Loans and overdrafts come in many forms, and they tend to arrive together: a loan to clear the overdraft, then the overdraft creeps back. Here's how they behave when things get tight.
Personal loans have fixed monthly repayments over a set term. Short-term and payday loans carry far higher interest and are designed to be repaid quickly, so they become expensive very fast if they roll over. Guarantor loans involve a friend or family member who becomes liable if you cannot pay. Overdrafts are different again: they are repayable on demand, which means a bank can ask for the money back at any time, and interest is charged on whatever is used.
Missed loan repayments lead to arrears letters, a default notice, and eventually a defaulted account that may be passed to collections or sold on. With an overdraft, a bank can reduce or remove the facility, and if the same bank also holds your wages or benefits it may use what is paid in to cover what is owed. With a guarantor loan, the lender will turn to the guarantor.
People rarely have just one of these. A typical situation is an overdraft at its limit, a couple of loans, and a card or two, with each payment date landing on a different day of the month. Looking at any one of them on its own rarely helps; the useful question is what all of them add up to against what is coming in.
We listen to what you are dealing with and take a few details about the debts and your situation. With your consent we introduce you to a regulated debt specialist who can go through all of it and explain the options that genuinely exist for you. Free, with no obligation, and nothing to prepare before you call.
Being upfront with you: Please Help My Debt is an introducer. We do not give debt advice or recommend debt solutions ourselves. Any advice comes from the regulated specialist we introduce you to, with your consent. Nothing on this page is advice about your own situation.
