Here are some examples of people who have sought our help over the past few months. Although the situations described are real, the names have been changed to protect identities.

Young and hopeful

Amanda is 23, single and a trainee solicitor. She used credit to pay her way through her legal studies and although she now works with a salary of £25,000 per annum, she has debts of more than £15,500. Half of this is a personal loan; the rest is store and credit cards.

Her creditors have agreed to accept a monthly payment of £95 until Amanda has completed her training. Once she has qualified, her salary is expected to increase quite quickly which will allow her to increase her monthly repayments and clear her debts.

The single parent

Wilma is a single parent with three children, aged sixteen, seven and four. A good manager, for a long time she supplemented her income by providing an ironing service, but, due to a bizarre set of coincidences, she lost all her customers. Wilma then had to rely on benefits and ended up in debt.

When she came to CCCS she owed both rent and council tax as well as £9,000 on credit and store cards.

Together with the counsellor, Wilma worked out a plan to clear her rent and council tax arrears whilst allowing her to pay £60 a month to her creditors. It will take her a long time to pay off the debt, but so far she is managing to meet her obligations while CCCS will be able to provide support and assistance as long as she is on a Debt Management Plan. If necessary, CCCS will renegotiate the repayment plan should Wilma's circumstances change.

Too much credit

Philip and Jean are in their mid-30s with a one-year old baby. Together, they earn £2,000 per month but have run up debts of over £24,000 excluding their mortgage.

Their creditors have accepted repayments of £450 per month, which should clear their debts in four years.

Changing circumstances

Anne and Bernard are in their late 70s. Bernard retired from a good position in the armed forces but after a lifetime in the forces living abroad, they have found it very difficult to manage their budget and live within their means. In addition, Anne is terminally ill, so there has been some comfort spending. They now owe over £95,000.

Following CCCS advice, the couple are repaying £900 per month to their creditors. They are reluctant to consider other options such as bankruptcy or an Individual Voluntary Arrangement as they own their home outright and would lose it.

Reduced income

William is 31 and single. As the manager of a local supermarket, he currently takes home about £1,200 per month but he used to earn a lot more through overtime. When his overtime was stopped, he maintained his previous lifestyle through credit and now owes £15,000 to 10 different creditors.

In many ways William is lucky; he has no dependents and lives in rented accommodation. Therefore, together with the counsellor he formulated a budget which allows him to repay £280 a month and will enable him to clear his debts in under five years.

Heather and Matt are in their mid-30s and live together with two children aged eight and six. They owe £8,500 to 10 different creditors and when Heather had to leave work because of illness, they could no longer make their repayments.

They have agreed a debt repayment plan of £139 over the next five years.

Beware Consolidation

Mark is 32 and separated with two children. His net income is £18,000 and when he originally contacted CCCS, he owed £15,000 on credit cards and one personal loan.

This situation was serious enough, but Mark compounded things by taking out a consolidation loan of £15,000. This was despite the fact that it was obvious that he would not be able to afford the repayments and so he started using his credit cards again.

Eventually when he came back to CCCS, he owed £37,000. CCCS has advised him to make token payments to his creditors of £1 per month. Once his divorce settlement has been agreed, CCCS recommends personal bankruptcy as he has very little chance of repaying his debts in a reasonable time span.