I have not read any worse than this!

Mode1803

My situation has just worsened and I really can't take much more of this.

I have just been told that the £500 Tax Credits overpayment that I thought I had to pay (from when I was unemployed and then returned to work) is actually £5,500.

I am now paying that back at £100 per month for 5 years or something.

Before anyone says it I know that this again is probably my fault but I have to say that with all the crap you have to deal with when claiming while unemployed makes me think that I will not bother next time. Obviously I am hoping that I don't lose my job again. I told them i was back in work but apparently I had to tell two or three departments. They dont talk to each other, apart from it would seem, when they want money back from you.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

Mode

econnin

ahh, what a testament to the labour government's tax credits. Get your SOA on here asap. Don't be afraid - it's ok.

Mode1803

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax.....................3967
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits............................................134.8
Other income..................................... 0
Total monthly income.......................... 4101.8

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage.............................................450
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. ....667
Council tax (includes arrears payment)..... 327
Electricity............................. ..............150
Gas.....................................................95
Water rates......................................... 65
Telephone (land line)............................. 50
Mobile phone (wife pay as you go)........... 20
TV Licence.......................................... 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV................................. 32
Internet Services.................................. 36
Groceries etc. ..................................... 250
Clothing.............................................. 50
Petrol/diesel......................................... 200
Road tax.............................................. 25
Car Insurance....................................... 50 (we are not paying this monthly as it is paid as lump a while back)
Car maintenance (including MOT)............. 20
Car parking (travel to work- station)........ 100 (I am trying to park for free and walk to tube so this might go!)
Other travel (tube)............................... 150
Other child related expenses............ ......0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc)......... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills.......................... 12
Buildings/Contents insurance................. 45.26
Life assurance (both of us - 350k cover). 46
Presents (birthday, christmas etc).......... 0
Haircuts............................................ 10 (guess this is kind of amount to cover me, the wife and the kids)
Entertainment..................................... 150 (have no idea on this really)
Holiday............................................... 0
Emergency fund................................... 0
Barclays Premier Account Fee................ 11.5
Total monthly expenses........................ 3028.88


Assets
Cash................................................. 0
House value (Gross)............................ 450000
Shares and bonds............................... 0
Car(s).............................................. 16000
Other assets..................................... 0
Total Assets..................................... 466000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 353000....(450)......1.5
Secured Debt.................33000......(667)......5
Total secured & HP debts.386000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................9453......275.......31
Tax Credits Overpay.......5500......100........0
Travis Perkins................3800......150........0
Tax Man (next year).......7000......0...........0
Parents........................12000.....0...........0
Grandma.......................21500.....500.......0
Barclaycard...................1976......70.........25.99
Barclaycard...................1089......40.........25.99
Capital One...................470........70..........34
Next ............................708........70.........25.99
Total unsecured debts.....63,496....1275......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income............................. 4,101.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts)... 3,028.88
Available for debt repayments................. 1,072.92
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments........ 1,275
Amount short for making debt repayments. -207.08

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 466,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -386,000
Total Unsecured debt..................... -62,788
Net Assets................................... 17,212

Created using the SOA calculator at makesenseofcards
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Mode1803

Just editing and addign some notes! Dont read for 10 mins!!

All done methinks

bunny999

Mode1803 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 2

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax.....................3967
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits............................................134.8
Other income..................................... 0
Total monthly income.......................... 4101.8

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage.............................................450
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. ....667
Council tax (includes arrears payment)..... 327
Electricity............................. ..............150 very high
Gas.....................................................95 very high
Water rates......................................... 65
Telephone (land line)............................. 50
Mobile phone (wife pay as you go)........... 20
TV Licence.......................................... 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV................................. 32 get freeview ?
Internet Services.................................. 36 get cheaper deal
Groceries etc. ..................................... 250 could be cut
Clothing.............................................. 50 only buy what you need
Petrol/diesel......................................... 200
Road tax.............................................. 25
Car Insurance....................................... 50 (we are not paying this monthly as it is paid as lump a while back)
Car maintenance (including MOT)............. 20
Car parking (travel to work- station)........ 100 (I am trying to park for free and walk to tube so this might go!)
Other travel (tube)............................... 150
Other child related expenses............ ......0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc)......... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills.......................... 12
Buildings/Contents insurance................. 45.26
Life assurance (both of us - 350k cover). 46
Presents (birthday, christmas etc).......... 0 is this realistic ?
Haircuts............................................ 10 (guess this is kind of amount to cover me, the wife and the kids)
Entertainment..................................... 150 (have no idea on this really)
Holiday............................................... 0
Emergency fund................................... 0
Barclays Premier Account Fee................ 11.5
Total monthly expenses........................ 3028.88


Assets
Cash................................................. 0
House value (Gross)............................ 450000
Shares and bonds............................... 0
Car(s).............................................. 16000 get cheaper cars ?
Other assets..................................... 0
Total Assets..................................... 466000


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Mortgage...................... 353000....(450)......1.5
Secured Debt.................33000......(667)......5
Total secured & HP debts.386000....-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
MBNA...........................9453......275.......31
Tax Credits Overpay.......5500......100........0
Travis Perkins................3800......150........0
Tax Man (next year).......7000......0...........0
Parents........................12000.....0...........0
Grandma.......................21500.....500.......0
Barclaycard...................1976......70.........25.99
Barclaycard...................1089......40.........25.99
Capital One...................470........70..........34
Next ............................708........70.........25.99
Total unsecured debts.....63,496....1275......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income............................. 4,101.8
Expenses (including HP & secured debts)... 3,028.88
Available for debt repayments................. 1,072.92
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments........ 1,275
Amount short for making debt repayments. -207.08

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 466,000
Total HP & Secured debt................. -386,000
Total Unsecured debt..................... -62,788
Net Assets................................... 17,212

