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The debts started accumulating when Robin was 17 in 2000. He got a loan for a car which was for £3000 from Alliance and Leicester. At the time he was working as a trainee bricklayer and not earning that much. Nevertheless everything was ok and the repayments were manageable at first.

However, in 2003 Robin started using credit cards as a credit facility. This meant that his credit card bill spiralled to around £5000, but the debt still felt manageable at that time.

However, in 2004 his first child was born and this increased his expenses. Additionally, funding deposits for rented properties was expensive.

In 2006 he and Abigail tried to buy a property and paid all the fees but at the last minute the lender pulled out. They also lost their deposit on a rented accommodation that they were in for 3 months. This meant that their debt spiralled and they consolidated several times. Their second child was born at that time as well, and this increased their outgoings.

They struggled on for two more years, consolidating as they go, and this has not helped. Now they realise that things cannot go on and wish to propose an IVA.

The Smythe’s debts began when they bought a house in 1989. They borrowed money on credit cards to fund the move, and to make matters worse the mortgage payments were beyond their means from the start. At the time Mr Smythe was a baker, and Mrs Smythe was a dental technician. He was earning around £180 per week, she was earning about £160 per week, and their mortgage was around £700 per month, which was unaffordable. In addition, the interest rate was a massive 16%. The couple began to be pushed into debt.

Over the coming years they consolidated and re-consolidated, and engaged in multiple balance transfers in their struggle to keep their heads above water. Also Mr Smythe worked at getting better jobs which provided more money, but each time the problems persisted. Three children were born in 1992, 1997, and 2006, and each time this added to the financial pressure and they were falling further into debt.

Most recently, in November last year, Mrs Smythe took out a big loan with Barclays that required a total payback of over £30000. This was a last desperate move to consolidate, but the couple realise now that this hasn’t worked. They wish to propose an IVA.

The debts started to accumulate 6 years ago with the purchase of a holiday on Grant’s Capital One card, which cost £600-700. At the time the clients were both working full-time in their current positions, and the repayments did not present a problem. Over the next few years they used credit as a useful payment facility and their debts built up towards £10000.

In 2005 their second child was born, and this meant that Cindy could no longer work full-time. During her maternity leave their debts inevitably increased, and when she went back to work part-time they found that they could no longer afford the minimum payments on their various debts. This situation was exacerbated by the mounting childcare costs.

In January 2006, April 2007 and February 2008 they tried to solve their problems by consolidating, the first time with Cahoot and subsequently with Lloyds TSB loans. However, each time the loan repayments were beyond that which their budget could accommodate, and they ended up falling back on their credit cards again.

They now wish to break this vicious cycle by proposing an IVA.