My mother in law has always been terrible with money and owes somewhere between £30,000 - £60,000 to various credit card companies. I don't think even she knows how much she owes. She hides statements from the rest of her family, paying the minimum amount when she can and when she can't - paying nothing and incurring massive fees. I'm sure that around 90% of what she owes must be charges and interest fees.

We only recently found out about her debt when my husband was visiting and came across a red bill. We advised her to go to her local Citizens Advice Bureau who advised her taking an IVA. They've helped her start to get her debts in order, face them, and think about a plan to begin paying them off.

I think if we had not found that bill she would have gone on lying to us and getting further and further into debt, because she was scared to face up to it. Who knows - she could even have lost the family home - it doesn't bear thinking about!