Welcome to the forum eaglewatcher.

I'm sorry to hear that you're so upset and worried about this situation. It's entirely understandable, but please be reassured that there will be a way to get everything sorted out and back under control.

Out of that £1486 for repayments plus bills, how much is getting spent on the debt repayments please?

Hi eaglewatcher. You are obviously having a very difficult time just now and my heart goes out to you. Fear not, though, I am certain that there is a way out of this for you.

You have already done the hard part, reaching out for help and advice, which I know can be incredibly difficult to do. Please try not to feel ashamed - these things happen and no doubt a great deal more frequently then you might imagine. The most important thing is to find a solution that suits you, which is actually the easy bit once you are receiving expert advice.

The first step is to go through your income and expenditure, ensuring that you have enough money to cover your bills and living costs. The left over amount is what would be used to resolve the issue and the amount that is available will really determine what your options might be. This could well be a protected trust deed, though may also be a debt arrangement scheme plan or a sequestration. A good adviser will go through all of these with you, the pros and cons of each, and then let you decide which you prefer.

Myself or one of the other experts on the forum would be very happy to assist if you want to click to get in touch. I always say that it is a good idea to get more than one opinion, as different advisers may have different ways of dealing with different situations. Also, if you have a couple of places to choose between then you can get a feel as to the level of service you are likely to get from one as opposed to the other.

In terms of the house. If that is in your husband's name then it would not be affected at all. Same with the car.

Please try not to worry too much - I am very confident that there is a good solution for you - maybe more than one in fact. I have no doubt that you will very soon feel a whole lot better about the financial situation you are in.

Hi,
Thanks very much to you both for your understanding.

In answer to the question, out of the £1486 outgoings £652 is debt repayment.

I'd like to see what Payplan say, but will also get in touch (later in the day or maybe tomorrow to see what you advise. I desperately don't want to rush into anything and get it wrong, but neither do I want this hanging around much longer. Just very difficult to know what best to do, and I've probably left it too late to get sorted before Christmas anyway.
Thanks again

No problem, eaglewatcher. I would certainly agree that you should resist the urge to rush into anything. Whatever solution you go for needs to be affordable and sustainable otherwise you end up just replacing one problem with another.

Please don't be shy to ask lots of questions too - it is important that you feel happy that you understand all of the implications of the different options.

There is definitely plenty of time to get things moving wih your chosen route before Christmas, though it will likely be the new year before everything is rubberstamped(eg Trust Deed protected, or DAS payment programme approved). To be honest, if your current situation is worrying you so much then maybe it would be better to feel you have started the process? It might even mean you have a little spare money for Christmas as you would be able to cancel the regular payments to your debts, but not start paying int yoor solution until January.

Thank you very much for your advice. I appreciate it.
I'll make further contact soon.

Hi eaglewatcher,

Well done on taking the very brave step of reaching out for help and advice.

Some great advice already from Kevin and TDA. As they have said there are solutions available to you to help deal with the debts.

Just to add that Payplan will do everything over the phone. If you are someone that likes to go through things face to face then that is an option with the experts on the forum to do that with you.

Let us know how you get on once you have spoken with Payplan.

Hi eaglewatcher,

How did you get on?

Your situation sounds very similar to my own, basically at a point that we were paying out more than was coming in and only (barely) managing month by month by asking for help from family.

As I basically don't own anything, the best route for me was sequestration and it's really the best decision I've ever made.

It might not be the right choice for you but I would highly recommend you speak to one of the experts here by phone and they will be able to talk you through options.

I personally contacted David Tannock who has replied above this message and can only praise the help he has given us. The whole process has been very smooth thanks to him and ultimately we will have a manageable bank account for the next 4 years and after that period we will be completely debt free!

It might seem hard but I want you to feel excited about getting out of the mess you've unfortunately landed in through no fault of your own. Please don't let it get you down, there really is light at the end of the tunnel!

AberdeenPhoenix