Sos - My dilemma

PatchHFX

Hello MSE posters! This is my first post on these forums and it is actualy with regard to my mum

I have a few issues with my bank as it is, but nothing i cant handle. I have actually posted here today because i live with my mum still ( 19 years old its not that bad!) and ever since i've remembered she has struggled with debt.

It is only since i became old enough to talk to her about it that i understand how much trouble shes in and it upsets the hell out of me because my earnings are pitifully small to help her cope with it. I really just want to get it sorted so she can live her life without the constant worry and sleepless nights she has endured since i was 10 or so.

I have two sisters, an older sister who is learning and physically disabled, and a younger sister who is 13 going on 18! In the same light as the above paragraph, my sisters depend on mum more than i do, and they shouldnt have to suffer anything because of mum not being able to afford lifes nicer amenities etc.

Sorry for the waste of space so far i'll get to the point now.

Funnily enough I have just got a job at a Halifax Agency (don't flame me too much >< ) and it was whilst sitting idle at work one day that i came across this absolutely mind blowingly informative and interesting site!

I have been trawling the different articles and threads every second i could, trying to find ways in which i can help my mum, or at least show her some of the suggestions and get her to allow me to post here with her details. She has now given me that authourity and i have been quite strict in getting her to give me every one of her debt amounts and outgoings etc.

The reason i am posting this here tonight is to see if any of you guys can give me advice on some of Martin's ideas, and possibly using mam's details to get a more personal answer.

Anyway, the ideas and articles that have most peaked my interest and apply to mum have been:
Reclaiming charges (she has been in debt and has had numerous charges for way over 6 years)
Banking - Finding a better current account before or after her debt has been paid to give her better rates of interest etc

Ok, i have been watching/asking for the last month or so, finding exactly how much is incoming and outgoing, i have since put it into a list with as much information as i can muster, here goes!

Monthly Incomings:
Her salary - £0(caring for my older sister is more than a full time job if anyone has disabled relatives will understand)
Benefits - £1,433.60
(Housing Benefit, Carers Allowance, Income Support, Daughter's Incapacity allowance and DLA, Child Benefit)
She doesn't have a partner, and my younger sisters father (my step dad) doesn't pay child support (going through divorce now, pretty rocky one!)
Son help with all! - £200(although if i have extra i give freely)
Total - £1,633.60

Monthly Outgoings:
Mortgage/Rent - £695
Council Tax - £nil (due to disability of my sister)
Gas - £40
Electric - £44
TV License - £26.30
Sky £15 (i dont really use this, im typically out with g/f/friends or on the comp, but my sister doesn't get much else to do all day at home and she likes watching her T.V! I wouldn't think mum would be thinking about giving it up for anything less at the moment)
Phone - £49.50 (includes Landline, Mobile and Broadband)
Food - £300(this is a rather vague figure, and was just left in there when using southernscouser's template. we dont tend to spend this much but budget for it anyway)
Car Insurance - £nil (DLA pays for all, with £75 excess. They also pay for MoT's and road tax)
Petrol - £80
Life Insurance £(none)
House Insurance £15
Water £50
Daughter School Bus £30
Debt Repayments £272
Total: £1,616.80

APR's are all currently at 0% (more detail hidden in the post somewhere, ill give you a thanks if you can find it :P)
Lloyds CC £4,507.66
MBNA CC £3,234.23
Littlewoods CC £3,558.09
Capital One CC £2,312.62
Sainsbury's CC £1,384.35
West Cot CS £2,106.25
Total £17,103.20
Overdraft (Natwest Advantage Gold) - £1,300 (at limit)

(using southernscousers template - i should just copy and paste that phrase i think (check my signature ))

Some information which will inevitably be useful :
Mum has battled with the credit card companies, using all manner of ways to batter them down to 0% on all cards for the next 6 months before they review.
She has been with the Natwest for donkeys years and is very apprehensive about the reclaiming charges procedure in case they close her account and demand her overdraft back ( i dont know if she'd get another account with any other bank with her credit score and especially not with a starting overdraft of nearly £1500) I believe she could get a few thousand of her debts doing this and i dont know what to suggest, if its too much risk or if its worth it.

