Joanne left University with Student Loans but decided that she would work hard straight away and pay them off. She managed to do so and so she had no real fear of debt.

Free from the burden of student loans she applied for a credit card. This came through no problem at all. Then she was invited to apply for another. After a while she decided to repay both of the cards with a loan from her bank, who at the same time gave her a third credit card. Now she had a loan to pay every month and things were getting tight.

In order to simply live each month she started to use her credit cards. She had also built up other unsecured debts. She didn’t think this would be a problem because she remembered how she had managed to pay her student loan off. But this time she just couldn’t seem to find the money.

Then someone advised her to think about bankruptcy but she was horrified at the thought. Luckily another friend mentioned The Debt People.

“When I called the Debt People I really thought that my only way out was going to be Bankruptcy but I really didn’t want to go down that route. Then the Debt People mentioned an IVA. I hadn’t heard of this before. They explained it to me and sent me some documents about it. They let me make up my mind in my own time. They didn’t pressure me – unlike the credit card companies who were always sending me letters and calling me on the telephone – sometimes even at work.

When the Debt People told me that all these calls and letters would stop, that I could avoid becoming bankrupt and that they could even negotiate the debt down I have to confess that I thought where is the catch. But there wasn’t one. 6 weeks after my first call to the Debt People my arrangement was approved. Now I have really got my life back on track”.