Northern Rock and arrears charges

louiser123

yes i agree with a lot you say but i am talking from experience too, i have been made redundant three times all unforseeable, was just taken into a meeting on pay day with 15 other staff(all the workforce!) and told company is going into liquidation and we cant pay you today at all!!! none of us had any idea the company was even in trouble, this happened twice, then usual redundancy once, im lucky in the fact i will do anything clean toilets if i have to!! but i and hubby are not on a huge salary, and would not have saving to sustain long periods of unemployment, some of us cant make what you call career planning, as we are not all able to secure jobs quickly. or have the qualifications to command high paid jobs, going to college to get these does mean loss of earnings as we are middle bracket earners and if one was made redundant would not be able to claim anything.
we dont run up huge debts either, and yes i agree if a high salary is being earned it should be better planned,
i hope i didnt offend in my post but i just thought it was harsh to tar all with the same brush as it were as it isnt always possible to cope in every situation, L x

silvercar

louiser123, I totally agree with your sentiment. The thread startd with people giving advice without judgement; OP then criticised anyone that didn't say that the lender was in the wrong and wouldn't listen to any advice but criticised the poster of that advice instead.

I then searched for other posts by OP, to see if she had looked for advice on the debt board for example,. Only to find that she was looking for a car loan as hers is "looking tatty" and making comments like "As for my mortgage arrears, thanks for your concern, but I've got an agreement with NR to clear these so getting a loan will make no difference anyway!" Anyone who seriously thinks that it is a good idea to pay an extra £300 a month on a car loan when they are struggling to pay off mortgage arrears, actually needs to be told to re-prioritise their debts. Someone who thinks that an extra loan "makes no difference" to their finances, really needs to get a grip.

It seems a bit rich to come on here for advice, criticise the comments made by others, while still on a spending spree mentality themselves.

SingleSue

Lisadp1970 wrote: »

The house is in negative equity so selling to pay off the mortgage is out of the question.
With another baby on the way it is tempting to chuck it all in and find a 4 bed house to rent (ours is only 3 beds) even though the situation we're in isn't good, I still feel more secure in our "own" home than someone elses if you know what I mean, especially with my eldest sons problems.

The £1100 a month is manageable, it's just these charges I find so unfair, especially as NR know looking at our account we will never clear the arrears with what we're paying at the moment, so it's easy money for them!

Lisa

Hi

I am a mum to 2 autistic boys (plus one 'normal' one) so know where you are coming from re working (as a now single parent) but before my husband and I divorced, he would work during the day and I would work in the evening to cover our bills and get the litlle extras. When I initially went back to work, it left us worse off due to losing the carers allowance and having to pay for fuel to get to work but by the end, hubbies money had improved a fair amount so my salary was used for holidays (still cheapo caravan holidays in the UK though to be fair, we were never big spenders).

I too need reliable transport for school runs but unfortunately due to not many pennies coming in, my car was purchased last year from ebay for £461....it's still going! This is a huge comedown from my two previous cars (purchased in my married days for cash) of an Audi A4 and a VW Passat (both the then current decade registrations unlike my now Vauxhall Astra!)

Finally, with 2 children already and one on the way, a 3 bedroom house will suffice. As said before, I have 3 children, all of whom are growing up fast and even though it was suggested we have 4 bedrooms due to 2 of the boys disabilities, we/I re-organised the set out of the space in the rooms and have overcome it.

As others have suggested, have you posted on the DFW board, they are extremely helpful in getting the most out of your budget which could ease things for you until either your partners salary increases or you can return to work on a part time basis (post maternity) whilst your partner looks after the children.

lisyloo

i have been made redundant three times all unforseeable, was just taken into a meeting on pay day with 15 other staff(all the workforce!) and told company is going into liquidation and we cant pay you today at all!!!

I have had exactly the same experience.
I was made redundant twice with no notice.
Once in a voluntary liquidation like you.

The exact timing was totally unforseeable, but the event is not unforseeable.
Death, sickness, accident and redundancy can happen at ANY time.
You could get run over by a bus at any time.
You cannot just plan for these when you see them coming (not if you want to be secure). You need to plan for "unforseen" events as well assuming it's important for you to be safe. If you are single or have no dependents then you might decide to "wing it" but to people with chidren it's generally important to ensure no massive lifestyle changes.

some of us cant make what you call career planning, as we are not all able to secure jobs quickly

That's fine. Contingency planning can come in many forms.
The main ones I can think of are career planning, savings, insurance and living within your means.
So for example if your income is not sustainable then you could either
a) pay for insurance to sustain it (which may have limitations).
b) live a lisestyle to an income level you can sustain (and save the rest?).
Speaking generally people do not live to a level they can sustain, they live beyond their means and huge personal debt levels are part of our economic woes (very general statement about the population as a whole).

