I am £20,000 in debt with unsecured loans. I cant pay it back and dont think I ever will. What can I do?

Question

I am £20,000 in debt with unsecured loans, I am 20 years old. I cant afford to pay it back and dont think I ever will. What can I do? Whats the worst that can happen?

Answer 1

it's a little late to realize you spent money you can't repay
get a job working evenings and use it to pay the loan or if your married send your wife to work

Answer 2

Citizens' advice bureau. Bankruptcy is NOT the easy way out, especially at your age. You don't need that badge at this stage.

Be very very careful. Get professional help but get it from a charity (like citizens' advice) so that (a) it's impartial and (b) you're not paying for it.

Make sure the loan is with someone reputable. If so, you can negotiate with them (with someone helping you if needs be). They will see that some money back is better than no money back. If, on the other hand, you are in debt to someone less than reputable or if your interest charges are higher than average, then take some serious advice and do it fast.

You may amaze yourself. Also, you're twenty - SURE you can pay it back. Not in a big rush perhaps, but you can.

Oh yeah, and you could sell some of that stuff in your house that you never use on ebay - free money. Calculate the postage charges properly though!

Answer 3

I would look at citizens advice bureau and see what they can come up with. there are also debt management companies but I would be careful with them as they can often offer you what appears to be a solution and ends up being a bigger problem.
Bankruptcy is a last option but it is still an option. However, at your age, you have your whole life in front of you and starting off with a poor credit rating will seriously hamper what you can do.

as things stand atm...you asked what was the worst thing that can happen if you do not address this problem. Well, your creditors can take you to court, if successful, they can arrest your earnings/benefits and in some cases can sell personal items to recover their debt. In addition, your name will prob appear in the local newspaper courtesy of the court reporter. All the court costs will be added to your debt, making it even larger.

Deal with it now...don't bury your head in the sand, it will not go away...creditors will accept much reduced payments as long as they see that you are trying to reduce the debt then will wait forever for it to be paid......just avoid loan sharks,,,,this is not the way out of the problem. Take proper advice and make sure you stick to your agreements when you make them.

After all, these companies should really bear some of the blame...why on earth were you able to borrow that amount of money at your age...if this were to come to court, any judge would ask that question. Therefore they will accept reduced payments..

Hope it all goes well for you...stop worrying and just deal with it...facing up to it and admitting it is prob the worst part...dealing with it is easy after that:)

Answer 4

I got 11 credit cards and just paid each monthly payment with another credit card...that way you keep the balance in the air while you sort yourself out but don't spend any more money in the meantime and use a bit of cash to pay towards them or you'll never clear the debt....keep up with the payments each month and you get a triple A credit rating like I did. I even got a Gold one when I wasn't working because of my credit rating

Answer 5

2 things to do, 1 positive 1 negative, yes bankruptcy is an option, but do you really want to do that. Best thing is to at least honour your agreements. Go to a debt management company like www.KFS.UK.COM they can organise all your debts for you. No more letter, no more calls and you pay them 1 single affordable payment a month and they do all the rest. It will take longer to pay off your debts but at least you will be able to sleep at night !!

Answer 6

visit www.cccs.co.uk....the comsumer credit councelling service. Im only 22 and got myself into £13,000 of debt......anyway the cccs are a registered charity so its all free. they chat with u about how much a month u will want to spend paying off debt each month and how much u wanna spend on other things each month. They freeze the interest on all your debt and u pay them a fixed payment each month (whatever suits u) and they pay off your creditors. Give it a try......I felt so much better and because I went to them im gonna be out of debt in 2 years yey!!

DONT declare yourself bankrupt......youre only 20 and if u do that it will **** up everything in your life. Youll never be able to get a mortgage, renting somewhere would be hard too as landlords wouldnt be keen. Contact CCCS....Theyre great

Answer 7

Go to Citizens Advice (assuming you are in the uk). They will give you the right advice...

The government has just started a scheeme wher you can pay your debtors a reduced amount for 5 years then be clear of debt.... Citizens Advice will tell you how to do this.

Hang in there... I was 34,000 in debt and they cleared mine.....

Answer 8

Visit fool.co.uk - they've got an excellent "get out of debt" section there somewhere..... ah, here we are:
http://www.fool.co.uk/debt/articles/whyhere.htm

Then also perhaps help give my share portfolio a boost by visiting either:
Debt Free Direct
http://www.debtfreedirect.co.uk/
or
Debtmatters
http://www.debtmatters.co.uk/

Answer 9

Get a second job and allocate the money to paying these bills. It may take three years but at least you will be owning up to your responsibilities!

Answer 10

Seek advice from your local citizens advice centre and they should be able to put you in touch with a debt management company