Hi I'm new!

[Shining]

Hi there, I've been reading this forum for a couple of days and already gathered some pretty sound advice and decided today is the day I sort myself out. We're a married couple with hugh financial debts, buried our head in the sand for too long, borrowing off Peter to pay Paul and it's finally caught up with us! I've rang a company and they are going to get back to me this morning, I'm dreading this as I've just sat and done a spreadsheet and I didn't realise the enormity of the debt problems. It is true it doesn't go away! So far nothing is behind on payments but will be this month as credit cards all maxed and can't find a way of paying debts, hubby and I both work full time. It's our fault, I won't blame anyone else, we wanted to continue the lifestyle of my husbands previous salary!! What fools we've been. Not sure which route we will take, but reading this alone has made me feel so much better already, I'm not alone and hopefully we can sort this. All seems very complex at the moment and the shame of the phone call is what I'm dreading the most, admitting to someone we're in huge financial debt. Nobody knows, only my husband and I! I'm off work today and tomorrow so hopefully can get the ball rolling. Many thanks for listening to my woes!

[Lisa2009]

it would help if you could post a few more details.
Total debts, disposable income after utilities and living costs, are you home owners etc..
Also it has been said a lot on this forum that it is better to seek advice from 2 or 3 companies to make sure you are getting the best out of them.

[iva experts]

Hello and Welcome to the forum,

You’re definitely not alone in this, alot of people who post on this forum have felt or do feel exactly the way you do. You have taken the first step and admitted that you have a debt problem - there is nothing shameful about that.

I would advise that you contact at least 2 or 3 companies for advice; this can bring re-assurance and also cancel out any ill advice that may be given.

Best Regards,
IVA Experts
http://www.iva-experts.co.uk/

[scaredkez]

hi there and welcome to the forum, you have already taken the biggest step and admitted you have a problem, my advice would be to try several companies ring round or try the ones on this site, don't pay any up front fees, and don't be pushed into anything you are not sure of, make sure your income and expenditure are realistic and that what you put down you will be able to live off over the next 5 yrs if an iva is what you want to go for, the other thing to take into consideration is the creditors who you owe, are they NR or blackhorse or any of the ones that are playing hard ball at the mo?

if you decide an iva is an option for you, you may have to open a basic bank account elsewhere if your bank is one of your creditors, you will also be told to stop paying your none priority debts, this will then start up all the phone calls from your creditors, they are awful but you will get through this, some can be very demanding but your IP will tell you all this.

good luck with whatever you decide and let us know how you get on if you need any advice your just need a rant just post on here and someone will always get back to you.
kerri

Please view my blog at: http://scaredkez.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[iva_squirrel]

Hi and welcome,

Glad to hear that you have taken the first step. Im sure you will find here in this forum the expert advice and information you need to help you go through this problem.
Could you tell us how much is your debt? How many creditors you have? Do you won a property and theres any equity in it?

Regards,
Michelle P.

[Shining]

I will contact 2 or 3 companies as advised, thanks for that. Debts 48,150, disposable income after all essentials, £400 approx. Please let me know what you need to know I'll gladly inform you as I'm so bothered by this right now, HSBC is who we owe the money to, is this one of them playing hardball at the moment? many thanks for your welcomes by the way!

[Shining]

we do own our property, it's value is approximaely 15000, with 135000 owing so not much equity and we certainly couldn't remortgage as we don't have the income coming in to warrant the amount of mortgage. I'm on the phone now to one company (on hold!) not sure who else to call but will definately not do anything until I have spoken to three separate companies. are you allowed to give advice on here of which ones to try?

[Skippy]

Melanie who posts on this forum comes highly recommended, and you may want to have a look at www.iva.com where you will be able to find reviews of different companies.

One thing I will say is stay away from Synergy. They have caused a lot of heartache for people on this forum - see Scaredkez and Coco's blogs for all the details.

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is the present - a gift to make the most of.

View my blog at http://skippy13.blogs.iva.co.uk/

[poppy84]

both me & my husband owed hsbc!& they were the only ones who voted in favour of our proposal!

[jasperyogi]

Hi there isthereanend,
I just wanted to say Well done!! You have faced up to your situation and are on the road to putting it all behind you. We are 1 month into our IVA having been in a DMP for 6 moths previous to that. I have to say it feels great...yes shopping isnt what it used to be and this was the first year that we didnt have a hoiday abroad, but the money we spend is OURS for the first time in years we are living withour credit!! Our holiday was 2 weeeks visiting our family ( which was absolutely wonderful)
What I am trying to say that the road ahead isn't easy for any of us but it is Achievable! as long as you are prepared to have bacon instead of steak you'll be fine [:D]
And just think in 5 years from now you'll be able to afford the whole cow, cash not credit.
Best of luck with your IVA and just a friendly tip....stay away from large IVA companies run like battery farms!!

Why spend life worrying...when you can spend it smiling!!

[Shining]

now i have just spoken to a second company, who suggest a debt management plan until I can get on an interest only mortgage as our mortgage is 45% of our income and iva won't accept this?? I'm even more confused now than ever, waiting for melanie to contact me and hopefully, I'll have a clearer picture and make an informed decision of which way to go with hubby tonight.

[Shining]

I now have an appointment at my house tonight with another company as they like to talk face to face. I was a little shocked it could be tonight, but I'm guessing I won't be signing anything too quick so not going to get into anything I can't get out of!

[OPTIMIST12]

Wow - that is quick!!!

Its been said a 1000 times before but DO take time to think things through before you sign up to whatever path you decide on.

Good Luck!!!!

[Shining]

I will take time to think things through, my financial position can only get marginally worse if it takes me a week to decide what to do or who to do it with. It's took years of neglect to get into this situation so I do realise it's not going to disappear overnight. I feel slightly better already, this morning I faced such a daunting task. Feels almost like I've stood up and say 'hello my name is lesley and I am in debt'.

[Adam Davies]

Hi
Welcome
Take your time,appointing the correct IP is so important and don,t get carried away with it all tonight and sign up to anything[I,m sure you won,t]
You have a good case for an IVA,on the info given and switching to an interset only mortgage is fairly easy so I can,t see the need for a DMP whilst sorting that out.
Good luck and keep posting
Regards

Andy Davie
IVA.co.uk Spokesperson

About me:
http://www.iva.co.uk/andy_davie_profile.asp

IVA Helpline: 0800 197 4838
http://www.iva.co.uk/iva_helpline.asp