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both me and hubby are working(me part time)we are really struggling with £40k of debt,4 credit cards 2 loans(1 of which is secured)we live in South Wales and would really benefit from a home visit from a debt adviser,do you know of anyone?

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Have a chat with a couple of experts who will go through everything with you over the phone initially and advise you as to the best solution for you.

Visit www.iva.com for a list of companies and reviews or contact one of the experts who post on here. Their details can be found in the 'Ask Experts a Question' link on the left hand side of the page.

You don't necessarily need a home visit, but you do need to speak to a few experts to get some independent advice on what solutions are there to suit your circumstances, use the link Niobe has posted above and let us know how you get on

im not confident enough to make the call, sounds silly but get flustered and don t take things in or ask relevant questions and hubby has head buried in the sand and chooses to ignore our situation. if someone visited us we would both be there together to listen and try and sort this out

You still have to speak to someone initially to get them to come and see you.

Check out one or two of the experts that post on here via the 'Ask experts a question'.

You need to grab the bull by the horns and make the call, the purpose of this is to call 2 or 3 companies and go through your situation and get an objective view of the solutions available to you and with whom you want to build a relationship to sort your debts out. It doesn't matter if you get flustered or forget questions, I burst into tears on my first call to Melanie Giles company!

Just wanted to reiterate what everyone else has said. I was absolutely mortified to make that first call but I shouldnt have worried. The company i dealt with were lovely and didnt make me feel any worse that I already did, far from it. Make the call huni. I am now awaiting my certificate of completion and I will be debt free, it was worth it and no regrets. Good luck xx

Oh and as an aside, any company that did make you feel small wouldn't get my custom!, there are some good IVA companies out there who really are non judgmental, caring, knowledgeable, professional and completely understanding about debt and the effect it has on your life xx

thank you all for your advice and encouragement. feel stupid and totally irresponsible for allowing this to get as far as it has,fed up of sleepless nights! would an IVA help us with our large secured loan?

Hi. The secured loan can't be included in the IVA, but the repayments will be allowed for in your expenses.

Could I be so bold as to suggest you chat to Melanie Giles's team. Tina there is, I am told, an absolute angel and very easy to chat to on the phone. The first call doesn't have to be "heavy" and will help you start to sort things out in your mind.

unfortunately not Jane, secured loans can't be put into an IVA. Don't feel stupid, we've all been there, we spent years trying to pay it back and thinking we would, we all reach that point where you think enough is enough and you have to deal with it.

Tina is fantastic, it was like speaking to my best friend the first time I spoke to her, I can highly recommend her jane.

You will be allowed to make payments to the secured loan outside of an IVA.

one of the reasons hubby worried about getting outside help is because we own our home. he is convinced we could lose it! i have also read that at the end of the IVA we would need to re mortgage! ?

If you are struggling, it won't get better and if matters get taken out of your hands in the future the house will be at a greater risk.