BrightHouse/Council Tax Arrears Advice

milliemonster

As you rent, is there any possibility of you moving to a house nearer to your work, therefore allowing you to get rid of the car and be able to walk/cycle into work instead? I know its a big step but if you go BR they will not allow you to keep this car anyway, they would expect you to buy one under £1000 for you to use for work

B..

Hi RAS,

The car is leased internally through my work place, so won't have any affect on the BR, there's no credit checks or anything like that. The only reason i'll get it taken off me is if they don't pay me.

As for BH, will that definatley not get wiped by the BR? because that is one of the main debts i want to clear.

Will check the BR section out, thanks

edit

Millie - Nope unfortunatley not, the houses near where i work are in a more expensive area, rent there starts around £600+

Merlin - don't worry i won't be going through with any half hearted decisions, i'll be taking my time with it.

Going to check the BR forum now!

RAS

Secured debt is not cleared by bankruptcy and your original post suggest this is secured debt.

B..

So any HP agreement is a secured debt? Which means they can enter the house and take the stuff away if we don't pay it?

Buddingblonde

B.. it might just be the way I am reading your posts but it seems that you are not so much wanting help to save yourself from bankruptcy but just making sure you get to keep everything that that you have recently bought.

You have had some excellent advice about reducing your bills and expenditure and it seems that you have no interest in living within your means. With very little tweaking you could have enough income to make payments towards your priority debts (which the small loan isnt btw) and then get help making offers to the other debts that you hold.

It is a shame that you are so resistant to making these changes - bankruptcy should be the final option, not the easiest and I know that there are many people on here who really struggle with life after bankruptcy.

You have a small child and do not want to change anything with her yet if you think about it your child would be a lot better with cotton wool and water or a flannel and water (chemical free) than all the chemicals that are in baby wipes. At 2 you should be looking at getting toilet training done soon and then all the expense of wipes and nappies will be a thing of the past (unless you start spending on toilet training pants!)

With the amount that you are spending on the car and travelling to work you might be better off not working> No one here is saying buy a £1000 reliable car but you have gone from one extreme to the other, putting yourself in this precarious position financially.

I hope that you see sense and see that everyone here is trying to help you pay your debts and get you out of this without having to go down the route of bankruptcy. You have it within you if you only starting opening your mind to it.

B..

I do see what advice people have been giving me and i have fully taken it on board. I am extremely thankful to those that have given the time to try and put their 2p worth in, which i have said repeatedly.

I am not in anyway resistant, let me explain in a little more detail for you.

The reason i am wanting to go down the BR route is because in my eyes it's easier (MY OPINION). I do still believe that i will be in a better position going down that route, because i won't have the stress of it all. People will laugh when i say this, as no doubt there is someone a million times worse off than me, but it is causing us an extreme amount of stress, unable to sleep at night and it's starting to form cracks in our relationship.

The reason i was hoping BH would be cleared is because i have paid them THOUSANDS of pounds for what, nothing? I am willing to offer them a payment, however i know full well they will throw it back in my face which is why i am seeking advice regarding this.

So something i've been paying off for two years is me wanting to keep things i've recently bought? Right...

I will make changes anywhere possible which is what i have said, but where things like my daughter are concerned i will NOT cut back, regardless as to peoples opinion on this. Think what you like about this, it doesn't bother me.

I do agree that it is POSSIBLE to juggle things around and make a small payment to the creditors, but how long will i be paying them off for? Longer than what a BR would stay on my file for! What if one month i need to fork out for something and end up not being able to pay the creditors? Do i really want these people banging my door down demanding money from me every two seconds?

IF i do decide to go down the BR / DRO route then it will be a clean slate for me, i've learnt my lesson and won't be making the same mistakes in future.

HOWEVER i am STILL weighing up my options.

edit

I don't want my life to be a misery for the next however many years, some people cope well with it, some don't. I don't intend to get a mortgage until i am at least in my 30's (8 or so years) and i don't plan on having any loans or anything else of the sort, i am not a gambler, i am not addicted to spending, i made a few bad judgments regarding my finances and now i am paying for it and trying to sort it out the best way possible FOR ME and MY FAMILY.

Why i am justifying myself i have no idea.

Fire_Fox

B.. wrote: »

The reason i am wanting to go down the BR route is because in my eyes it's easier (MY OPINION). I do still believe that i will be in a better position going down that route, because i won't have the stress of it all. People will laugh when i say this, as no doubt there is someone a million times worse off than me, but it is causing us an extreme amount of stress, unable to sleep at night and it's starting to form cracks in our relationship.

I will make changes anywhere possible which is what i have said, but where things like my daughter are concerned i will NOT cut back, regardless as to peoples opinion on this. Think what you like about this, it doesn't bother me.

I do agree that it is POSSIBLE to juggle things around and make a small payment to the creditors, but how long will i be paying them off for? Longer than what a BR would stay on my file for! What if one month i need to fork out for something and end up not being able to pay the creditors? Do i really want these people banging my door down demanding money from me every two seconds?

IF i do decide to go down the BR / DRO route then it will be a clean slate for me, i've learnt my lesson and won't be making the same mistakes in future.

