I need some guidance ASAP please!

WilmarieG

I've worked us into a situation that I don't know how to get out of.

We're from South Africa and have been in the UK since 2006. My husband had a work permit through a company in Wales and we were very happy. Then the company went into administration and he had no salary for 2 months. Debt built and everything spun completely out of control. I got a loan through Tesco Loans to consolidate all of our debts and it got us back on our feet for the time being.

We've recently had to move to South East London due to my husbands work and I consequently gave up my job in Wales.

So we moved and my husband has still not had the time to go to the bank or phone HMRC to change his address over. Which means I am the only one registered on this address.

To do the move we had quite a few out of pocket expenses and I seriously thought I would get back into work within the first month, so it will be OK, our credit card has a 56 day interest free period, so no problem.

But for 3 months I have been looking for work and getting absolutely no where. So again the debt has started building beyond my control.

We have an overdraft and Credit Card with HSBC, both over the limit at this stage and no money to pay them anything. They keep calling me everyday and I am so scared that they will sue me or something soon, because I'm just avoiding them at the moment.

I phoned HSBC 2 months ago to explain everything and they were very understanding and said that they would treat it as a loan with less interest. Then 2 days later they phoned and the woman actually said that I have to borrow the money somewhere else and pay my overdraft!! I went in to the branch as well to ask for help and they were also very nice, going over every detail, sure that they could help me with something. Then all of a sudden the woman said, sorry, can't help you and you can't apply for a further overdraft or anything for the next 6 months with us. "Bye." Now every month they are charging me around 50 on interest and then an extra 25 as an informal overdraft arrangement fee and they also send a letter to let me know all of this and then charge me a further 15 as admin fee. All of this I then pay interest on the following month!!

Started accounts with Barclays, but they will not give us overdrafts or credit cards. Our credit scores are not very good because of this whole chain of events. But all my direct debits are moved over to Barclays, so HSBC is basically just a money pit on the side.

I haven't missed payments yet, the ones I did miss I paid within the next week and did apologise, so there has not been any problems with regard to that. But because there is still no money coming in and my husbands salary is just a little bit too little, the small amount I put on the side to cover the time I didn't work, is now gone and we are screwed. I even sold my laptop last week for groceries.

I have tried to apply for balance transfer credit cards for myself and my husband, but no luck.

So I have nowhere to go and nothing to use. If I don't get work before the end of the month things are going to go seriously wrong!

I can't go on benefits because I am South African, which means that I can't get council tax credits or anything like that either. I did try, thinking maybe, but no luck.

And please don't think I sit on my bum doing nothing all day. I do close to 50 job applications a day and I've been out for a few interviews as well, but don't get very far. I've just had an interview this morning and was so positive. Then the woman asked for 45.00 as payment for a CRB Certificate. OK, have to do it, so paid, and then she said it will take 8 weeks to clear. She'll give me a call then. )=

I don't know what to do anymore and the scariest for me at the moment - my husband knows we are in debt, but he will go absolutely mental if he knows exactly what the situation is with the credit scores and all of that. If I explain to him it will just cost me more sleep.

Please help, I'm on here everyday and try to apply all the things other people suggest, but I seem to have come to a dead end.

Please help!

RAS

Hi

The starting point is the numbers, so can you full in a Statement of Affairs here http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

You will need a basic bank account. So the first thing is have you shifted your income intot he new account ot protect it from off-setting (when the bank nab your salary to pay your debts)?

What if anything do you have that you no longer use? Can you sell any of it at a car boot sale, on e-bbay or amazon?

As the dependent of a WP holder, there are no restrictions on your employment as far as I recall? I appreciate that you need a job but these are pretty tight for everyone. Have you been in to see people in agencies? My experience of these is that they will say the y will call and you hear nothing. You pretty much have to ring them up until it becomes less hassle to get you a job than to keep getting the calls.

WilmarieG

Here is my SOA in case any wants to see that to help. I've called every single one of our suppliers to ask for reductions or cancellation, but they are all in contract and are on the lowest possible charges. The insurance for everything has almost doubled because of the move, but car and house insurance is expiring in 3 months and then that will go down again.

BT is also high, because my husband was looking for work for a while and was calling during the day. It built up an overdraft with them, which we've paid, but they want to make sure that we don't build up an overdraft again, so they said they will have to charge 30 for the next 2 months.

Tesco will not increase our loan amount for a further 3 months, they need 8 payments in a row.

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1900
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1900

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 402
Rent.................................... 750
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 160
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 60
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 45
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 18
Internet Services....................... 14.99
Groceries etc. ......................... 260
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 100
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 30
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 45
Life assurance ......................... 25
Other insurance......................... 8
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2205.11


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4200
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 4200


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Secured Debt.................. 8750.....(402)......9.99
Total secured & HP debts...... 8750......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................1150......20........29.9
Overdraft......................1750......180.......29.9
Total unsecured debts..........2900......200.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,900
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,205.11
Available for debt repayments........... -305.11
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 200
Amount short for making debt repayments. -505.11

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 4,200
Total HP & Secured debt................. -8,750
Total Unsecured debt.................... -2,900
Net Assets.............................. -7,450

RAS

Got to go dso a few quick comments

WilmarieG wrote: »

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1900
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1900

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 402 ouch
Rent.................................... 750
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 160
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 60
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 45
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 18 - get rid ASAP
Internet Services....................... 14.99
Groceries etc. ......................... 260 - this is high for two people. You need to halve it. Go over to the old stlye money saving forum for help
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 100 - are all teh journeys necessary?
Road tax................................ 0 - you need to pay this
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 100
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 30 - this is very high?
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 45 - this is high but maybe that is London?
Life assurance ......................... 25 - do you need this and so much?
Other insurance......................... 8
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2205.11


