – stupid me you would think I would learn from past mistakes, but most of it has come from living on credit cards to cover essentials, reduced wages after being sick is hard. I estimate now I have debts of around £6000 and I am trying to keep track but am falling behind and finding I am being rude to creditors when they call.

You could always accept the CCJ and ask for reduced payments, avoid debt management places try using the free National Debt Line for help and advice!

If you need some advice drop me a line, I am a good listerner!

Alison
x

SIMON said...

Emma I can only sympathise with your situation but I know through friends that the bankruptcy option is a lot less harrowing than it used to be. I have also heard that the National Debt Line is a well worth while path to take!

Vi said...

Good advice so far. Here's a bit from me. Go to Citizens advice Bureau. They'll give you a letter to send to your debtors saying you can't afford to pay them, and you'll pay a minimal of like, £5 a month (you'll need to give them income and outcome expenditure to prove this) your debts will be freezed so you don't have to pay anymore interest. This is what I did while my divorce was going through. But then they knew they were going to get full payment out of me eventually!

Just get yourself to CAB. In the meantime, call the credit company and arrange minimal payment. You'll feel so much better for it!

Elaine Denning said...

Great advice so far.

The main thing to do is get evrything frozen as soon as you can, and CAB will do that for you. Then you have a few options. Just pay the minimum payments until you are on your feet again, at which point you can increase the payments until they are all paid off. If the amount you owe is a lot though, perhaps bankrupcy is the way to go...but I guess that may mean losing your home.

Have you got any equity in the house which you could release to clear some of them?

Good luck with it all...I hope it doesn't get you down too much. I think a lot of us have been there at some point in our lives, and it isn't nice.

Hugs. x

Anonymous said...

When I last came out of hospital my support worker helped me sort out my finances. Basically he rang the creditors offering minimum payment and they all agreed.
I have used the CAB in the past and they were excellent.
I think if I were you I would go there first.
Good luck x

Too Fat To Fly... said...

I don't really have any advice to offer hun, though you have been given some great advice already from fellow blog readers.

Good luck to you...

Lins x

PS: I know it's a HUGE cliche, but at least you have done the hardest part by admitting that you have a serious problem. Given time, I am sure that you can turn this situation around ;-)

Dark Side said...

Thanks for your kind words and support it is very much appreciated I don't know what I would do without you lot most of the time...xx