HOWEVER i am STILL weighing up my options.

edit

I don't want my life to be a misery for the next however many years, some people cope well with it, some don't. I don't intend to get a mortgage until i am at least in my 30's (8 or so years) and i don't plan on having any loans or anything else of the sort, i am not a gambler, i am not addicted to spending, i made a few bad judgments regarding my finances and now i am paying for it and trying to sort it out the best way possible FOR ME and MY FAMILY.

Why i am justifying myself i have no idea.

I think it's an excellent idea to explore all of the options available to you - frugal living, Debt Management Plan, IVA, bankruptcy, Debt Relief Order.

NOBODY who posts regularly on this board will laugh at you for being stressed. Almost all of us have had some form of stress, depression, anxiety or relationship problems through their money worries, whether diagnosed or not. You must go and see your GP about this as you may need some medical help or counselling, also you may be able to get the creditors to lay off if you are categorised as 'vulnerable'.

No-one is suggesting making your daughter go without. I am sure you are an amazing mum, through the quality time you spend with her and the love and protection you provide. "It's about cutting bills not cutting back and being a sassy consumer. Companies try to screw us for profits. MoneySaving shows you how to (legally) screw them back." (says Martin Lewis!)

I have very sensitive skin and always spent a lot of money on my moisturiser (Clarins £30 ten years ago :eek:) - I have been amazed to discover that my skin is much less aggravated by using the Simple brand ... £1.50 from a discount shop. I will take bets your little girl won't care if you are using free samples of branded baby products or if you paid full price.

If you decide against the bankruptcy route and go for a DMP, you will have a SoA that is surprisingly generous, many people are able to make savings for an emergency and even to make a full and final settlement. You can also send template letters from this site advising that you want communication in writing only, and stating that you do not give permission for creditors to come onto your property.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

milliemonster

B, why don't you post on the bankruptcy board about Brighthouse to see if that would be included in a BR? the good souls on there may have more advice on that one. I can't personally see that it wouldn't be included despite it being a secured debt, as if people have secured loans on their houses and go BR and give up their house the secured loan becomes unsecured and then written off, yes I guess it would mean you would lose all the furniture that the loans are secured on but at least you would be debtfree to start again.

It's very difficult, I think it's always easy for someone to say that there are millions more worse off than you, yes perhaps there are but only you know how you feel in your situation and how much stress this is causing you. There are some people who have a lot of debt throughout their lives and can live with it and that is fine, but for those of us that aren't then we need to look at solutions.

I also think one of the hardest things when you have lived in debt is learning to live within your means and readjust to spending less, cutting back, doing without etc and I admit this is where I fall down drastically!, try as I might, I can't live without Sky TV or my mobile, don't you know they're essential????? but in all honesty, if I had arrears of council tax etc, as hard as it would be, they would have to go, my daughters piano lessons would have to go, sons swimming lessons would have to go, mobile....gone, life is cruel and hard sometimes and nobody wants to feel like they are having to make do with second best, but I think unless we learn to really and truly realise what is essential and important, what can be cut back on and what can't (not from an emotional view but practical view) then I think the spiral of debt would just happen again at some point in the future, bankruptcy or not.

Times like these means you have to take stock, please don't take this the wrong way but in a court you would have no defence saying 'I need to reduce the amount of arrears payments I am making on my council tax because I refuse to buy cheaper nappies for my child' etc, this is probably the reason why your I&E forms have not been taken seriously in the past when trying to make reduced payments.

At the end of the day, yes we all have to choose our own way through life, read advice and heed it if we wish to, that choice is yours and I hope you get through this and wish you all the best

B..

Thank you for your reply FF.

The only thing i buy for my daughter which is of brand name is Pampers Nappies, which i buy in bulk form (around £10 for 80). Now the reason behind this is because this is the only nappy which does the job (In our experience). We have tried every single type of nappy going (from all price ranges), infact we've even tried re-useable nappies. I can honestly say these have been by far the best, which is why i continue to buy them. Baby wipes etc we buy tesco own brand ones.

The grocery thing is being looked at and we will be cutting costs in that area.

Edit

Millie - I don't personally feel as though cancelling my mobile/sky etc will achieve anything, as it'll just make me alot worse off and add more debts to the list. I know for a fact that t-mobile will want the remainder of the contract from me which is £400+, no idea how much sky will want, probably around the same.

Council tax is my main priority now, so as soon as my next pay comes, i'll be paying this years aswell as the arrears. I have had talks tonight with the lender of the small loan, and they have agreed to accept smaller payments for the time being. £30 instead of £90.. and this is all because of peoples advice.

Although i understand what you mean in your example, nappies are probably the only thing which i buy that are branded from my whole months shopping, which as i said is because of personal experiences with them, not because i want the best.

B..

I also don't quite know where people get off telling me that my daughter should be potty training, my daughter is my business not anyone elses and she will potty train when she is ready.

Amazes me to be honest. I come on a forum to get advice and support, not to be judged because i said i refuse to buy cheaper nappies (which i have explained my reasons for!!!)

Crazy.