Luke (44) had around £14,500 worth of debt when he first came to PayPlan in 2010.

Luke was in full-time employment, but his partner had a long term illness, which required both financial and emotional support.

Although after some time she was able to start working again, they had already accumulated debt. After a few years, the relationship broke down and they went their separate ways.

However, all the debts were in Luke’s name.

He said: ‘I don’t begrudge her, I don’t think badly of it, and honestly good luck to her!’

At the time, Luke was a full-time care worker and in order to supplement his living costs he was regularly using his credit card.

He said: ‘This went on for a couple of years until, I basically had a breakdown. I couldn’t cope with it all. So I took some advice from a friend and found PayPlan’s name.’

Once he contacted us, our advisers talked through Luke’s situation with him and based on his circumstances assessed that a DMP (debt management plan) was best for him.

After a few years in a DMP, Luke began to suffer with mental health issues and had to take time off work sick. As a result of this, he had to stop paying his DMP for a year.

He said: ‘I was just in a completely bad place. One day I just thought, I’ve got to get it sorted. It’s my debt and I have to deal with it.’

He decided to contact his creditors and PayPlan to explain the situation, and began paying into his plan again. He said: ‘That started my recovery, when I actually sat down and acknowledged everything.’

‘The help I received from yourselves [PayPlan] was amazing’

During this time his financial situation had changed. He now had a job with a higher wage so was able to repay more each month without pressure.

Luke explained if he was going to give anyone any advice it would be:

‘Just do it. There is always going to be a way out. Yes, it’s going to be hard for a few years but work with the system.’

Talking through his story, he told me he was on his day off from work and he was enjoying sitting in a coffee shop reading a new book – and didn’t owe anyone a penny!

He added: ‘It’s such a sense of relief and accomplishment! My life has turned around since doing this’

‘I still sing your praises to this day. I truly am living again!’

If you or someone you know is worrying about money and wants to talk to someone, PayPlan offer free no obligation debt advice. So give us a call today on 0800 716 239 to chat to one of our advisers or visit www.payplan.com.