Hit reality and grown up

spacemonkeypg

Hello Everyone,

I'm a new member and wanted to ask for some kind of help. About three years ago i had a bad seperation from my then wife and suffered from severe depression. At the time i had a mortgage, credit card, bank account and good credit rating, however things have now changed.

As a result of my divorce i was removed from the mortgage and the house passed over to my now ex-wifes name. I closed the joint accounts and credit cards and started with more or less a clean break.

I applied for a new bank account and a new credit card with Egg. I was given a £4000 limit on the card and a £1500 overdraft limit on my account. Due to me being stupid and buying and spending to please myself after the sepration i soon maxed them out and started having problems paying them back. As im sure people here know it then becomes very difficult to juggle debts with utility bills and pay one but not the other. For most of this time, due to the depression i was in and out of work thus finding it impossible to pay anything back on mear goverment sickness payments.

Right now i have overcome my depression and moved on with my life i have a new job a new partner and a baby son. All however is not rosey!

All my debts managed to dissapear when i "forgot" to inform my creditors of my address changes (two in total) over the last two years. I must bite the bullet and go cap in hand to try and sort this out but to be honest i dont know where to start. I cannot eve remeber what i owe people\companies. I know i owe the nationwide £1500 and Egg £4000, but im sure i owe utils bill aswell. I realy need to sort this dark past of mine out as its eating me to death. Its also affecting my status as a human being as everyone has a debit card in this world but me. I cannot buy anything or verify who i am to say get shopping from tesco online without one.

I currently have a Nationwide bank account with just a cash card (im not allowed a debit card) and on average make a weekly sum of £380 in my bank. I recieve £10pw in child tax credit and £60 per month in child benefit. I have no other income apart from my partner's whom is £180pw in the bank. I cannot depend on her money to help get this situation under control as it not fair. The outgoings for me are £90pw in rent, £20pw gas + elec, £20pw petrol, £72pm car insurance, £80pm for Tv/telephone/internet. £80per quarter for council tax, £70pw for an aupair ( this is to enable my partner to work during the week as i work away from home all week ). I have no savings or nothing of any value which is amazing when you think of the money i spent

Now i have got my head out of the sand i realy dont know what to do, also im scared to death of going to court/jail for not paying my creditors or informing them of moving house, as im sure its some kind of fraud. I realy need to find someone or something to help me out. Today i applied for a capitol one card to try and get a reasonable credit score, but knowing they accept bad credit people they didnt accept me lol.

Can anyone tell me of an ideal person to speak to and help me out with this situation? Or any form of council in situations like this. I dont want to not justify my situation by blaming it on my depression i just want to get rid of it and get my credit history back if at all possible

Any help or advice would be welcomed with open arms

Thank you for listening to me moan

Phil

iwillgetthere_2

Hiya,

Well done for facing up to your money issues, you've made the first step and you have come to the right place.

If you go to top of this forum there is a newbie thread at the top, use this to post a SOA on this thread and we will go from there.

lynsayjane

i'd suggest going to cab or speakin to one of the debt charities listed on this site. they could tell you what to do better than me...

does ur partner know how bad thigns were? if not it might be a good idea to come clean, cause if it catches up with you she'll find out.

jessicamb

Hi Phil

Welcome to MSE!

Sure some of the lovely people will be along soon with good adice but heres my twopenneth:

Get a copy of your credit file - any defaults should be on there.
Also check through old papers/bank statements - might help identify them.

Contact one of the debt advisory services CCCS or Payplan (links at top of page) for advice on how best to handle this - I think they also help you deal with your creditors/set up payment plans etc.

In terms of your day to day bills:

Rent £90pw - how does this compare to other properties? Sounds ok but depends on the area you live in.

Gas/Electric £20pw - This seems like a huge amount £80pm. Are you in arrears? Can you switch to a cheaper supplier? Turn off things you are not using TV/lights etc - all adds up.

Petrol £20pw - can you use public transport? Cut down on car use?

£80 phone/TV/internet - ditch the sky and get freeview, are you on the cheapest phone packages? Switch to PAYG? Is your internet on the best deal - you can get broadband for approx £15month

£73 car insurance - seems like a lot - use a comparison site to see if you can get this any cheaper.

Anything you can sell of ebay/amazon? You'd be amazed at some of the junk people will buy.

No mention of food/other costs such as MOT/car tax/TV licence but these all need to be taken into consideration too - I presume these are coming out of your wifes wages?

I know its worrying but it doesnt look too bad a situation - I'm sure once you figure out where you are with the old debts you will feel much happier.

Keep posting to let us know what happens.

spacemonkeypg

Yes she knows i have never hidden it from her but she agrees now is the time to face up to it

southernscouser

First and foremost mate you can only go to jail for failing to pay council tax! The rest are non-imprisonable.

Well done for facing up to things though! :beer:

Your best bet is to get your credit reports from Experian and Equifax. They will give you an idea of whether you have been issued defaults (which I imagine you have) and will give you an idea of what you owe and to who.

They normally cost £2 each but check last weeks money saving tip and you can get them free on a 30 day trial. Just remember to cancel them before the 30 days is up!

When you know what you owe post a full SOA. Have a look at this thread for a guide!

seven-day-weekend

Although I have no advice to offer, other than what has already been said, I CAN say 'WELL DONE!' for facing up to the situation and I wish you ALL the very best in the future.