Seriously in debt

[InDebt]

I have been burying my head in the sand for years about this but have now made the decision to do something about it.
A bit of background. When I was 18 I got 4 credit cards and a huge overdraft. It came to about 5k all together. I walked out of my job, maxed out all my cards and didn't pay any of it back. As a result I had about another thousand pounds worth of charges, a load of defaults and a CCJ.
I met dp at 19, fell pregnant and moved in together. Then low and behold found out he had done exactly the same but he had 12k. So together 18k of unsecured debt.
So, we went to a debt management company. They negotiated terms with creditors and of course take a cut for their trouble. We have been paying this for 3 years. They have frozen all interest and we have got it down to about 14k now.
Since then we have had a car on finance (from yes car credit) which we still have 18 months left to pay and a loan for 2k which we have taken out recently.
I have been working out a budget over the last few days as we are now on slightly more money (about 26k joint income including tax credits) and I think we could pay more off the old debts to try and clear them quicker.
I would like to drop the debt management company completely and go it alone as their fee could go on paying more to the creditors. But I don't have addresses or account numbers for some of the companies and I'm not sure if I could do it on my own.

I'm not sure what I'm looking for by posting this. Maybe some happy stories of people coming out the other end or any tips or advice will be gratefully appreciated.

Thank you.

Find out which local CAB has a money advice specialist and then see if they can help you sort it out. They don't charge and should be able to get details of all your debts from the management company.

Have a look on National debt line web they have letters you can use to write to creditors. There are some places that won't charge you for handling your debt.
If you are going to manage it yourself you really need to have a good paper work system in operation.Have files for each creditor,you will find that they are passed from one debt collection agent to another.
Set up a spread sheet on the computer which lists your income and expenditure. Don't include anything you get for the children benefit wise as that is money to be spent on them.
We were in debt for many years and in the end we went bankrupt.
If there is anything else you want to know I'll try and help.

Thanks for your replies. I have been to the CAB a few years ago. They advised me to go down the bankrupcy route which I didn't really want to take. Probably a good idea to speak to them again though before I start messing around with things.
Thanks for your advice Heavenis. I'm not sure if I'm organised enough to try and take it on myself when I think about it but will definatly check out some websites to try and find someone to help for free.

Agree with going to the CAB, they (obviously) won't charge you to look after the debts, and they will more than likely try to put an IVA through, it is a sort of step down from going bankrupt but they can tell you all the ins and outs.

I hope you get it sorted out and sooner rather than later.

how about contacting Consumer credit counselling service which is a charity.

Thanks again for your replies, that website has some really helpful info. I'll have a proper read in a few mins.

For an IVA you need to have unsecured debts of less than £40,000 and assets of £4,000 if you miss a payment they can make you bankrupt.
As for going bankrupt, you will be automaticly discharged after 12 months is some cases you can be discharged after 6 months. They may make you sell you home if you own it,sell cars.(if they are top of the range ones) You bank account will be frozen and you may have to apply for another one. It depends on you income to how much you would have to pay to creditors and this would be for a maximum of 12 months. There are pros and cons to which ever route you take.
With a company that you pay a reduced amount you need to work out how long you you will be paying them. If it's going to take you another 40 yrs to pay the debt etc.

Most IVAs now are worked out over five years, however if you can raise a lump sum (i.e. maybe remortgaging your house if you have any equity in it etc.) then you can pay a smaller sum to each debt, I think the lowest percentage would be somewhere between 18-20% at the very minimum, but if you could raise more than that you would be expected to, after the debt has been paid (even if only 20%) if the debtors have agreed to this amount then that is it, you pay them the money and that is it over with, you don't legally owe them another penny, and they can't chase you for the remainder of the debt, or try to force you to file for bancruptcy, the debt is finalised.

The CAB, or indeed one of the other debt control agencies that don't charge, will be able to give you all the info for your particular circumstances.