Mr Leach came to us on 26 June 2008. He owed over £11,000 and was in receipt of 3 pensions but was really struggling as his wife was unable to work due to her deteriorating mental state.

Mr Leach had battled to look after his wife for the past 4 years and came to us as he was beginning to experience real problems paying his creditors. At the time, we calculated his disposable income to be £300 pm.

In the past 12 months his wife’s condition has deteriorated rapidly as she suffers from progressive dementia and needs constant care. He told of being afraid to leave her alone for more than a few minutes as several times he had gone shopping and come back to find her wandering along the road in her nightdress and not knowing where she lived. He finally had to have her admitted to a care home and now has to travel backwards and forwards to visit her.

Since he joined us in June 08, he has never missed a payment but lately, because of the extra expenses incurred in travel and having to pay towards his council tax (due to his wife going into the home and losing her disability rebate), he has been really struggling. Once again, we have managed to reduce his payments to a much more manageable £168 pm and he is very happy to continue with his programme.

It was very moving and a great privilege, to both listen to his problems and to help him to find at least a monetary solution to his struggle.

He thanked us for our ongoing support and sounded very appreciative of our help and understanding.

Mr Leach from Liverpool is a post from: Chiltern Debt Management

Carol became free from debt with a debt management plan from Chiltern. She said the following about the debt advice she received: “It was a relief to know that there was always someone helpful at the end of the phone when I needed any debt advice, and the knowledge that you would always sort it. It was extremely helpful that whoever answered the phone was able to assist and I wasn’t passed from one to another. Every single person I have spoken to over the last few years, concerning my debt management plan, has been helpful and very professional, but most of all acted like a friend who couldn’t do enough to help. For that I am very grateful.”

Carol’s husband was the main breadwinner in their house. Whilst he clocked up a 60-hour working week, Carol worked part-time at her son’s school. When her husband was taken seriously ill, Carol had to ensure she was always around to take him to hospital appointments and nurse him back throughout his recovery. During this time, their household income had reduced significantly but the credit commitments they had remained constant. They called Chiltern in need of some impartial debt advice, with outstanding unsecured balances of around £17,000 on credit cards, store cards and catalogues. After receiving some free debt advice, an informal debt management plan was set up. We managed to negotiate her monthly repayments from £640 to £220, and the debt management plan simplified her finances – so instead of making 10 separate payments to creditors, she only had one to make. Carol completed her debt management plan. She is now debt free thanks to the debt advice we provided.

Carol from Perth is a post from: Chiltern Debt Management

Graham from Rotherham had a debt management plan with Chiltern. Graham said this about the free debt advice he received: “From my own personal experience as a Chiltern debt management customer, I cannot suggest any area of service that needs improving. I would recommend Chiltern and could happily tell anyone about the great service and debt advice I received, and how easy my debt management plan was all put in to place, taking the worry and stress off myself.”

Graham started work straight from school. He had never had trouble finding work, so when he was made redundant he thought he’d quickly find re-employment. The redundancy money he received when he left his job helped him through the first few weeks, but very quickly he reached the limit on his overdraft. So he could keep his car on the road and get to job interviews, he then started to use his credit cards. Months went by without any sign of work and a debt of £13,000 had steadily built up. Graham was in need of some debt advice and responded to our advert in a national newspaper. He called for some free debt advice as he was struggling to keep up with all of the repayments on his credit cards, overdraft and personal loans. Following our initial debt advice, we quickly helped his situation recover by setting up a debt management plan. The debt management arrangement helped him to budget more efficiently and prioritise his debts. By negotiating with his creditors, we managed to reduce the amount he was repaying each month from £815 to £460. This meant the pressure was taken off and he could regain control of his finances again. Graham managed to secure a new role and was able to increase the amount he could repay to his debt management plan each month. This meant he managed to shave two years off the time it would have taken him to repay them. Graham has since completed his debt management plan. Following our debt advice, Graham is now debt free.

Graham from Rotherham is a post from: Chiltern Debt Management

Dorothy from Borehamwood needed a debt management plan from Chiltern. She said this about the free debt advice that we provided: “When I made the first phone call for some debt advice, the adviser I spoke to was very reassuring and I felt relieved after months of stress. The phone calls (from creditors) stopped and it was far easier making just the one payment to my debt management plan than paying many.”

Dorothy’s husband had passed away some years before she contacted us. Her husband was the one who usually dealt with the money and Dorothy felt out of her depth. When he died Dorothy said she had just buried her head in the sand with all things financial, and ignored the letters and phone calls that bombarded her daily. Unfortunately by ignoring her creditors, the debts incurred charges and fees for missed payments, and Dorothy lost track of who she actually owed money to – as they were passed on to other companies. When she was finally threatened with bankruptcy, she knew enough was enough. She didn’t want to lose the home that held so many fond memories, and that she had lived in happily all those years with her husband. She called us for some free debt advice after a friend had recommended us. We helped Dorothy to find out who was owed and how much, and set about making things easier for Dorothy to manage by establishing a debt management arrangement. At the time she owed over £16,000 between 9 creditors, and was paying them close to £800 per month. Following our debt advice we initiated a debt management arrangement, demonstrating to her creditors how much Dorothy could realistically afford. Thankfully her payments were lowered to £300. Her debt management plan meant that she now only had one affordable payment to make each month, and her many creditors were dealt with by us. The calls and letters from her creditors stopped and Dorothy was able to stay in the house she loved. Dorothy is now debt free.

Dorothy from Borehamwood is a post from: Chiltern Debt Management

Marianne from Glasgow was thrilled with her debt management plan from Chiltern. She had this to say about the debt advice that was provided: “From the first call I made to Chiltern I knew I had made the right decision. They were really helpful, in setting up my debt management plan, and took control of what was a very stressful situation for me.”

When Marianne’s relationship ended she was left to manage the marital home single-handed. Without her partner contributing to the household income, Marianne’s wage struggled to maintain all of the bills and costs associated with running a home. She quickly turned to her credit cards and store cards to keep her head above water, but with more going out of her account each month than was coming in, debt problems quickly developed. Marianne contacted us for debt advice with outstanding balances amounting to just over £11,000. She was paying £190 each month towards this, but could realistically only afford to repay £80 per month. Following our free debt advice, we set up a debt management plan for Marianne and the payments were lowered to the new amount following our negotiations. The debt advice Marianne received meant that she could regain control of her financial situation whilst still repaying her debts. Whilst on her debt management arrangement with Chiltern, Marianne recommended a friend for our free debt advice and benefited from £50 worth of High Street Vouchers as a reward, once her friend also set up a debt management plan. Marianne now has no debts as a result of our debt advice.

Marianne from Glasgow is a post from: Chiltern Debt Management