When you're in a "Debt hole"..Stop Digging!

Chrisblue1962

Posted complaint letter to Co-operative Bank.

Found out I'll be working on Election Day as a Poll Clerk, get day off work to do so and get £100.00 as well! :T

Also got £10.00 back from rip-off car insurance (Hastings) as they got details wrong when setting up my policy

...."Venceremos - We WILL WIN !"

*Jellie*

Good news on the extra money- balances out some of those down days!!

Chrisblue1962

..Just been for 30mins jog / run... a bit knackered now (am I allowed to say "knackered" ?). Determined to take part in 5k charity run next month. Also setting following targets:

End of 2010 - do at least one 10k run (used to do loads many moons ago )

End of 2011 - complete a half marathom

End of 2013 - London Marathon - done it before but time was rubbish (4hrs 30 mins) and collasped at end (yes, seriously, ended up in hospital :eek:)

Chrisblue1962

Had a productive weekend, washed car (pennies saved ), cut front lawn grass and tidied up back garden after cutting grass.

I bought the mower for £15.00 last autumn from next door neighbour who was getting rid of it has it has a minor fault which she couldn't be bothered to fix. I've since priced the part and it's about £12.00 but I can still use the mower despite the fault. Brand new, the mower is £100.00 approx...think I got a bargain. I completely stripped down mower and thoroughly cleaned it as I think neighbour had never done this and now it's like new! .

I think this month's budget has really gone to pot but need to check some figures first...don't think things are going to make good reading.

Well, off to bed soon with a cuppa for a read.

BFN fellow DFW'ers :hello:

P.S. can anyone tell me how to get started with the online scratch cards? I know it won't make me rich but anything is welcome at the moment...:(

Chrisblue1962

Bit miffed today as Tax Code has changed from 610L to 515L, basically I'll be £16.00 / month worse off...I wonder why I bother going to work anymore

HamsterWheel_3

Hi there

Just picked out your diary at random and had a good read, sounds like you have been having a tough time with the fat cats and i hope you get this sorted soon

chin up or in my case chins and ill keep supporting x

missymoo81

how come your taxcode has changed hun? are you working more hours or earning more money? doesnt sound quite right to me.

x

Chrisblue1962

Hi Misymoo

My tax code has changed as I drive as part of my job and get paid "Essential car user allowance, which I pay tax on. More business miles equals more expenses which in turn equals more tax , which they get by adjusting my code.

The downside is that if my mileage reduces, which it actually has since last September, from about 120 miles a week to about 35 miles a week, they wont probably wont adjust my code until April 2011. Heads they win, Tails you lose. Colleagues have said that it's happened to them loads over the years.

Chrisblue1962

Chrisblue1962 wrote: »

Hi Jellie

Thanks for your reply. I really really hate it when you just think that things are starting to improve then something (or someone :mad: !!!!) throws a big spanner in the works. Paying off debt is hard enough without having to "slay other dragons"so to speak.

The Co-op Bank have really changed their tune now they know CCCS are doing a DMP for me. They originally gave me £460.00 overdraft facility on my Current a/c, which I used. In February 2010, I decided to ask CCCS to put together a DMP, which I wanted to start in MAY.

CCCS insisted in including my overdraft in the DMP, despite the fact that I was managing the overdraft well and not exceeeding the £460.00 limit. So, I contacted the Co-op, who opened a Cashminder basic bank account, intending to start using this account and stop using the Current account wef 15th April.(payday).

CCCS wrote to all my creditors in MARCH and told them about the DMP. The creditors have been fine but the Co-op Bank then chose to freeze my Current Account and removed my Saving Account completely without telling me as soon as they received the CCCS letter! I wanted the Current Account to stay active until April as I had a couple of cheques that I had written in February to go through the Current Account first before it became dormant.

I transferred money into the Current Account to pay the cheques that would be drawn and guess what the Co-op did?...they bounced them!

"...we always freeze accounts and remove the overdraft facility once CCCS advise us of their involvement, it's standard practice. CCCS should've told you this..."

...I didn't know CCCS were responsible, rather than the Co-operative Bank themselves, for advising Co-operative Bank customers on how their accounts may be operated!!!!

