fighting on .. but is it worth it?

stevieb1

ok ... ive tried my best to sort things out on my own steam, but i seem to be getting nowhere fast.
admittedly i have rung the cccs but my circumstances where completely different then ... ie no income at all. since then i have perservered.

brief overview.

i am self employed, And have a ltd company.
my ex had debts at high rates of interest, at the time it seemed a sensible option to switch her debts onto my credit cards thus saving overall ..
as she didnt work, all the household expenses/running costs came out of my wages, the child tax, working tax elements basically paid for food, and her weekly nights out ..

a few months later we split up, my working hours being a reason, alongside finances etc etc.

i borrowed some money off of an aunt, and took a mortgage out .. all on paper i could afford it all, the running costs of the new house where identical to the running costs of the old house, so all should be well.......

and things where well for the first 6 months .. some people moved into my house bills run up out of control, they left, the bottom fell out of the market, my ltd company ceased trading, but stayed registered so that the "small" debt could be repaid.

i then unfortunately put my back out, which resulted in me not being able to work at all, after 2 months of no income (was adamant that i was going to be back working within a month) i conceded that i needed to contact the DWP ... and CCCS.
the DWP sent me a mass of forms etc etc.
the CCCS after a long discussion with them, recommended i went bankrupt.
personal pride got in the way, i tried claiming on the ppi .. but got told no by _ALL_ the companies. and before i could appeal the accounts had been closed and passed onto debt collection agencies.
including my bank accounts being closed.

i managed to "delay" things with the creditors, and after almost a year i went back to work, within a week of going back the mortgage company took me to court.
8 months have now passed since that date, and i was getting on "ok" .. but in the last 2 months things have suddenly spiralled to the point my outgoings are significantly higher than my incomings, and i am now feeling the pressure.

from where i am sitting the only option i can see now is bankruptcy, which after paying back what i have done so far is heartbreaking, but before i rush into anything i would like some outside help if possible.
because im working away from home for this month, i havent got _exact_ figures to hand, but have rough figures as a guide, so can fill in a SOA now

thank you in advance for any help/butt kicking

miggy

Hi Stevie,
I'm not the one with expertise but I'm bumping your post in the hope that some of the clever people will be along, as there are some very knowledgeable people round here who have a lot to offer.
If you don't get any more replies tonight - well, nothing's going to change before the morning anyway so just reply to this again and there should be someone along. Meanwhile don't stay up fretting, try to get some rest and you will be in a better position to deal with it all.
Wishing you all the best with it, there will be a way through, there always is, and someone here can help you find what's best to do.

Mrs_Jojo

No butt kicking on these boards Stevie, cleveer people will be along to help :-)

Post that SOA if you can, it will help people to help you.

stevieb1

the basics as i said that i have to hand.

debts....
Aunt 24400 assorted credit cards with debt collectors
8000 mortgage (5200 is arrears)
gas electric
156000
3000
mother 200 accountant 550 assorted loans with debt collectors
7000
4400
car loan



LTD company stuff
bank
1510 fines 8000

monthly outgoings excluding food/petrol etc.

mortgage 1000 council tax 150 gas/electric 138 sky 48 bt 45 water 39 phone 90 cc payments to debt agencies
5 account 8 maintenance 150 car 200 tv licence 13 insurance 59


1945

BT is out of contract this month so will be going, sky has about a month left in contract, the phones *mobiles* are still well in contract end of this year, and middle of next year on them.
council tax has one payment left of _last_ years then onto this years.

my income ranges from 1200 to 3000 a month GROSS, sadly its not set in stone as to the hours im clocking in, im trying to average it out at 65 @ £8 an hour.

hope this helps

tbourner

That post is very confusing!!

Can you fill in an actual SOA from this thread:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/107280
It gives you the option to copy the text in a forum friendly format then.

