Does anybody have any Info on the help the CAB can give you for debt?? I have been trying to get out of it but feel like Im drowning in redreminders and 1 debt iv even faulted on the payment scheme as i cant afford the minimum payments. its really depressing me. I am on income support and have heard there is something that the CAB can do to help you to manage your debts? Is this true? The reason I ask is I dont want to go to the CAB with 3 kids in tow if there is definately nothing they can do. I really need some help. I am getting desperate now. I dont want bailifs knocking on my door! please help!

Hi Elaine,

Just popped over from the ttc forum and spotted your post.

Definately go to the CAB in my experience they are really helpful. Its been a few years now but I had really big problems when a partner left me in the poo (long story)

At the CAB they have specially trained people who know all about managing debt, they will contact your creditors on your behalf, which can be a relief as when I was there I was soo scared as people can be really nasty to you on the phone. They will also do a budget for you and help you work out how much you can afford to pay while still being able to eat and keep a roof over your head. Do not whatever you do go to one of these debt management companies who promise you the earth. they will charge you for anything they do and it's nothing the CAB can't do for free.

I hope this helps, I know how worrying it can be but once you speak to someone you will feel so much better.

Good Luck sss

Hi sweetie

My hubby and I are in debt and we have a failed IVA behind us.
We looked into bankruptcy but hubby is an Accountant so could lose his job so we are looking at a second IVA and or a debt payment plan with a specialist company.
Would bankruptcy be something for you? It can mean your debts will be written off and you will be discharged after 12 months or you can look into an IVA. This is a single payment every month for 5 years and whatever debt is left over is written off and it's what you can afford.
There are lots of agencies out there who can help and the CAB's website has some great letters on there which you can use to write to your creditors and explain you are struggling or you can do what my BF did.
She had £35k in debt and got pregnant by accident as she was paying of her debts every month so she well um she took her name of the electoral roll and is waiting for 6 years to pass because after 6 years if your debts go unacknowledged (no contact with the creditor in any form) the debt is statute barred and the debt becomes unenforcable. When she gets letters from creditors she returns it as 'Not at this address' or 'Gone away' and they keep on trying to locate her. She is gutted because she has always paid her credit cards and loans but she can't afford one wage and a baby and debts.

I hope you get it sorted. The baliffs will only come if you have defaulted on a Court Order, ie if you fail to pay a CCJ then they come and they CANNOT enter the property without your say so but if you have a window or a door open they can come in through that way which is really fecking odd.

Whilst you try and get it sorted call or write to your creditors and ask them to freeze your account for a while whilst you get things sorted.

Take care

If you have trouble getting to see CAB .... try National Debtline ... just google them.
I found they were great in helping me get sorted. They have templates for letters etc to send to your creditors at lots of different stages.
They helped me to get an agreed reduction in payments on loads of credit cards etc. Took a huge worry off my mind.
Good Luck!
xx

thankyou so much ladies. its really getting me down now so i will spking to some1 on monday for help - just hope i qualify for it!

Hi

Im coming out the other side of a similar situation. TBH i dragged my kids to CAB and they werent that helpful. They just told me my options basically an IVA or bankruptcy. They did however give me details of how to go about both and recommended a IVA agency which doesnt charge you enormous fees. They gave me a template of a letter to write to my creditors but tbh i was too scared and too drowning in it to do anything about it. I stopped opening post and was terrified when fone rang or door bell went.

Bankruptcy would have been best for me as I dont have any assests (they let you keep a modest car and my old banger is certainly that) It would have cost me £500 to go bankrupt and then all my debts would be cleared. However Im too proud and couldnt face my name being in the paper, no-one knows how much ive have been struggling, had i admited it in the first place i prob wldnt have got into the mess but thats another matter.

I went for an IVA and compared to the outgoings i had on all my debts making the payments isnt too bad, I rang up the IVA company that was recommended (payplan they are in the yellows or google them, but there are loads others) they will go thru your incomings and outgoings and draft a budget for you all on the phone, then they will give you the options, and an idea about how much your monthly payment will be, once it has started you can just refer all your creditors to them. You will need to open a new bank account in a bank where you have no debt and get all your benefits etc paid into there.

I cried when i rang them, as i was/am ashamed that i let myself get into trouble but i really had no option left. Yes it has f*&ked my credit rating and i wont be able to get any credit for next 6 years and then it will take ages to rebuild it but I can now sleep at night, dont get contiuous phone/mail etc. And by paying back a bit of my debt i feel that im not shirking my responsibilities. I have now learnt how to manage my money, we live on a shoestring but I made a vow to myself that I would learn from my mistake.