Created using the SOA calculator at makesenseofcards
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Do you need two cars ? Could your wife get a job ? Keep a spending diary. Try a switch some of your credit cards to cheaper deals

dancingfairy

You say your SOA is bad? To be honest I have actually seen some where people owe over 100k and are overspending by more than 1,000 a month - this is not to belittle your situation but to know that others have survived and conquered their debts and you can too.
Right I will go and have a look at your SOA.
Good Luck
df

dancingfairy

Your secured loan repayments/hp is very high - is that for hp or is that actually a secured loan.
Gas and elctricity seem very very high as well-250 a month?! I would have thought 100 a month would be more like it -turn eco warrier and see if you are on a decent tariff if not then it might be time to switch - have a look at Martins article (oh and make sure you get cashback for switching).
How much is your council tax normally and when will the arrears be paid off?
Travel is also very high.
My first thoughts would be:
1) to try and sell one car and get a cheap run around if neccesary
2) to maybe get a mortgage holiday for a while (obviously check out what the consequences of this are - I would hate you to loose your hand) hammer Next, Capital One and one of the Barclaycards - at the moment you are out by 207 a month so by doing this you would be overspending by less (the rest hopefully you can save from selling a car, cutting back on parking etc) and then you MAY possibly be offered a good balance transfer deal on them once the cards are cleared.
3) hopefully you will have your 2 free months of council tax next year which will be useful.
4) sell what you can to make a bit of money - old toys, household stuff etc
5) The only thing I'n not sure of is the taxman -I have no idea how easy it is to set up repayments with them and how much interest they charge - when is the bill due?
Oh - and have a look for Hypno's diaries - she has paid off a phenomenal amount and should give you inspiration and her situation was not dissimilar to yours - ie high income but high debts. Also Lemma's diary as she has a tax situation so she may be able to advise on dealing with them.
df

podperson

Mortgage.......................................... ...450
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. ....667
Council tax (includes arrears payment)..... 327 - when do your arrears finish? Is this over 10 or 12 months, can either spread out more or use the 2 free months to pay extra from the debts
Electricity............................. ..............150 - electric and gas are VERY high, compare suppliers and look at making sure things are switched off stand-by etc.
Gas............................................... ......95
Water rates......................................... 65
Telephone (land line)............................. 50 - very high
Mobile phone (wife pay as you go)........... 20 - does she need £20 a month on the phone if you have a landline and am assuming she's a stay at home mum since no income?
TV Licence.......................................... 12.12
Satellite/Cable TV................................. 32 -very high
Internet Services.................................. 36 - very high - can you look at getting a combined deal for phone line, tv and internet, you are paying £118 for all three when you could get a basic package for £30
Groceries etc. ..................................... 250 - not bad but could maybe be cut down a little, lots of good tips on the old style boards
Clothing.......................................... .... 50
Petrol/diesel......................................... 200
Road tax.............................................. 25
Car Insurance....................................... 50 (we are not paying this monthly as it is paid as lump a while back)
Car maintenance (including MOT)............. 20
Car parking (travel to work- station)........ 100 (I am trying to park for free and walk to tube so this might go!) - wow your work travel expenses are horrible! really hope you can get this cut down a bit
Other travel (tube)............................... 150
Other child related expenses............ ......0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc)......... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills.......................... 12
Buildings/Contents insurance................. 45.26
Life assurance (both of us - 350k cover). 46
Presents (birthday, christmas etc).......... 0
Haircuts.......................................... .. 10 (guess this is kind of amount to cover me, the wife and the kids)
Entertainment..................................... 150 (have no idea on this really) - know you say is an estimate but shouldn't be anywhere near this high, lots of free things can do with the kids
Holiday........................................... .... 0
Emergency fund................................... 0
Barclays Premier Account Fee................ 11.5 - can you get rid of this?
Total monthly expenses........................ 3028.8

Just some suggestions. As others have mentioned do you need the 2 cars, would there be any chance of your wife driving you to the station which would mean you wouldn't need the second car so much and would save on the parking?

Jessaranda

The main thing that jumps out at me is the car situation, if you're using your car as a station runner, does it need to be worth £8K?

Alternatively, can you get rid of the car completely and travel to the tube station by bus/train/bike/walk?

Mode1803

Some initial thoughts on the feedback so far.........

My travel to work - commute to London and this is very cheap as I drive 30 mins to nearest tube and avoid overland trains using Oyster instead. Parking just went up at the station by £2.80 per day (robbing !!!!!!!s!!) and I am now trying to find side-street to park for free. This will make a big difference.

Gas/Elec - Am with EDF but just did a quick uSwitch check and it would appear that I can save a !!!! load with EDF on a different plan - am going to call them in a minute!! If not will look to switch to E-on which was also cheaper - figured staying with EDF will be easier though.

Internet, TV and Phone - great idea - problem is i dont think I am in an area where we get cable and I am restricted on choice to BT I think. I am going to have a look at this though - Sky might even be cheaper for all three!! THANKS

Secured Loan - that is the secured loan payment and might look high as it does carry payment protection insurance with it. Not a lot I can do on that as don't really want to remove that cover as it has already saved me once!

Cars - I have an old car for the station run which is paid for an not worth selling. The wife does have a nice 1 year old car - borrowed cash from family for that and paying for that is included in the loans section - interest free. We could sell and get cheaper car and free up some cash but would be big sacrifice for the wife. I know this is obvious one and we may have to once we have come up with a plan over the next few weeks.

Balance transfers - cant do anything like that due to default on Barclays loan - am in dispute on that (see other thread and this link. This link has a letter I sent on it which gives all the details forums.all-about-debt.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=55&t=373

All for now and will update on these ideas!!!!!

Mode