If you have got this far, then congratulations, and go and get yourself a cup of tea or something to eat!

Any advice is absolutely 100% appreciated and i hope some of you out there share my concerns and can help me help her

regards,

Patrick

PeachPickle

Hi Patch, welcome to the site. I have to say, that's the most organised first post I've ever seen

I'm not much good with the advice, but I've a few questions:

1. Why's the tv license charge so high?
2. Ditto phone bill
3. Do you have the aprs of the debts? Is the £272 meeting the repayments on everything?

With regards to the bank account - has your mum tried to open another one as yet? Might be worth getting hold of a copy of her credit reports first, see what info they've got.

With the charges - what people are advised to do is open another bank account first just in case they close the one in question. Even if she can only get a basic account, you can get some pretty good ones. Have you read up about it all? Best site for that is https://www.consumeractiongroup.com

4. Have you/she read up about dmps and ivas?

Erm, that's me out. Finally, your mum's lucky to have you! Good luck x

Edit: sorry, just sunk in that your mum got them down to 0% on the cards. Sorry

chevalier

Hi there,
First of all welcome to the site. I can understand how difficult this must be, as my mum was in the same boat with me (though I am an only child). I have added some suggestions below to your list (in blue). But here are some other ideas as well
If your mum is going to get another account, the make sure that it is not tied to one of her creditors. I think the co-op do a basic bank account. Also Alliance and Leicester and Cahoot give you money back, especially if you sign up with them via Quidco (cash back site, just put Quidco into Google and it should come up).
Next is there anything you can sell on ebay, amazon, etc to raise some more cash. Basically if you haven't used it for a year then sell it!!!!:D I am just starting this as we are emigrating next year, and I am NOT carting the 'stuff' I have halfway round the world!
Have a look on https://www.freecycle.org for things you and your family need. You will have to joing you local group (which is free), plus all the things that are offered on there are free too, you just have to go and pick the item up.:D


Monthly Incomings:
My salary - £0(caring for my older sister is more than a full time job if anyone has disabled relatives will understand)I assume you mean your mums salary rather than yours?
Benefits - £1,433.60
(Housing Benefit, Carers Allowance, Income Support, Daughter's Incapacity allowance and DLA, Child Benefit)
Son help with all! - £200(although if i have extra i give freely)
You don't mention any male partner/parent, does he not pay anything towards your younger sister?
Total - £1,633.60

Monthly Outgoings:
Mortgage/Rent - £695
Council Tax - £nilIs this because of you disable sister?
Gas - £40
Electric - £44
TV License - £26.30 I only pay £11 something, is this too much?
Sky £15Can you get rid of this and get a freeview box? (See freecycle above you never know someone may have one looking for a new home...
Phone - £49.50Is this a mobile or landline. If landline does it include broadband? Otherwise this is very expensive.
Food - £300Even though there are 4 of you, this could be less. There are plenty of tips on the old style board not just for batch cooking, but, for instance, for ways of cleaning that use cheap things like vinegar instead of expensive cleaning products.
Car Insurance - £nil (DLA)
Petrol - £80
Life Insurance £(none)
House Insurance £15
Water £50
Daughter School Bus £30As you are on a low income, can you not get a bus pass paid for by the council?
Debt Repayments £272
There is no provision in here for servicing or MOT for the car.Is this also done via the DLA. Also nothing for birthdays, xmas etc (I save my £2 coins for this.:D As you can see from my sig it is going to be a cheap Christmas!
Total: £1,616.80

Lloyds CC £4,507.66 Could you find out the APR's for these as the general rule of thumb is to put all you can toward the debt with the highest APR, and then just min payments to the rest.
MBNA CC £3,234.23
Littlewoods CC £3,558.09
Capital One CC £2,312.62
Sainsbury's CC £1,384.35
West Cot CS £2,106.25
Total £17,103.20
Overdraft (Natwest Advantage Gold) - £1,300 (at limit)

You were saying that you could help out, could you perhaps get a second job, or are you helping your mum when you are not working. Also your younger sister, could also help out by doing a paper round or something?
Sorry it is long!

