Help for a Suicidal Friend!!

kiwifruit_2

these may help you http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/ there is a link there for sample letters .....also http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/MoneyTaxAndBenefits/ManagingDebt/index.htm has good information regarding how to deal with and prioritise the debts owed....good luck and your friend is lucky to have you helping but as hard as this may sound, your friend has to start accepting the problem and you have to make sure you dont end up being taken for granted......all the best

Jesthar

Just one query from me, as most of the rest has been covered:

Gas £157 Includes £31 towards arrears of £400
Electricity £157 Includes £31 towards arrears of £600

£157 a month each for gas and elec? Really? :eek: Surely that can't be right?

Actually, two queries - has broadband been included twice?

OK, make it three - why on earth is she using her private mobile for work? Does she get to claim it back as expenses? If not, that's far from being OK.

Your friend REALLY needs to re-prioritise. You can't get sent to prison for not paying your phone bill, but you can for not paying council tax. You won't lose your house for not going to the hairdressers, but you can for not paying your mortgage! And whilst her situation is currently borderline but poentially manageable, if she carries on like this for much longer she will become unable to avoid arrears and her job will be at risk - what then?

OK, that sounded harsh - but unfortunately it is reality. And it's better to hear it now whilst there is still something to be done about it than further down the line from her employer or a judge.

On a brighter note, she also to look at reclaiming any credit card charges incurred, and also bank charges (though the case will be put on hold until the banks have lost their appeal in the chourts), as they have been ruled unfair by the courts. Not sure about the mortgage charge, but it sounds rather unfair to me.

~Jes

moneymare

The council tax payments of £298 to arrears of £894 will be clear in January then, if I read it correctly. Therefore in both Feb and March she will have an extra £298 to throw at other debts

RAS

Gareth83 wrote: »

any templates for stopping creditors interest and charges?

also any tips on cancelling mortgage admin charge?

Hi

If she does a DMP, she can reduce her payments to all her creditors but if she repays Provident in full, she will struggle to get either of the other creditors to take a reduced payment.

She could reclaim

1. Any charges for late payment etc on her CCs, loans and catalogue debts, and her bank accounts, over the last 6 years.

2. Any PPI included in her loans CCs, catalogue debts or attached to her bank account, if it did not pay out when she lost her job,. Give today's OFT report, if the PPI was taken out on the same day as the debt she has a good case, if it was front loaded, then definately.

Gareth83

Jesthar wrote: »

£157 a month each for gas and elec? Really? :eek: Surely that can't be right?

They have been putting virtually £10 every night on both.

Actually, two queries - has broadband been included twice?

No, as mentioned the internet and telephone have been included in one big sum.

OK, make it three - why on earth is she using her private mobile for work? Does she get to claim it back as expenses? If not, that's far from being OK.

I don't know. Apparently she gets paid in cash if she never they would pay for her mobile expenses. I will get her to check.

On a brighter note, she also to look at reclaiming any credit card charges incurred, and also bank charges (though the case will be put on hold until the banks have lost their appeal in the chourts), as they have been ruled unfair by the courts.

She is in the process of reclaiming both charges at the moment so that will hopefull help in the future.

Not sure about the mortgage charge, but it sounds rather unfair to me.

We have contacted the mortgage company today and they will not remove the £40 admin charge whilst the account is still in arrears. They will however put the mortgage to an interest only mortgage for a 6mth period free of charge. This would be roughly £420pm

They have suggested for her to write in explaining the circumstances. This would help but the difference would be added to the overall mortgage anyway?

The arrears on the mortgage are £655.94 and charges are at £287.19 at present.

Interest only sounds a good option to help clear the arrears but whilst that's happening she'll still be accumulating charges. Any template letters to get this stopped?


EDIT - I also forgot to mention she has just received confirmation of a £2100 car crash payment which should propbably be with her by the end of next week.
Bear in mind this is 'her' money and they have split, what should she do with the money? Obviously paying off joint debts isn't really an option as why should she pay her ex partner's debts.

Should she use it to pay off her Barclaycard, Argos and Provident?