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4200
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 4200


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Secured Debt.................. 8750.....(402)......9.99
Total secured & HP debts...... 8750......-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Credit Card....................1150......20........29.9
Overdraft......................1750......180.......29.9
Total unsecured debts..........2900......200.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,900
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,205.11
Available for debt repayments........... -305.11
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 200
Amount short for making debt repayments. -505.11

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 4,200
Total HP & Secured debt................. -8,750
Total Unsecured debt.................... -2,900
Net Assets.............................. -7,450

WilmarieG

Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 402 ouch - I know it's a lot, but it's over 2 years only and for a total of 8750 - we can't do less because they don't want the loan to go further than our VISA allowance. We will get indefinite leave in 2 years, but Tesco can't take that risk, which is understandable.
Rent.................................... 750
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 160
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 60
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 45
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 18 - get rid ASAP - Contract, but I've reduced it to the smallest available package - just the entertainment package
Internet Services....................... 14.99
Groceries etc. ......................... 260 - this is high for two people. You need to halve it. Go over to the old stlye money saving forum for help - This is for two people and a big dog. The dogs food is 100 a month. I've already cut the whole amount down a lot.
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 100 - are all teh journeys necessary? - This is maximum, this month we got by with just one tank, which was 50.
Road tax................................ 0 - you need to pay this - My road tax is up to date until January. My MOT and service is due though, which is about 150 altogether
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 100
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 30 - this is very high? - My husband has really bad sight, so this is for his contact lenses and optician visits. It will be lower if he wears monthly lenses, but he did this for a while and kept getting eye infections. His eyes are very sensitive.
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 45 - this is high but maybe that is London? - London unfortunately, but it will go down again in 3 months time when it renews.
Life assurance ......................... 25 - do you need this and so much? - This is for my husband and myself together and covers disability and death. We need this because if anything were to happen to him, I would need to pay off everything here and leave the country within 1month.
Other insurance......................... 8
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 2205.11

fatbelly

Unless I'm misreading things the Tesco loan is not a secured loan. You are in rented accomodation. The Tesco loan is unsecured. Therefore it goes in with the other unsecured debts and £402 comes out of your monthly expenditure.

You now have £100 per month available for your unsecured debts and can do a debt management plan via CCCS, Payplan etc.

WilmarieG

OK, sorry, I did that wrong. So here is the updated SOA:

Household Information[/b]
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 0
Partners monthly income after tax....... 1900
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1900

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 750
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 160
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 45
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 60
Telephone (land line)................... 30
Mobile phone............................ 45
TV Licence.............................. 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 18
Internet Services....................... 14.99
Groceries etc. ......................... 260
Clothing................................ 0
Petrol/diesel........................... 100
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 60
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 100
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 30
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 10
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 45
Life assurance ......................... 25
Other insurance......................... 8
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
(Unnamed monthly expense)............... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1803.11


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 4200
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 4200

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Tesco Loan.....................8750......402.......9.99
HSBC Credit Card...............1150......20........29.9
HSBC Overdraft.................1750......180.......29.9
Total unsecured debts..........11650.....602.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,900
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,803.11
Available for debt repayments........... 96.89
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 602
Amount short for making debt repayments. -505.11

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 4,200
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -11,650
Net Assets.............................. -7,450

I am so scared of going into CCCS or Payplan. The majority of the job interviews I am going for are Government jobs and they all ask whether I have CCJs or are in any debt management plans. Will this not affect me negatively in some way?

WilmarieG

OK, so I've taken the plunge. I phoned Payplan today and they are assessing my case.
I must say it does make you feel so stupid when you discuss all of this with someone else.
Listing my debts and outgoings and everything so openly makes you realise how much you owe, how much you spend, etc etc etc.

I just hope that they put me onto a DMP and not an IVA or something else, because like I said, I'm applying for jobs that require CRB clearance, and I think that an IVA will show and I might be disqualified based on that.

So, fingers crossed they come back to me soon and I can start the first step towards clearing my debts.

Thanks to everyone who did help so far, I was under the impression that DMPs were something you paid for, never knew I could get the service for free through a company like PayPlan. It's a relief to know that someone else will be going through this with me, step-by-step.

Soubrette

Why is your dog food costing £100 per month - is s/he on a special diet?

Sou

WilmarieG

It's a big dog and he is on a special diet as well. I've put him onto cheaper foods and he eats anything, so has no problems, but he has a sensitive stomach and starts throwing up. I'm currently incorporating a few other things into his diet, so that I can feed him less pellets - my husband buys a loaf of bread a week but never really eats all of it and I don't eat bread, so I've started giving the dog a slice in the morning and a little bit of rice or pasta in the evening with his dinner - if we have that with our meal.

To give you an example of his stomach sensitivity, I gave him a slice of bread with marmite on the other morning and he was throwing up the whole day. Apparently food allergies are common with this breed of dog.

d3mon4ngel

WilmarieG wrote: »

To give you an example of his stomach sensitivity, I gave him a slice of bread with marmite on the other morning and he was throwing up the whole day.

In all fairness, if you gave this to me, I'd probably be throwing up all day too ;)

Avoid giving him strong tasting things like that, and could you not try him on dry food and mix in some pasta to bulk it up a bit? I've not got much experience with dogs who are sensitive like that, all the dogs my dad has had have eaten pretty much anything available lol