Internet access???

SeriouslyStressed

Just a quickie... I'm up to my neck ( and beyond ) to the tune of 13,000 on credit cards. So i'll be back soon to post my SOA,.. but this question is niggling at me.... and as i DONT GO OUT ( i.e. last night out I had was in 1989 ) the internet is kind of important to me!!!

Here's my question....

How is it.. that you're all able to retain your internet ISP accounts and access ( costing anything from 10 month to 30 month ) when you have debts, and are offering ( or paying ) the creditors a minimal amount????

I currently have Broadband with Plusnet, paid for each month via my Tesco Visa card ( i'm on a monthly contract ) it's 21.49 after my recommend a friend discount is deducted.
I'm on the net alot!! and average 10 gig a month useage. I'm very happy with my service and speed.

I'm BRICKING it, that once I file for bankruptcy, I'm going to lose my only social lifeline. I have also just started out selling things on ebay ( currently have a 100 percent positive feedback and a 189 figure on over 250 auctions )

My Pc is pretty old and basic, but it does what i need it to, and I'm also worried that i'll lose that too, as a pc is bound to be viewed as a 'luxury' item.

????????????????

Am I overly worried?

As a quick rough guide to my stating bankruptcy first choice, it's because my monthly outgoings are approx 230 more than my income, and it's been that way for over a year, I've been using my cards to live on.

You can just answer the internet question though.... no preassure!

kathfisch

you've come to the right place for some advice and support, obviously people will be able to advise specifically when you've posted your details. You might well find there are ways to cut back that you hadn't thought of (and maybe deals that your creditors will accept) that will help you to avoid banckruptcy.

As for the internet, I've learnt on here that while it is important to cut back as much as possible, live within your means etc, it is also important to maintain some quality of life. If the internet is a priority for you then you needn't feel guilty for spending on that (as long as you have the best deal you can find of course!). Its important to maintain a standard of life that you feel you can manage rather than one so drastic that you just give up, if that makes sense.

Obviously I am not suggesting that everyone just have what they want regardless of money, that's what gets us into debt in the first place, but its important to be realistic about how far you can push yourself. I'm not sure what happens if you go bankrupt though.

Keep us updated and we'll try to spot some savings when you've posted your details.

Good luck x

inmypocketnottheirs

Without commenting on your other points, as long as you have a payment method for internet connection, i.e. debit/credit card/bank account you would be able to get a broadband account I guess. If you could not pay on the aforementioned, then I guess you could revert to dial up as long as you paid your phone bills. No ISP to my knowledge credit scores, they just need a payment mechanism.

withabix

Woooooooah!

No need for bankruptcy if you just owe £13k on credit cards!!!

Get your full income/expenditure/debt figures posted ASAP for good advice from those of us who've been up to our neck in it!

SeriouslyStressed

Hi, and thanks for the comments so far.

My ISP takes either credit card payment or DD from a bank account.
As I am to understand it, from the moment someone is declared bankrupt, all bank accounts are frozen or closed by the OR. I've nothing in my account anyways, apart from the few pounds i've transferred from Paypal ( spoils of recent sales on ebay )
There's a point.... how would I continue to accept Paypal as a method of payment, if I had no bank account to withdraw the money to !!??? hmmm.
And even if I had that account open to anything going into it ( not out ) I'd lose the use of any figure as the OR would use it to help pay my debts!

Honestly close to 'giving up' ( although obviously posting that comment here means I'm not QUITE there yet )

I've been off work a number of years, from an accident at work, and depression, etc. No dentists in our area taking NHS patients for an 80 mile radius ( well televised and documented fact ) I cant afford Private even if I COULD find a dentist taking on new work, and my teeth are falling apart!!!! ( but thats all by the by and not directly related to my debts, ut it's a little peek into my situation )

Why is it Martin never waves his magic wand for the likes of me? It just feels out of control. I have a serious aversion to SPEAKING to people ( but internet and email etc is easy ) This IS a problem as there's going to be a great deal of communication to be done over the next few months if I'm to sort any of this to any degree. I dont use phone.

I'm in a mess, and I Know it !

Breaking away further from my own thread title.......
Is it favourable to have your phone number changed prior to going bankrupt? I dont answer the phone, but my mother does.

I look after her, and she does her best for me. yes... i'm 36 and live with my mum! ( stop laughing ) ( well ok, but dont laugh so hard ) she needs me to drive her around for shopping, doctors surgery visits etc as there's no public transport around here and taxi's are VERY expensive and unreliable. Nope, she cannot get mobility aid as she is over 70 and did not have serious mobility problems until after she was retired.

