Too deep in debt (£52k) need help ASAP - worried sick

SilverLining_2

I am currently on maternity leave and receive statutory maternity pay (smp) , my partner is self employed but has no work on which means he has no income, we get my smp, child benefit and a small amount of working tax credit each month which totals to £630. He has tried to claim JSA but has been refused it as I am still classed as in full time employment?!
We have even been refused for coucil tax benefit.

My mortgage is £417 per month (currently not in arrears) and council tax (currently in arrears) £129 which now leaves us with £84 to live on each month.

I have a total of £52,000 worth of debt (not including mortgage) -this is mine only, it is not joint. (the mortgage is in my sole name too -(long story!!)
The debt includes loans, credit cards and catalogues, these are all unsecured debts. All of these were taken out before 2005
90% of the debts are with a DCA and I had payment plans with them, the figure I paid before my partners non-income was £319 which was a fair amount due to oweing £52,000, there is no interest being added.

Now, as I have very little money to live on, it is impossible for me to pay anyone so Im really needing advice what to do next.

I am trying to claim back bank charges but in order to do those I need to send a cheque for £10 which I havent got. I have only sent off one so far and the bank hasnt replied as of yet.
We have switched to store brands, switched off lights etc to save money, I have worn the same maternity clothes since I was pregnant (baby now six months), dont drink or go out, have sold most of household items on ebay. I am feeling so depressed with all this now.

I have contacted the DCA's to let them know of my circumstances but as always, most are unsympathetic regarding token payments and have threatened for the debt to be put onto my property and more costs added.

I would really like some help in as what to do next. I have even thought of bankruptcy but worried as what will happen with my mortgage and home.

Im sick to death of the letters and calls from the DCA's.

Please help

homeaway

Hi I am sorry i cant help you but i am sure somebody will be along soon who can. Hang on in there.

whatatwit

Well done for posting, when are you due to return to work?

nervousmother

You may not loose your home if you become BR it depends if you have negative equaity or not.

Your first call should be to contact someone like CAB to get pro advice. If you want o know more about BR then pop over the the bankruptcy board.

SilverLining_2

Im due back at work on 14th september

GeorgeUK

Hi SL

Even though the DCA may want you to pay more, you can't pay more than you can afford. If they don't like it, then they'll just need to not like it.

There are letters you can send to stop the calls and it may also be worth checking if the credit agreements are enforcable too. In the short-term, i would advise contacting CCCS or Payplan for advice. They are free debt charities so you will not need to worry about how much they cost. They may advise an IVA to protect your property, but you would need to be sure you could meet the payments.

Wol2

Hi sl

George UK is right...your first stop should be one of the debt charities to get advice. Make sure you have details of all the amouts owed/payments made and also full details of your current income and expenditure (statement of affairs or SOA)

There is a link here for an SOA spreadsheet

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

The debt charities will also help you sort out the DCA's with token payments etc until you are back at work.



Two questions spring to mind....
a) can your OH get any type of temporary/seasonal work just to bring in some income atm?
b) by how much will your income increase once you go back to work and would you be able to afford the repayments then?

I'm sure others will come along soon, but keep posting with updates as the more info you can provide here (e.g. if you want to post your SOA once done)....the more help we can give.

Good luck
xxx

SilverLining_2

Wol2 wrote: »

Two questions spring to mind....
a) can your OH get any type of temporary/seasonal work just to bring in some income atm?
b) by how much will your income increase once you go back to work and would you be able to afford the repayments then?

my other half has been trying to get work either by self emploment or PAYE, he is now looking for any type of work

when I go back to work, my income will only be another £400 on top of what im getting now -every little helps but if im the only one working then I still wont be able to make the repayments

SilverLining_2

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet
Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 454.36
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 80
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 534.36
Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 417
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 0
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 129
Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 44
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 160
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 40
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 40
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 22
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 26
Contents insurance...................... 26
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Phone/Internet/TV....................... 58
Total monthly expenses.................. 1149

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 170000
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 171500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 61000....(417)......0
Total secured & HP debts...... 61000.....-.........-
Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
loans..........................0.........126.......0
credit cards...................0.........230.......0
catalogues.....................0.........110.......0
(Unnamed debt).................52000.....0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........52000.....466.......-

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 534.36
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,149
Available for debt repayments........... -614.64
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 466
Amount short for making debt repayments. -1,080.64
Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 171,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -61,000
Total Unsecured debt.................... -52,000
Net Assets.............................. 58,500
Created using the SOA calculator at www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using IE browser.

earplugs

all your loans, credit cards and catalogues, write to the creditors with a letter from national debt line - http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#6

and ask them to accept no payments on your accounts, even if they disagree, don't pay them anything, the worse they can do is get a CCJ against you or possibly a charging order against the house, but that is a remote possibility, these companies talk tough but very rarely take tough action - if it makes you feel better offer them token payments of £1 each per month.

the main things to concentrate on are the mortgage payments and the council tax payments.

if you are a british gas customer go onto the british gas energy trust website (just google it) and see what help they may be able to give you.

so send the creditors a copy of your budget sheet and use the letters from national debt line to make the offers.

if you were to go bankrupt you would almost certainly have the home taken off you and you would have to live in rented accomodation - if you want to learn more on bankruptcy go to the insolvency service website.

you have taken the largest step in getting back on the road to recovery - dont give in, don't take no for an answer from the creditors - either tell them you arent paying for six months or set up standing orders for £1 to them each.

also, best to have your wages paid into a safe bank account where only your mortgage and council tax payments can be taken from - set up a basic bank account - google "fsa - basic bank accounts" and go and set one up.

Good luck!!

poppy10_2

Hubby needs to get a job ASAP, no matter how menial.