Hi NewYear17 and welcome to the forum.

I’m sorry to hear about your change in circumstances and the breakdown of your relationship. It must be an extremely difficult time right now for you. You will receive plenty of advice, support and help on the forum.

Try to stay positive as there are a number of solutions to help you deal with your debts. It’s just taking your time to work out which once best suits your circumstances. These could be Sequestration (Bankruptcy) Trust Deed or a Debt Arrangement Scheme. A lot will depend on your income and expenditure and if you can afford to make any kind of monthly payment towards a plan. Going over a budget with a qualified Expert is a good idea.

Can you tell us a little more about your situation.

1. Do you own any assets i.e. house or car?
2. How much do your debts total?
3. Where are you living right now?

If your financially struggling to meet your basic living costs never mind paying your debts then I would prioritise paying your living costs rather than your debts.

Thanks for your reply.

I have a car with no finance on it and it's worth about £1500
No house although we did live together the mortgage was in his name solely
I'm currently renting a 2 bed flat as I have a son who is at uni.

I'm just about covering everything but each month it's getting tighter and tighter. I'm self employed so my income is never guaranteed.

Hi NewYear17,

Thanks for sharing a little more information about your circumstances.

Can I check how much debt you have in total?

Also, when you say “just about covering everything” is this just your living costs i.e. rent, council tax or does this also include your debt repayments?

What is it that you do being self-employed?

As your car is only worth £1,500 there is no risk that you will lose this regardless of which option you proceed with. Your allowed to have a vehicle worth less than £3,000 and it’s not regarded as an asset.

Hi David

total debt is roughly 35K across credit cards and overdrafts.

I'm covering the minimum payments on all the credit cards but I have to move in 2 weeks and wont be able to cover all the household bills. Currently they are included in the rent but the landlady has sold the house so I have to move.
I work as a health consultant and have overheads from the business premises. Having had to move I've effectively lost half of my business as it was in a different area and I can't afford to travel to it to continue trading there.

Hi NewYear17,

Thanks again for sharing the extra information.

With approx. £35,000 of debts and majority of it being credit card debt I think you are probably best to consider Sequestration, a Trust Deed or the Debt Arrangement Scheme. I assume the level of interest payments on the credit cards are that high that it will be difficult to make more than the minimum payments and bring the debt level down.

If you have an overdraft then it’s best to open a new bank account with a bank that you don’t have any debt with.

As I explained which option is the most suitable will depend on your income and expenditure and if you can afford to make a payment per month. Let’s say for example that after paying all of your living bills (rent, council tax, gas/electricity etc) you can only afford £100 per month to a debt plan. A Trust Deed / Debt Arrangement Scheme in my opinion wouldn’t be accepted by the creditors. A Debt Arrangement Scheme would last 30 years if you paid £100 per month.

That therefore leaves the option of Sequestration (Bankruptcy) as the most suitable option. This plan doesn’t require a minimum payment per month and in fact if it’s determined that you are unable to afford to pay a payment per month then you are not required to. You would simply pay an application fee of £200 and you would be debt free. There is a little more to it than that but this is something that is better discussed in person/on the phone with an advisor.

When you said about business premises, are you now giving these up? If you have a lease in your own name then it complicates things a little because of the terms and conditions relating to insolvency.

I think the best thing to do would be to reach out and speak with a qualified Expert about your circumstances as they can then review everything, go over a very thorough income and expenditure and advise you about your options. Kevin or I the two Experts would be happy to have a chat with you about things to help.

As I said try to remain positive as you have a number of solutions to help you become debt free.

Hi NewYear17

Sorry to hear about the difficulties you are facing - it sounds like you haven't had much luck lately.

It might seem a mountain to climb right now but there is always a way of sorting these things out that will enable you to manage your budget and move on from the debts within a reasonable timescale. As David says, this may be a Trust Deed or it may be one of the other solutions available.

From what you say about having to move again etc, your finances are obviously in a bit of a state of flux. It may be that you will be best to wait until things have settled down and you know what your living costs are going to be before you decide for sure how you want to proceed. Missed payments in the meantime shouldn't cause any major problems if you cannot afford to meet all of your commitments. However, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't reach out to an expert for some advice now to help put your mind at ease and to be prepared as best you can for sorting things out once the time is right.