Newbie just called CCCS got appointment 5th Sept

masueuk

AA loan 17965
northern rock 29964
Barclaycard 7356
Cahoot 10855
MBNA 12972
Total 79112

Plus mortgage with One account which has just under 60,000 to be paid by 2021. I am just about on plan with that.

I am a long term sick (due to depression and anxiety) ex consultant who is trying to either get back to work with my employers (not happening quickly) or get them to make me redundant.

Income
Salary £1070pm
Incapacity ben: 347pm
total 1417

Outgoings (I am going to start a breakdown of costs diary, so this will get more detailed) but they have been over the past three months an average of £1570 on direct debits and standing orders of which £645 is on the loans and £110 on credit cards (OH pays £250 a month on MBNA from business) On top of that there is petrol of about £140 a month, we each have a an old car and his kids are 80 miles away, food and household items of about £350 a month and possibly about £500 a year on clothing and shoes. We hardly go out, maybe the theatre locally three times a year at £25 a time and meals would be 6 times a year about £25 also. I take quite a few prescriptions drugs so have a prepayment cert at £34.95 a quarter.

I live with my fiance (its my house), we started a new capentry business last year. Before that he was unemployed and getting no benefits when he moved in with me. I can feel the eyes being raised now, so if you arent apologies. We went through a period of looking at what we could do for the future and getting into debt on this scale wasnt on the list of viable options but we have, so its time to face up to reality as this is making both of us ill. He had a terrible credit rating previously. I always paid loans off, never had a problem getting credit if I needed it, but now, no one will lend me more, which is a good thing really. We have three dogs, one who is mine from puppyhood and needs a fair bit spent on treatments (swimming once a week which seems extravagant but its what has kept him healthy this long, if you had a disabled kid you would understand and the swimming is cheaper than the alternative drug treatments), an inherited 14.5 yr old lab from grandma who gets all vet bills paid by rescue charity and my OH dog who is on therapy which can cost £300 a year. We are both working like nuts just to keep the business going, it is just about managing to pay its bills every month, but with noting left over to pay us, its been me who has kept us going until now by borrowing (never been a problem before so it came easy). I am 47 and feel like jumping off a tall building. I am so utterly ashamed of myself and cant feel enthused about anything anymore. We want to get married but how could I enjoy it if its only adding to the debt problem. We go to the local dump and get things for a few pounds to sell on ebay but that isnt going to make a dent in the debt.

I called CCCS to make an appointment which is on 5 September. They told me to contact my creditors asap to let them know I have done this, but I am so scared of what to say, should I write ? if so what ? should I contact mortgage lender first then the others? I will only get one chance not to f**k this up more.

I had a flexible loan with cahoot which was at £6355 but I took out an extra £4500 to put into the One Account as that is the one I just cant bear to have go wrong and this is now ahead of plan. I am so close to just walking out of life, losing my home would be the final nail, so I will do anything not to have that happen. Thank god for the internet and people like you. We had three weddings to go to this summer (his mum had two ceremonies !!) so some of the outgoings are very untypical. I shouldnt bleat about how bad my life is as I put myself here despite knowing it was wrong.

I am with a man I love dearly, who is trying his hardest to work to make things better for our future but I have a huge fear that if he gets ill we will be in an even worse position. Self employed, no insurance for illness as we just couldnt afford it.

I know there will be tons I should have said, detailed info, but really I just needed to offload here for a while. I've sat trying to work out a way to get clear of this hellish mess. If it was legal to bury someone in the garden I would probably do myself in as that the only thing we could afford, but as it isnt legal I guess I best call an end to my pity party, ask for help and get on with sorting the mess out.

Thanks for listening

masueuk

tyllwyd

I'm sorry to hear that you have had such a tough time.

I've never been through this process, but something I noticed is that you have a One account, so your current account is linked to your mortgage debt. From what I've seen on the board, the advice seems to be to get a new current account that isn't with any bank that is connected to one where you have a debt. I'm not sure how it would work for you, so maybe that is something to look into before you write to anyone?

Floss

:hello: Take a look at SS's sticky here,

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280

and you may want to re-do your SOA (statement of affairs) so it can be looked at without the text. Then some of the other DFW's can take a lok for you & point out any possible savings.

Welcome to DFW - we're very nice, honest! We won't judge you, just try & help

spud30

No raised eyes here love :beer:

Have a look at Southern Scousers post for first timers and get yourself a statement of affairs, listing everything you spend money on each month.

Post it on here and the resident experts will go through it with a fine tooth comb and see where you could cut back and save a bit :T

APRs on your debts would also help.

Anyway, welcome to DFW. A quick word of warning, this place is addictive, but you'll get all the help and support you need to get through this.

We even have some CCCS staff that post with really good help and hints , so we have inside help.

