A hairdresser with £10,000
of debt was only earning £16,500
per year.
Sara is single, aged 27 and had lived
in her mortgaged property for three
years. She was working as a hairdresser
in her local salon when she contacted
DSN.
Over the past 3 years Sara had been
putting her grocery shopping, clothes
and utility bills on her credit cards.
Her income was £16,500 per year
and she had been struggling to maintain
a decent standard of living without
using her credit cards.
She owed £10,000 to 5 different
creditors and did not know how to
solve her debt problem. She thought
that she could pay the credit cards
each month until the reality of the
interest payments became unbearable.
Sara was feeling under pressure and
thought there was no way out of her
financial predicament. She thought
that she would have to go bankrupt
and would lose her house, until she
spoke to DSN.
We suggested that she should enter
into a Debt Management Plan.
Sara only had £350 available
for her debts so we organised a payment
plan. She now pays £350 a month
for 2 years, after which she will
be debt free and can now look forward
to the future without the worry of
debt
Ann and Rob from Crawley
Married with three young children
under the age of 12 and total debts
of £28,000.
Rob was 37 with three young children
under the age of 12. He lived with
his wife, Ann, in their own home and
together they had debts of £28,000.
Rob was a shop floor assistant in
a local warehouse while Ann stayed
at home to look after their youngest
child aged 3.
They have used credit cards to go
on a yearly holiday, buy new household
furniture and pay necessary bills.
Rob and Ann thought that they could
afford the repayments on the credit
cards. However, after several years
of living off credit cards the total
minimum payments each month were almost
the same as Rob’s monthly wage.
Ann convinced Rob to speak to DSN
because her friend had suggested that
we could help their specific situation.
Rob and Ann both felt embarrassed
about their finances but realised
they had to do something to get rid
of their £28,000 debt.
We introduced them to our preferred
mortgage expert who managed to re-mortgage
their home and reduce their monthly
outgoings. This enabled them to get
on with living again and they said
that being in control of this worry
had probably helped save their marriage.
Mark the Shop Manager
Mark is single, aged 37, lives in
his mortgaged property and works as
a shop manager earning £18,500
per year. Over the last 6 years he
has subsidised his income of £18,500
per year, with credit cards and overdrafts.
He currently owes £29,000
to 5 credit cards. The monthly payments
have always been manageable for him,
but after a three month period off
work, he has fallen behind with repayments.
When he was able to return to work,
he tried to catch up with repayments,
but due to the arrears that had built
up, he needed to increase his monthly
repayments to £788.00 in order
to clear the arrears. This just wasn't
possible and as the months went by,
the credit card companies continued
to add further interest and charges
for exceeding his credit limits.
Mark approached DSN and after completing
his monthly budget, it was clear that
he was only able to pay his credit
cards a total of £410.00 each
month.
DSN were able to set up a debt
management plan for Mark, he paid
£410.00 each month via standing
order, and we were able to get the
majority of the interest stopped on
the credit cards.
Mark now has a realistic chance
of becoming debt-free within 6 years.
