Too Poor for debt counsellor...bankrupcy???????????

[Nemo1977]

hi
Well title says it really. Dh and I have got financial problems due to me having had to give up work 2 yrs ago. We have tried to sort out bills and have been in contact with one of those debt counselling companies who have said because we dont have enough disposable income to our names we are actually too poor to have the debt counselling. We are desperately trying to sort something out before db is due in dec. They dont take things into account like we only spend £50 a week on shopping as according to them for a week it should be £30 per adult and £20 for ds who is 2 next month. It looks like our only option may be bankrupcy but that means we would loose our home too. I just really dont know where to go from here.

Have you tried Citizens' Advice Bureau?

Have you spoken to the CAB ?

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If it means you acn start again though it might be the best thing.

You bave to pay quite a lot upfront to make yourself bankrupt though i think

We will do that next but i cant understand how we are too poor to have our debts sorted???????? How do they expect us to get anywhere?

How much debt? have you rang all the people you owe and asked them if you can sort anything out with them?

Geraldgiraffe we dont have money to pay upfront and also starting again doesnt bother me as such its more the fact we own our house and love where it is etc and it is actually cheaper for us than the rent we used to pay. Our mortgage has always been priority so is sorted. ITs more the unsecured loans we have problems with mainly since the tax credits f**ked up and have stopped our payement of £170 a month which now leaves us with £4 a month disposable income.

You can be too poor to have your debts sorted because you have to pay these debt companies, I believe. Whereas CAB is free.

charlie I have been doing that the past few months but they will only reduce by so much and dh doesnt think his will.

Nobody is too poor for debt counselling. Who did you go to?

So not go bankrupt unless there is absolutely no other option - this should be the very very last resort. You will never get rid of this label whatever anyone tells you.

As Nevada and NomDePlume say, try CAB - they are specially trained, and very good. If not try CCCS (Consumer Credit Counselling Service), who are free.

Sorry - typo - DO not go bankrupt.

Surely if you try to declare yourself bankrupt then your house will be liquidated, in order to pay off some of your debts ? Surely your house will be seen as a financial asset and therefore is at risk ?

according to dh it is that we dont have enough income to do a IVA so a voluntary agreement to cut costs on bills.

Nemo, often credit counsellors have more clout when it comes to arranging lower payments with the people you owe. Just because you can't knock them down, doesn't mean that a debt counsellor won't be able to, either.

remortage?

would hat be an option?

Absolutely.

NDP thats exactly why I dont want to go bankrupt.

misdee i dont think they would remortgage in our current financial situation as a couple of my debts were reffered to creditors.

do not go bankrupt. Peter did about 2yrs ago. think he is out of bankrupcey now, but its affected credit ratings no end.

how much unsercured debt is there? is any secured on the house?

we only have mortgage on the house.

Sorry, I misread your post about the house and starting again.

take a look at this they are really good.

nemo - i'm in a similar spat - gonna try to get u on MSN r u on now? (would rather talk companies & more in depth privatly if u don't mind?)

The CAB will negotiate with the companies you owe money too and will help you to arrange payments with them-even if for very small amounts. They are excellent and as others have said, the service is free.

Can you post your incomings and outgoings here, so people can give advice on where you might cut back. Recommend www.fool.co.uk, look at the dealing with debt section and you will get advice.

If you take your essential monthly outgoings away from incomings (excluding debt) how much is left? As long as something is left you should be eligible for a debt management plan (not an IVA).

Which company did you contact for help? It may be that your disposable income was just not enough to cover their huge fees. Recommend payplan - www.payplan.co.uk or CCCS. Both will help for no charges.