My friend has, unbeknowingly to me, acquired a huge amount of credit card debt. He also has an expensive?

car on finance, plus other unknown debts. I know of at least forty thousand pounds of debt. His partner is debt free and also expecting a baby in two weeks, she had no knowledge of the debt until now. Can anyone tell me, how to begin to sort this out. The man has a failing business and no other money to speak of. Any help will be appreciated. And yes, I know he is a jerk, I think so too. But his partner is not, and she deserves better.

Other than a magic wand or a winning lottery ticket there ain't much to do, an IVA would clear the debt but all assets may be seized, a consolidation loan might help him keep his head above water though some hard work and a job where money is guaranteed might be advantageous if his business is beyond redemption.

Make him get a job. Pay off debts as quickly as possible. Save, save, save. Not to say that he should put it in an account - he should have no savings and direct them towards paying off debts. Sell the expensive car. If you still are his friend, help him out. Ask the man to sell up his company if he has to.

If she is not married to him, does not share credit cards with him or checking account, etc . she should be ok. It's his problem. Some people only learn by failure. Be there for her when she finds out.

First thing would be to protect HER credit ratings, and ensure that his creditors cannot get at her money.

Frogmarch him down to the CAB with details of all his commitments and get some professional debt advice.

Step 1: Sell the car, buy one that costs less than $2,000.
Step 2: Move into a CHEAP apartment.
Step 3: Get a job. If he already has one, make him get another.

Oh dear..........I can hear the sh1t hitting the fan from here.Perhaps it's best for him to throw the towel in and seek bankruptcy.It's not the end of the world and you wont go to prison for it (presumably uk).It may even be a great relief for him to come clean if he has used the money in good faith and not pi66ed it all up the wall.Perhaps then he will be able to concentrate on what really matters in his life.Does your mate know you know?If not,if you really are his friend,get to it and stand by him.

OK, you state that he is debt free, so I have to assume that she is not included in any of his debt. So this is his problem.

First thing he should do is sell his expensive car and get a good used car. Then he should start working on his credit card debt. Paying as much as he can every month. Even consider Consumer Credit Counseling, they are free and will work with his creditors to lower both his monthly payments and his interest rates. Then he has to address his failing business. If there is no chance of selling or saving it, he should bail out and consider bankruptcy for the business.

I dont know how you can help here -but what a friend you are! Your mate has "champagne tastes and lemonade pockets" as my husband says. It's just too easy to get credit these days. When we were younger you had to put a one third deposit down before you could get credit and cards were almost unheard of. I do hope this problem starts to improve because its very sad that your friend's wife has to suffer the stress and worry of it all especially with a new baby on the way. Not a good way to start off with a family and often marriages dont survive under these circumstance. Good luck to all.
PS The car has to go!

My answer is MYOB
Speaking of which, this might help:-
http://www.sitepal.com/?&affId=144736&ba...

i'm guessing that they have joint accounts, so she is associated with him. what she needs to do is get herself dis-associated from him. she can go about this by going into the bank. if she doesn't do this, then she is liable for half the debt. tell him not to make any more than 3 credit applications every 6 months. this is what gives you a bad credit rating, even if you pay everything on time. if he has numerous amounts of loans, the best thing I can suggest is to have them all consolidated. His bank may be able to do this for him, depending on just HOW bad his credit rating is, so tell him his first step needs to be to book himself in with the customer advisor at his local branch, they will be able to give him tips even if they can't help. tell him not to be sucked in by debt management companies, they may claim to help but the majority are more interested in making money out of you then actually helping you clear it. good luck to them both, she's lucky to have a friend like you hun xx

Don't go to the CCCS, I know from personal experience they can't help effectively with debts of that size.

Get him to call www. debtadvicetrust.org, or payplan.co.uk. Or it may be that his business is the key to this so for his business try www. insolvencyhelpline.co.uk

None of the above will charge you any fees.

Citizens Advice Bureau for help (free)