Was there any way out for Simmon when his debts were so overwhelming?
Simon didn’t know where to turn.
The brown envelopes kept coming through the door, containing demands in ever fiercer language. The years of tax returns he hadn’t submitted. The bills. The £50,000 of credit card debt.
He would dump them in a pile, and try and forget about them. This had been coming for years, ever since he’d lost his well-paid job. His next job paid a lot less. He covered the gap with credit cards, and then juggled the repayments – using one credit card to pay the minimum payment on another.
What made everything harder was that Simon has Asperger’s Syndrome and ADHD, which means he finds it very difficult to focus and to keep track of things.
He recalls: “I was, I would say, clinically depressed. I found it very hard to get up in the morning, very hard to see people. I couldn’t face the feeling of helplessness. I felt I was letting my wife down, letting my family down, and I couldn’t understand why.
“I couldn’t see any way out of where we were, I really could not. I could only see it ending in absolute disaster, be it divorce or even myself just having had enough.”
At this dark point, a chink of light.
Simon saw a small ad for Paperweight. The Paperweight caseworker, Henry, helped Simon negotiate with the credit companies to waive some of the debt, and to start repaying the rest with small, affordable payments. He also found a much cheaper mortgage, and helped Simon and his wife, Amy, to budget so that they were living within their means.
I couldn’t see any way out of where we were, I really could not. I could only see it ending in absolute disaster, be it divorce or even myself just having had enough...
Henry says: “If things are piling up, writing letters can be quite daunting. What seems like a big job to them is easy for me. I’m here to help people get themselves out of a hole, to remove the blocks that lead them to sabotage themselves. It is very satisfying to see people like Simon regain control of their lives.”
For Simon, Paperweight’s help has been life-changing:
“Paperweight were fantastic because they came in when I was in complete despair. They gave me not only a way out, but also the belief, the inner belief that I could move forward.”
Whatever your administrative, legal or financial problems, our 200 caseworkers have the expertise to help. Call 0330 174 4300 or visit paperweight.org.uk or email info@paperweight.org.uk