I am in the early stages of a DMP with CCCS, and so are quite a a few others, we are all in the same boat :rolleyes:

Stick around :grouphug:

Janey51

Hi. Welcome to MSE. So much of your story is like mine and my husbands. We decided to give up the battle trying to stay one step ahead of our debts and contacted CCCS in December.
I won't lie and say that the first few weeks are easy because its really hard until CCCS get you sorted. But they will!
At the moment you sound very confused. Please don't be ashamed that you are in this position. Life sometmes deals us a hard line but be proud that you are facing up to things.
Lots of more experienced posters will be along to give you advice but I just wanted to say you are not the only one.
My husband tried to set up his own business but had to call it a day and now he's lost 3 jobs in 2 years. But he's away for another interview today.
The best thing we did was change our phone number to stop the calls from creditors.
Whatever you decide, good luck:A .

masueuk

OK, got some real figures to add to the ones from earlier.... hey its even worse than I thought, but assuming someone wants to pay me at least £55k a year then all my problems will be..... nope sorry I nearly went into a spin there. After the replies earlier I spent a good couple of hours crying my eyes out, mostly because everyone was so nice to me, not that I want to get shouted at (I am doing that enough anyway). Basically I have found out I live the champagne lifestyle on a drought ridden income, so even if I manage to get help to manage the debts, I have to make big big changes to my budgetting. I used the budget planner to get the figures below, there might well be things I have left out. I havent yet got all of the APR figures but the Cahoot loan is at 5.8% plus insurance, Northern Rock and AA are total repayment figures so nothing extra on them. Barclaycard and MBNA I have asked to give me the APR's. I have yet to contact any of them to say I am disappearing down the plughole. One thing which I didnt say, my OH and I have a business which I own the majority of equity in (95%). It is in year 2 and still just paying its own bills but nothing left for salaries, maybe the odd cup of coffee if we are at an event. The start up costs were huge, but on the basis that most new businesses dont make money for a few years, I dont want to wind it up and have yet another major failure when the work is always there. Oh and the other big thing is our gas boiler died and the replacement cost is between £2000 and £5000 (BGas).
This whole thing is pretty scary, as someone who struggles with mental health issues at the best of times, this is making me flip from suicidal to euphoric unreality that a few emails later all will be well.... please, if there is a god, let this have an ending which I can live with. Anyway... the figures

Income
Salary £1070pm
Incapacity ben: 347pm
total £1417

Expenditure £2943.22 made up of

Mortgage / Rent £310.00 varies depending on borrowing total, as at £65k
Buildings & Contents Insurance £41.97 legal and general
Council Tax £105.00
Water Rates / Meter £20.97
Electricity Bill £55.00 Dual energy
Home Phone Bill £50.15 ntl
Internet Bill £9.99 ntl
Mobile Phone Bill(s) £70.89 mostly business related calls vodafone
garage £35.93 needed for work car and storage
Mortgage Payment Insurance £40.32
Mortgage Term Assurance £64.06
Pet Insurance £49.95
Gas & Plumbing Cover £7.31
Other Insurance £17.44 loan insurance for northern rock
Food & Household Shopping £433.00
Eating Out £15.00
Coffee / Sandwiches Out £5.00
Pet Food £75.00 3 dogs, two big ones
Drinks for Home £10.00
Other Eats, Drinks & Smokes £20.00 no smokes though, both of us quit 3 years ago.
Car Maintainence £10.00
Car Insurance £73.76 Class 2 for work car plus old car of mine
Car Tax £18.33
Parking £5.00
Petrol / Diesel / Gas £125.00 mostly work running
Personal Loan Repayments £537.34
Credit Card Repayments £110.00 does not include MBNA which OH pays from business.
Other Loan Repayments £30.00
Children's Travel £150.00 OH daughters live 70 plus miles away
Hobbies £5.00
Pet Costs £52.00
Big Days Out £20.00
Book / Music / Films / Games £10.00
Cinema / Theatre Trips £12.00
TV Licence £11.00
Cost of Christmas £33.33
Cost of Winter Holiday £25.00 week in UK
Cost of Summer Holiday £25.00 week in UK
Cost of Birthdays £20.00
New Clothes £41.67
New Childrens Clothes £17.00
Work Clothes £20.00
Your Courses £20.00
Regular Charity Donations £4.66
Newspapers / Magazines £12.99
Dentistry £3.33
Haircuts £4.16
Optical Bills £4.17
Complimentary Therapies £23.00 Sports Physio for OH who has real problems with joints

linniestorm

masueuk wrote:

