Anthony and Lee ran up around £20,000 of debt when Anthony was working as an IT consultant. As he was earning a lot of money, the debt repayments were manageable and they didn't give the issue a second thought. However, the company Anthony worked for was bought out and he ended up being made redundant.

There followed about four months of unemployment and during thie period their debts began to snowball. They have four children and a mortgage, and this means that their expenses are high. Before long their debt had doubled, and even when Anthony went back to work they still couldn't afford to pay their debts back.

When their total debt reached £55,000, they came to DMS for help. They were terrified of losing their house and suffering from stress and depression. We arranged a Trust Deed for them, in which they paid whatever they could afford each month for three years, and the rest of their debt was written off. Their house was not in danger and they had legal protection from creditors. 'The Trust Deed was a wonderful solution to our problems', says Anthony. 'Just when we thought we would be made bankrupt, the Trust Deed gave us our lives back.'

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Helen accumulated around £15,000 of debt by overspending on storecards and credit cards. Her job was not very well paid, and this meant that she was unable to afford even small repayments. For this reason she very soon found herself 'robbing Peter to pay Paul, and this caused her debt problem to get worse and worse. When she lost her job, she realised that something had to be done.

Finally, with advice from DMS, she decided to declare herself bankrupt and go through the Sequestration process. She was able to do this through the LILA (Low Income Low Assets) scheme, as she was not earning any money and on minimal benefits. 'Looking back, I'm glad I did it', she says. 'Although it wasnt a solution that filled me with joy, after I'd done it the relief was incredible.'

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Sarah and PJ have been struggling with debt for as long as they can remember. When they met they each had around £7,000 of debt from their student days, and this figure was to rise as they had children. They attempted to consolidate several times but each time the new loan was unaffordable and they ended up having to use their credit cards again. The first spoke to DMS when their debt reached a level of £20,000. Although they may have qualified for a Trust Deed, PJ had just started a very well-paid job and he felt that he could afford reaonably large repayments. DMS set up a Debt Management Plan for them, which got their interest and charges frozen and their monthly payments lowered to a level they could afford. In this way they gradually paid the debt off, and were debt free within four years. 'It was an amaxing thing', comments Sarah, 'as soon as the Debt Management Plan started, suddenly stress was a thing of the past.'

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