My heads spinning now, and I see I've gone 'off on one' so I'll stop typing for a while.

Thanks for reading anyways.

Bargain_Rzl

Hun, keep your spirits up because people on here are lovely and will give you moral support in more than just your finances.

Can you post your statement of affairs and see if anybody can think of ways for you to save money? It may well be possible even if you think there's absolutely nothing left you can save on. There have been plenty of people on here recently who really did seem to have exhausted every avenue but were still helped hugely by all the advice on this board. Some have avoided bankruptcy by seeking advice here.

Debt's not something I know too much about so I won't confuse you by trying to give advice as I'll probably be talking bollox! But do feel free to PM me if you fancy a rant about your problems in general.

Edited to say: you're also not the only person on here with a phobia of speaking to people. Others have really managed to turn their lives around - I hope you can too :grouphug:

HTH

rosy

Is your mother claiming the benefits she is entitled to? You mentioned your mother needs you to drive her around because of mobility problems but can't get mobility aid - has she applied for attendance allowance? There isn't an age limit for that and it doesn't matter if her problems date from after she was 70 - in fact it is designed for people whose problems date from after they were 65. There is a form to fill in with her details and the money would be paid to her, not you, if she was entitled to it. You might also be able to claim a carer's allowance if you are looking after her full time. You don't say if you've done this already, but if the car is mostly to get her around, you could apply so you can get car - related benefits eg parking, bridge tolls etc for free, and you would also be entitled to use disabled parking spaces. I would really recommend plucking up the courage to speak to someone at your local social security office as they would be able to look at your personal circumstances and give you details of everything that you could apply for on behalf of yourself and your mother - but here's where you can look online to start with re attendance allowance and there is actually an application form you can download. http://www.gov.uk/lifeevent/benefits/attendance_allowance.asp Click on the money, tax and benefits link, then on the disabled people link ( in the yellow box at the left). You'll see a section about financial benefits there. There is also a lot of other information about non-financial help etc. Try not to be too downhearted - there is lots of help out there and although it probably seems all too much to cope with you'll find a lot of weight off your shoulders once you start sorting things out.

keith_lard

You could (if possible) pay up front 12 months subs to your ISP?
I am with pipex they do allow you to pay a one off 12 month suscription payment!

If you do go down the road of bankruptcy (which does last 6 to 12 months, I could be wrong)

this may be of some use?

K.

Ken68

Do you need to be paying that sort of money for Internet Access.
I have it for £8 a month all day, every day. Even cheaper is 5 days a week £5 a month.8am to 6pm. Dial up plus free accelerator, quite fast.

workingatit

For £13,000 of debt i think you should look at all the options before going for bankruptcy.

Got to agree with HenryWeston, my debts started at £42500, and we managed to sort it out without bankruptcy, please provide your SOA, the people on this board can work wonders, if you let them look at it.
I am disabled and also have a social disorder which results in a phobia and panic attacks about speaking to people and going out, although I am getting better it does still affect me somewhat, so I understand fully where you are coming from with the internet, its my life, we contacted the CCCS and like you was afraid that the only answer was going to be bankruptcy, not so, we are now a year on, the CCCS took over and dealt with our creditors, we went on to a DMP with them and we are now down to £37000 ish, and are still working at it, but our lifestyle has changed immensely and we are so much happier, there was not a problem with me keeping my internet, (I am on broadband with a 1meg unlimited speed)

Please keep you chin up, its not as bleak as you may think and try to have the courage to call the CCCS, they don’t think bad of you and are extremely nice people who care and just want to help you sort things out.

A site that might interest you is Entitled to, http://www.entitledto.co.uk/ you can choose which benefit you are interested in and fill out a rough form they let you know if you are entitled to the benefit and also tell you how you can apply.

Get your SOA on here and let the kind people get to work, you’ll be amazed at the kind of advice they can come up with.

Hope you get on alright and keep posting, if your like me then you can feel safe on here.

W :-)

smokey112

After we declared bankruptcy we still have our internet package - you are allowed living allowances I believe you are allowed basic pacakages for SKY etc - if you want the better packages it comes out your budget - our bank account was not closed down - we had to tell the OR what was in it - he told us our bank would not even question him to close it down.

As other posters have stated - give your SOA as there may be ways of sorting your problems out without going down the Bankruptcy route

Ang
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