Most of my life i haven't been able to set my eyes on any kinda credit card because i have been in so much debit in my life that no one would give me one and plus my credit score isn't that great, When i was about 16 i had a mental breakdown that would cost me 8 years of my life in insolvency and being declared bankrupt at only 16 years of age, I went down for under 15k and this debit was mostly on mobile phones and mail order catalogs that was on credit. At the time no one knew what was going on as i was coming back from collage most days and having a mobile phone from the Carphone warehouse and i was lying about my age to get one every time when i went in there after collage and this happened quite a few times and then i would come home and look on the internet and seeing what else that i could apply for, As these bills wasn't never ever gonna be paid as at the time i had no income only my £30.00 EMA (Educational Allowance) and my other income that wasn't in my name and then bills upon bills just came pilling though the door and i couldn't cope with these bills that was coming though the door nearly every single day of the week, I went down to see my local Connections advisor and spoke to them on a few occasions and told them what i have been going though and told me that i should keep all of the letters and try and get some help because back then i was going though some kinda stress and no one knew what it was.I was put on some really bad medication at the time as i was seeking help from my doctors and these tablets i thought was making me worse as ever and i was doing crazy things and acting very strange and my mom and my step dad said to me on a few occasions that i am mental and mad and they was gonna lock me away into a metal hospital because they just couldn't look after me any more and i was so bad that i was causing augments and bullying people that my mom just couldn't cope with me any longer. As my behavior was so bad and i was acting very strange that i was then given the option to seek some professional help from a Physiatrist that provided me what i wanted to hear and that was i was going though a mental breakdown and also suffering from mild depression and anxiety at the same time and they also said that my temper is very badly effected due to this breakdown that i was having. After i saw the professional people and also i was taking these really bad tablets my behavior and temper slowly got worse and it got so bad that i was arrested for stabbing my step dad in the arm and i was very lucky that i wasn't locked up because what i caused to my step dad was GBH and in the end my step dad forgave me for doing it and i said sorry to him and we made up after i was well enough.
As i was seeing my local connections adviser she told me that i should go into insolvency and to try and get these debits sorted out because i had a pill of letters from 15 companies demanding money witch i never had and then i made a appointment to the citizen advice for some more information and to see what the next steps was, I didn't like the idea what i was going to do but there was no other way out of it, I went insolvent in September 2010 and this would be for over £15k of debits that i managed to run up when i was going though my mental breakdown and i think there was a change for this service but as it was a long time ago i cannot remember for sure. Once everything was sorted i would have to wait for over a year for it to go to court and to go though there progress and then in September 2011 there was a 6 year wait before i could finally fix my credit score and start all over again and it was a long long wait.
In September 2008 i wanted to go and do a collage course in Newtown (Powys) and i wanted to be with my dad full time as i was going though so much shit that he knew that i wasn't very well, So in t September of that year i had applied for the collage course and i was accepted for the course and my dad took me in and looked after me until i had my health back on track, My dad did say to me at one time when i was living with him that i was very ill and he just knew for some reason and wanted to take care of me and help me with everything. I can remember that was still applying for mobile phones etc and then i was putting them onto my dads address and then i was accepted because the credit was put on someone else's address so it would go though with no problem. My dad always told me that i could have anything that i wanted as long as i wanted as long as i paid for it and he wouldn't mind this at all. My health was slowly getting better by November / Jan 2008 -2009 but i still wasn't eating very well and i was loosing weight so fast that some nights i would come home from collage and pop to the shop to get sweets and crips and went straight to my room with no tea and my dad wouldn't see me until the next morning and this went on for a while when i had the ability to cook for myself again. By the March of 2009 my dad decided that he didn't wanna take care of me anymore and then i moved back with my mom and then progressed onto the stages of bankruptcy.
When i did go though the whole progress of bankruptcy i did break down because it was so much to cope with at a very young age and there wasn't anything that i could do so it had to be done no other way, My mom helped me with the whole progress and was there since day 1 providing me so much help and support since. The whole progress was well worth the 8 years that it cost my life because once my paper work was done and sorted there was a 6 year wait before i was able to apply for anything once again and repair the damage that i did a few years earlier. I did apply for some credit and of course i was rejected all the time so i just waited for thoes days to count down to the day when i was out of debit for good.
In September 2016 i was debit free after almost 8 years of my life and it was the best feeling in the world and i was so proud of myself for doing what i did and it cost me some friends and family in the progress but it was well worth it, As i am disabled and i don't know a lot about credit and finance when i was 15 this was a good thing for me as my dad was saying to me that i has stopped you from running up more debit and he also said that it was a really good idea on what i done and he was so proud on what i did, When i was able to apply for credit again my main goal was for me to repair the damage that i done and this was gonna be so hard because some companies might not accept me and the first thing that i applied for was a o2 sim only deal and i thought that this wouldn't go though as i had a contract with them before and because of this i thought that i wouldn't get nothing at all.
o2 Fully accepted me on a sim only deal and i was shocked and i just couldn't believe it because i thought that o2 would reject me straight away and then i was able to get a brand new iPhone 6s plus and when i had the email from Carphone warehouse to say that i was accepted for the upgrade i started to cry because i had been waiting for a new phone for a very long time and i just couldn't believe it. And then a few weeks later i applied to the money shop for a £200 loan and i was accepted for that as well and then to make thiLogs better for myself i started to take out Cash converters cash advice and this is only a little bit extra to pay back for the interest but its nothing to bad and i have been having those and paying one each back every 4 weeks and it has made a change to my credit score since i have been having them and my mom thinks that i am stupid and i shouldn't keep having them but she doesn't understand that these cash advances has helped me since day one and i will continue to use them all the time as they are a really good service.
I wanted to get myself a credit card was the most thing that i wanted to use to build up my credit score and it was so hard because some companies wouldn't accept me because of my past credit and my score and i have tried the most popular ones like Capital one and barclaycard and none of them would accept me if i kept on trying. In these current stages before i apply for any credit card i always use a free credit checker to see what cards that i am able to get witch is a good because they don't mess up your credit while you are doing it and i was accepted for a Vanquis credit card that helps people in my current position and gives you a low credit amount and then pay it off to get some more well you know what i mean. This has been a 100% success as i thought that no company would accept me for anything including credit builder cards and i was so happy when i finally told that i could have one. At the moment my card is only set at £250.00 and i have thought about using it and in the end i have used it and bought some things that i wanted and my plan is to use what i have got and pay it back and then don't use it again but it all depends on what i could get next on my card.
At the moment my credit score isn't bad or great it is getting there very slowly and with all the work that i am doing it will get better in just a short time. As Christmas is around the corner i am gonna try and not use my Credit card and just my normal monthly allowances because i don't wanna go into debit as i have been there and it has destroyed my life but i have learnt from my mistakes and i am now better with my money and finances and it just shows at a young age that credit doesn't help you it just gets you into trouble and something i have always learnt to myself is never get anything on credit unless you need it because at the end of they day who's gonna pay for it?
This was the best thing that i have done and i have learnt from my mistakes and now i have a full o2 contract and a credit card witch i thought i would never ever get so i am kinda happy with myself.
Love Rianna X
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