Struggling to stay afloat since relationship breakup

sinkingfast_2

Hi everyone,

This is my first post so please be gentle. I am a 33yr old male who has had a nightmare since a month or so before christmas where my GF left me coz she was sick of us being skint all the time.

Now im in even worse trouble then before as i no longer have anyone paying half towards the bills. The situation has finally come to a head as the baliffs came round yesterday for non payment of council tax (even though i have taken on a second job to try and pay it and have paid 300 off it this month and the expense of all other bills) So now its looks as if i could lose what little possesions i have left if i can't convince them to take a payment plan today on the phone.

Expenditure looks like this.

Rent 400
Council Tax 75
Electricity 65
Gas 18
Water 20
TV License 12
Broadband & Phone 30
Food 50
Cat Food/Litter 28

I also was paying 30 a month into a pension which ive had to stop and 39 car insurance which ive blown out since i sold my car. giving me a total monthly expenditure of 683 pounds

My income from the two jobs is roughly 860 after tax for which i work 50 hours a week. I have not gone out since NYE and stopped smoking to try and save some money to put towards debt and im left with about 147 a month.

happily the ultilities and such are up to date. however outstanding balances include

501 BT (i blew them out and went to NTL)

477 Outstanding council tax (baliffs involved) was 777 but have paid down
since Feb1

600 Back rent (My landlord has been very good about things and i am paying him down as well slowly)

190 (& Rising) Nationwide overdrawn. Totally bank charges for a months worth of DD's that failed after they refused me a month long overdraft (

199 AA Insurance (I sold my car but still have to pay the insurance for another 6 months)

Giving me a total of 1967 in total immediate action required debt. I have major league debts on Credit Cards totalling about 5k that defaulted a while back but thats another bridge to cross once the immediate problems are sorted out.

Basically i feel that i can't cope. I work 6 days a week and have absolutely nothing to show for it. I can't work anymore hrs if i tried. Ive tried to get a lodger into the house but in a small 2 bedroomed barrett house nobody has been keen on my 2 cats running about and they pretty much are like children to me and come first no matter what.

What else can i do? Im working every hour god sends and am getting nowhere but deeper and deeper into trouble. The only assets i have of value are my computer and my TV and my record collection which consists of over 2000 12" vinyls collected from 1989-2004 ive no doubt these would be worth some money to someone however i can't sell on ebay as i dont have a credit or debit card, and ive been told the market for 2nd hand vinyl on ebay is really slow. In any instance if i cant placate the baliffs on the phone this morning they will be coming to have the lot away anyhow (

Any suggestions as to what i can do to reverse this mess would be gratefully recieved as i feel like im in quicksand.

Best wishes
Mark.

bluezone

Mark, all is not lost I promise but it will take time.

I may not be able to offer much advice but others on this website are fantatsic and will be along soon.

Can you contact the council to let them know that you are now on our own in the house, as this may reduce you counciil tax n the future?

Have you phoned national debtline yet? If not get on the phone now.

An idea, could you do a boot sale this weekend to try to stump up a bit more cash?

Keep smiling - I'm only 26 and my hubby and mine debt is still over £100,000!!!!! My marriage is over and I can still smile, well just - and chocolate helps

Sorry if I have not really helped but wanted to let you know that your not alone on here.

Bluezone x

8pnoodles

One thing that immediately springs to mind is moving into a shared house. The rent, bills and council tax will all be much cheaper for you then. Your rent is nearly half your salary, this is completely unfeasible for you.

You may have a problem with the cats or you may get lucky moving. I split up with my ex husband and had to rehome all my pets, as I couldn't take them into rented shared accomodation with me. I was more distraught about this than about my divorce at the time. But I found them the most amazing homes, I get sent pics of them. Plus I know their new owners can afford any vets bills that I couldn't. These animals were rescue animals which had been abused in previous homes and I was completely gutted to have to let them go, because I felt they should be with me for the rest of their lives, they'd already been messed around enough. I know what you mean about it being like family.

I am now in a position where I have little debt now, little outgoings, I contacted my landlord recently and he's allowed me to keep pets here. There is light at the end of the tunnel. (And it's not an oncoming train.)

I would also get in touch with Payplan or CCCS which are charity run agencies for debt management. Don't go for any other company because they will charge you fees.

PS. Have you thought about I dunno, car boot sales or some specialist fair, or even contacting dealers about your vinyl collection? I'm sure there's some info on the internet somewhere, if you look enough.

Rikki

Definitely inform the council its single occupancy as you get 25% single persons discount.

cjbaps

Hi Mark,

Welcome to MSE - probably the first of many excellent steps you will take within the next couple of weeks. You will get so much good advice here that you will soon be wondering what you were worried about.

I have to agree with 8pnoodles and that one of your first contacts should be CCCS or Payplan - when I first got into trouble, I started dealing with Baines and Ernst - DREADFUL! They charged £76 per month as their 'management fee' - never go with a fee charging debt management company.

Others on this site will be able to give you great advice, and what they usually like to see is a breakdown of all your debts, amounts outstanding and current interest charges, so maybe you could post these.

Good luck!

Bargain_Rzl

Your electricity bill looks pretty high - are you sure it's (a) right and (b) all essential usage?

Kevicho

Just did a quick google and found

http://www.vinylweb.com/
http://www.vinylnet.co.uk/

prob more but should be a good place to start

sinkingfast_2

Hi thanks for the replies

I have informed the council of single occupancy and will be getting 25% discount off next years Council tax bill which is a start. Id never heard of payplan but am looking at their site now and that seems a good place to start.

I fully agree that the housing situation has to change. The only options at the minute is to keep on looking for a lodger or try to find a cheaper flat where they allow animals although prices here for a bedsit can be 350 a month. House sharing elsewhere would have to be reliant on the cats. It may be a blinkered view but theres no way im letting em go. Id rather live in a tent in a field then part with them.

Right now im going to ring the baliffs to see if i can come to an arrangement as this is the number one priority at the moment.

Wish me luck

$17mma

Also try these sites for letters to your creditors..

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#6

skippy64

Get some advice about the AA insurance, I didn't think you still have to pay on a policy for insurance if you don't have the vehicle. Surely because you have now sold the vehicle & you don't have another car you will have only owed monies up to the date of sale/disposal of the vehicle ? Were you paying monthly, if so ask AA for an up to date statement.
I'm sure others can answer this point better but on face value that sounds incorrect to me that you still owe.

bluezone

https://www.spareroom.co.uk is a good site when looking for lodgers -just a thought