Otherwise put your info into Courier New font

Like this:

[noparse]
---heading1

---

heading2

---

heading3
----£500

---

£600

---

£200---
[/noparse]

That makes it a bit more understandable.

podperson

Hi Stevie,

If you could use the template for the SOA would be a bit easier to read and would also suggest putting everything in it including food/travel and any other expenses for you know exactly what you have coming out every month.
I really symphasise as I had my own business a few years and is really hard work trying to do a budget when you are on a constantly changing income
Can I ask what has changed recently that has made your incomings more than your outgoings? Is this a temporary problem or something that is more likely to be long term?
I would suggest for a start putting the credit cards on a minimum token payment, say £1 a month, as well as looking into claiming any charges back on them (I am currently doing this and am hoping will take a big chunk out of the balance). Lots of information on this in the forums. Yes the debt collection agencies may whinge about it but you really need to be focusing on the high priority debts like your mortgage.
Just to clarify, do you have two houses at the moment since one used to have tenants in it? If so what is happening with the second one, is it currently on the market or trying to be rented out? If your former tenants racked up a lot of bills is there any chance of tracking them down to try and claim some back of them, small claims courts can be quite good for things like that.

Ellieseleven

Just wanted to say Hi, Stevie - can't really offer any advice but we are in a similar position with my OH self-employed and trying to sort out the mess without going onto DMP etc. but it's so hard and we will probably have to admit defeat soon!

stevieb1

My salary - between 1200 and 3000 four weekly gross
other income lodger - £220 four weekly

Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage/Rent - £1000
Council Tax - £150
Gas /electric- £138
TV License - £13
Sky £48
BT Phone - £45
Car Insurance - £48
mobiles - £90
sky insurance - £11
account - £8
water - £39
cc payments to debt agencies - £5
maintenance - £150
Car loan - £200

Total: £1945

arrears

mortgage - £ 5200
aunt - £24400
mother - £200
gas/electric - £3000
accountant - £550
assorted loans - £11000
assorted credit cards - £8000

Ltd company stuff

bank - £1510
fines - £8000

BT is out of contract this month so will be going, sky has about a month left in contract, the phones *mobiles* are still well in contract end of this year, and middle of next year on them.
council tax has one payment left of _last_ years then onto this years.

my apologies on my first attempt .. it "looked" correct as i was posting. maybe next time i should use preview

stevieb1

podperson wrote: »

Hi Stevie,

If you could use the template for the SOA would be a bit easier to read and would also suggest putting everything in it including food/travel and any other expenses for you know exactly what you have coming out every month.
I really symphasise as I had my own business a few years and is really hard work trying to do a budget when you are on a constantly changing income
Can I ask what has changed recently that has made your incomings more than your outgoings? Is this a temporary problem or something that is more likely to be long term?
I would suggest for a start putting the credit cards on a minimum token payment, say £1 a month, as well as looking into claiming any charges back on them (I am currently doing this and am hoping will take a big chunk out of the balance). Lots of information on this in the forums. Yes the debt collection agencies may whinge about it but you really need to be focusing on the high priority debts like your mortgage.
Just to clarify, do you have two houses at the moment since one used to have tenants in it? If so what is happening with the second one, is it currently on the market or trying to be rented out? If your former tenants racked up a lot of bills is there any chance of tracking them down to try and claim some back of them, small claims courts can be quite good for things like that.

only the one house, i moved back in when i was off sick, as it was standing empty, its currently about 30k negative equity
ive looked at selling it which is a no go as the area its in, is very slow moving 5 people down my road have gone bankrupt this year already, hence i have a lodger.
as i said in my first post im now at my wits end with it all

Happytogetdebtfree

Hi and welcome.. i dont know what to suggest really, are all the debts enforcable ? maybe someone like never in doubt will know he has a thread on enfocability etc etc .... if this is an option look into .... if not you may have to consider bankruptcy or get more work.... the thing is if you owe your family i dont know if they will be considered in any of the cash... i wish you all the best x

Happytogetdebtfree

See this thread: Unenforceability & Template Letters IV