Has anyone used the stepchange token payment scheme?

[HarrysMummy17]

Hi all,

Long story short we are struggling since my partner was made redundant last year. He's now back in full time employment but we ran up lots of debts and struggled to pay things like mortgage and council tax and we are sinking fast.

The step change charity have suggested a token payment scheme where we pay all creditors £1 for up to £12 months so we can get back on our feet.
We've got 2 flats, one we used to live in and one brought as an investment so once they are sold we can pay off the debts, we are struggling to find the money to finish them and sell them.

I'm concerned that this will affect our credit score as we are currently living in a rented property that is damp, cold and too small. We really need to be out of it asap as I'm worried it will start to make the children ill but if we screw up our credit score we won't have able to get a mortgage again.

Anyone used this token scheme before? Is it worth it?

It will screw up your credit score for certain and will make it extremely difficult to get a mortgage for a few years.

Are you able to continue to struggle and maintain payments a bit longer until your flat/s is sold?

Many of the companies receiving token payments will say that you are defaulting every month, so your credit rating will be ruined.

Considering the state of your finances, can't you just sell one of the flats straight away without doing any work?

Thanks for the replies. The annoying thing is one flat is pretty much ready to sell we just don't have the money to get the home report done and get someone to check the damp patches. We need to sell it for more than we owe on the mortgage or it won't be worth it.
We've already defaulted on one credit card and the mortgage hasn't been paid since October so I guess our credit rating will be screwed anyway

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