. . . because it seemed the only way to clear the loans and credit cards I'd used to help me pay my living expenses.
It had taken a while to build up my debts, and I'd tried to resolve things already. The income I did have meant I eventually paid off one loan completely and closed one of my credit cards. That left me with one card, but I had to increase the balance on it to £10,000. To help sort myself out, I also found a new 0% interest credit card that would help me consolidate my remaining debts.
A couple of years later, I took out a loan of £7,000 to completely clear the balance on one of my cards. It wasn't easy but I was gradually managing to reduce my debts. Then I was made redundant. It hit me hard, emotionally and financially. I was forced to use some of the redundancy money for living expenses and to help me meet my minimum monthly payments on my existing debts. A new lower interest rate card helped at first, but even after I found new work I soon found the juggling act was starting all over again. I transferred my balances to try and keep things going, but I was still having to pay for my living expenses on the card and it was becoming more and more impossible to manage.
The relief when I finally rang Debt Free Direct was enormous. They helped me to explore all of my options, not just those I'd thought about. What impressed me was their independence, and the fact that all the options they gave me cost less than I was paying. Now my repayments are affordable again and I'm back in control.
