oh no! more debt problems arrgghh help!

liamsmum05

i came on here a while ago last year about my debts i owed in the region of around 5 and half thousand £. i then after coming on here managed to take everyones advice which i cant thank enough! and got payment arrangements etc sorted out and was handling my debts,only now a year later my debt has risen a few thousand mainly through gas electric etc my priority bills, but im getting to the stage im very worried, ive still managed to arrange payment agreements etc with m creditors but most of them are very rude and not willing to understand my situation..im 20 years old with a partner of nearly 5 years who doesnt live with me and 3 children under 5 plus on benefits.
i have done a finacial statement and my total debts present are £9500!! ive seriously going backrupt as i say im more than willing to communicate with my creditors and pay what i can and not ignore them but they are so rude and demanding its putting alot of stress and strain on myself and my family!

thanks for reading and hopefully with your comments and help i can get further this time.di :-)

savingholmes

Hi - could you post a full statement of affairs showing income, outgoings, assets and liabilities - you can find this on makesenseofcards - and then you can post it on here.

It also sounds like you need some professional support - have you tried CCCS or Payplan or some of the other free services listed at the top of the forum?

bank_of_slate

Here it is!
http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html
...Linda xx

liamsmum05

MONTHLY INCOME
Income Support 211.72
Child Benefit 175.60
Child Tax Credit 559.60

my regular monthly outgoings are...

sky £22 mnth
homebuy tv £20 mnth
gas £25 d/d
electric £20 d/d
aol broadband £14.99 mnth
home phone BT £4.95 line rental (not including calls)
food £200 ish a month (about 50 a week)

now heres the debts including the payment plans i have with them..

PRIORITY DEBTS
British Gas 513.23
Britiss gas 58.25
edf energy 29.13
powergen/e-on 25.52
n-power electric 634.10
edf electricity 148.41 (pay £5 a month)
yorkshire water 237.13
n-power gas 363.20
scottish power 22.20
TOTAL PRIORITY DEBTS 2031.17

NON-PRIORITY DEBTS
Shoppacheck £576.15 (pay £10 weekly)
littlewoods £616.28 (pay £5 a month)
littlewoods extra £412.26 (pay £10 a month)
Homebuy £322.66 (pay £20 a month)
ace cards and gifts £268.32 (gone to moorcroft pay £10 a month)
Collections Direct £155.63 (£5 monthly payment plan arranged)
Kaleidoscope £44.46 (pay 10 a month)
next directory £171.32 (no contact made)
Provident personal credit £182 (pay £5 weekly)
Cap Quest Debt Recovery £180.18 (£5 monthly payment plan arranged)
KDS Finance £55 (pay £5 weekly)
Vanquis Credit Card £379.17
T-mobile £286.83 (gone to bcw group pay £10 monthly)
Natwest bank £868.60 (pay £5 a month)
talktalk £294.88 (no contact made)
avon cosmetics 90.00 (pay 10 a month)
grolier book club 86.00 (pay £1 a month)
yourcalls.net 158.27 (no contact made)
BST credit ltd 2210.00 (no contact made)
One bill telecom 129.20 (no contact made)

NON PRIORITY DEBTS TOTALS 7487.21

Flower08

.....bump!!

AGB863

i would suggest that you make contact with one of the debt charities listed on this site.

The payments that you are making to your creditors need to be balanced out so that they get an equal share of any available income and it is based on the money that you owe to each one of them

for example you are paying shopacheck £40 per month for a £600 debt and littlewoods £5 per month for a £500 debt and provident £20 per month for a £180 debt - these amounts are not "balanced" with each other.

These companies will organise this for you but you have to make contact with them

theie numbers are

Consumer Credit Counselling Service - Website: CCCS Telephone: 0800 138 1111

Payplan - 0800 917 7823

~Beanie~

I really really think that you should consider speaking to CCCS or one of the other debt charities.

You say that you came to this site last year yet your debts have increased by £4,000 since then so you clearly are not managing your debts yourself. How have you got such huge arrears with so many different energy companies?

The only thing I can see on your SOA is Sky TV, you really can't afford this, cancel it and get a freeview box!

doodledo_2

Hi and welcome back to the forum.

Have you checked that your benefits are right as they seem quite low. I think there is a website you can check on something like entitledto.com.

I also think in view of your debts and the income it would definately be a good idea to contact one of the free debt charities to give you some options.

Good luck.

Ames

I also agree that your benefits seem low, but I don't know much about benefits for single mothers only for disabled people.

What I'm about to say might be unpopular on here...

I'm on benefits with debt. CAB advised bankruptcy but it was going to take me ages to save up for the fees. So I'm doing what national debtline suggested - making £1 token payments to each debt. This is going to be indefinite, my creditors don't like it but there's nothing they can do about it. If you can deal with every so often getting a new DCA involved who'll hound you for a few weeks until they realise they can't get what you don't have, then this might be an option for you. IS just doesn't pay enough to service big debts.

Also, in future instead of getting a tv or whatever from somewhere you have to pay monthly for it, check out freecycle, there's often tvs offered on my local one, and other household goods too. There was even an ipod offered at the weekend! Also, please stay away from Provident etc in future - they charge horrendous amounts of interest and prey on vulnerable people.

vikki400

I’m not an expert in these matters, but I worked in debt recovery for a number of years so I understand some of the ways out of your situation. It is a while ago now so I recommend you check the details with the CAB/CCCS but it will give you some options to discuss with them.

Firstly; bankruptcy is not the only way out and as you know from other posts there are large fees for it. The other option is an IVA; it doesn’t involve as many restrictions as a bankruptcy, but doesn’t come with the benefit of wiping your debts after a short period. You will need to agree to pay a set amount per month for a set period. The important thing to remember is to set something that is realistic; if you break the agreement it will put you in a much worse position with your creditors as there is no reason for them to trust you again. The benefit of an IVA that you should be able to negotiate frozen interest; this is going to make your long term situation a lot better (that certainly used to be the case but please check).

Second point; your bills for gas and electric seem low, especially in the current market. Are you sure these figures will cover your usage. The most important thing you need to do is put together a realistic expenditure list: e.g. children’s clothes/nappies etc… You don’t mention whether you smoke or whether you have a mobile, but they are not on the list. I know smoking will be seen as a luxury on this board, but from my experience people find it difficult to stop smoking and this can lead to agreements being broken unless it is accounted for and remember that is the last thing you want.

I think it would be a good idea to go to a CAB instead of CCCS as you can sit down with someone (take all your bills and details) and they can help you. Remember to be realistic.

Hope this help and I am happy to answer any question you might have before you go (if I can).

tessie_bear

have u looked on the grocery challenge for tips on fod.its very helpful