Its so unfair why wont someone help?

Heddwen_2

Hi


My husband and I are desparate. I am at my wits end with worry. We are both in our early 30's and broke.

We run a small business and have done since 2001 which brings in an unsteady income especially in Winter as it is car valeting.

My husband also works his socks off doing a evening job as a security/doorman about 3 - 4 nights a week. This brings in a steady income of around £400 a month but we never see this as he has an overdraft on it's limit of £900 and the bank won't extend it. Therefore the £400 thats paid reduces his overdraft but not fast enough as by the next payday its back on the limit.
He has just got a credit card with Capitol One and is spending madly on this. It's 0% for 6 months (I think) and the limit is £800. He originally took it to transfer his overdraft onto but they declined this.

We owe £2,000 on the mortgage arears and paid only half last month and nothing this month.

As he has recently changed pt jobs his hours have been reduced but his wages increased slightly per hour. This in turn has cut the amount of working tax credit we receive down by £95 a month less. This was what originally paid the bills each month (thankfully we are on a no charge for Council Tax due to low income of Self Employment). We struggle to find the mortgage from what we can scrape together from what is left from the business account after the business bills have been paid out.

We have cut back on everything, we don't go out ever, use the van (our only vehicle) only when required have to feed our pets (1 dog + 1 cat) on leftovers and reduced price petfood / shelf food.

We have a joint account on it's overdraft limit and the bank hasd agreed to leave us alone for a while if we pay the £40 a month interest on it.

Our bank won't give us a loan. We have tried Nationweide as they are the only highstreet lenders I know of that have no early repayment penalty. They have refused us a loan because of the purpose we need it for.

We require £2,000 over longest / cheapest repayment with protection to pay off our mortgage arears as we want to rent our home out and move temporarily (we hope) into my husbands parents home so we can get 'back on our feet' and be almost bill free but keep our property ready to move back into once we are straight again ourselves, if not just for the investment.

We cannot afford to sell the property as we will have to downsize considerably and still pay the same monthly mortgage payment due to the bad credit on our current mortgage. This, we have been told, will stay on our files for 6 - 18 months once the £2,000 arears debt is cleared.

We dont want to sell the property and move in with the parents until the bad credit is cleared as we will probably never get back onto the housing ladder and if we did it wouldn't be in an area we wanted.

We wouldn't be eligable for a council house as we have no children and are bottom of the register.

I bring in no income but am setting up another business and am trying to find an evening or weekend job but no one wants to know me. Possibly because of my cv having a string of varied role jobs on so I am a lost cause.

We are desparate and I have tried everything and am heading towards depression, and adding my already dodgy blood pressure Im not sure how much more I can take before I blow a gasket! The atmosphere and arguments it is creating is putting a strain on both our relationships to a point we often don't speak.


Citizens Advice Bearau have said they will help reduce our debts but they need to cut up all credit cards and to be honest they wont be able to do any more than what I have done myself as I have been in constant contact with all the bill and mortgage companies who wont budge however hard I plead, they say they have done all they can. I have switched suppliers thanks to this site (to Tesco Talk and Powergen 'cos at least they give me points to help with the food shopping).

We have been up all the options we have available, and more, but get knowhere. Family and friends can't help either,.


Sorry its a waffle here but its good to get it out of my system as everyone else is fed up of hearing about it, its the only thing we ever talk about now as its consumed our lives!

I AM AT CRISIS POINT PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP?

Thanks

yeovilmac

Hi Heddwen

Probably not much help at all but two pieces of advice I can give.

1. Try the CCCS, Consumer Credit Counselling Service. They are a charity that helps people in debt and its free unlike some debt management companies who make a profit at our expense. Look elsewhere on the site and you will find a web address.

2. However tempting, dont use a bad credit loan company. I borrowed £3,000 in August and my repayments will mean I repay over £7,200. I appreciate that I only have one creditor now but boy oh boy am I paying for a bit more piece of mind.

Good luck and many best wishes
Martin

lisyloo

I am sure you have thought of this but it seems like your husband finds it easier to get work.

Could you take over more of the car valetting business whilst he finds other work?

Heddwen_2

Hi

yeovilmac
- many thanks, I will try and find the link, thanks for the kind words and thoughts, keep your fingers crossed for us and if you think of any more keep us posted.


