Debt Consolidation

[backontrackagain]

Hi,

Hoping for some advice. I'm about £9500 in debt and its suffocating me trying to repay my minimum repayments etc each month. I have tried to apply for a loan with the thinking I can have one monthly repayment which I can afford without the stress of different debts coming out different times of the month however I've been declined twice.

I no longer own my house - I now rent - after a bad split a few years ago (that's where all this debt started and it's snowballed from there) I'm desperate to put it right but I'm not sure what to do if I can't get a loan.

Am I right in my understanding that a debt consolidation company would want to pay the debts themselves rather than give me the money and I pay them off? A few of my debts are with family members - would a debt consolidation company pay them off? I have no proof of them lending me money in the first place other then the money going into my account a few years ago when I was getting back on my feet. 😔

Where do I go from here?

Hi OP - I'm afraid a DMP won't cover personal debts to friends / family and being totally honest it doesn't sound like you will get another loan here.

the best bit of advice I could give you right now is to head over to the "debt free wannabe" page of the money saving expert forum.

They're really great in advising posters who are in situations like yours. They'll help you go through a statement of affairs (incomings and outgoings) and see if a debt management plan is right for you in your situation and help you see light at the end of the tunnel.

forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=76

They're really unjudgemental and many of the posters have been where you are now.
A DMP quite possibly be the best option for you by please post here first as it's certainly not "an easy way out".

Defintiely don't go to any firms which charge fees. Try stepchange or moneyadvice centre for example which are charities, as. they will help assess your options , can help prioritise and negotiate with your creditors. Family/friends will unfortunately be low on the priority list, if at all.

Another vote for speaking to StepChange, after a bad break I got taken in by a fee paying company, eventually they started to put the fees up so much that I may well of been paying interest, so I looked into it and changed to StepChange, I was debt free in half the time.

I paid them x amount a month and they distributed it, I'm assuming if you had debts to friends and family that you would set aside money personally to pay them.

Definitely speak to Step change and another vote for MSE. Can you ask friends/ family members for a little extra time to repay whilst you get sorted as don't think they would be included in a DMP.