Options on what to do

Hi  Kickstart,

Thank you for sharing your experience on the forum. I can see that your debt is causing you a lot of distress, even if you are managing to make payments. There are many different options for people to get out of debt. You dont have to commit to anything to get advice, and getting to know what options are out there will likely help you to make an informed decision on what will be best for you. You could reach out to Step Change or The National Debtline who can review your financial situation and go through each option with you.

You are also welcome to speak with one of our advisers about any impacts the gambling has had, and additional support options for these - Our HelpLine on 0808 8020 133 and our 1:1 Livechat are both open 24 hours every day.

Take care,

Nic

Forum Admin

Hi, 

It all depends on what your future plans are? If you ask for help, or do some sort of payment plan, it will affect your credit score, and the debt will go as a default on your file? But you can definitely get help, it makes no difference if they’re on 0% interest. 

This is what myself and my husband had to do. We have a debt management plan through StepChange. I took out £60k worth of debt in his name without him knowing and this was our only option, as the full payments each month were just unaffordable. 

It’s not worth the stress and pressure trying to pay it all each month, it will affect you more than you realise. As long as all priority bills are paid, this debt is just not important and always needs to come last. 

Take care, Claire 

@cpparch thank you for your time to write this. It means a lot. Can I kindly ask how much do you pay back?

@c17ort so I had 4 loans and 2 credit cards, the total monthly payments were something like £1200. I kept it going for a while (before it all came out about me gambling) but in July 2023 I literally hit rock bottom. In 5 days time I was going to be faced with these payments and there was no money, my husband was going to find out. That’s when I told him everything.

Stepchange were brilliant, we now pay £397 a month for all the debt. It obviously will take longer to pay back but it was a massive weight lifted. 

Claire x

@cpparch Thank you so much for your help on this. I feel so much better speaking to someone going through the same as me. 
I have spoken to stepchange and they mentioned a Token payment plan of 12 months to give me breathing space. 
Can I kindly ask what the plan is that you have please?

@c17ort no, I’ve got a debt management plan, which means all the debt is repaid but over a longer period of time. A token payment is just an amount you pay (I think it’s just £1 to each creditor.) But either option you take, the creditors will report missed payments and it will affect your credit scoring. 

Do you own a house? Or have a mortgage? If not, an IVA may be a good option? That’s where you pay a certain amount (much less) for 5 years and then the rest of the debt gets wiped away? We didn’t go for this option because we have mortgage and there is a chance they can make you sell the house. 

A debt management plan is really good because you have the control over it and if your circumstances change, you can update your budget to pay more (or less) towards the DMP. 

There is also a DRO (Debt Relief Order) but debt needs to be under £30k and you can’t have a mortgage.

Hope all that helps? 
Claire 

@cpparch Hi Claire, 

I have a mortgage yes. My wife is on the mortgage also. 

I know this may sound bad but I am trying to to this and put it right without her knowing. I personally pay all the bills. 

Thank you so much for your advice, it means so much. 

@c17ort

@c17ort I tried this too, but believe me, she will find out in the long run. 

My husband stood by me and was really understanding. Honestly really is the best policy. I wouldn’t be where I am now if I didn’t talk.

Any type of plan you do, even if it’s for 12 months, it’s going to affect you and possibly her as you’ll be connected through your credit file by being married.

If you don’t want any affect on your wife and you’re certain you don’t want her to know, the only option will be to pay everything in full each month. But, in time this will put a lot of pressure on you and you may turn to gambling more because you’ll think it’s the way out. Honestly, believe me, I did this too! But I ended up tripling the debt in the meantime. 

The best control you can get back, is to talk, talk and talk some more. 

Claire x

@cpparch Thank you so much for your support Claire it really is appreciated. 

It has helped make my mind up to battle this and try to get this debt paid sooner rather than later by battling on. 

Thank you again 

@c17ort you’re welcome. Anytime. You’re not alone in all this, there are so many of us.