RAS

Hi

She should pay the Provident Loan off entirely. I suspect that the Barclays and ARgos cards are in the region of 30% APR? In which case she should get rid of them as well; at those rates the debt will increase over the year if she only pays the minimum charge. One of regular posters on the BK forum reckoned his MBNA card debt increased from £3K to £4K in a year despite the fact that he paid the minimum payment every month.

Once she has done that half the outgoings are £1096, which is still £100 per month more than her income, so she needs to put the rest in an instant access ISA and use it to top-up her salary for a few months (unless she can go interest only, as that would get her income and outgoings to match).

If they do sell-up, she is going to need money for a deposit etc, so anything left will be needed.

Gareth83

thanks for your advice, the Barclaycard and Argos are roughly 30% APR so I have suggested to find out a settlement balance and perhaps offer them a percentage in a hope they would accept.

We're going to draft up a letter for him and her to sign so that they can drop to an IO mortgage and see what happens.

CCCS have then suggested once this is done she calulates a budget in just her name as they have split. The budget in both names to begin with was to just to be able to inform bailiffs, mortgage company and any other joint debts etc.

RAS

Gareth83 wrote: »

thanks for your advice, the Barclaycard and Argos are roughly 30% APR so I have suggested to find out a settlement balance and perhaps offer them a percentage in a hope they would accept.

It may be worth a try in the current climate but usually they will not do a full and final unless the debt has been defaulted and passed to a DCA first. Make sure that any that do agree provide written proff that the payment is final settlement, even if they mark her credit record with partial settlement.

Re the heating, I assume they are on pre-payment meters, which are hugely expensive per unit. They may need to think woolly jumpers, thermal underwear, rugs, hot water bottles. Do they have energy saving lamps? Can they heat one room and close all the other doors until they wantto go to bed and see if there are any draughts, air-bricks they can close?

Jesthar

Gareth83 wrote: »

£157 a month each for gas and elec? Really? :eek: Surely that can't be right?

They have been putting virtually £10 every night on both.

:eek: Ye-OWCH! I guess that's pre-payment, then. Been on that myself in the past in rented accomodation, but even with three people in the house (one an avid cook) we never used anywhere near even a half of that! I'm guessing switching suppliers is out of the question until the arrears are paid, but who is the supplier, as either the tarriff is extortionate, the meters are dodgy, or they are using ridiculously large amounts of energy (or a combination of the above)? I'm on billed accounts now I have my own little place, but they are spending more on electricity in a month than I do in a year, and prepayment can't be that many times more expensive. In fact, even if they are on most expensive prepayment tarrifs I can find online, they are getting through my annual (joint gas and elec) consumption in just over two months. :eek:

OK, laboured that point enough now, but I really can't understand what on earth they could be doing to use that much gas AND elec every day or two...

Gareth83 wrote: »

EDIT - I also forgot to mention she has just received confirmation of a £2100 car crash payment which should propbably be with her by the end of next week.
Bear in mind this is 'her' money and they have split, what should she do with the money? Obviously paying off joint debts isn't really an option as why should she pay her ex partner's debts.

Should she use it to pay off her Barclaycard, Argos and Provident?

Sounds good to me - better to be rid of the debts! If she can also trim back her budget to within her means, then she will be on a far more solid financial footing.

Not sure about my next idea, but as the arrears on the mortgage are £655, would the mortgage company perhaps consider stopping the charges if your friend paid off her half of the arrears (Just over £325) in one chunk from her settlement, leaving just her ex to keep making his overpayments? I've no idea if they would, just thought it might be worth a shot, as those £40 a month charges are almost wiping out the overpayments! If not, there's no point unless it's all going to be cleared at once...

Have to confess, I'm getting a tad confused with the joint SoA but separate debts/contributions to things - would it be possible for your friend to do an SoA solely for her income/expenditure/share of bills on?

Oh, and that's good about reclaiming charges - hope it pays out soon!

~Jes

sammy115

The £40 monthly admin charge from GE Money can't be stopped with a template letter, but can be stopped if you are less than one month behind with your arrears. You need to get the arrears down to just below the one month payment which doesn't seem to far away. If she could do that with the settlement then all well and good.

It would make sense to do a sole SOA and ask him to contribute to his half of the joint debts....also would look at drawing up some sort of contract for the £14k debt to family.