Help and advice on my situation

AModernMyth

Hi I’m looking for some advice on my situation and how to deal with my debts. I’ve been reading this forum for a long time and finally feel brave enough to ask for help.
All of my unsecured debts are with debt collection agencies, they were originally credit cards that I stupidly ran up when I was 18 and carefree.
The HP is a car loan with Welcome finance (yeah stupid I know) and my last payment will be in February next year. The amount shown is the total owed including the front loaded interest.
My credit file is almost clear, it shows one default from Egg which was put on in September 2004.
My husband and I separated in May so I have claimed housing and council tax benefit which is now being paid. The tax credit claim is still not sorted and I have received no payments for over 3 weeks. The amounts in my SOA are estimates from entitled to.com. Hopefully I will get some back pay as I now owe the nursery £870 from the last 3 weeks.
My husband and I agreed that he would pay £30 per week into an account for me to buy things for the children when I need them but I haven’t seen a penny yet.
The calculator shows I should have over £200 per month left over when the tax credits are all sorted but I have started a spending diary to see if this really is the case.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated, I just want to clear my debts and be able to give my children a much better standard of living.
Thanks.
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 693
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 2013 (CTC, WTC, Child benefit)
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2706

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 224.8
Rent.................................... 0 (recently claimed Housing Benefit)
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0 (recently claimed council tax benefit)
Electricity............................. 51 (including gas with EON)
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 19.5 (metered)
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 40 (contract till Jan)
TV Licence.............................. 11.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 45 (Including cheap tv package, internet, landline with sky)
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 90 (including breakdown cover and contents insurance)
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 1256 (Will reduce in sept)
Other child related expenses............ 18 (Dinner money once a week, £1 a week preschool)
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 40
Fags.................................... 180 (yeah I know!!)
Total monthly expenses.................. 2425.67

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 3500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 3500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 2033.56..(224.8)....50%
Total secured & HP debts...... 2033.56

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Robinson Way...................1298.12...15........0
Cabot..........................180.......10........0
Newman.........................326.12....10........0
Total unsecured debts..........1804.24...35

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,706
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,425.67
Available for debt repayments........... 280.33
Monthly Unsecured debt repayments....... 35
Amount left after debt repayments....... 245.33

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 3,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -2,033.56
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,804.24
Net Assets.............................. -337.8

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

AModernMyth wrote: »

Electricity............................. 51 (including gas with EON)
Gas..................................... 0

Hi AModernMyth

Hope you don't mind, but thought I would just give you a quick heads up about your energy account.

Make sure you are on the best tariff for your circumstances. There are extra discounts available for paying by Direct Debit and managing your account online.

Also, check out the comparison sites. Pop your usage in kWh on to one of these to see all the options open to you, both with us and the other suppliers.

Please be aware, if you decide to switch supplier, we don't give discount on the final bill. Therefore, it would be best to time a switch away so as to lessen the impact of this.

Another way of saving money on your utility bills is by cutting back on the amount of energy you are actually using. We can help with this, too.

Give our Energy Efficiency team a call. Tell them all the appliances you are using and they will advise of ways you may be able to cut back.

Ask for a copy of a booklet called '100 ways to save money by saving energy.' It's free and contains lots of useful tips.

Check out our website, particularly the interactive house. Lots more info there about ways of becoming energy efficient.

Give me a shout if you need any more details AModernMyth as will be happy to help. Hope you find this useful and good luck with the savings.

Malc

Tixy

Hi and welcome

AModernMyth wrote: »

My husband and I agreed that he would pay £30 per week into an account for me to buy things for the children when I need them but I haven’t seen a penny yet. how long have you been waiting for this? have you chased him if you are able? are you looking at getting proper maintenance via CSA?
The calculator shows I should have over £200 per month left over when the tax credits are all sorted but I have started a spending diary to see if this really is the case. good idea
Any advice will be greatly appreciated, I just want to clear my debts and be able to give my children a much better standard of living.
Thanks.
Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 693
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 2013 (CTC, WTC, Child benefit)
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2706

