in deep, deep trouble

bumblebee87_2

hi there, its taken me a lot to start this thread, about a week of um-ing and ah-ing and im even shaking at the prospect of writing this down for you all to see

me and OH are in big trouble, between us we dont have a huge amount of debt compared to some of you, but we just arent coping

we have defaulted on payments for most of our debts and have lots of letters coming through the door as our debts have been passed on to collection agencies (just the thought of the letters scares me to death)

the repayments just arent happening, we just cant afford to pay. we have been speding money on things we shouldnt, and yes, ive been very stupid.

im 21 and OH is 26 we have a beautiful 2 year old daughter, and i just feel like i desperately need help

my mum died suddenly in april, and i went into a huge spiral of not paying anything and I have put us in the position where we are going to court in 2 weeks time to beg the council to allow us to stay in our flat as we are in arrears with the rent

i just dont know what to do any more

looktothefuture

Hi and welcome!

It took a lot for me to start my first post and I was a lurker on this site for about 4 months! I'd been hiding any envelopes that came through the letter box, ignoring them totally and pretending there was nothing wrong! What did it for me was when my neighbour came to me one day after work to say there had been someone at my door looking through the windows and writing on a pad... the Bailliff! :eek: Honey, I'd never been more afraid of loosing everything that I had at that point! That very same night, I sat down at this computer and wrote my first post!

What you need to do for us, to give you som advice, is post your SoA. Here is the link to the First Time Posters thread: http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280 and in it you will find this link to a very good SoA template : http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html
Have a read through the First Time Posters thread and then put up your SoA so that other more experienced MSE's can give you some advice.

Well done on coming here, it's saved my sanity!

sheba

Hold on there- I can't help you I'm afraid as I don't have the skills- but someone will I am sure- and the 1st thing they will ask you to do is the SOA(statement of affairs) so they can see what the situation is and offer help.
Till then don't worry too much- you are facing up to your situation which is a good thing and have a lovely family as motivation to get through this, which you will. Get onto doing a SOA and then work form there. x

Damita

I'm sorry to hear about your dedt problems and your mum dieing

Mayeb you should do a SOA so the loevly people here can helpyou save money?

bumblebee87_2

im just going through doing my SOA at the mo x

bumblebee87_2

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 770
Benefits................................ 436
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1206
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured loan repayments................. 0
Rent.................................... 300
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 84
Electricity............................. 25
Gas..................................... 25
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 34
Telephone (land line)................... 36
Mobile phone............................ 75
TV Licence.............................. 11
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 15
Groceries etc. ......................... 170
Clothing................................ 20
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 60
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 40
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 895

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 0

No Secured Debt
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Lloyds TSB Loan................2500......110.......0
monument CC....................1000......40........0
&more CC.......................1500......45........16.9
provident......................600.......60........0
rent arrears...................1400......0.........0
Littlewoods catalogue..........3000......150.......0
Total unsecured debts..........10000.....405.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,206
Expenses (including secured debts)...... 895
Available for debt repayments........... 311
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 405
Surplus(deficit if negative)............ -94
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 0
Total Secured debt...................... -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -10,000
Net Assets.............................. -10,000
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission.

bumblebee87_2

just a few thing i want to point out

landline - its only that high for the first year, we had to pay to have the landline installed

mobiles - both on contract phones, but i think we will both be going onto PYG when our contracts run out

beverleyhills

Hello Bumblebee

I'm sorry to know that your mother died in April. Bereavement does derail individuals. Don't be afraid to use it as mitigating circumstances.

Difficult to count your blessings at times like this. You say that you have a beautiful daughter. You are both young. Don't let the situation you find yourself in come between you. Together you can be strong.

Regards bh

beverleyhills

Bumblebee

Do you pay your Council tax over 10 months or 12?

Are you on a water meter?

sammy115

I would contact one of the free debt helplines. BUT you need serious help to sort out your rent arrears. You are paying your debts but appear to be paying nothing towards your rent - pay your rent arrears and just make token payments to all your other creditors until the arrears are paid off - then make a start on your debts...not sure what other people think but that is what I would do.

It sounds like your credit rating is shot to pieces anyway....offer your creditors about a £5 per month for about 3 months and pay your rent arrears off.....

boredofbeingathome

Oh this is terrible for you, as others have said it can derail you.
Practicalities..

Well done for posting your SOA, this will be a very useful tool for you.Now have you filled in all the court forms? Have you taken advice from cccs or citizens advice? This should be a priority at the moment as it is your home..and also you have a little one, so i am sure they have an obligation to house you.

Also have you visited GP? I think that also may help and they will write letters on your behalf as well if needs be. Going to court need not be a scary thing, if you show your SOA and work out how much you can repay on the rent it may well help a lot. Not only that, but are you claiming everything you are entitled too? It may well be that if you do see someone in the cccs or CAB they can then go through your full entitlement and suggest ways to help you.

At the top of the board is a link for the 'ask a cccs advisor a question', i am sure they will help. ALso in the yellow pages or indeed any phone book there are numbers for the national debtline, they might be quicker to get through to.

The roof over your head and essential bills are your priority at the moment..everything else can go to the wall..I would write to your creditors and offer a token payment at the moment of £1. It really can be sorted and anyone of the free non profit debt organisations can help.