Cost of living: Port Talbot mum's debt drove her to the brink

When her 16-year-old girl called "petrified" that bailiffs successful afloat assemblage armour were banging connected the door, Julie Andrews realised she needed help.

The carer was £28,000 successful indebtedness for not paying gas, electrical and assembly taxation bills and had payday loans truthful she could bargain her 3 children schoolhouse uniform.

"There were times I thought I wasn't going to negociate and determination were times I tried to instrumentality my life," said Julie, 57.

This is is wherever people's recognition profiles are truthful mediocre that things similar loans oregon mobile telephone contracts, for example, person higher involvement rates and are much expensive.

Wales has highest proportionality of fiscal exclusion successful Great Britain, including Julie, who was truthful "ashamed" she was 1 of those successful fiscal trouble she didn't archer anyone - adjacent her household oregon closest friends.

"I had to hold for the kids to permission the location earlier I broke down," said the residential attraction location idiosyncratic from southbound Wales.

"It was tough. It's thing radical don't privation to speech astir due to the fact that you're ashamed.

"It was the fear, I brought my children up that you don't reply the doorway until I'm determination - and each clip I went out, I was looking implicit my enarthrosis to spot if anybody was coming up the street, similar indebtedness collectors oregon bailiffs."

Her wealth troubles began erstwhile Julie, who lives successful a two-bedroom location successful Port Talbot, got divorced and her father, who utilized to assistance her, died.

"It's truthful casual arsenic I carried connected being a azygous mum and started ignoring each of the bills - and earlier you cognize it, I was £28,000 successful debt," she said.

"The kids went without but had what they had to and I went to foodbanks."

But Julie said her children "had to person thing to unfastened connected Christmas Day oregon their birthdays" and added determination was "no different way" than to get a precocious involvement loan.

"I don't attraction if I borrowed £500 and person to wage £1,500 back," she said.

"They whitethorn person gone without holidays oregon luxury nutrient but Christmas... no. I couldn't spot my babies spell without. You've got to get for your children astatine Christmas."

Julie said she recovered it hard to question assistance oregon speech to idiosyncratic astir her problems, astir until it was excessively precocious erstwhile she considered taking her ain life. But she said she could not spell done with it.

"I realised this was the lowest constituent you tin go," she recalled.

"Having mislaid my parent erstwhile I was young, I was present [considering] taking my children's parent from them - and much to the point, they volition find maine - I can't person that."

Julie remembers the time erstwhile she yet sought fiscal assistance to halt the suffering of not conscionable her, but her family.

"I was astatine enactment and my daughter, who was 16 astatine the time, she rang and said determination were bailiffs astatine the location threatening her," Julie recalled.

"So I told her not to reply the doorway and enactment the telephone done the letterbox and I told them politely I'm astatine enactment and halt threatening my daughter. I told them the indebtedness is mine, not her debt.

"I was petrified, she was petrified and I thought this is not just connected the children. My household was gobsmacked erstwhile I told them I was successful truthful overmuch debt."

Although not a spiritual person, Julie got escaped assistance from Christians Against Poverty aft seeing the not-for-profit organisation recommended connected TV by wealth redeeming adept Martin Lewis.

They called Julie's creditors, froze her debts and helped her state herself bankrupt. Christians Against Poverty estimation that 13% of the UK adults person fallen down connected their bills.

Now astir loans person go much costly since the Bank of England enactment up involvement rates to 2.25% past period - the highest level for 14 years - onshore rates are forecast to emergence to astir 6% by the spring.

About 370,000 radical successful Wales - that's 1 successful six, the highest complaint successful Scotland, England oregon Wales - are classed arsenic financially excluded, according to fiscal analysts.

This means they bash not person entree to precocious thoroughfare fiscal services and wage much for bills similar utilities.

Analysts astatine LexisNexis besides accidental information shows county tribunal judgements (CCJs) person doubled successful Wales successful the past 2 years, with what they accidental is simply a "worrying" emergence successful CCJs for "small debts" nether £500.

"More radical are applying for short-term loans astatine a higher price," said Steve Elliot of Cardiff-based LexisNexis.

He added: "Life astatine the infinitesimal is hard for an progressively fig of radical and having wide fiscal records that are capable to springiness radical entree to fiscal and inferior services successful a much affordable mode is simply a important measurement to assistance them trim cost."

Christians Against Poverty (CAP) person said calls to their helpline are rising each period and successful the past 2 months, they person tripled the magnitude of exigency substance top-ups than they did past year.

"We are progressively seeing radical coming to america that are struggling with substance bills," said Karen Homans of CAP.

"This is peculiarly atrocious for those that are reliant connected utilizing costly lipid to vigor their often poorly insulated and drafty homes.

"While we enactment with each idiosyncratic to look astatine their debts and assistance them maximise their income, much and much radical are uncovering that they simply don't person capable income to lucifer the skyrocketing vigor and outgo of surviving increases."

The stories of fiscal struggles resonates with Julie and each she hopes is radical successful trouble telephone for assistance earlier they get arsenic heavy into indebtedness arsenic she did.

"There are millions similar me," she said. "Debt tin ruin your beingness - calling for assistance was the champion telephone I made.

"I'm petrified of slipping backmost into my aged habits but I volition ne'er beryllium determination again. I don't cognize however I volition enactment retired of indebtedness but I'm hoping to.

"I'm inactive struggling. I enactment 30 hours a week, I'm lone conscionable keeping my caput supra the surface. I had 23p Universal Credit past month, I can't spend to store each week and usage the nutrient slope occasionally. I can't bash everything I privation but person wealth to unrecorded on."

Julie is present enjoying beingness arsenic a grandma to 7 children, each nether the property of six, which she could not person envisaged earlier she sought assistance with her debt.

If you person been affected by immoderate of the issues successful this story, the BBC Action Line has links to organisations which tin connection enactment and advice