Arrears advice

lollipop111

Hi, I am at the stage where I am now robbing peter to pay paul.
I can only afford to pay tiny amounts off of each of my utilities.
I have heard that if they get nasty and start threatening legal action that the Court will look more favourably upon people who have tried to pay a little, rather than none at all. Is this correct?
Ive sat down and tried to prioritise and there is just not enough left to pay everybody so I feel I just have to make a contribution to each
If you could let me know if this is correct it would take a small amount of worry off of me.
Thanks

KimYeovil

Do you ask supermarkets if you can only pay for some of your groceries? Does the council let you not pay all your council tax? Has your landlord shrugged their shoulders and let you only pay part of your rent?

If you can't afford to pay for the fuel then don't use it.

Magentasue

You need the Debt Free Wannabe board. They'll give you lots of advice. There are people like the CAB who give debt counselling free of charge and will help you negotiate with your creditors.

It's important that you cut back as much as you can but that you pay yourself first and then clear arrears. In the case of energy bills, you would probably be better off having prepay meters. While they have their disadvantages, for someone in your situation, they can be the answer because they stop you from increasing your debt. Also, suppliers will give you much, much longer to clear your debt with prepayments meters. If you keep your credit meters, they'll want it cleared in 12-18 months maximum while you're also paying for what you are using. Usually, they'll want it cleared in six months or less but may negotiate an extended period.

Prioritise debts where you can be jailed (I think this can still happen) or disconnected for non-payment. Negotiate freezing of interest on accounts where you are being charged interest. Do not ignore any letters - the more people contact you, the more likely it is that admin charges will be levied. Get help to draw up a plan, contact everybody and stick to the plan.

Good luck!

lollipop111

Thanks for advice.

KimYeavil:- I can on here to seek constructive advice! I have a one year old baby and am cutting back as much as I can. What should I do, give her raw food and not use the electricity to cook her dinner???? Maybe not boil the kettle to make her formula and let her go out without????!!! hmmmm I think not
This is the first time I have been in a small amount of arrears and I am sure with everybodies advice on here I will get myself out of it.

tori.k

KimYeovil wrote: »

Do you ask supermarkets if you can only pay for some of your groceries? Does the council let you not pay all your council tax? Has your landlord shrugged their shoulders and let you only pay part of your rent?

If you can't afford to pay for the fuel then don't use it.

Thats harsh, someone got out of the wrong side of the bed

My advice is speak to them sooner than later, most companies will understand and rather take a couple of ££ then nothing at all, but they may insist in fitting a prepayment meter to stop the debt getting any bigger. ive found people only get ar sey when you dont contact them and bury your head (makes more work for them), good luck

Magentasue

lollipop111 wrote: »

What should I do, give her raw food and not use the electricity to cook her dinner???? Maybe not boil the kettle.

I realise that you were just giving examples to make a point, but it's worth saying that you can only make worthwhile energy savings if you know what uses a lot of kwh.

Look first to reduce heating, heating water, tumble drying, dishwasher use, using the oven rather than the hob etc. You may already do this but a lot of people genuinely want to reduce their bills and worry about leaving the TV on standby but still use electric showers and tumble dryers without a second thought.

lollipop111

Hi, thanks for the advice
I really do try to save where I can like saving washing up for once a day, not leaving lights on, not boiling kettle unecessarily
I have just called N Power and enquired about a pre-payment and they said I will need to pay £27 a week to cover arrears, standing charge and to get me through the winter. Pre-payments scare me a little and its a big chunk out of my weekly money. However at least I wont have that sum to pay outright each month. Not really sure whether to proceed with the pre-payment. Any comments on these would be helpful?

ps: You mentioned about using oven rather than hob etc. Is there a thread somewhere on forum about general useage/saving around the house anyone can recommend?

fullstop

lollipop111 wrote: »

Hi, thanks for the advice
I really do try to save where I can like saving washing up for once a day, not leaving lights on, not boiling kettle unecessarily
I have just called N Power and enquired about a pre-payment and they said I will need to pay £27 a week to cover arrears, standing charge and to get me through the winter. Pre-payments scare me a little and its a big chunk out of my weekly money. However at least I wont have that sum to pay outright each month. Not really sure whether to proceed with the pre-payment. Any comments on these would be helpful?

ps: You mentioned about using oven rather than hob etc. Is there a thread somewhere on forum about general useage/saving around the house anyone can recommend?

There is another post about prepayment meters on this board which recommends Ebico as they have no standing charge and do not punish you with extra charges for using a prepayment metre.

If you can try and pay off your debt and see about changing your energy suppliers.

http://www.ebico.co.uk/

KimYeovil

lollipop111 wrote: »

KimYeavil:- I can on here to seek constructive advice! I have a one year old baby and am cutting back as much as I can. What should I do, give her raw food and not use the electricity to cook her dinner???? Maybe not boil the kettle to make her formula and let her go out without????!!! hmmmm I think not

Constructive advice: delay weaning until the child is two or three then you won't need to artificially heat her meals.

tori.k

KimYeovil wrote: »

Constructive advice: delay weaning until the child is two or three then you won't need to artificially heat her meals.

:rolleyes: Have you got nothing better to do

Magentasue

lollipop111 wrote: »

Hi, thanks for the advice
I really do try to save where I can like saving washing up for once a day, not leaving lights on, not boiling kettle unecessarily
I have just called N Power and enquired about a pre-payment and they said I will need to pay £27 a week to cover arrears, standing charge and to get me through the winter. Pre-payments scare me a little and its a big chunk out of my weekly money. However at least I wont have that sum to pay outright each month. Not really sure whether to proceed with the pre-payment. Any comments on these would be helpful?

ps: You mentioned about using oven rather than hob etc. Is there a thread somewhere on forum about general useage/saving around the house anyone can recommend?

Personally, I would avoid prepay meters because they are inconvenient, cost money to remove and are more expensive. However, if you cannot afford to repay the arrears, they are your only option and preferable to incurring charges and more debt.

Try this link for some advice on what uses how much:

http://www.eon.se/upload/eon-se-2-0/dokument/om_eon/presscenter/broschyrarkiv/broschyrer/A%20little%20book%20on%20saving%20energy.pdf