give up work to care for wife,cant pay me bills,help

chillyyyy

hi need some advice,just had to recently give up work to care for my wife through illness,i cant pay the bills ive got no money used to be self employed,worked all my life and dont no what to do the phones starting to ring about stopped direct debits,i cant pay them as what i do have left in bank will jsut about buy food for kids,in need of some advice on what to do with these lenders.dont think i,ll be back at work for along time maybe years,

Ames

Are you getting all the benefits you're entitled to? There's a website called entitledto, I can't remember if it's .com or .co.uk. If as a family your only income is benefits then really you should only be paying token payments - £1 per month per creditor. It'll trash your credit rating, but if you're on benefits then almost by definition you've only got enough for essentials, so if it's the credit rating or food you don't have much of a choice there.

If you pop up your soa, there's a form here - http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html - then people can see if you can maybe cut back to afford the essentials easier.

As for the phone calls, someone will be along with a link to a template letter to get them to stop calling you. In the meantime if they call just say firmly 'I'm only prepared to communicate by writing' and hang up. Eventually they'll get the message.

skintandscared_2

My heart goes out to you. You need to talk to someone at the CAB NOW! They can advise you on what benefits you are entitled to and how you can deal with people phoning you. You deserve some help so please don't be scared to ask for it. You've earned it and now's the time to call on it! The faster you get the benefits ball rolling, the quicker you will get some financial assistance. YOU DESERVE IT!

Ames

Be careful with CAB, they advised me to go bankrupt when really there was no need. I also had problems with CCCS, it seems that when it comes to benefits they all have different ideas. So if I were you, I'd call several different free companies and see what they advise. As well as CAB and CCCS, there's Payplan and National Debt Line.

chillyyyy

many thanks people for ur advice,i posted a similar message on this site as i thought it didnt send so theres 2 posts on here very similar,but as ive discovered the advice ive had already has been overwhelming,many thanks all,i will be phoning first thing in the morning some of the links that have been given

Broken_hearted

Go to the CAB and find out everything you are entitled to, the benefits office won't help you. Change your phone number and if you have to contact your creditors by phone put 141 in first. If you have no assets go bankrupt.

doshunta

I'm sure you'll be entitled to a number of benefits given your brave (and right!) decision!
We're all behind you and some of the people that are on here are so helpful!
God Bless!

candygirl

My heart really goes out to you, as My Dad is terminally ill and we're trying to care for him at the moment.
The best place imo is welfare rights for unbiased and non judgemental benefit advice.
Good luck

10past6

Hello Chilly :hello:

Welcome to the forum, click here and complete, there are contact details enclosed if you need furthur advice

Good luck

10past6

Chilly

I'm going to post some letters for you to send off to yur creditors, this should give you some breathing space, if you need any further advice ask away:

Send this one to stop the telephone calls:

Your address

Company Name

Dear Sirs

Harassment by telephone

Account Number: XXXXXXX

I am writing in relation to the quantity and frequency of telephone calls that I have received from your company, which I deem to be personally harassing.

I have verbally requested that these stop, but I am still receiving calls. (Delete if necessary)

I now require all further correspondence from your company to be made in writing only.

I am of the view that your continued harassment of me by telephone puts you in breach of Section 40 of the Administration of Justice Act 1970, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997.

If you continue to harass me by telephone, you will also be in breach of the Communications Act (2003) s.127 and I will report you to OFCOM, Trading Standards and The Office of Fair Trading, meaning that you will be liable to a substantial fine.

Be advised that any further telephone calls from your company will be recorded. (**Even if you don‘t yet have recording equipment!!**)

I request confirmation that my telephone details have beem removed from your databases.

Yours faithfully,

[NAME HERE] ONLY INITIAL, NEVER SIGN THE LETTER!!

If you have any credit, send this one:

Your Address

Date

DCA / Creditor

Address

Dear Sir/Madam

Re:− Account/Reference Number: XXXXXXXXX#

With reference to the above agreement, I would be grateful if you would send us a copy of this credit agreement.

I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (Sections 77−79), I are entitled to receive a copy of our credit agreement on request.

I enclose a £1.00 postal order which represents the fee payable under the Consumer Credit Act.

I understand a copy of our credit agreement should be supplied within 12 working days.

I understand that under the Consumer Credit Act creditors are unable to enforce an agreement if they fail to comply with a request for a copy of the agreement under these sections of the Act.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

emily_jackson

Here are some more suggestions:

Register with Carer's UK, the national charity for carers

There should be local carer's centre near you; your GP or hospital will have details. These can be a real help.

Go on the benefits section of the forum, there's loads of useful info there.

PLEASE register yourself as a carer with the GP and contact Social Services. They can assess you and your wife's needs. There are loads of concessions available, a direct payments scheme, meals on wheels, someone to care for your wife in your own home, etc. Please note the last two may depend on your income. I'm just trying to point you in the right direction. I'm a carer myself.

PLEASE MAKE SURE THAT YOU LOOK AFTER YOUR PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL HEALTH. TO NEGLECT THESE WOULD BE UNFAIR TO YOU AND YOUR WIFE. THERE ARE PEOPLE AND ORGANISATIONS OUT THERE TO HELP. I'VE LISTED AS MANY AS I CAN THINK OF ABOVE. THERE IS HELP OUT THERE BUT YOU HAVE TO SEARCH FOR IT. MY HUBBY WAS ILL FOR MONTHS BEFORE SOCIAL SERVICES FOUND US.

Best wishes for the future. Keep us posted