hi im in great need of some advice please

supakid

hi everyone, i seem to have got myself in to some debt and now i have 3 letters

1 from hileagal/capquest telling me that they will be taking me to court if i don't contact them about the amount outstanding on my vodafone account around 500

2 moorcroft debt recovery about my argos card ( over 80 quid in late charges) even though i have recently paid 50 to my account

3 HSBC about my card.

i just lost my job in january and im just scared and i dont know were to start in solving these issues i live with my mum and dad (were not rich and they have there own worries) and im scared that some one will come and take things away. if i live with my mum and dad can this happen.

i would like to take this opportunity to thank you for reading. and advice would great.

badgerbread

first of all don't panic there are some great people on here who give out some fantastic advice. I don't know much about these things but I am pretty sure the first thing people will tell you to do is post up a statement of affairs to see if they can help you cut down on anything. with the great advice I have recieved on here I feel I am in a much better place at the moment so keep your spirits up and get working on the soa

supakid

thanks for your reply mate im in about 2500 debt and im only 21 im scared i dont know were to start im on JSA and -10 i can put all of it towards my debt but i dont know were i should start.

badgerbread

have you looked over at the board up your income as this has been a help to me I do mystery shopping which can be fun agreed it is not a lot of money but you get between £5-£10 an assignment and can get free lunches and other bits and pieces. There is also slice the pie where you have to rate music and get paid for it as well as paid surveys all this can go towards paying off your debts others will be able to tell you were to start with as far as talking to the people you owe money too. The only thing I do know is don't talk to them over the phone make sure you only communicate in writing

boredofbeingathome

HI and welcome to the boards. A good place to start is here

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan

You also need to write letters to your creditors explaining your situation and for the moment offer token payments until a plan can be put into place. I would suggest using the cccs online debt remedy which will be a good starting place and will give you a debt remedy number to show your creditors that you are serious about paying your debts off.
I am sure like many others that your circumstances will change in the future and by then you will be in a good place and being debt free will be second nature.

boredofbeingathome

Here is also a good place to look for info regarding debts.

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#4 Lots of letters on there for you to send to creditors.

Oh and i forgot to add claim back any charges you have. They can put this off the debt total.

Good luck Bob x

supakid

thanks mate i will have a look through this, what about them coming to my house to take my stuff can they do that if i live with my mum and dad?

boredofbeingathome

supakid wrote: »

thanks mate i will have a look through this, what about them coming to my house to take my stuff can they do that if i live with my mum and dad?

It would need a court order before they could do anything like that. Get a debt remedy plan filled in and send it off to your creditors. Take all the advice you can about all of this and keep reading the forums and asking questions about anything you are unsure of. It is not easy but can be done with time and patience.

Sue-UU

Hi supakid and a warm welcome to the Forum. You've chosen a wonderful place to get yourself sorted - and you will in time! Try no to worry yourself too much as it won't solve your problems! You need to stay strong for the sakes of your parents as well. You've got some good advice from BOB above, take it and let's see if you can soon claw your way back.

Get yourself any sort of job you can as soon as possible, you don't need me to remind you of that I know. Have you bought any goods that you didn't really need/want, if so then get an account on ebay and sell some of them to get yourself some cash. One thing to always remember is that you're NEVER alone on MSE, the majority of us are, or have been, in your position, or worse, so we all understand what you're going through.

So write letters to your creditors and get them sorted out with token payments then things will feel a whole lot better until you can get a job again. When you do, don't buy anything else until you're sorted with your debts. When you are free from debt and thinking of buying something, first of all ask yourself "do I need it?" If the answer's "no", leave it! If you're not sure then walk away and think about it overnight at least. If you do decide to go back and get it and it's not there - then you weren't meant to have it anyway or it wouldn't have been any good to you!!! Adopt that sort of attitude for the future and you won't have debt problems again!:D

All the best supakid.

Sue

justruth

supakid wrote: »

thanks for your reply mate im in about 2500 debt and im only 21 im scared i dont know were to start im on JSA and -10 i can put all of it towards my debt but i dont know were i should start.

This is actually not too bad! You have had your LBM and learned at a young age the down side of credit! Consider this £2500 education something that will make your future financial affairs more stable.

The advice here is good, and yes any job that you can get to increase your income is a good thing. Just 10 hours a week (eg a couple of shifts at a pub at the weekends) will make you an extra £50 and won't really affect your JSA but will maintain an employment record making it easier for you to get a better job. It will also clear all your debts in a year, less if you supplement with some of the JSA. I conceed that the money isn't great but it's something until you find something better.

Best wishes

supakid

thanks to you all i am going to take some time and read through all this hopefully i can sort myself out... i know this for sure i wont be taking credit cards out again....and store cards!! again thanks guys.