My advice is do something about it now, I struggled on for months and months and it was ruining my life and i was so stressed. Good luck

Hi Honey Im on a debt management plan with CCCS its cccs.co.uk and basically you fill out a budget and whatever is left after priorities you pay them and they distribute fairly between creditors my payments went down from almost 400 to 102 a month and all my creditors accepted the offer and even if they dont they still make the payments for you so if they do take you to court the court will not do anything as youre paying all you can - its not for everyone but it has changed my life they have even told me that as soon as I go on maternity leave to call them to discuss my options such as bankruptcy or an iva ect as I emailed them saying I was worried I wouldnt be able to afford repayments

good luck

xxx

hi
im looking into bankrupcy,with kids and twins due soon,ex left me with nothing!!!just need to raise funds i think i get court costs paid so i need to save £350ish..
i just dont know what else to do,so ur not alone.
my friend has been bankrupt 4 just 6mths and now is released,no debt and got to keep her car worth £4000...
mandy xx

Hey mms go on www.cccs.co.uk and give them a call and ask them about going bankrupt - they are lovely and so helpful and their advice is free. They havent charged me a penny for my debt management plan and when I go on maternity I think they are going to help me with either bankruptcy or an iva. And if youre on a low income and want to go bankrupt there is a way of getting part of the fees waivered

xxx

try pay plan http://www.payplan.com/ - they are a charity and also arrange IVAs on your behalf & give free debt advice.. i found them really helpful

having said that, I am looking to go bankrupt at some point. im over 25 grand in debt, and have been avoiding my creditors for 4 yrs now after breaking my IVA with pay plan. now with a baby on the way, i feel that its time that i get it sorted,,,,

ive spoken to a million different advice centres etc and all their advice is the same - if you have no assets, often its worth going bankruptl.

hi
i have no assets and owe 11grand i think,have tried other payment arrangements but they just dont work,with 5 kids you just never know when something going to go wrong lol.

i do want to do bankrupcy i think this my best option,just the fee lol.
mandy

Hi girls,
I would try CAB but they are very busy. If you can get an appointment and need to take the kids ..do it. They have to help thats what they are there for.
I used a private company and yes I had to pay them fees but they did everything from writting letters to contacting my creditors and helping me manage day to day. And in the end doing all my bankruptcy paperwork.
We were in debt management for 12 months but ended up going bankrupt as we felt we couldnt carry on living on a shoe string everyday. Some weeks we only had £25 a week for everything (food, cloths etc) and with three kids it just wasnt possible. Hubby and I went without food every other day so the kids werent hungry.
Bankruptcy was a very hard thing to agree to but once you actually start it is so much better and not atall embarrasing.
Yes there is court and recievers fees and yes you have to see a judge which sounds terrifing but it just means popping into your county court on your booked date and seeing the judge in his chambers(office) he reads your paper work and if hes happy your not on the fiddle signs it off and its done. very discrete.
Within 3 days you will get a phone call from the Official reciever who will go through your assets and bankruptcy paperwork with you. Once they are happy everything is in order they will contact your creditors. if you have spare money each month they may want a small payment towards your debts for a certain period. My hubby has to pay £75 and his tax to the reciever instead of it going to the tax man(no you dont then owe the tax man the court made him excempt from tax for six months to help pay the creditors)
Its symple really just bloody hard to start doing it.
Yes your credit rating is crap but the way I see it for the 5 years that you are on the bankruptcy register you cant get credit, you live with what you have and no borrowing, it makes you start a whole new way of thinking about money, budgeting and spending.
They will leave you a modest car especially if you need it for work but if you dont work and they do take it what you need to sort out is what you actually use it for...if its just for shopping etc then do you really need it the reciever will consider those sort of things.
At the moment Hubby and I are learning to budget, we have no overdraft which is very strange as we have always had one, we have no credit/store cards either so as you can imagine its almost like re-learning to shop and where money goes each month.
Its hard and scary but well worth it. WELL WORTH IT.
I do wish you the very best of luck xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Have you tried speaking to the companies that you have the debts with? If they are a decent company they will normally help. Oneof my friends had a really roughtime of it last year and I dealt with all the companies she had the debts with and worked out a reasonable payment plan for each one. Good luck I hopw you get it sorted soon x