Pay off debts quickly or save up for deposit?

GingeG,

I think credit scoring laws changed sometime this year or late last year so that credit reference agencies aren't allowed to link multiple records at the same address unless those individuals have at least one joint financial engagement (bank account, mortagage, personal loans.) But I may be wrong.

My partner and I keep our finances totally separate. Legally, it's all clean: we are "housemates". She has two children from a previous marriage and we split the rent 65-35. She claims housing benefit to pay her part of the rent, and also claims income support for living expenses. I pay my own share of the rent, council tax and utilities and help her once in a while with rent if she isn't able to pay her part fully.

I realise that this sounds like housing benefit fraud, but it isn't. Honest ... Her debts are from before we met. I was debt free when we met about two and half years ago, but spent almost £5000 trying to help her keep up with the payments on multiple credit cards. Six months into our relationship, I suggested an IVA or bankruptcy because I couldn't keep bailing her out paying my rent *and* hers (we didn't share then) It took almost a year just to get the ball rolling and the creditors off her back. At last things seem to be getting back on track and I hope to become (reasonably ) debt free in a year's time.

Many thanks to all those who answered my original post. Guess, I'll pay my debts and continue to study the housing market until I can actually afford to buy.

Thanks for reading!

-pop

margaretclare wrote:

Hi
[snip]
You say 'this sounds like housing benefit fraud but it isn't...' Well, just wondering how the Benefits Agency people would look at it. You say you keep all your finances separate, but Benefits Agency have a habit of looking at it from the point of view of 'are you living together as if you were married?' They have various tests that they apply. Your partner is living on benefits so if the Benefits Agency got wind of this, they might arrive quite suddenly and exercise their extensive powers to look at her benefit entitlement again.

Aunty Margaret

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. We've looked deep and hard into the "various tests" used by Benefits Agency. About the only thing that the welfare state can pull us up for is that we cohabit and life like "husband and wife". In the eyes of law, as long as we sleep in different rooms, keep separate bank accounts, split the rent and pay our individual share of the household bills, utility bills and council tax, we are housemates, not partners. In our case, it's all clean, except that we sleep together and we're not about to admit that to the nanny state.

I don't know if you've ever claimed housing benefit, but the invasiveness of some questions is absolutely appalling. I can't see any reason why you should be forced to admit who you sleep with, just because the welfare state decides that it has done you a good turn by giving you a pathetic sum of money every month to pay your exhorbitant rent! With even a good income and paying a medium-sized rent, the way the housing market stands today, you have no option but to join the growing numbers of the British skilled underclass and move into violent suburban ghettos. To avoid raising her children amongst muggers, hookers and druggies, my partner claims housing benefit.

If that's *fraud*, we'll live with the consequences of being discovered :rolleyes:

-pop