Mr and Mrs Zhong came to England from their native Philippines in 2000. Unfortunately, not long after they arrived Mrs Zhong’s mother took ill, and they borrowed £2000 on an HSBC credit card to cover her medical costs back in the Philippines. Although this wasn’t a very big debt, they were earning a subsistence wage and the debt quickly gave rise to other debts. Their debts slowly snowballed.

In 2001, Mr Zhong was diagnosed with diabetes and had a string of amputations of toes and fingers. This meant that he kept having to take time off work and his pay kept dropping to half pay. Now he is having to go back to work on a part-time basis, which means that his half-pay will continue for the foreseeable future.

In 2004 the couple tried to manage their debts via a DMP with Gregory Pennington, but the repayments were not manageable and they ended up turning elsewhere for credit. Now they realise that something must be done, and wish to propose an IVA.

Mr Smithfield’s debts began to accrue in 2004 when he was a bus driver. He took out a loan for £3000 from Nationwide in order to purchase a car. This debt was manageable at first.

However, in 2005 Mr Smithfield decided to set up his own toy business, and here is where the problems started. As with any new business it began by running at a loss, which was sustained by Mr Smithfield’s personal credit. He used a Nationwide card, a Lloyds TSB card, and a Marbles card, and borrowed £10000 on each. However, although the business is now healthy, it is unable to make enough to repay the debts that Mr Smithfield built up in establishing it.

Mr Smithfield feels it is unfair just to walk away and go bankrupt, and also seeks to avoid the stigma. He wishes to propose an IVA.

In 1998, when Suzie was 18 years old, she took out a loan with Lloyds for £2000 to buy some horses (she had 3). Very soon after this she was made redundant without pay, and this meant that she could not afford to service her loan. She used credit cards to get by during this time.

In 2001, Mick took out a £7000 loan for professional development, which was the beginning of his debt story.

In 2002 Suzie tried to consolidate her debts by taking out a loan from NatWest for around £3000. Unfortunately this did not improve things, and caused her only to slide further into debt once again

In 2003 Suzie’s oldest child was born, and the increased financial pressure meant that her debts began to increase at an alarming rate.

In August 2005 Suzie and her partner at the time purchased a house. They had not realised how expensive it was to move, and Suzie’s credit card balances increased substantially during this time. Mick, her partner, took out substantial loans for the purposes of home improvements.

Not long afterwards the relationship between Suzie and her partner became rocky. As a result his contribution towards the joint financial commitments was sporadic and this exacerbated Suzie’s debt situation. He in turn was going through financial turmoil. In 2007 he had spinal surgery and was off work for a long period. During this time he could not afford to make any contribution towards the running of the family as his debts were mounting too. Once again Suzie’s credit cards, overdrafts and catalogues took the strain.

In September 2006 Suzie contacted Payplan because she was about to have a daughter and was concerned for the future. She has been in a DMP ever since, but has come to the conclusion that it is not doing any good as her debts are as bad as they have ever been. She wishes to have some light at the end of the tunnel by proposing an IVA. Although her partner is now her ex-partner, they still live together and wish to be considered for a joint IVA, as they are to all intents and purposes living as a couple.