I didn't know where to turn.......
. . . I was terrified of losing my property and my marriage, I never realised the extent of my financial problems until my credit cards were declined whilst I was shopping.
My wife and I are parents to a disabled child. When we bought our property, despite receiving some help from the government, we needed to carry out many modernisations to allow wheelchair access for my son.
A lot of the work which was carried out was paid for by credit card, which was affordable at the time as my wife and I were in full time employment. We were aware that the balances on these cards had reached their limits and so opted to take a consolidation loan which would allow us to repay the cards and make a smaller monthly payment at a much lower interest rate.
This did improve our situation for a time, but when my son's condition worsened, my wife was forced to give up work and become our son's full time carer. We found maintaining the repayment for the loan and our mortgage and other expenditure far too difficult, and resorted to using the credit cards again. We were using one card to pay another and only realised how bad the situation had become when my cards were declined doing the weekly shopping at a supermarket. I felt humiliated. When we took stock of what we owed we realised that we had unsecured debts of nearly £60,000 and we were not able to re-mortgage to repay our creditors as we had very little equity.
I was no longer able to make the repayments to my creditors, and was terrified of having to sell my house after all of the work that we had done to make it as comfortable as possible for our son. When we tried to negotiate with our creditors, we felt like we were nothing more than a number. They offered no support and were not at all sympathetic to our situation.
Then my friend referred us to Campbell Dallas Debt Solutions, and after discussing our circumstances, they advised us that a Trust Deed was our best option. We re-mortgaged our property to release the little equity we had available, and then began to make smaller monthly contributions of £250 which meant that we were protected and our creditors could not take any further action against us.
We felt that we could relax knowing that our property was safe and that we had an affordable monthly budget to stick to. We have avoided bankruptcy and knowing that we will be free of our creditors within three years is great.
Mr. R Brown of East Kilbride
. . . I had always used credit throughout my adult life, especially after the birth of my two children. Birthdays and Christmases were particularly expensive, but I had always managed to make my repayments on time and so didn't feel I had a problem.
When my marriage broke down I was left with unsecured debts of around £35,000, which although were all in my name, had been accrued by my husband too. He would no longer help me with the repayments and in addition to this; he paid me very little maintenance for my two children.
I was unable to get a loan because I was a tenant and the amount that I needed to borrow was too high. I also tried speaking to my creditors but they would not accept reduced repayments. Every time the post arrived I was horrified at the amount of interest and charges my creditors has applied, despite paying what I could afford. I was working a lot of overtime at my part-time job and so my home life was suffering as a result, and I still was not earning enough to meet the minimum payments each month.
When I spoke to Campbell Dallas Debt Solutions they discussed all of the options available to me including a Trust Deed, where I would be able to make a lower monthly repayment for three years and have no outstanding debts at the end of it. I am now able to cope financially and know that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Ms S Aitken of Renfrewshire
...I thought bankruptcy was my only option
My problems with credit began when I went to University, as I soon found that my student loan would not cover all of my expenses. I had to pay for books, fees, accommodation, food, and all of the other things that I had taken for granted at home. My parents helped me when they could but as I still had three younger brothers and sisters at home this wasn't very often.
I began to use credit to pay for the things that my student loan would not stretch to, like food and materials for university. I was also socialising a lot more because I was trying to make new friends as I was living in a strange city. I found it too easy to rely on credit, and with hindsight I know that I overspent when it wasn't appropriate for me to do so.
When I graduated from university, I managed to get a job in a bank. My overspending continued, I had a huge student overdraft, and various credit cards and the only option my bank would give me was another loan. I didn't see how this would help as I was already struggling with my repayments and was frightened of getting further into debt. I was didn't want to lose my job in the bank but I was convinced I would have to be made bankrupt.
When I contacted Campbell Dallas Debt Solutions, I wasn't really sure what to expect. They took details of who I owed money to, what my earnings were and how much money I needed to pay my monthly expenditure. They explained the various options available to me such as a debt management plan, debt restructuring and so on, but I decided that the best option for me would be a Trust Deed.
I was concerned that my creditors may not accept the course of action due to my age and circumstances; I was also concerned as to how it may affect my job. The advisor that I spoke to advised me to speak to the personnel department of the bank to see if my job would be affected.
After I had spoken to my employers and they had assured me that my job was safe, I signed the Trust Deed and have now begun to make monthly repayments.
M Barry of Edinburgh
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