Chris was a credit card surfer who saw it as a challenge to switch his balance from one interest free deal to another. However, Chris found it more and more expensive switching as credit card companies started to charge for the balance transfers.

He did not alter his spending behaviour which resulted in him starting to use more credit cards to finance his lifestyle. Chris thought that if he took an unofficial payment holiday this would allow him to catch up with the more expensive credit cards he had. This resulted in him getting letters from creditors warning him that he needed to pay his arrears or they would take him to court.

Fortunately he realised that he could not sustain his spending and took stalk of his finances. Using as a guide a Statement of Affairs he calculated that his debts were approximately £10,000. Looking at possible solutions he realised that although he had heard of an IVA he would not be eligible as his debts were less than £15k. Debt management was the only option for him.

He now pays an affordable monthly contribution which gets reviewed every six months. His creditors are now happy that he has taken responsibility for his debts and have stopped sending him letters.