A complete mess

Hax

Things that stand out to me are:

Electricity............................. 40
Gas..................................... 60

These seem quite high - have you shopped around for the cheapest deal?

Mobile phone............................ 50

This is very high and a luxury you really can not afford.

Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 172
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 4

Your car expenses total £336 per month and you haven't factored in ANY maintenance there - you will eventually need tyres - at least! That's almost a third of your income going on just running your car - again, it's a luxury that you simply can't afford - especially as you aren't making payments towards the car itself!

Can you use public transport to get to work? Or cycle? I know that 15 miles is a reasonable distance but it's not completely ludicrous

As for not being able to afford council tax, this is classed as a priority debt and must be paid.

Is your partner claiming ALL the benefits they are entitled to?

It may be worth you contacting one of the debt charities (CCCS or National Debtline) or CAB for advice.

Good luck sorting all of this out - hope you find a solution!

Ames

I can understand you not wanting your partner to pay your debts, but she should be paying a share of the bills (and that's speaking as someone on benefits).

I agree with Hax about your utilities, they seem really high, as does the mobile.

iregretitall

Petrol/diesel........................... 150 - This is already at a minimum, there is no local bus stop to where I work. I already leave the house at 7:30am to get here for 8:30am. I really doubt I can cycle down 4 motorways to work

Road tax................................ 10

Car Insurance........................... 172 - My car is a 1.1 and insurance is this high due to points that have now come off license but where on there when i started the policy. I only have 1 years NCD, would adding my girlfriend that has 6 years NCD reduce the premium ??

Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 4 - this £4 is just for the MOT.

Mobile phone............................ 50 - I am stuck at this rate for another year. The line rental is £45 a month but sometimes I make tohe odd call out of my allowance. I'll speak to T-Mobile at lunchtime today to see if they can reduce it to the £35 a month version but as its a iPhone tarriff last time i asked they said no we cant.

The electrcity is done via pre-pay meter and we put in about £8 - £10 a week, this may be higher as my partner is always at home.

The gas I have not had a bill for yet and I assumed would be equal to the electric , but then as its winter i added £20 on top of that.

With my partners OCD this involves things like not being able to go to bed until she has "shut down" the kitchen/livingroom by putting everything away etc. . making sure things are tidy and lined up etc . . if i go to bed before her it stresses her out. I find i usually get to bed at about 12 midnight and if I was to cycle I would have to get up at about 4 or 5 am and leave at 6:30am probably to get here for 8:15am. Im struggling with the extra time taken to get to work at the moment and need at least 6 or 7 hours seep in between nights.

Pernicious

If the points have come off can't you call your insurer & inform them of this & see if they will reduce your monthly payments slightly?

You can also try comparison sites to enter in your new details & play around with a few different options (adding your partner on for example) & see what comes out cheaper.

Without meaning to offend, how is your partner paying for her car at the moment & does she actually need it if she's stuck in the house all day due to OCD & anxiety? Or when you say she has 6 years NCD do you mean she used to have a car but not anymore? It's just if she's not able to use it she could sell it & save a lot of money there to help out with bills.

I'm sure if you tell T mobile you're struggling to keep up with the payments they will drop you down, surely they'd rather have a regular £35 incoming then nothing.

I think you need to have a chat with your partner about that last part of your last post - if she can start "shutting down" an hour earlier, it would help you tremendously as you can get an extra hours sleep, from there again you can put it forward another hour or so until you are getting enough sleep. I understand she has to do this before bed & if it helps her to have you around to do that, then I think the least she could do is put it forward a bit to help you out.

Hax

In light of what you say above, it doesn't look like you have any areas you can cut back with your spending. The biggest problem you have is your outgoings exceed your income - and that's BEFORE you factor in paying off your debts.

Do you have any relatives you could move in with until you get yourself sorted? You could save some (if not all) of your rental payments then.

You need to seek professional advice from one of the debt help charities - they should be able to advise you of your best course of action - be it a payment plan (although you don't seem to have any money available for one) or going bankrupt.

Whatever you do, you need to get it sorted out fast - especially with a little one on the way!