Lisyloo
- Thanks for the idea yes we have considered it many times, but unfortunately theres another brick wall in our way as I havent passed my driving test sill as there are problems getting that done as well, I need pedal adaptions because of my height so I can only have lessons in my own vehicle, which as I mentioned we cannot afford to have 2 and the van we have needs to get my husnband to work whether it's evening or daytime.

Nothings simple in life is it?

Thanks and keep the positive suggestions coming in everyone.

Trix

These two may help.

http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_factsheets/debt_advice_england_wales.php3

This has sample letters of what to write to companies.

http://www.cccssecure.co.uk/ew/home.htm
Site quote:
'Such is the quality of counselling that many creditors now accept our repayment proposals without further checking and the repayment records of clients we have counselled are uniquely good.'

Both of these are free to use.

Probably worth trying to get relationship help from Relate as well. Damage to your relationship can be a lot harder to repair than any problems with debt. You don't want to get all the debt sorted but to have broken up. You're in it together- be there for each other. (OK - maybe a bit slushy but the meaning gets through :-*)

Good luck - keep us posted and we'll give support if nothing else!

Heddwen_2

Thanks Trix, I know what you mean :-[

Will do.

Jacqz

You could try agency work, which would bring in some money, but could also be flexible. Maybe your husband could do the same on his days off?

lisyloo

OK - things you can do without a car.

For an immediate income - have you considered doing other peoples cleaning and ironing?
This may not strike you as an ideal career but you will be paid hourly so will bring in money pretty quickly.
I would target any "better off" areas within walking distance.
Professional couples or rich families will be very grateful for someone reliable.
I would expect around £6-£7 per hour (they provide cleaning materials).
You could do the ironing in their house, so you don't have to carry it.

Have you considered anything like
Avon
Betterware
Kleeneze
Phoenix cards
Telecom Plus (persuade people to change gas & electricity suppliers).

The only reason I put the cleaning/ironing first is that it will bring in income straight away whereas the other ideas will require a bit of investment and there will probably be a time lag before you get any money.

What about babysitting, dogwalking.

I think in your posistion I would leaflet the local area (targetting the better off neighbourhoods) offering
Ironing, cleaning, dog walking and babysitting.

westernpromise

Thanks and keep the positive suggestions coming in everyone.

Hi there,

You have my sympathy - you're discovering that the only way you can get a loan is if you can prove you don't need one.

Try to keep that credit card habit under control as that sort of debt can spiral very fast.

How big is the house you're in? Do you perhaps have a spare room you could rent out? You can do this tax free for up to (I think) about £4500 a year, i.e. about £90 a week.

Galstonian

If you do follow up the "move out to parents and let house" route do make sure you discuss this with the lender as it may be against the terms of the mortgage and you don't want to add any other problems. You would hope that approaching them to propose a solution to your mortgage arrears would be well received but it depends on the organisation. If they say no I'd ask to discuss the matter with someone senior.

svmitche

I think maybe you underestimate the sway a CAB advisor would have with the companies you owe money to.

A lot of larger companies throw up their hands when they are called by a borrower, but if a CAB advisor calls them on your behalf and negotiates with them, it shows the company that you really mean what you say, that you cannot pay as much as they would like, but are willing to seek help to pay them. Many companies respond better to this approach.

I don't think you're a lost cause in employment terms. I'm not saying you haven't tried hard, but think carefully. Have you tried absolutely everyone you can think of? I found the only way to get a part-time job when I needed one was to start early on a Saturday and go into every shop in my local high street and all of the local supermarkets asking for vacancies and application forms. Sometimes a speculative enquiry does work (ok, sometimes not!).

Someone suggested Agency work, have you considered the agencies that provide waiting staff? A couple of friends of mine did this work while students and made just as much money from tips on the evenings as they did from the agency.

Have a clear out (if not already) and do a car boot sale or put stuff on eBay (does require a small outlay though). You could raise a few hundred pounds that way.

I know you love your pets, but is there someone else you know who could take them in for a time so that you don't have to spend out on food for them? I feel heartless saying that, but as long as you stressed that it was a temporary arrangement and could take them back when you get back on your feet?

I know you don't want to sell your house, but please do assess how much you will make from this if you were to sell. At the end of it all, it may be your only option (playing devil's advocate again).

Have you considered if you would be better off by discontinuing your business and you and your husband taking a full-time job for the time-being? If the winter months are tough with little money coming in would not full-time job security be better for your wallet and your blood pressure.

Some of what I have written may be a little 'black and white', but I hope some of it has been useful.