They did allow me to transfer one £100.00 cash payment back to my Cashminder a/c so I could pay the cheque payee by debit card instead, but refused to do this again once I had purposely transferred another £100.00 into the current a/c to pay a second cheque, also written in February 2010.

Basically, the Co-op let me transfer money INTO the current a/c, despite the fact the account was erm, "frozen" and the overdraft will be paid off via the CCCS DMP, but refused to let me transfer money BACK OUT to the Cashminder a/c when I realised they weren't going to let the cheque be drawn so I could pay it by other means.

They are now "sitting pretty" as they just happily let me inadvertently pay £100.00 off the overdraft, which now stands at £359.00, rather than £459.00 and wait for the £5.00 a month via the CCCS...talk about wanting your cake and eating it :mad: .

I now have a £100.00 "hole" in my finances and no way of paying the cheque payee..

Seriously thinking of closing all my Co-operative Bank accounts and opening another basic bank account with Barclays, as their charges are lower and I work near a Barclays branch.

A bit of good news. A lady from Co-operative Bank Customer Services phoned me to say:

• £100.00 to be transferred back to Cashminder account as I intended.
• £60.00 charges to be waived
• the best bit.... a payment of £50.00 as a means of saying sorry for inconvenience caused by Money Management team

.... Result!!!!!! :T:T:T:T:T:T:T

If you get bad service...complain properly but nicely

Chrisblue1962

I had a bit of a retrospective look back today over my financial events since July 2009 - my LBM - came up with a few thoughts....

Lessons learnt so far…

1. YOU CAN’T SPEND MONEY TWICE!! – What is spent on going out can’t be used to pay bills, etc today, tomorrow or next month.

1. SELF-DISCIPLINE IS THE KEY FOR NOW AND THE FUTURE. You need to keep A VERY CLOSE EYE on “Regular Variable Spending” i.e. Groceries, Petrol, Going Out, “small treats”, etc as they all add up. Do this by keeping a Spending Diary for each week. Plus, monitor your Current Account EACH WEEK, preferrably before you do your weekly Groceries shopping, to ensure that Bills and variable spending is on track with your Monthly Budget…you have done a Monthly Budget haven’t you?... if not, do one NOW…well, after you’ve finished reading this.

1. Despite what the media says, debt is still a very personal and sensitive subject for most people. IF YOU ARE IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE, GET PROFESSIONAL ADVICE ASAP !! e.g. CCCS, CAB, Payplan, etc. JUST HOPING THINGS WILL GET BETTER BY THEMSELVES DOES NOT WORK. Also, if you have a friend who is having financial problems, subtly advise them to get help BUT make a point of telling them that they really helped you too!! (assuming they have of course..) This way, they should not be offended as they now know of somebody else who has been in the same siutation as themselves and may realise that getting help really is the smart thing to do.

1. GET SMART – Before making a financial decision, seek out advice and information first ! This is usually available free on the Internet. YOU work hard for YOUR wages / salary, make “them” (the people who are after YOUR money) work hard for it too! MAKE INFORMED DECISIONS NOT IMPULSIVE ONES!

1. Think of paying off your debts as A POSITIVE STEP which will make your current and future life better.

1. Only carry a small amount of money each day for emergencies only, or, carry none at all!! – IF YOU DON’T HAVE CASH WITH YOU THEN YOU CAN’T GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION AND SPEND IT!

1. PAYING OFF YOUR DEBTS TAKES TIME – the debt probably didn’t accrue overnight so it’s not going to go overnight either. So, be pleased that every week or month you pay off part of a debt you are making a small but positive step towards financial freedom.

1. KEEP METICULOUS RECORDS OF ALL PHONE CALLS MADE, LETTERS RECEIVED AND ACTION TAKEN IN A FINANCE DIARY / LOG. This way, you can avoid disputes at a later date, you will have a record of what was said or done and by whom. Also, it serves a record of your successes and failures. Don’t worry having both as they serve as a source of motivation to do better in the future.

1. Last but not least….GOOD LUCK!!! 

....sorry for length of post, hope it's useful