MrsTinks

Ok bud this is going to sound harsh... but most of your replies are just excuses... The good folks have pointed things out and you are merely returning with reasons for why you can't - not "I don't think I can but you know what? I'll call them and ask and really put some effort in trying it anyway!"
Your car insurance is insane! If the points have come off that should help and adding your GF as a named driver may help too. Shop around for car insurance and see what happens. Failing that... moped! yes it's freezing , yes it's cold - but you CAN NOT afford a car right now!
If your GF is not working she should be on benefits - THAT money needs to go into the pot and be put towards bills.
You say you haven't been together long enough to want to ask her for help with the debts - but you have obviously been together long enough to start a family - that means one way or another you have to pull together and deal with this!
And your GF needs to see her GP... is her midwife aware of her OCD and the severity of it? If she can't deal with you going to bed before her I can categorically promise you that when the baby comes along things are going to get rough!
Also if she's home all day then she can cook everything from scratch - that means groceries can drop to £100 per month for both of you!

Your situation is not impossible - but BOTH of you have got to face up to this - you have a child on the way which means that you have a whole bunch of new expenses about to be added to things... babies are not cheap I'm afraid! I know you can bring them up on a budget but if they need formula that's £8 per box, nappies, wipes, clothes etc... it adds up...

If you don't believe what the good people here are telling you then listen to one of the free debt charities in my signature...

Deal with this before the baby comes along - you want to enjoy the baby when it arrives, not be worrying with how to provide the basics or if the bailiffs will come knocking any day now...

Ellabelle

Hello. Right I think I can help. Don't panic, with a bit of effort this can be sorted out.

Yes I agree that cycling down 4 motorways is possibly not sensible. I would have got myself run over in a week if that was me!

Firstly please don't be scared of your creditors. I have 5 and they hardly ever bother me anymore. You just have to deal with them in the right way and pay them what you can (but no more). Unsecured creditors (not secured on property you own) can do very little to harm your situation. More on this in my next post.

step 1) You do need to register yourself for council tax me thinks, as if you get caught, the absaloutly worst case senario is they put you in prison for willfull non payment (This is hugely unlikely, but possible). This is why its called a 'priority payment'.

Step 2) Then next you need to find the money from somewhere else to pay for the council tax. First off I would sugest stop paying your mobile phone bill. You really can't afford it from the looks of your SOA. This then becomes a 'non-priority debt' so you don't need to worry about the magistrates court as this is a civil matter unlike the council tax.

If your phone is unlocked get a pay as you go sim (from a different phone company to your current one might make things easier) and pop it in your phone. If not get a cheap basic mobile (mine cost £5, yes that's £5! from the car-phone warehouse). Don't spend more than £10, you won't have to. Then try to keep to a top-up of £10 - £15 per month. You have saved £35 - £40 per month on 'step 2'.

step 3) Are you or your partner entitled to some benefits your not getting? www.entitledto.co.uk is a great website. Pop your details and circumstances into the form and it will tell you if there are any benefits your missing out on. If there are, apply for them.

step 4)What is the court payment for? On your income it sounds alot. You could apply to the court for the court order to be 'varied'. You could get your payment down considerably I imagine if your circumstances have changed alot (it sounds like they have) since the court order was made. You will need to fill in some forms, ask the county court. I think there is a fee of £35 for this but if you are on benefits or a low income you can apply for this to be waived.

Right thats to be going on with! There are more 'steps' to come.

Eb. xx.

iregretitall

My partner had an old R reg car and this failed its MOT about a month ago and is ready to be scrapped as its not worth anything, this has not been put back on the road. She has 6 years NCD from that car . . if she doesnt have a car of her own can she be added to my car as a named driver ?? or does she have to have her own car that is insured for this to be the case.


Hello Ellabelle,

The court cost was £150 a month, i called them yesterday and they have reduced it to £100 a month. They said as it was ordered by crown court they can not lower it any more.

Niv

You can add her as a named driver. She does not need her own car.

Ellabelle

Oh My! Have just typed out all the other 'step's and my computer crashed!

Will do it again, bare with me!