Offers to Creditors

GeorgeUK

Hi Serena

Have you had late payments or defaults on your credit file? You can see this free at experian (if you cancel within 30 days).

Mortgage................................ 1032
Can you change to interest only? How much would that save?

Council tax............................. 100
Can you ask to pay this over 12 months rather than 10?

Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 50
Check you are getting the best deal for these. Try some comparison sites (uswitch, moneysupermarket)

Mobile phone............................ 10
Is this PAYG?

Telephone (land line)................... 30
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15
Internet Services....................... 10
Are these combined in a package?

Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Have a look at the old style board for ideas on how to save - mealplans moving down a brand etc

Buildings insurance..................... 70
Contents insurance...................... 12
Again, i'd check to see if there are better offers out there.

It may be worth contacting CCCS or Payplan to go over some of this and possibly set up a DMP.

SerenaGoode

GeorgeUK wrote: »

Hi Serena

Have you had late payments or defaults on your credit file? You can see this free at experian (if you cancel within 30 days).

Hi George, No to this one - I've always paid on time, but am approaching a point where that won't be possible.

GeorgeUK wrote: »

Mortgage................................ 1032
Can you change to interest only? How much would that save.

It would save £315 a month. But that wouldn't stop the slide and why transfer the problem to paying off the unsecured debt rather than the secured debt if it won't stop the slide. Plus if I go into debt management I want to be paying the repayment mortgage, not basing the sums on IO. Anyway, HSBC might say no, or they'd only give me a year, so not a real solution.

GeorgeUK wrote: »

Council tax............................. 100
Can you ask to pay this over 12 months rather than 10?

Electricity............................. 50
Gas..................................... 50
Check you are getting the best deal for these. Try some comparison sites (uswitch, moneysupermarket)

Mobile phone............................ 10
Is this PAYG?

Telephone (land line)................... 30
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 15
Internet Services....................... 10
Are these combined in a package?

Council tax - I might do that next, year, to help with budgeting. good idea.
Electric/Gas - I've had a look and not a lot to be gained from switching.
Mobile phone - yes, rarely use it.
Telephone is BT, bills are actually maybe more like £50-60 a quarter. Satellite and broadband is a package, which I'd hope to keep.

GeorgeUK wrote: »

It may be worth contacting CCCS or Payplan to go over some of this and possibly set up a DMP.

I have a feeling I would rather try this alone. I get very frustrated dealing with people through an intermediary, and I am confident I can follow the National Debtline pack which tells you the steps to take, then ask for help if I get stuck.

But I'm trying to work out what pitfalls I may encounter along the way. Thanks for the money saving tips - we've cut our grocery bill by about 60% already and all luxuries are gone - I really think that the remaining slack in the SOA isn't enough to prevent me getting to the point where I can't meet my credit payments, so I think something of this sort really is inevitable now. The remortgage would have left us a bit short but basically fine, but once that became impossible we were in a bad situation. My fault for not remortgaging last year when I could have, very frustrating.