Payday loan mess

[Twotinygirls]

Hi, I'm in need of some advice, basically, for one reason or another we have had to, on occasion get a payday loan, this has spiralled, now basically each payday we are paying back the huge loans and having to get another huge one for our normal spending.

DH says this will taper off over time until we don't need them, I'm feeling sick at the interest it's costing and the shame of it. We both work, me part time him full. Have some bills to clear about £1,500 plus normal day to day and these bastard loans that we now rely on.

Can't ask family for help, we owe them money too! Both pf us have terrible credit scores.

It's such a mess, we are not stupid people we have always worked, I can't believe this has happened to us!!

We have applied for a credit union loan but was reused and I don't know what to do next!
Any discussions with DH who is a total ostrich about things like this ends up in a big fight.

Has anyone been through this and come out the other side?

Argh!!

Hello, you need help and now. its not going to get better ....its going to get worse. sorry as you dont need to hear that. My exH was like this and a big reason that we broke up sadly.

I would advise CAB as soon as possible in the New Year who will hwlp you set a budget and will also help you in speaking to the Payday loan companies.

Once you have a budget in place then you know what you have left over to offer as a payment to them. They won't like this but they will accept it....CAB can help you with negotiating freezing if interest etc.

Woukd type more but am on the mobile and the keyboard is rubbish,

Finally dont beat yourself up.....lots of people have got in this position. These companies are raking in a fortune,

Thanks for replying. So is there a way of freezing them and paying them off bit by bit? They are takin our whole wages? I feel like we have been sucked into a huge hole!

Are you homeowners, or do you rent?
Do you have new cars or old cars?
Do you have other 'assets'?

Genuine questions - the answers make quite a difference to what your options are.

Unless you have assets then I would be look and going bankrupt or declaring insolvency tbh.

There are charities out there that will help you sort this mess out.

I would also echo the previous post CAB should be a starting point. The money advice trust may also be able to help. Both will be able to assist with budgeting which should be your first step, it's probably going to be a slow process so don't expect an overnight solution but talking this over with an advisor, and keeping that dialogue open is key, don't bury your head in the sand.

Do not feel ashamed, people from all walks of life take out loans whether they be payday/high street lender/loan shark/credit card, I offer legal advice in this area and I see all sorts, I encourage everyone I know not to judge the situations of others.

Good luck

Speak to a legitimate debt advisor: Step Change / CAB etc

They will help you map out your income / expenditure and paperwork to send to the companies you owe to stop them hassling you while you pay what you can afford.

They'll also help you understand that your family is your priority: not paying the debts. We left it much longer than we should have done to contact Step Change and we had been prioritizing repaying debts over our family's welfare (dental work, cheap food, generally going without).

There was an interesting tv prog on bbc3 not long ago about payday loans.

A guy who was on the program said that they harrassed him constantly even when he got admitted to a secure phyciatric(sp) hospital.

You need help now. Not later.

Thank you. That's all good advice, I will definitely go to the CAB tomorrow. We currently live with family, for financial reasons (obviously) though they don't know the extent of it. We have a car but its old and not worth much. We really hope to buy a house one day in the future so would hate to go bankrupt.

Good luck with CAB. There are lots of routes to being debt-free that they can recommend, up to and including bankruptcy if appropriate. Very important, however, that 'Mr Ostrich' is fully involved in the conversations. Whatever the outcome of the CAB meeting, he needs to be 100% engaged and that's going to involve acknowledging the full extent of the problem and then regular (weekly) family meetings to budget, update records, plan for future expenses. You won't be able to do this solo.

If you don't own property & owe less than £15,000 a debt relief order (will wipe out all your debts) could be your answer.

Try Christians against poverty. They helped someone I support to get out of debt. They negotiated all the debts with debtors, set up a budget plan and had this individual debt free within 18months. They even stopped the bailiff calling around and hassling her!

CAB may be able to help but it could take a while. In the meantime, can we help?
How much do you owe?
What are your fixed outgoings?
What is your income?
I am surprised that two people in work living with family can't sort this out fairly quickly so post your particulars (if you want to of course) and we may be able to advise?

Are the bills £1500 per month or is that the amount you owe in total ? Could you work more hours /get another pt job ? What debt are the payday loans servicing ?

CAB first thing.

But also, you live with family so what are you spending your money on? Living with family you are in an excellent position to save thousands towards a house deposit or pay debts.

Start by writing every expenditure and income down on a daily basis for a month. Assess what you can cut out - there will be lots of non essentials that can go.

CAB are great with that I work for a bank and quite often customers with payday loan problems use them to help sort it out. Also a sit down appoinent with a staff member from your bank can help. They will sit down and go through your outgoings and incomings with you etc.