Best of luck
chev
Edit Yep me too I missed the bit about the )% apr on the cards. Doh

all_hours

Total income 1,633.60
Total outgoings 1,616.80
Balance 16.80

Does the 272 include any repayment to the OD?

You also need to include an allowance for special occasions such as christmas and birthdays.

She could open a basic bank account - the co-op have one where you just get a cash card.

Have a look at the snowball calculator to give a debt free date - very motivational

http://www.whatsthecost.com/snowball.aspx

all_hours

I also wondered about the TV - will that go down to £11 after 6 months?

jobbingmusician

I don't have much to add (a miracle!) except to say you're a star! :T and to wish you and the family the very very best.

JM x

Blade26

Hi Patch

I just wanted to offer you my support, I was in a similar situation with my Mum about 18 months ago, however we discovered her debts very much by accident - shocked, you better believe it. Anyway you may want to have a look through my thread - havent updated it for ages - as it might give you some ideas.

I need to find the link to post for you. Feel free to PM me if you like

Found it!!!

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=28471

Best of luck, and I will keep an eye on your thread.

Rachel
xxxx

fatbelly

As a broad summary, your mum is carrying 18.4k of debt while she's on income support. And her budget is only (precariously) balanced because you're chipping in £200 per month.

I think she should be looking at a debt management plan with cccs. Or possibly CAB if your local one is OK.

Either would recommend a new bank account as a first step, with all benefit income being transferred there.

I agree with the others - best first post I've seen recently :T

PatchHFX

Thanks alot for the input so far, after reading your replies i can see that i missed out on some vital info!

Mum has been onto the CCCS and CAB, they've done all they can and have helped somewhat, the information above is including this help they've supplied.
In regards to the T.V licence, we have just moved into a new place, so yes, hopefully it will go down after a few months. The phone bills are for mobile, landline and broadband.
She is currently going through a divorce with my step dad of 17 years. It was the partnership that first started the debt, and she has received the majority of debt because of things being left to her, in her name, or in houses that she has lived whilst they went through one of their many separations! Hoping this is the last!
There is no current repayment to the OD as this fluctuates when benefits are paid in. If there is anything left over (which there usually isn't) it stays on the account as emergency funds etc.
All the credit cards are at 0% as previously stated, although this wont last much longer if im not mistaken in my impressions of the said companies. Things like birthdays and christmas have been toned down alot as far as i can tell, from what i remember from previous years. My family is pretty close knit and birthdays tend to be mostly about family, not material goods

Has anyone else been through the processes of reclaiming charges? i have been through her statements with her and have so far found around £500 worth of back charges since 2002, not including interest. I'm wondering if it is possible to get these charges reclaimed and put them in a savings account for times of emergency, i can look through different savings accounts whilst working though, and will definitely read up on martin's articles on this topic! The man is a genius! (Does anyone know if he's married? :P Me mam isn't that old and i suppose i can deal with a new bloke in her life if hes the right sort!)

Again, thanks alot for your replies people, and i tend to be quite organised, apart from when it comes to money, i draw a blank there!!

Patrick

(P.s chevalier, i have read your post through and edited the first post, your input was an eye opener!)

all_hours

Have the cards been reduced to 0% because CAB or CCCS have intervened? If it is then the 0% should remain until she's paid off the debt.

If the interest is frozen - monthly repayments of 272 will pay off 18,403.20 in 67 months - this includes the overdraft.

PatchHFX

The CC companies were written to by mum but she used the CCCS templated letter apparently, but i've just found out that the 6mnths for review thing was actually started 6 monthsa ago, so theyre now up for review. MBNA have extended the 0% for another 6mnths, nothing from the others as of yet.

Patrick