Hi, I thought I'd join as when it comes to debt, I was in very deep!
I won't say why I got into so much debt as it's personal and out of character as I'm so good with money and actually work in accounts.
I sorted it out 2 and a half years a go and by sorting it out, I phoned up each of my 3 lenders (5 debts in total) and told them I had a problem and was in over my head. Each of them worked with me, froze the interest and charges indefinitely and agreed payment plans with me. Overall, I agreed to pay £260 a month between the 5 debts, worked out on a fair ratio. The full payments (only minimum on the credit cards) would have been £1150 a month and I'd have been in debt forever!
They never contacted me or bothered me as I stuck to the payments every month. After about a year and a half, all of the lenders sold my debts off to debt collectors. No charges added by them, just what the debt stood at. I agreed payments with them, the same as what I paid the lenders and again they never bother me. They contact me once every 6 months to ask that it's still working for me and to go over income and expenditure.
It will be 9 more years before I pay these debts off at the £260 a month. I plan to increase my payments for each debt by a little bit when I start working more hours in January and then hopefully in 5 years time perhaps, I can do full and final settlemts with them and get a discount.
So for anyone struggling bad, please just phone up the lenders and explain. Agree a payment you can afford and pay it every month. Then when it's passed to debt collectors, work with them, pay every month and answer the phone every 6 months and do the 10 minute call to go over things.
At the end of the day, they want their money but as long as you pay even £20 a month if you can, they will probably take it and hope you'd improve your finances and start paying more when you are able to.
My debts were with bank of Scotland, Barclaycard and Virgin credit so high street lenders who tend to be fairer and stick to all the codes. My debts are now with Moorcroft, PDC and Westcot. All have been really good and haven't once asked me to up my payments unless I feel I can.
I pay them every single month without fail and have done for 2 and a half year (a year with debt collectors).
You don't always need to go bankrupt or go into an IVA when it gets bad.
I appreciate this is a get out of debt thread, which I am doing, I just had to take the route of destroying my credit rating and appealing to their good nature to take mercy on me and it worked and I don't have sleepless nights now.
An option for anyone really in over their head