An Unexpected Illness

My husband and I are in our late fifties and both had jobs that gave us security and financial independence.  Unfortunately, I became ill and had to give up work. We began to miss payments on our loans, credit cards and even our mortgage.  The fees and charges stated to stack up.  Our unsecured debts had grown to £25,000 and it didn’t seem like the banks were really on our side.  We contacted a debt advice company that negotiated with unsecured lenders directly on our behalf.

Unfortunately, the amount going to my creditors each month after the debt management company’s fees was less than the interest and charges that were being added to my debts, which meant the debt was actually increasing.  We then got the number of a debt charity from a friend.  With their help, we were able to look at all of our options and realised that we could use the equity in our house to pay off all of our high-interest credit and store card debt and reduce our repayments. We remortgaged and brought our monthly payments down to a level we could easily afford. It was such a relief. Now I’m able to concentrate on getting better, without worrying about the phone ringing!