debt problems ruining my life

Mentalminis_2

lol, it's ok.... thanks for the pointer, i shall definatly look into this as not only are the phone calls annoying but you don't get anything down solid, at least with a letter it's all down there in black and white and can not be disputed at a later date.

thanks

lallyaya

Hiya,

I know how you feel, its awful being in debt we've all been there (actually i'm still there!) One big thing I have to say is CLAIM COUNCIL TAX BENEFIT NOW!!!

The current applicable amount (the amount the law says you need to live on) for single people over the age of 25 is £56.20, this is your basic living costs essentials only (normally not even enough). For people not claiming Income Support once you go over this amount your benefit is calculated by looking at what you have coming in minus the applicable amount. For Council Tax Benefit we then take 20% of what you have left and thats what you have to pay toward your council tax. I figure this could save you £8 a week.

You can apply for a backdate of CTB, a year is the max, you need to show good reason why you did not claim before, explain you didn't know you could claim working and told you couldn't etc etc, and that you are (and have been) in extreme hardship. This is no guarantee but its worth a try, and if you get a backdate it could add a credit to your account and leave you with one less thing to worry about for a few months. Speak to your local welfare rights https://www.yourcouncilsname.gov.uk and look in the A-Z index. If you get a knockback for a backdate appeal to tribunal stage - it won't cost you any money but could make your life a lot easier.

I'm still in a lot of debt and it has been at the stage when I considered killing myself. However we get through with support and understanding that its not just us. If you want a chat or anything PM me, we're all getting through it together. I only discovered this board last week and I love it!

Take care,

Lally
-X-

Mentalminis_2

just received word from my other creditors, and it's not good.... it looks as though they are not going to be as helpful as MBNA, everyone is saying that they can't freeze interest and chargers on my account and that i am this close to having my debts sold on, thus a 6 year stain on my name, now thats gonna take a whole lot of vanish oxey action to remove..... i also recieved a letter from MBNA saying the same despite them saying on the telephone that i was being put onto a hardship account, would this be automatically generated letter or have they changed their minds???

my mother and sister both think that i should try and make the minimum payments they all require anyways but when they are not the ones faced with not having the money to pay living expenses let alone debts it's rather annoying to say the least.
The talk around the camp fire has even gone as far as my parents re-mortgaging there house to help me out, extreme i know and i don't wanna go down this route as my father is suffering from work related depression already and he had wanted to retire for the last 5yrs anyways (the council won't let him), i just feel that they have been paying enough through the years, my mother now no longer works, my father is so close to actually being able to retire and i know they want to buy themselves a new motorhome to replace the one they have so that they can travel when he finally does get to retire, my borrowing from them seems a little selfish, they have after all been paying for me one way or another all their lives, loans have also been mentioned, getting one through my parents etc but again the same reasons apply and the fact that i wouldn't be able to afford the repayments on a loan for them.

am not sure of what to do next

Mentalminis_2

Well through talking to my parents etc, we have come up with three senario's about dealing with my current situation as it stands.

1. I WILL go bankrupt if i stay and thus lose everything and end up haveing to live with my parents.
2. I could sell the house and move back in with my parents
3. I could rent the whole property out and move back in with my parents until i am back on my feet or at least in more of a finacially sound position to move back in on my own.

i have posted in the homes/mortgages section http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=117733

but what i need to know now is, as all the options result in my moving back home to my parents, how do i stop any possiblity of my debts effecting them? i don't want them to be the ones being chased for money etc...so how would i cut them from the loop?

tomstickland

Selling the house is the best way of releasing the funds and ridding yourself of a lot of expenses. What's the difference between what the house if worth and your outstanding mortgage?

Mentalminis_2

until valuations are done i am not entirely sure what the diffrence will be... selling is not a route i want to go down unless i really really have to, i shall be looking into renting the whole property out first, obviously if the diffrence is that great between what i paid and what i would get to sell then i may just have to go that route after all.... but for now selling is not an option, renting is though

Xbigman

Mentalminis wrote:

but what i need to know now is, as all the options result in my moving back home to my parents, how do i stop any possiblity of my debts effecting them? i don't want them to be the ones being chased for money etc...so how would i cut them from the loop?

You don't need to do anything as long as you don't have anything in joint names with your parents.
After you have moved back in with them and gotten on the electoral roll at their address (give it six months) then they should check their credit files just for peace of mind.
Regards



X

halloweenqueen_2

Don't know if theres one near you but what about McDonalds/burger king, i know theres 16/17 yrs olds earning at least £120 a week, the company may do you good as well and I don't think that your GCSE's will hold you back. Plus theres also room to go up with managers courses and things and plenty of shifts at different hours.

Mentalminis_2

good news, well kinda.... managed to get another nights work on a permenant basis at Tesco's, I only found out last night and it doesn't come into effect until next week, but that will mean i work 4 nights a week, unfortunatly it means i shall still only be working 22hrs on contract, but it does mean my take home pay per week is given a little boost it means my weekly take home pay has now breached the £100 mark... could still do with working on this, it's finding something that pays as good as tesco's my lowest hourly rate is £6.45hr and my highest (majority of the shift) is £6.74hr although the hours are low my ability to earn good money is there if i could only get more secured hours.

applied for a job doing 45hrs a week for £13,500 per annum but then worked it out against my tesco's position ( i know it's not the same) and if i did the same amount of hours at Tesco's i'd be earning in excess of £12,700 a year take home.

still 1 day extra is a good help for the time being until i can find something else. and every little helps as the moto goes

Entrepreneur_en_faillite

Hi Mentalminis

Just had a quick browse through your thread and want to wish you good luck, let's hoep that it all works out well, and before you consider going anywhere near bankruptcy read this.... http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=1174953#post1174953 bakruptcy is a mighty scary thing to do, I am sure with the help and advice that you will get from this website will avoid the need for this.

one thing that you may be able to consider is a remortgage to reduce the monthly payments and possibly raise a little cash, has anyone suggested that?

Happy to look into the options for you. Just let me know.