what to do??? urgent help needed.

dancingfairy

Write a complaint letter to the bank - explain you are in hardship and it's only 12p over. See what they say but do complain in writing.
df

jojane25

have just rung the bank as even though sent a letter to them yesterday with a plea to reduce payments and our SOA i thought i should get the ball rolling as quickly as possible. i spoke to someone in money management financial difficulties team and explained we needed to reduce our loan repayments to £100 a month and his reply was;
they wont consider reduceing payments until we have defaulted on 2 payments
the bank wont cancel the loan standing order so he suggests we take out all our money when the payment is due so it can be paid and assures me we wont get any charges
the bank wont consider a repayment change unless it comes from someone like cccs or citizens advice.

it just seems so stupid that we have to default etc and involve months of stress and worry as well as other organisations (who would be better used for people in worse situations who need more help than us) as well as countless phonecalls and letters to and from the bank when a simple discussion and agreement to reduce payments for a short while would rectify the situation!!!

churchrat

hello--just wanted to say that I remember these feelings so well. The sleep robbinggutwrenchingheartstopping worry that simply overwhelmes any coherent thought. However, there are options open to you. What the others have said on here is good advice. I would follow what they have suggested.
1--open a new account to get your money paid into and do it quickly. I think that the co-op are a good bet.
2--stop paying the phones and get cheap sim cards for payasyougo.
3--stop paying the loan
4--be prepared for some really nasty phone calls from the bank and phone company.( tell them you will only communicate in writing, letters about this are on here)
6--get back on here for advice on how to deal with number 5!!

I know it looks bleak right now but you can get out of this. You and your family are worth so much more than money. And big congatulations on baby number three. My third was a big surprise as well, years after number two, and he has been a delight (well, not every day, but near enough!!)

let us know how you get on

churchrat

jojane25

our current bank IS the co-op!!!!!
any ideas on other banks that will open an account with bad credit?

jojane25

we have been reducing contracts by a fiver when we are allowed to

jojane25

just rung internet banking and they have informed me that if there isnt enough money in bank account o pay a standing order they will charge £20 so person i spoke to in money managemnt lied to me by saying we wouldnt get charged. so instead of a simple reducing of our payments for a few months the bank are telling us to default on our payments and rack up charges for doing so!!!!!

LittleMoog

jojane25 wrote: »

our current bank IS the co-op!!!!!
any ideas on other banks that will open an account with bad credit?

I think Barclays are also recommended, if you don't have any other debts with them. Make sure to specifically ask for the basic account with no overdraft facility.

jojane25

ok, i emailed my husband at work to tell him the 'advice' the bank had given me, he was annoyed so rang up himself and was given the same advice, anyway after him insisting on talking to a supervisor/escalating the complaint they then offered him a loan over 3 years paying £163 a month (5868 in total), we had 14 months left on the exsisting loan paying £360 a month (5040 in total) so we will be paying back more money but wont rack up charges etc that defaulting etc will create (plus the months of hassle, phonecalls and stress).
what do you think we should do? she said as its internal we wont have to do a credit check, it would reduce our payments enough to enable us to live. or is it better that we default and enter a repayment agreement that way?

RAS

Hi

There are almost a hundred basic bank accounts that you can get. Just it has to be someone to whom you do not owe any money.

sp1987

Have you asked if sky offers broadband in your area? It's completely free if you are on sky talk if I remember correctly. You seem to be paying bt for a landline, someone for broadband, then someone else for phone and someone else for tv. Aside from wanting to keep sky tv, you may aswell get as much as u can free with it. What sky packages are you on for £21? Can you just buy one channel pack for you and one for kids? Might save a few pounds.

My rent is about the same as yours and council tax is a few pounds less. I think it is the bank loan/car finance/mobiles that are crippling you as the rest of the numbers looked familiar to me. £360+£127+£65 a month is a lot to shell out every single month outside living costs. Is the car worth much, could you get a cheaper one?

Food is a priority over your bank loan, they'll just have to lump it. If you both starve then they won't be getting their £360 for long!

Post up a proper SOA, get some advice from people here/ring someone like CCCS and find out how much of the loan you can afford to pay, and offer that. By offer I mean, tell them you are able to pay that much, and pay it.

You rent and have no major assets, so they can't really do much to claw it back any quicker than you are able to pay it.

You really don't need to be going mad with worry if you are pregnant. You are able to pay rent, council tax, heating, food, petrol/car for work without a problem on your wages. That is a far better state than a lot of people are in (not playing down your situation, just trying to cheer you up!). The rest that you can pay people comes out of what you have left, and really, they will just have to lump it.

Pay your bills in order of priority (ones to keep you alive and in a home come first, then ones to get to work....then everything else).

As someone said, some bank clerk isn't going to wet themselves with fear that you are underpaying your loan.