Income
Salary £1070pm
Incapacity ben: 347pm
total £1417

Expenditure £2943.22 made up of

Mortgage / Rent £310.00 varies depending on borrowing total, as at £65k
Buildings & Contents Insurance £41.97 legal and general
Council Tax £105.00
Water Rates / Meter £20.97
Electricity Bill £55.00 Dual energy
Home Phone Bill £50.15 ntl
Internet Bill £9.99 ntl Maybe you could ring ntl, saying you want to leave cause your package for internet and home phone isn't very competitive and see what they can do, you can often get a package for around £30, are you still in a contract with them?
Mobile Phone Bill(s) £70.89 mostly business related calls vodafone Could you look at moving the package to a cheaper monthly rate with more freebie minutes to try and soak up some of this expenditure? Again, depending on if/how long contract is, sometimes ringing up and wanting to leave, especially if you've been spending regularly will make them offer you a better deal!
Food & Household Shopping £433.00 Maybe stop by the MoneySaving Old style board and join in the grocery challenge on this board to bring this down? How many is it for as its doesn't include pet food which I see detailed below. If its for two a bit high!
Eating Out £15.00
Coffee / Sandwiches Out £5.00 Try and cut down on eating out! I struggle with this one, know its hard but make up some sandwiches at home, miles cheaper!
Regular Charity Donations £4.66 Hate to say it, I know how important it is to me as well as other people, but may have to go until you're back on an even keel!
Newspapers / Magazines £12.99 Again, is this essential at the minute? Can you borrow from a friend/the library until you have the spare cash to properly afford it again?
Complimentary Therapies £23.00 Sports Physio for OH who has real problems with joints I'm a qualified Indian Head Masseuse, though I haven't set up on my own yet. One of the things we were told to consider was discounts for block bookings to encourage repeat business. Has your OH asked about this? Might be worth doing if he's going frequently! You never know, you don't ask you don't get!! Or is there chance of seeing someone on the NHS by getting a referral from his GP/Practice Nurse?

That's all I can see in the way of suggestions at the moment, I've cut out all your other listed outgoings so I don't take up a whole page for just a couple of comments!! Sure other people will have loads more ideas for you!!! Welcome though, glad you've joined us and good luck!!

linniestorm

masueuk wrote:

Other Insurance £17.44 loan insurance for northern rock

Hmm. Is this loan in your name or your OHs?? If it's in your OH's and he is self employed do your t's and c's of your PPI at Northern rock cover you in case of emergency?? Sometimes they don't cover self employed people, so may be worth checking as that would be a thing to cancel if it doesn't! I know Northern Rock's tactics, they nearly had my mum in tears trying to hard sell her PPI on a loan (which she didn't take in the end due to their particular brand of 'customer service'!)

If when you took the loan out they were aware that the only employment was self employment and it wouldn't be covered and they sold it to you anyway, you might have grounds for claiming it was mis sold and you could try and get a refund on what you've already paid. I've only heard about this being a possibility though so don't quote me! Someone else will be able to clarify!

If you do go for it in terms of challenging it, I'd keep it in writing, a written record is always better and it's far less stressful than trying to sort over the phone, where there's no record anyway. I always write now (and send recorded delivery if I think they won't like the contents!) it's much better and I get to censor myself more easily than speaking with them over the phone!

masueuk

All of the loans are in my name, the insurance is a stand alone policy with one of the companies Martin recommended, not the Northern Rock one.

masueuk

Thanks to all the kind words and useful advice. Been busy all morning on this. Barclaycard were pleasant, took CCCS number and said they wouldnt freeze interest or enter a DMP before October at earliest, but didnt make me feel like dirt.

One account were the nicest, said that doing this was a good thing, to call back after CCCS meeting and see what they can do to help, they didnt stop the account, thank heavens, dont know what I would do if that happens. I emphasised that I will do all in my power to keep that one on the right side of the line.

Called MBNA, got a really rude South African man who tried to make me cry, "why are you in this mess, what did you do to get yourself in it" maybe he trained at Robin Island... but I just repeated that CCCS had told me to get in touch when I was still able to make minimum payments but that they were going to be involved and this is the ref number so please could he record it on the account. He took delight in telling me we couldnt use it... like I would want to. Well... I can only hope the Karma gods get him.

When on to One Account I cancelled all the charity and all bar one of the magazine subs (its a trade one for the business). I havent yet cancelled Which.. does anyone know of a cheap legal service, we have used Which legal a few times in past 2 years and very helpful. Overall, I cut out 33.53 per month and 67.45 on annual DDs.

Also cancelled one of the dog insurances, it takes up to a year to pay and even then the excess is 35%.... if you wonder which one it is, its the middle two letters of the opposite of heaven... see I didnt actually name and shame them in public but many vets list pets as uninsured if they are with that company. OH had her with them before we met... silly boy. She will just have to take her chances, so if anyone wants a small black dog, let me know.

I tried to get ntl to move but they wouldnt, so have signed up to First Telecom to get a little box and will move back to 321 on ntl as talk 24 didnt deliver the savings it suggested it would.

I stupidly wrote this on a quick reply and for some reason it disappeared... so had to recreate it.... will save this to word and copy back if needed I think.