Debt diary: Counsellor appointment

Sayara Beg wants to reach a deal with her creditors

Thousands of people in the UK are struggling with ever-increasing levels of personal debt.

BBC News website reader Sayara Beg, 36, a freelance IT consultant from East London, has been telling her story of dealing with debt.

Sayara finally gets to speak with a debt counsellor, who makes her reassess her approach.

Diary entry six, 1 June

If my finances were not bad enough, a fresh problem has occurred.

I am still waiting for my last three weeks' pay for the job I finished on 19 May.

I call my ex-employer and they promise to forward the money to me by 15 June.

However, money is very tight and I need to take action before direct debits start bouncing and I am hit with bank charges.

I find it quite shocking that many of my creditors do not seem to be taking my financial plight seriously Sayara's debt diary entries 1-3 Debt diary entries 4 and 5

I cancel all the direct debits for things I do not need.

I do not have store cards, or hire purchase agreements, catalogue items that need paying, so the only direct debit I find I need to keep is my self-employment insurances to cover my family and my debts in the event of illness or death.

Shocking

Kensington mortgages have confirmed in writing that in the event of arrears, there will be no penalty charges imposed.

This is a relief. Credit where credit is due, Kensington have always responded quickly to my letters. I wish I could say the same thing for my other lenders.

I have not heard from any other of my seven creditors since sending them details of my upcoming appointment with the Consumer Credit Counselling Service (CCCS).

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I find it quite shocking these creditors do not seem to be taking my financial plight seriously.

This feeling of unease is made worse when I pick up a voicemail message from Birmingham Midshires.

Their collection department wants to discuss my mortgage.

I am confused because I have already come to an arrangement with this creditor. Previously, they had agreed to give me a two-month payment holiday covering the months of July and August.

I call the collection department and it's a case of the right hand not knowing what the left is doing.

They were unaware that my two-month holiday arrangement was set up.

I explain the situation and the Birmingham Midshires representative goes off and speaks to another department.

After being put on hold for a few minutes, they came back to me, apologising for the confusion.

Diary entry seven, 5 June

Halifax have confirmed the three month payment holiday, mentioned in last week's diary entry. They charge a £60 upfront fee.

The way the fee is explained, it seems as if this is an ongoing fee, but after quizzing their representative on the phone, I am told categorically that it is a one-off charge.

Several things have struck me about the attitude of my creditors and the people that work for them.

CONCERNED ABOUT DEBT? National Debtline: A free, confidential and independent service funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and the credit industry. Tel: [phone] Business Debtline: Provides a free telephone debt counselling service for self-employed and small businesses, funded by banks. Tel: [phone] Consumer Credit Counselling Service: Funded entirely by the credit industry, the service offers advice to people in debt. Tel: [phone] Citizens Advice: Offers free, independent and confidential advice from more than 700 locations throughout the UK. Take our debt test

Overall, the jargon used is very confusing and the people on the other end of the phone do not have any power to negotiate with me.

If they did try and help people, then staff, I suspect, would soon lose their jobs.

Often, though, the overriding impression I am given is that I should be ashamed, humiliated by not being able to meet my debt repayments for a short period of time.

I feel sometimes as if the person on the other end of the phone is blaming me.

I have been brushing this feeling aside because I am determined to take control of my situation and remain in command of my finances.

My goal is to return to work, after the birth of my child, without unnecessary financial overheads.

But I can not help but feel that other people, already feeling quite depressed about the situation they are in, would simply slide into further depression after talking to their creditors.

Sympathy, understanding and the ability to negotiate sensibly are in very short supply.

I realise why debt counsellors are in such demand. Speaking of which, I am due to have my conversation with the CCCS.

Diary entry eight, 8 June

My debt counselling session is a real eye-opener.

My counsellor, Norrie Gordon, discusses what constitutes my priority and non-priority debt, as well as my income and outgoings.

As I understand it, my priority debts are those which could lead to me losing my property or facing court action - for example, council tax.

Ultimately, it dawns on me that the budget I worked out at the start of this process is not up to task

We go into the reason for my cash crisis; namely, the early termination of my freelance contract when I revealed to my employer that I was pregnant.

I have spoken to Equal Opportunities Commission over whether this was a breach of sex discrimination law and I am due to see a lawyer at Citizens Advice. I am considering taking my former employer to tribunal.

Sayara finally gets to speak to a counsellor

However, all this is for the future.

The debt counsellor goes into considerable detail about my outgoings and I realise how my original financial budget had not considered putting money aside for things like car servicing, MOT, central heating repairs and washing machine failures.

Ultimately, it dawns on me that the budget I worked out at the start of this process is not up to task.

Really simple things could damage my plans. For example, I will be at home with the new baby and this will mean that my utility bills will be higher.

The counsellor tells me about basic bank accounts.

These are accounts that do not offer an overdraft but allow direct debits, debit cards and a cheque book. I am going to look into these.

The key, I am told, is to show willing to my creditors, even if I pay them £1 per month.

I am given a copy of my new budget plan and a list of banks which offer basic bank accounts.

My debt counsellor made me reconsider my finances. But the one hour proves to be too little time, so we agree to talk next week.

So my next move is to open one of these accounts and set up a token repayment to my creditors. I am a long way from the end but I feel pleased to have received some impartial advice.

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