The end of the line?

wattodo

I really feel now I should go down the bankruptcy route,it's not what I wanted but I have been struggling with this for a year and I know it isn't going to go away

CCCs advised there was no other option but I tried my upmost to fight against this

Its got to the stage where I am so stressed,continually worrying where I am going to find the next payment from I have concluded that I must hold my hands up and admit defeat

My situation is not getting any better,I am robbing peter as they say

SOA is

income approx 120 per wek
tax cred child 103.73 per week
working tax cred 64.23 per week
child benefit


outgoings

mobile 21.00
bt 9.50
talk talk 20.00
electric 40
phoneix gas 95.00
net 15.00
life insurance 37.00
tv licence 10.00
car insurance 40.00
tax,petrol,etc 100
rent 45.00

The usual for household expenses,food and that

I am way in over my head with credit card debt

There is no way I'm ever going to be able pay of 35k of debt,I have been fooling myself with hopes of winning the lottery,at the end of the day that is not going to happen.

I am seriously considering declaring bankruptcy now,scared thought,but I think I must face it

h4nym

Hi Whattodo

A quick scan of your SOA suggests that you're going to be in trouble after bankruptcy, let alone now!

Your income is about £300pw or 1300 per month.
Your expenditure totals 430, but I assume that most of these are monthly except your rent. Grossing that up to a monthly amount, that's 195 bringing your total expenditure to 580.

That leaves 700-odd quid a month, but I don't see anything for food yet! Call it 300 quid a month (I assume you have kids with you) and we're down to £400 available...

Phoenix Gas seems extortionate... unless you're paying off some arrears too? And Life insurance seems to be the only candidate for economy...

Interest on 35k will be at least 350 per month, I'd suspect. That leaves dangerously close to nothing to pay capital with.

Bankruptcy may just be the best option - it doesn't look like you have a bundle of assets to lose... what is it that's scaring you?
H

Debt_Free_Chick

wattodo wrote:

outgoings

mobile 21.00
bt 9.50
talk talk 20.00
electric 40
phoneix gas 95.00
net 15.00
life insurance 37.00
tv licence 10.00
car insurance 40.00
tax,petrol,etc 100
rent 45.00

Is that £50 for phones (mobile £21, BT £9.50, Talk Talk £2.00) AND £15 for the internet (net £15.00)

Why so much? You really can't afford £50 on phonecalls. And the rest of your budget is too vague - you really must have a specific budget for food/shopping, even if you go bankrupt.

The OR will want to see your SOA, so I suggest you refine it by keep posting here.

First off - tackle those phone costs :eek:

wattodo

Ohh yes,sorry,i did mix up on the rent,i entered it as weekly charge,its 4 times that per month

I am just scared as I dont like dealing with courts etc,but I suppose I will have to if I'm going to sort the mess out which I have made

wattodo

Yes,I have a contract mobile,£21 per month,pay line rental to bt and my talktalk bill is usually about 20

Then I have to pay 15.00 for my internet connection/usage

topherxp

You have to ask yourself do you need all this money going out on phone bills.

If your now out of the minimum term for your contract's you should look at cancelling them and going pay as you go.

You can do this for all the phone bill part except for the broadband.

You should change to PAYG for your mobile and BT also have a pay as you go landline service called pay and call, it's not compatable with broadband and you will still have the same line rental costs but you will have more control over what you spend on the phone.

Alternatively, if you are under contract with the broadband, you may want to have a look at changing from talk talk, to using skype on your PC, as this will save you more money.

wattodo

Hi,I'm under contract with my mobile,i cant change it

Ths would make little difference to my debt anyhow

Think I will just have to bite the bullet, #cringe#

Does anyone now how this will effect my other half,she's worried now if i go BR she'll be hit with the bills.

Annie_Fanny

Whattodo...

I think you should bite the bullet and at least give one of the guys below a call. As I understand it the initial call will be very brief but they will call you back in about a week for an indepth consultation. But remember you do not have to sign anything if you don't feel comfortable but you could just listen to the advise they give you, i.e they will be able to answer questions on how this will affect your partner. But I am sure they will be able to help and I am sure that calling them will give you some peace of mind.

Consumer Credit Counselling Service (aka CCCS)
Wade House
Merrion Centre
Leeds
LS2 8NG
Tel: 0800 138 1111
http://www.cccs.co.uk/

Payplan
Kempton House
Dysart Road
Grantham
Lincolnshire
NG31 7LE
Tel: 0800 917 7823
http://www.payplan.com/

Citizens Advice Bureau (aka CAB)
http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

Good luck! Thinking of you.

Annie

Debt_Free_Chick

wattodo wrote:

Hi,I'm under contract with my mobile,i cant change it

Ths would make little difference to my debt anyhow

OK, I'm going to talk tough now ...

This is exactly the kind of attitude that get's you into debt in the first place and is likely to keep you there.

Very few of us have an obvious big expense which, if we cut out, would make the difference between managing our monthly budget or not. The only viable option is to make small changes to a number of different expenses, so that those changes add up to a significant amount. You are looking at this as "only £21 a month" .... but add that to a tenner here and a fiver there and you can see that small adjustments everywhere could start to make a difference.

You need to think in terms of making small changes everywhere - there won't be "an obvious big change" you could make. If there were, it would have been obvious to you months ago.

You are still paying out £50 a month just for the phone. Why are you paying BT £20 for line rental, when BT Option 1 costs only £11 a month.

Are you sure that Talk Talk is the best tarriff for you? Check the tarriff BT Option 1 and see if some of those calls are cheaper than Talk Talk.

When does your mobile contract expire?

Even if you go bankrupt, you will still need a monthly budget - one where your outgoings will not exceed your income. You'll have no option as you won't be able to boost your income from credit.

Come on, get a grip!

Debt_Free_Chick

wattodo wrote:

Does anyone now how this will effect my other half,she's worried now if i go BR she'll be hit with the bills.

She won't be responsible for unsecured debt that's solely in your name ... but you still don't seem to have a budget, so she may find she has to start buying food!

You must have a budget. If you go to CCCS, Payplan or CAB the first thing they want to see is your budget - so you might as well get it in shape by posting it here

MCBIRNIE25

the phone saga,
if you are with talk talk, switch to the broadband line rental and free cals for £21 a month. Thats what I use.
Instant saving.