[Solved] Redundancy and debt worries

HI Westwing fan

Dadtalk is going to have a debt advice surgery on the forum in August, your brother in law might find this useful. Otherwise we would suggest he looks at the info we have on the site here http://www.dadtalk.co.uk/articles/money_matters.php

It would be best if he doesn't stick his head in the sand about it all as its not going to go away unless he deals with it.

My wife is involved in a organisation called CAP (Christians Against Poverty). They give debt advice and support to those that are struggling with finance. This is however only one of the many avenues for help. It would be worth joining in with the debt advice surgery in August, I can imagine this would give a good spread of advice on organisations that could help.

hi westwing

never the easiest thing. Definitely advise him not to stick his head in the sand.
It may not be the easiest thing to advise, but he should really let his missus know about all the financial issues, unless they do not have a relationship which such can be discussed. A problem shared between the two of them (depending on how it was amassed) will be 1) a problem shared and less weight on his shoulders 2) they can make decisions together to best work their way through, rather than keeping to himself and the family not knowing why he is getting distant.

.....there is always the sun after the storm....

Hi Guys thanks for your advice

I took a look at the money matters stuff and found it really helpful - my wife and i sat down and had a long chat about what we should say and how we should support her brother and his wife. They don't live near us but we sent him a link to this site and the money bits and suggested he reads them himself. I'm going to get him to look at the surgury stuff you're planning - do you know a date yet? ❓

I think he's embarrassed about the debt and is not looking forward to telling his wife as they split up a few years ago due to him having a cyber affair and stuff.(long story not all his faulty it has to be said). They have been working really hard at communcating and openess so he's worries that she might leave him again and take the child.

I think the debt was ammassed through general stuff (new sofa, stuff for the baby, house deposit, holidays, new car as he was in a crash and wrote one off, a lot is down to BAD money managment i think, you know living outside your means, they have lots of [censored] in their house, they own every type of play station for example)

Man life is complex!

What happens when a debt goes to a lawyer for debt collection? I have been out of work for a while and became unable to pay on a credit card debt. It has been about 90 days since my last payment and I just got a letter from a law firm stating they will be pursuing collecting the debt. I am still out of work and have no means to pay. What can I expect from this process?

claoudi - we have asked our money experst over at the CCCS to log on and answer your question for you. It may take then a few days so please pop back to check.

Hope all is well 🙂

Hi Claoudi
Accounts are often passed to solicitors if Court action is to be taken.
It is not too late to make an offer of payment to the solicitor.
You need to put together a budget showing your income and expenditure.
If there is no surplus after paying all your priorities, then offer a token gesture of £1 until your situation improves.

If Court action is taken, you will receive a county court judgment (CCJ).
I have attached a link to our CCCS website which will give you further information about what to do if you receive a CCJ, and what happens next. http://www.cccs.co.uk/faqs/legal.aspx

If you would like an appointment to discuss this further with one of our debt counsellors, then you can ring our free helpline on 0800 138 1111. Lines are open Monday to Friday 08:00-20:00.

Regards
CCCS Sue

It surely is a hard problem when it comes to debt and 20k is ALOT! I suggest that he sells the car so he can pay most of the debt. That way, he only pays the interest pretty low. The rest can be paid using low interest loan or just cope with his salary.