It's nothing to do with high earnings.
Whatever you earn you have to live within that income.
Of course I take your point that it's easier to save if your income is higher.

we are middle bracket earners and if one was made redundant would not be able to claim anything

You should be able to claim JSA (job seekers allowance) as that is not means tested although I accept it's a low amount. It's still worth doing because your NI contributions will be paid and that's worth doing.
If you are permanent employess then you may have some statutory entitlement and may even have some additional employment benefits.
But after that it's up to you to plan (save, insure, live to lower means etc.)
OR take risks and be prepared for the consequences (for example to lose your home and move in with family). To some couples and singles the latter may be acceptable. Generally to those with dependents it isn't acceptable.

it was harsh to tar all with the same brush

Absolutely agree.
Some people have no choices e.g. carers.
Most of us cannot cover every eventuality and just do our best efforts.
I am not 100% covered, but I accept that in certain situations I might lose my home.
Luckily, ultimately my family would never see me on the streets.

Whenever I'm in a bad situation (redundancy round) I always think of the ultimate worst case, which is that my family would never let me starve or be out on the
streets. Might sound weird but it makes me feel more calm knowing that things will be OK whatever happens.

Lisadp1970

silvercar wrote: »

louiser123, I totally agree with your sentiment. The thread startd with people giving advice without judgement; OP then criticised anyone that didn't say that the lender was in the wrong and wouldn't listen to any advice but criticised the poster of that advice instead.

I then searched for other posts by OP, to see if she had looked for advice on the debt board for example,. Only to find that she was looking for a car loan as hers is "looking tatty" and making comments like "As for my mortgage arrears, thanks for your concern, but I've got an agreement with NR to clear these so getting a loan will make no difference anyway!" Anyone who seriously thinks that it is a good idea to pay an extra £300 a month on a car loan when they are struggling to pay off mortgage arrears, actually needs to be told to re-prioritise their debts. Someone who thinks that an extra loan "makes no difference" to their finances, really needs to get a grip.

It seems a bit rich to come on here for advice, criticise the comments made by others, while still on a spending spree mentality themselves.

My car "Looking tatty" was going to cost me £500+ to get through an MOT and was costing over £50 a week in Petrol as it was a high performance vehicle.
I would also like you to tell me what spending sprees I've been on? If you call buying school uniform, winter coats for my boys and a new bed for my eldest after his broke a spending spree then I'm living the biglife!

I also haven't critised anyone for not agreeing with me about NR, what I criticed was the brazen cheek some of you have to slag of someone they don't even know because thay have got themselves in debt.

I'm sure Martin would be so proud to know that the boards he created to help people through hard times with good advice is now just an open arena for those of you who have nothing better to do than trawl through posts looking for those of us who are in a real sh*t situation and basically ridicule them for it!

SingleSue

Lisadp, I think most can understand the point you are getting at re the extra charge and I agree, it does look a tad unfair when you are paying an agreed amount set by the court. Unfortunately though, it is part and parcel of your mortgage companies terms and conditions, although unfair and unsympathetic, it is normal.

I think quite a few have tried to give practical suggestions on how to afford this extra payment so that the extra you are paying towards arrears actually goes to the arrears and not charges. It was not clear in the first post that you had young/disabled children or that you are currently pregnant which obviously makes some of the suggestions impractical for the moment but I must admit you do come across as a little prickly (not sure if it's having autistic kids, I do it too sometimes!)

I think with the car, it was the fact in previous threads you were asking for where you could get a loan from for actually quite a high amount to purchase one which in the context of your current struggles with the mortgage, is/was a little OTT, although you have now arranged other means via backpayment of DLA.

I have been in debt so do know where you are coming from but I have also come out of the other side so know where the others are coming from too.

I am not (not going to use that word as I dislike it) you off, it just appears that some posters were trying to give suggestions without the benefit of the full story which of course then set the tone for the rest of the thread, your back went up and so did theirs.