Aint life a kick in the teeth

Gothicfairy

Short story shorter or longer depending on your point of view.

I was made redundant from a job I started in Feb 2008 last month and that meant a massive drop in the wages coming in but after speaking to the DWP etc thought I could manage"just" with JSA and hubbys wage ( full time for 17.5k per year)
That should have been for 6 months but I am applying for at least 3 jobs a day so something would have come along before that anyway.

I spoke to the CCCS as we have between us 13k of debt but were managing to make the required payments up to this point. We also have a mortgage with GE ( we didn't choose them, we were sold) which amounts to £741 per month.
The CCCS looked at it all and worked out a SOA based on me getting JSA and it came to £109 short per month so we had to do a minimum payment of £1 to everyone for 6 months when the JSA was due to run out etc

Well letter today to advise that I am not getting JSA as I have not made enough contributions end of year 04.04.08 and end of year 04.04.09. Of course not as I started in Feb 2008 but did work past end of year 04.04.10, they are not going to review it and because Hubby works full time they can not offer anything else.
There is no tax credits due either as they say I earned to much in April and May the tax year 2010- 2011

I have spoken to GE and there is nothing they will offer but might look at homeowners support if they feel that we are in need, even though to date we are not behind with any payments that clearly can not continue as how will we eat and live if we don't cut down something.

I have a car which is worth nothing more then £600 and I was hoping to keep it for the next couple of months as it means I can apply for jobs further away but that is not looking like a doer now.

I have nothing in savings and nothing really that I can sell (other then some clothes on ebay) I have nothing to cut down on as we cook all meals from scratch and everything is either market or own brands.

I really don't know what to do, I do not want to get behind on my debt and don't want to lose my house but I can not get blood out of a stone.

I will go back to the CCCS and advise of the change and will also apply to have the JSA re looked at but don't hold any hope based on what I have been told so far.

I don't owe the council anything or the gas/ electric or water yet and nothing is secured on the house but I really could just cry.

I am not even sure this is the right board but it is about me wanting to clear my debts the best way I can so I am hoping someone out there has some advice or information.

Thank you

Gothicfairy

Do I smell or something ?

Tixy

Hi

Thats really bad news about the JSA.

When did you originally speak to CCCS? and have you started making token payments to your creditors yet? or have you just managed to pay them the normal payments so far.
I understand that you don't want to get behind with payments but if you don't have any surplus money it does look like it might be the only option.
I would definitely push the mortgage company with regards to homeowner support.

I think as you say you probably need to go back to CCCS. Have you ever posted a statement of affairs on here? If not it might be worth putting one up just in case anyone can spot anything helpful.

EDIT - I had started this before your second post! I think the boards are quite quiet in terms of the people who generally post advice today.

Gothicfairy

Never posted a SOA here but CCCS have done one and I am below guidelines already with nothing to cut back on.

Due to the redundancy we are 1k a month short and that has left a deficit of just over £400.

We are paid up to the end of July and the paperwork is going to the CCCS for token payments this week as I have had to get it all together. Only been out of work 2 weeks so have tried to get it all sorted in a short amount of time.

I have set up a new account with co-op as we owe a credit card through our bank and they will not accept any lower payments then £83 per month ( we owe them just over 2k)

I am on hold to GE again as the cccs gave me advice about the homeowners mortgage support and how it should be done, seems GE have been misinforming me for a month but they still seem unwilling to give me any help or support.

I am going to get a copy of their complaints procedure as well

GeorgeUK

Do any of your cards or loans have PPI? Can you claim on this?

Gothicfairy

GeorgeUK wrote: »

Do any of your cards or loans have PPI? Can you claim on this?

A very good question and one I will be looking into this week.

Ta for the thought

DawnW

Gothic Fairy,
Sorry to hear about your situation, and good luck with the job hunt.

Just a small thing, but if you are not in debt with your electricity/gas, have you looked into changing suppliers lately? I hadn't for a couple of years, but recently looked into it because they sent me a letter saying that they were now going to put me on their standard tarriff (ie put the price up). According to the switching site, I can save over £160 per year even on what I was paying before. This will obviously lower my monthly repayments, and I will get £18 cash back from Quidco as well, for going through their site.

If you are interested I used Which (consumer Association) switching site, and the whole process just took a few minutes.

As I say, it is just a small thing in the greater scheme of things, but it really does all help.

Gothicfairy

Checked now and no PPI's Shame..
The idea of switching suppliers is a good one and I will check that out today. Thank you

I am also on the phone to the CCCS welfare team to see if they can come up with anything else I might be able to claim.

I am also going to write to my MP and vent my spleen about it being hard to get on benefits never mind off them..LOL I know it will not do any good but why should I work and pay into a system that gives me nothing.
I have not claimed any benefit since I was 17 and that was years ( and years) ago so surely I should be able to get something back.

Tixy

Hi

Have you looked at the info on the red tab at the top of the page reclaims £000s?
Might be worth checking this like council tax, any credit card charges, any mortgage exit fees etc.
Then take some time to look through all your expenses and look for cheaper suppliers etc. Gas & Elec is a good one, as is landline/broadband and paid TV (if you have it). Look for a combination deal on these and you can save quite a bit over the year (landline & broadband combined start from under £20 per month).
Then check any insurances you have/pay. People often shop around for car insurance but don't bother with house insurance and life insurance. For life insurance you don't even need to wait until renewal time.
These things might only be £5 here or there but several of them over a year can add up to a few hundred quid for exactly the same service.

lilian1977

Re switching suppliers, it might be worth finding out where your best deal would be and then going straight to them through Quidco - I recently got £130 from Scottish Power by doing this. Also could you switch your mobile? O2 Simplicity have great SIM only deals where you can get over £100 cashback to switch through Quidco.

They're only one off payments but might help a bit in the interim.

Gothicfairy

Well life just keeps getting worse don't it.

I have been told I need to sign on but that they are not going to give me any bus help, I can not afford to take the car as it would cost petrol I don't have and parking I can not find ( at least £2 per hour in town) I can not see how I can get there without some support. This all just seems so unfair.

Phones are in contract for another 7 months
phone/broadband/TV in contract for another 10 months
No home insurance at the moment (ran out and can not afford to renew anywhere)
life insurance is the cheapest going for us (£150,000 for £22.50 per month for 2 adults: ex smoker and over weight, plus family history of cancer)
Nothing available for council tax and fees that would be covered without closing the bank account and calling the debt due now and even then it would only amount to about £200 all in and the fight and time taken would not help right now I think.

Problem is , we were doing fine before I was made redundant so this is all new and shiny. I have left a message for my MP to see if she can help in anyway with getting the mortgage company to play ball with the homeowner support scheme.

Just hoping and praying for a job asap to end all this problems.


Thank you very much for all the advice and information, it all helps.