Harper McDermott and Blethered with Sean McDonald recently spoke to one of our customers, Becky about her experience with unaffordable debt.
Becky’s Debt Help Journey
Becky found herself struggling with unaffordable. In 2019, she made a call to our team of debt advisers in search of debt help.
After speaking to the team, Becky chose to enter into a Trust Deed to help with her debt. She has since completed her chosen debt solution and recently shared the exciting news with us that she is now a homeowner. Her story can help to inspire many more people across Scotland.
Listen Here
Becky’s TrustPilot Review
Becky left her review in 2016, and updated it in 2024 to share her exciting news of becoming a homeowner.
“I had been drowning under my debt for some time and despite making all payments on time and in full, I wasn’t able to see any light at the end of the tunnel and the spiral meant I was using my credit cards just to survive but couldn’t afford the pay them back and so the spiral continued month after month… when emergencies came up I had to ask family or friends for help… it was depressing and humiliating… I spoke to very close friends about it all… and I finally took the step to call. Wow, what a team, my first port of call was patient and understanding and never once did I feel bad, from that initial call I felt calmer and like someone was able to help…”
“To sum up I cannot rate this company and its staff highly enough, they are professional but with a friendly reassuring feel and nothing is ever a trouble. My Trust Deed is now in protected status and I finally feel like I am able to find my feet again and enjoy life a little, instead of being constantly stressed and miserable.
“Update 1/9/24 8yrs on from this original review…”
“After my Trust Deed finished, I was able to continue to budget properly and keep track of my finances. I learned to manage my money and to not rely on credit. I even have savings for the first time in my life! But and this is the most important part of my update… at the age of 45, I became a home owner this year! This couldn’t have happened without the ability to clear my debts and learn how to be better at managing my finances. If you are in any doubt about how much this can change your life, please don’t be, yes it’s hard going and sacrifices need to be made whilst you are in the Trust Deed, but after it ends you can build from solid foundations. Don’t let debts rule your life. And good luck to all for the future, it really can happen.”
Listen to The Full Episode
Snippet from the podcast:
“I first got into debt when I was about 18, I’m 45 now. At 18, I moved out of home and the bank said you can get a loan, you can get a credit card. At 18 years old, I thought “free money”.
I kind of kept on top of it and then as things do… you work part time and you are trying to do everything and things kind of get on top of you. So I kept going with that and moved up here when I was 20, basically just trying to live, day to day stuff.
I didn’t buy anything extravagant, we didn’t go on holidays, it was really just day to day things and over the years the debt built up. Then me and my ex boyfriend split up and for the first time, I was doing everything on my own.
I was on one wage and my dad always said to me “Always make sure you pay your rent, that’s the first thing you pay, anything else you can deal with after that” so I always make sure I paid that.
That was the one thing I never had any issue with. But as time went on, again just trying to survive, the bills piled up. Electric was more because it was me on my own with one wage, gas was more. So between council tax and credit cards, things just got on top of me over the years. I was meeting all the payments but behind in other things.”
“The gas and electric, they went on to prepayment meters to get the debt back off me and that went on for a few years. I think it was 2015
or 2016, my cat needed a big operation and I didn’t have any money for it. I put my private plate up for sale online and my friends, one of whom is here today, they didn’t tell me but they paid the bill for me. It was at that point that I just saw that I can’t keep going like this, I can’t. If I can’t afford to look after the animal I’ve got, something’s very very wrong.”
“I also got a letter from one of the credit card companies that told me if I kept paying it off at the rate I was paying it off, it would be 2038 before I cleared the debt. I’d seen the adverts and that kind of thing but you know what it’s like. You put it off and put it off because you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t want to admit it and anyway, I got in touch [with Trust Deed Scotland®] and even from that first phone call it was just like something lifted.”
“I don’t think I’d actually said to my friends the kind of mess I was in but they would say “do you want to go out somewhere” and I’d be like “oh no, I can’t do that this week” and I’d make an excuse. Even going down to visit family, I couldn’t afford to do that because travelling down there was so expensive so I put that off as well and it’s just those things and literally all you are trying to do is survive.”
“I looked into it myself but I didn’t realise there were other options. Bankruptcy and Trust Deed’s were the only two that I knew about but when they [Trust Deed Scotland®] went through all the options, the Trust Deed seemed to be the best option for my circumstance at that time…”
Inspiring Debt Story
We know that Becky’s story is one that many people across Scotland can relate to. We hope that this podcast can help people who are struggling with debt, or have struggled with debt in the past, to see that their financial situation can improve. This podcast aims to give hope to anyone feeling alone in their debt struggle.