More going out than coming in :( Advice please

Sarahjane519

Went to the CAB yesterday and was told we can get around £10 a week of our C/Tax and also that he is about £20 odd pound a week down on what he should be receiving in benifits. But we are still awaiting the results of his medical.

He rang up Santander about not being able to pay the car this month and asked if we could have a month repayment holiday. There response was no and quite bluntly put too. They said they would not help until we fall in to arrears on it.

Could we lose the house? There is nothing secured on it, but when we asked yesterday he said something about the creditors filing for bankrupcy then we would lose the house.

Thanks

Sarah X

dancingfairy

The unsecured loans are not a priority so don't worry too much about these.
Not sure about the car loan - but if it's a (unsecured) loan again try not too worry too much.
Bankruptcy - well I guess it's a possibility but you don't have that much debt that would make it worth while them trying that avenue.
Council Tax debt - how much do you owe them? they may get a liability order but this will be in a magistrates court and will not affect your credit rating - they then have the option to send the bailiffs around or try and attach your income or benefits. In rare cases they can try and send you to prison but this is extremely unlikely and in this current economic climate they would not be too popular trying that on people who clearly can't pay not won't pay so do not worry too much about this either - pay what you can when you can so they can't prove you are deliberately avoiding it and wait and see what happens.
You priority is really to get your incoem sorted and chase up the benefits really.
Not sure whether you are eligible for a crisis loan or anything like that from the JOb Centre at all - worth asking and ask the CAB regarding the food - they may be able to out you in touch with a charity who could help with food.
Good Luck
df

GeorgeUK

SJ, i would advise dealing with any creditors in writing rather than on the phone, it may be easier to do, but there is no way that he would be making threats like that in a letter.

MONDYMAN_3

I'm just about to enter the exact situation as you in about 4 months time when my redundancy money runs out except that i have 2 young children and a mortgage on my head as well...

It's not all doom and gloom you have to be totally honest and realistic in this situation..it is not fantasy island and putting that quid on the lottery every week probably ownt get you out of this mess..

I'm more or less resigned to the fact that we might have to sell our house ( we have £65,000 equity easily ( 40k mortgage house value £110 k )so we could rent in the same village comfortably for 2 years while i look for another job and still have £40,000 afterwards for a deposit )

Me and my wife have argued about money a lot the last 2 months it seems to simmer for ages then a small thing will trigger a big argument....this is stress , anxiety etc..
Try and be as realistic as possible with each other...your worst case scenario is....

You end up selling your house , paying off everything you owe and renting with a huge ammount of money sitting in the bank for a new deposit when your husband gets re-employed...i might have to put 2 small children through the same thing thats what breaks my heart...

You'll be fine stick together..make it work

Sarahjane519

Thanks again for the replies.

We are not in arears on the C/Tax, we decided to pay that but not the Car.

It's going to be the first time we have missed any payments and the first time we go in to the red. We are just so stressed about loosing the house. The car is on HP by the way so they think at the CAB.

If they filed for bankrupcy with us , could they really take the whole value of the house off us? The thing is, the house was left to him by his Grandmother when she passed away a few months ago. She brought him up pritty much on her own and its more than just bricks and mortar to him. So yeah we could sell, but we really don't want too.

I know compared to some people we are so lucky and we really do appreciate it. But we have never been in this situation before and it's very worrying.

Thanks Sarah x

RAS

Sarahjane519 wrote: »

Could we lose the house? There is nothing secured on it, but when we asked yesterday he said something about the creditors filing for bankrupcy then we would lose the house.

WHo said yesterday?

Creditors very very rarely apply for bankruptcy.

JayneC

Hi, I realise you're in a panic but really what is likely to happen is that you'll renegotiate reduced payments to your creditors. Your council tax and TV licence are top priority (as they carry heaviest penalties - although top would be your mortgage if you have one)then your utilities (gas, electric, etc) Next is your own priorities so probably your car tax. If you need your phones and internet access them too... If not essential cancel and negotiate an affordable payment to pay off the contract. Last is your unsecured debts. Work out what you can realistically afford and TELL THEM (not ask) that this is what you will pay - offer to review it in 6 months or so (when things may have improved). They may be obstructive but they will most likely accept it and as long as you pay something they are very unlikely to take you to court as the court would only make you pay what you can afford and your creditors cannot ask for a review at all!! So would be stuck with the reduced payments for as long as it takes to pay off the debt and it's likely that interest would be frozen if they took you to court. I was in an awful situation a few years ago with lots of debt and OH lost his job we were taken to court but judge accepted our offer of £1 per month on each of our debts!!! So not that terrible - yes affected our credit rated for a long while but maybe not such a bad thing?!!!

I would recommend you do a SOA showing your essential day to day outgoings (without the debt payments but be realistic - you can include some entertinment, etc) and then decide what you could realistically pay to each of your creditors and then write to them and offer them that, including your SOA so they can see your situation.

HTH

Jayne XX

Sarahjane519

RAS wrote: »

WHo said yesterday?

Creditors very very rarely apply for bankruptcy.

Thanks for the replies

It was the guy at the CAB tha told us that.

To be honest I think its just going to be this month that we struggle to pay everything (in the main the car). But If we manage to get a C/Tax reduction & the extra 20 odd pound a week on top benifits, we should be able to get by.

Sarah x

firesidemaid

once you get means-tested benefits eg. CT benefit, then the door opens to other benefits and discounts.

i take it your OH does not pay for prescriptions/medical treatments etc.

re. b/band, phones etc. even if you are in a contract, give them a ring and say you cannot afford it and ask them if they can at least reduce your tariff/bill etc.

if someone at job centre etc has miscalculated what you are entitled to then ask them to repay the difference of what you are owed?

do you have any stuff you can ebay?

GeorgeUK

It would be worth finding out whether the car is actually on a loan or HP.

If on HP, you may be able to hand the car back as a voluntary termination and be liable for only 50% of the original price rather than possibly have the car repossessed. If it is a loan, then the car is yours and you can treat it like any other unsecured debt.