Unfortunately, Mellonie was made redundant from her job, which inevitably impacted her monthly income. The household bills eventually started to pile up and as a result of this, she wound up in debt.
Being made redundant isn't a pleasant experience for anyone to go through but it hit Mellonie especially hard, as she was also caring for her Dad and Christmas was creeping up too. It all snowballed for her and she contacted Freeze Debt for help.
As Mellonie says:
“They don’t make you feel uncomfortable. I don’t like speaking on the phone about finances. I don’t like people judging me, but these people don’t judge you, they do everything they can to help you.”
Mellonie’s debts were a combination of credit cards and a store card.
Her total debt was £17,906.
First and foremost, there is nothing wrong with taking out credit. In fact, keeping up with monthly payments can help boost your credit score, enabling you to pass credit checks in the future. This is highly beneficial if you want to:
Get approved for a mortgage
Be able to finance a car
Take out a phone contract
Qualify for high credit limits and loans
However, the impact of being made redundant from a job and not being able to keep up with payments is severe, if you don’t have a financial safety net such as an emergency fund.
There is a vast amount of people in the UK who may run into financial trouble, if they also experience being made redundant - like Mellonie.
Research from Yorkshire Building Society, states that more than 1 in 10 (13%) UK adults have no savings at all and more than a quarter (26%) of UK Brits admit to having less than £500 in savings.
The Solution
Olivia Loker, debt advisor here at Freeze, describes her experience of speaking to Mellonie through our in-app messaging service:
“I explored Mellonie's options, tailored the solution to work for her and found that the Debt Management Plan (DMP) was the best choice.
She told me she was anxious for the call to set this up but I talked her through the process over chat to try to make her feel more relaxed and she was fine!
I'm positive that us being able to speak to Mellonie over our messaging service first, definitely helped her relieve any stress and fear of being judged over the phone - and that this is the reason why she contacted us instead of other debt advice and solution companies."
A Debt Management Plan (DMP) proved to be the best solution for Mellonie because it was the fastest way to pay off the full remaining amount of debt, as opposed to an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) where a percentage of debt gets written off after a certain amount of time.
Mellonie had too much equity for an IVA and was in a comfortable position to be able to afford £118 monthly to pay towards her DMP. Her disposable income also ruled out the possibility of a Debt Relief Order (DRO) as she had more than £75 left over at the end of each month, meaning she didn't qualify for one.
“They just put you at ease, it was really easy to set up. I would recommend them to anybody. They made my life a little bit easier. The weight off my shoulders lifted instantly so I can’t thank them enough. And the customer service is second to none!”
Our users are at the heart of everything we do and helping Mellonie start her journey towards a better financial future and hearing her kind words, are just a couple of the many reasons why we continue to grow and help others in financial difficulty.
About Freeze Debt
Freeze Debt is the first debt advice and solutions app helping UK users to take their first steps towards a debt-free future. Our free service provides those struggling with unmanageable debt a confidential space to speak openly about their debt and financial worries and find a suitable solution based on their personal circumstances.
Freeze Debt's in-app messaging service is a revolutionary and modern way for users to address their debts and find solutions in less than 5 minutes, compared to the traditional and uncomfortable ‘call-centre-model’ that can take an average of 45 minutes.
So far, we’ve helped clear over £30m of debt and helped many people begin their journey to a debt-free future.
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