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 224.8
Rent.................................... 0 (recently claimed Housing Benefit) (just to check this benefit isn't included in the 2013 above it is?)
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0 (recently claimed council tax benefit) (and this one?)
Electricity............................. 51 (including gas with EON) as malc says check you are on the best tariff (and also check which supplier is cheapest for you using a comparison site - sorry malc)
Gas..................................... 0
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 19.5 (metered)
Telephone (land line)................... 0
Mobile phone............................ 40 (contract till Jan) will they let you drop a tariff in the meantime, some will, or might when you get a bit nearer Jan)
TV Licence.............................. 11.37
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 45 (Including cheap tv package, internet, landline with sky) not bad as you get all 3 from them (if you were struggling you could consider ditching and just getting a combined landline/broadband for about £20.
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 200
Clothing................................ 30
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 90 (including breakdown cover and contents insurance) ooo this still looks high even with those included. When is it due for renewal? do see how much cheaper seperate deals might be (contents in can be got for less than £10 per month often)
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10 is this sufficent? servicing, MOT, new tyres and similar?
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 1256 (Will reduce in sept) will your benefits also drop?
Other child related expenses............ 18 (Dinner money once a week, £1 a week preschool)
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 40
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 40
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 40
Fags.................................... 180 (yeah I know!!) try cutting down (or of course stopping), have you tried rollups which should work out cheaper.
Total monthly expenses.................. 2425.67

Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 3500
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 3500

Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 0........(0)........0
Hire Purchase (HP) debt ...... 2033.56..(224.8)....50% evil welcome. How long left?
Welcome are I think accepting low F&F offers for people who can afford a lump sum, but I can't see how you could take advantage of this (a 0% card would be the solution but it doesn't look like you would get one with the default and debts with debt collectors etc)
Total secured & HP debts...... 2033.56

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Robinson Way...................1298.12...15........0
Cabot..........................180.......10........0
Newman.........................326.12....10........0
Are you in a formal DMP? or have you arranged these direct with the DCAs? Have they all stopped interest & charges?
Total unsecured debts..........1804.24...35

Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,706
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,425.67
Available for debt repayments........... 280.33
Monthly Unsecured debt repayments....... 35
Amount left after debt repayments....... 245.33 this is good if you have it, hopefully your spending diary will tell you. Even better if OH starts contributing in some way.

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 3,500
Total HP & Secured debt................. -2,033.56
Total Unsecured debt.................... -1,804.24
Net Assets.............................. -337.8

Your costs don't look too bad overall (well aside from the childcare which seems very high to me but I expect might be fairly normal?).
Could you increase the hours you work at all - without increasing your childcare?

AModernMyth

Hiya, thanks for all the advice.

Tixy to answer some of your questions;

I've only been waiting 3 weeks for my husband to pay. He says he will when he gets himself sorted but was trying to avoid the CSA route even though I know I could get more money.

The housing and council tax benefit are not included in the benefit total.

The gas and electric I will look into cheaper alternatives, I don't think I use that much.

The mobile I am allowed to change the tarrif in september and will be doing, i hardly use it.

Car insurance. Well when my husband left he got his own car and took his 7 years no claims discount with him. So I have had to start again with no no claims. My mom is a manager at swinton and searched for hours to get me a cheaper deal but this is all she can find and it is with direct line.

I know I need to stop the smoking, I've done it before and I can do it again. Its just all the stress from the marriage and dealing with the kids has made me smoke more. I need to get myself down the doctors!

The nursery is a huge cost but is pretty standard for the hours I need. The tax credits will cover it when they come through. This does include my 6 year old to go full time during school hols and also my 3 year old to go full time when pre schoool is shut.
In september I'll only be paying for my little one to go 3 days a week and the other 2 to go during the holidays so the cost will drastically drop, but then so will the tax credits. Although I will be better off.

When the tax credits get sorted I think I'll get around £500 after paying the arrears from nursery. I'm not sure whether to clear this from the balance on the car so the payments will then finish in december instead of february. Or I could use it to pay off the 2 smallest unsecured debts.

Tixy

Sounds like you will be just about okay with things. I'll have a dig around and see if anyone has posted recently about welcome accepting less than 50% F&Fs. At one point they were desperate for people to settle but that was a few months ago and I'm not sure if it is still the case.

They may not with yours as its due to finish fairly soon and you haven't defaulted but was wondering if you used the £500 and then a month's surplus showing of £240 odd whether they would be an outside chance they may consider settling with your for that sort of figure. Which would obviously put you in a much more comfortable position.

Will see if I can find anything to suggest they might (don't get your hopes up yet though!).

Tixy

I can't see anything about recent welcome settlements, only people saying they are still in trouble. I know some people have said they have settled for around 50% earlier this year.

It might be something you want to look at doing if you could get a lump sum together to offer a full & final settlement - if you can and do want to do this then have a read of this so you understand how they work - http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/factsheet.php?page=24_full_and_final_settlement_offers

First you would need to ring them for a settlement figure (you might also want to sound them out if they would be likely to accept less - just to give you an idea). Then you would write to offer whatever you could afford using the template letter - its usually advised to add a date your offer is valid for on the letter (say 2weeks from when you write) so that they don't mess your around for ages.