(un)Proud owner of debts around 8k.....

[King_Moshy]

......And lady luck hasnt visited me for a while!

I am out of work. Have no bank account, (only a post office one that doesnt allow DD or SO's!!) On state benefits and in Rented accommodation.

Bailiffs keep a-comming, letters keep arriving!!

would anywhere give me a loan???

[Hammer]

A loan would not help you. You would be in the same position, but with different bailiffs knocking.

Get yourself down to the local Citizens Advice Bureau and get some decent advice.

[rja211077]

sound advice there from Hammer. I can only reinforce that.

[Didwot]

Lenders advance money if you satisfy either test of 1) being able to afford the repayments, or 2) having assets to pledge to them which exceed the value of the loan, or both. Anyone who lent money to someone in your position would probably charge huge amounts of interest, and offer a broken leg, or worse, if you failed to pay.
So its off to the CAB you go.

[morg_monster]

just to play devil's advocate: IF you did manage to find a REPUTABLE debt consolidation company who would take you on there may be benefits:

1. depending what form your debts are in they may save you money by giving a lower rate of interest (eg if you've got a lot on store cards)
2. If you have lots of creditors at the moment, at least this would mean only one company to deal with which may make things a bit easier to handle.

[Skids]

What quals have you got? How old are you?

[slimfandango]

does that mess up your ability to get credit in the future?

[slimfandango]

No, see, now you're tempting me. Where do I get me some bankrupcy forms? Where do I sign?

[Oneeyedvic]

Sorry - just come accross this question. Bankruptcy does only lsat for one year now thanks to the Enterprise Act (for the pedants it can last longer if the receiver thinks you are hiding things etc) - it will however remain on your credit file for 6 years - this will obviously impair your credit rating for 7 years in total.

It will also not wipe out all your debts - any student loans will still need to be repaid, and any fines that are due under criminal proceedings (including parking fines) will still need to be repaid.

[Andy008]

Sub-prime lenders will give you a loan. Try Provident Financial or Cattles. Known in the trade as legalised theft, such are companies are, unsurprisingly, extremely profitable.

[Trillipse]

without casting any aspersions on you slim, this brings to mind a question i've longed to know the answer to - does anone actually give money to the people who advertise in the "Eye Need" column in Private Eye? Anyone know?

 

p.s. good luck slim

[ann_h]

DO NOT go to Provident or any similar.

If your debts were under 5k you could get an Administration order through the courts, but in any case it's not hopeless.

As mentioned earlier, go to the CAB or similar non-profit debt counsellors (private ones like you see on the telly promising to sort it all out, will charge for their work which is all pretty standard stuff).

[scorpio61]

SPOT ON ONEEYEDVIC, not only does it go on your credit file but you must also declare you are a bankrupt when applying for future credit, and it also has implications if ever you ever want to hold a directorship, and don�t laugh, you never know what your future holds.
For those that are interested I run a solutions company, there are very few debt management companies that will take somebody on who is on benefits. We run a program for �virtually hopeless� cases and charge 15% of the monthly amount. If someone is paying us �100 a month for looking after 10 of their creditors I do not feel we have �ripped them off�!!! Be warned, there are companies that will.
I would also like to point out that creditors cannot expect government paid funds to be paid to them as these funds are allocated to keep the person alive and not to repay their creditors. As long as a �sensible payment� is made appropriate to your circumstances there is basically jacksquat that the creditors can do, this being backed by a report issued by Lord Justice Wollfe in 1999.
Also, anyone, including bankrupts, can open a basic bank account with just about any high street bank, the rules changed end of 2000. You don�t get a cheque book or overdraft but you can set up standing orders/direct debits and you get a cash machine card, normally enough to get people back on their feet.

Pete (debt practitioner)
M.D. Chambers Moore Ltd
www.chambersmoore.co.uk