Running out of time, needing to borrow in time for xmas...

A question about : Running out of time, needing to borrow in time for xmas...

I am running out of time until christmas to come up with the additional needed money that families usually need around this time of the year. A quick background, I have some credit cards and overdraft which due to some bad circumstances became a little out of control and payments were eventually missed when each card demanded a minimum payment that when combined exceeded how much I could afford. What didn't help was a constant backlog of bank charges/direct debt payments being missed and overdraft charges hitting me hard. For the past 2 years I have been asking my bank to give me a loan which would not only simplify the outgoing expenses on debt each month, it would actually save me considerably in the long run (the APR on the credit cards for example is very high in comparison to a loan). Six months back I fell into the trap of stooping to taking a payday loan to help pay for my sons birthday present but due again to some unfortunate circumstances (namely being out of work on sick leave for 2months) the APR on this loan (just shy of 3000% APR!) eventually meant that the amount I had to repay when I finally was in receipt of my wage again consumed almost the whole months wage. In this time I have been consistently borrowing from these companies at extortionate rates in order to survive, repaying the debt in full each month and borrowing again. As you can imagine, I am losing a fortune in APR each month, and this has made it very difficult to pay the credit cards and my overdraft (My overdraft alone costs me Ј180 a month, with no end in sight as to when this could actually be payed off).

I am not struggling financially, myself and partner earn a great combined income, if we could roll all this mess into one new debt with lower monthly repayments and a goalpost in sight to aim for, I'm sure we could clear this fairly efficiently and live a less stressful life (currently it really is living from paycheck to paycheck, with a good 1-2 week period before each pay day where we are completely broke). Unexpected costs are popping up all the time which we just cant budget for, we now have xmas presents to purchase, and a Ј600 fuel bill to pay so we can heat our home (our home has had no central heating since xmas last year, and it is now actually getting quite dangerous how cold it is). I am very annoyed and let down by my bank for not taking the time with me to review whats going with my finances and offer an easy way out. Instead I have been directed to debt management companies etc. none of whom can provide any hope or help, as basically we can afford to repay the debt in our current situation. Every last penny seems to go on debt however, and somewhere along the road in the last six months I developed a bad gambling habit out of depression/frustration which isn't helping matters.

No amount of trying to juggle expenses and looking at ways to blitz our debt is going to raise the money I need to see my family right for christmas and more importantly fix our car and provide our home with central heating. We really just need to refinance with additional money on top, the savings each month in repayment alone will give us plenty of money to look at ways of aggressively tackling our debt once we have a clearer picture of what our debt really is (impossible just now)

Does anyone know if we are able to obtain financial help in the way of a loan from anyone who could sit and look at our figures instead of our credit record? Our bank has helped destroy our credit record and stand to make a fortune over the next few years as a result, it wouldn't surprise me in the slightest that this is the reason they have refused to help us with ways in which we could reduce the amount we lose in interest/charges each month. I really feel like I am running out of time here and I am panicing. Would be great if anyone has any advice on how we can raise this money. Many thanks.

PS. Tried additional borrowing on mortage, P2P lending scams (such as Zopa), debt management, CAB..everyone basically...been going down this road for 2 years just seems to be no end in sight...really just need the loan...

Best answers:

• You need to start spending a whole lot less, loans are the reason you are in the state you are in.
  More loans will only make things worse.
• 'I am not struggling financially'
  typo or delusion?
  You need to take responsibility for your financial mess for a start.
• I'm sorry but having read your post I don't think you will get a loan at a sensible APR. Your local credit union might be able to help with a loan to get you out of the payday loan trap but it will be no-where near the amount you want to borrow overall.
  It does sound like you are struggling financially as you are in a muddle and can't meet all your commitments in the month, so maybe trying the advice on the DFW board or from somewhere like CAB will help you cut your monthly expenses so you can start to get straight. There isn't going to be "an easy way out" if you've spent the last 2 years getting deeper into the mess.
  There is a thread for support for stopping gambling - maybe check that out for support?
  I'm really sorry that I can't tell you what you want to hear, but I don't think there is a magic loan solution to meet your needs, so I think you need to get some help in making a plan to clear them slowly over time. As for Christmas - you don't need to get into more debt for Christmas so please have a budget Christmas rather than making your debt worse. I really do suggest you try the credit union and consider the advice from CAB or the DFW board on the juggling expenses and longer term repayment plans.
  I hope it works out for you.
• Please, I am looking for helpfu responses...
  I will make this clearer for you to understand.
  This month my repayment looked like this
  hbos 200
  mbna 200
  barclay 100
  wonga 600
  mem 185
  pay day express 385
  bank overdraft charge 155
  bank overdraft fee 35
  TOAL: Ј1860
  What I want it to look like is this
  newloan Ј350
  (based on loan of 15k over 5 years)
  1860 - 350 = Ј1510 more in my bank each month. Ј1510 less spening a month!!! What would you do with Ј1510 extra a month!?!
  This isn't rocket science...
  The payday loans will continue to occur because my outgoings now exceed my incoming. I am trapped, I constantly need to reborrow. Excuse my french, but this is bullsh*t...there has to be a way of making the banks see sense in all of this and be able to provide me a better solution, namely a loan to sort it all out.
  The overdraft charge has happened every month for 2 years. 24 x Ј150 = Ј3600 wasted on the bank, with the Ј1000 overdraft remaining unpaid. This could go on for as long as I live, its a guranteed money spinner for the banks. I realise why they have no interest in helping me now.
  The credit cards could take a long time to clear. As the above is more than I can afford to repay in debt each month, at least one debt gets missed each month, which in turn leads to charges, interest, and just prolongs the life of the debt. A consolidation debt has an obvious end date, a goal post to aim for. This current mess does not.
  The upshot of all this is that there is no spare cash each month and my families life suffers asa consequence. We dont' spend money on luxuries or holidays or any other stuff people in my sort of job should be able to enjoy....if I didn't have children I would have long since quit my job, went on the dole and just refused to pay anything back, went bankrupt....I don't want this..I want to pay my debts, I just don't know how Im expected to survive like this...I asked my bank 2 years ago for Ј6000 to clear my debt as I knew I was about to have a shaky couple of months where I might have a lot of expenses that could hinder my debt repayment, they wouldn't help...last year I did the same for 10k...now its up to 15k....
  if anyone reading this can get a good apr% loan and wants to take it on my behalf and charge me Ј100 a month for the luxury you could make yourself a very easy Ј6000 over 5 years (more if you add it to your savings....) I just don't know what Im supposed to do short of topping myself?!
  ps. this was in response to the first two posts...
• I would consider what you really need to spend on Christmas, and also post a SOA so that you can see where your money is going.
  I think, like me, you see a good income as being an excuse to spend like everyone else seems to, thinking I earn more than them and if they can afford it, surely so can I. I can only say, read Vanity Fair, noone ever has and noone ever will be able to understand another persons financial circumstances. I don't know how other people, who earn a lot less than me, manage. I only know that even with a good income, you have to be very careful.
• Is it worth seeking debt counselling from CAB or similiar?
• Im sure there are lots I can do which will take time before any savings can be realised, but I have been trying that option for the past 2 years....and getting nowwhere. I am now at the stage where my bank = Ј0, we have bought no presents for christmas, and more important that some plastic crap which the kids will break anyway is we have no money to heat our house...I dont stay in teh same house as my kids during the week (cost cutting measures, 2nd car sold (70 mile round trip with no public transport links) so I stay at a friends house in the city during the week nice and warm while my partner and kids enjoy wrapping up in as much blankets and covers as they can find and going to bed after supper because its too cold to sit up and watch TV. If this sounds a bit mellodramatic, I honestly don't know how they feel because I only have to suffer it at the weekends....
• Go to the CCCS website www.CCCS.co.uk and put all your figures in their Debt calculator (it cost nothing).You can't afford a new loan
• There are many many people in the same position, unfortunately, there is no simple way out of it.
  This line in your post is particularly apt:
  Quote:
• To be completely blunt
  Quote:
• What are the actual balances outstanding on these loans?
• -Your cards have been defaulted and are with debt collectors.
  -You have payday loans you cannot afford to repay.
  -Your outgoings exceed your income
  All these things point to the fact that no one will give you a consolidation loan at this point in time, any lender (even one charging a sky high APR) will see your wrecked credit file and your inability to pay your existing debt and will not lend you any more money. Consolidation loans are out.
  Nobody on here will be able to suggest any place you will get a consolidation loan as those places don't exist anymore for people in your circumstances.
  It sounds like you are going to have to default on your loans to pay for priorities (I mean the heating bill not xmas presents). Cancel your DDs, send letters to all your creditors offering small payments whilst you seek financial advice from CCCS or one of the other charities and move your wages to a new bank account. Then pay for your heating bill and start to sort out a sensible plan with the charities as to how to get yourself out of the mess you are in.
• The reason your bank is wary of granting you a consolidation loan is that so many people either don't use it to consolidate (there is no guarantee for the lender that you will) or else they pay off their outstanding loans, delude themselves that they are now 'debt free' (which they aren't) and start all over again borrowing money. Consolidation loans can work for those with iron self discipline, but then they are the sort of people who manange to live within their means anyway and so won't need one.
  Your best bet is to follow the advice here an visit the debtfreewanabee board and be absolutely open as to why you find yourself in this mess when, as you say in your post, you and your partner enjoy a great income.
• Unfortunately I don't think you're listening. You need to pay your priority debts MORTGAGE, COUNCIL TAX, HEATING etc and send token payments to your other creditors until you can sort out a plan. I paid mine Ј1.00 each at the start. PLEASE go to the CCCS website