hello i am new

stubruscooby

hi everyone my name is stuart and i am new to the forums but i have been on the email list for while and always took advantage of the good offers

basicly i am here first of for some information and to give you guys a little info about me aswell and hope that i can find an answer

3 weeks ago i lost my job it was not until today (because i have a hard head) that i applied for jobseekers becuase i have no money left...at all

i have managed to cover my bills and debt for this month but next month is looking very unstable i have phoned the bank to inform them of my situation and got the answer of...oh well

this year was the year i wanted to clear all my debts and it started like this..oh the irony ...but ill give you all a rough outline of my debt its around £6k all put together and i have been struggleing the past 8 months too keep up with repayments in areas and overdrafts ect ect and has beenn pretty stressfull as you al know

and today someone mentiond to me about bankrupty and im not sure if it is a road i want to go down but its one of the options on my table

and never having been stuck in this kind of situation before i dont know what to do as it feels like im digging down instead of climbing out and im looking for any help or advice..anything would be good any kind of help at all

thank you all for reading and taking the time to reply

stuart

Tixy

Hi stuart and welcome

First you need to work out what benefits you will get and what are you essential outgoings for the month (and I'm not including debt repayments in essentials).

How long until you will get JSA? are you entitled to and have you applied for council tax benefit and housing benefit?

I would suggest you start completing a statement of affairs so you can see your fill financial position.

Whilst on benefits you are not going to be able to pay your unsecured debts any more than token payments. So when considering what way forward to take you obviously need to think about how long you might be unemployed for. I know its an impossible question in one sense but if you might be able to find work or temp work fairly quickly you strategy would be different that someone who might expect to be out of work for years.

Do you own your own property btw?

I would think your choices are likely to be between paying token payments whilst unemployed and then resuming repayment of your debts or considering a debt relief order or bankruptcy. You would need to look into whether you would qualify for a DRO.

I would suggest writing out a statement of affairs (http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html) and posting on here - so we can see the full extent and so we can suggest ways you can save money in your outgoings. Then once you have that you probably need some specialist advice from one of the debt charities, such as CCCS.

stubruscooby

hi and thanks for the welcome

im not sure how much i am entitled to yet as i just done it today and have a meeting on monday...i rent my flat and yes i filled out those forms also today so i hope i have coverd the base that will keep a roof over my head

as far as my loan goes i phoned the bank and they said i have no options and will keep raking up the over draughts ect....but for my loan is that not what i pay loan protection for?? if it is then why am i being told that there is no options

i am a full time chef and i have been doing very little part time where where i can get it for very little money but at least it keeps me alive (note water and dry pasta wont sustain you for long lol) i am looking for jobs every single day and there is nothing there right now i have a couple of very good opertunities but for how long i will be unemployed i have no idea i am very active to look for one i am out every day with my whites in my bag ready to start work RIGHT NOW

as for BR i have no idea how it works....i phoned BIA for information but i dont know what the down side to BR is i mean you cant just sling them £100 and your problems are solved..so i dont know about that area...as far as a breakdown goes ill do one and post it here

but thanks for the info and the welcome it is greatly received

RAS

Hi

You need a new basic bank account into which your benefits are paid. otherwise the bank to which you owe money will take your benefits to pay the loan and you will have no money for rent or food.

You need to find out how much the Local Housing Allowance is, as they is the maximum the Council will pay for your flat. Read you utility meters and if you are entitled to any rebate, claim it now.

stubruscooby

how do i read the meter

ill let you guys know now i have no idea how to do alot of this stuff ive had my head in the sand for a long time and its onnly today ive pulled it out

the bank idea is a good point and now ill have to change my bank details on monday with the meeting...as for the rent it is my understanding that it will be fully paid for....as for food...well its too late for that...i am getting some food in the part time kitchens i am working in but thats about it really

dollybeads

Hi there, just wanted to also say welcome, and to reiterate what Tixy has suggested re posting a SOA on here for others to have a look at.

I am no expert myself, but I have read many many stories on here of people who have been in what seems an impossible situation, and who have then been in contact with one of the Charities CCCS or payplan, and have managed to resolve things, and sleep at night again. It really can be done, but does take a little time and effort but is worth every bit of effort you put in.

Another thing you might like to do, is to set yourself up with a basic bank account somewhere that you do not owe money to. This is so that when you receive benefits, they can be paid into the new basic account and your current bank can't just help themselves to anything they are owed. If you ask for a basic account there should not be any credit checks for this, but do make sure you choose a bank that is not affialited with your current one, or they can take money out of that as well, if they are part of the same group.

Keep your chin up, it gets better bit by bit, and you will have tons of great support from the lovely DFWers on here.

Best wishes Dolly x

stubruscooby

thanks for te support dolly i will repost one soon but im not sure what the APR % is on my CC and my loan...also im with loyds TSB can anyone recomend a new bank acc?

stubruscooby

also i have an outstanding situation tha is not on the SOA basicly my father left my mother and all of us and because of this i took up the mantel of helpping my mother with bills and her mortgae ect what i can help with i will give her.....so this counts towards my outgoings also so where will i put this on the SOA

Tixy

You need a bank that isn't connected to anyone you owe money to currently. Who else do you owe?
Have a look at the tables on this link http://www.payplan.com/debt-news/2011/01/20/right-to-offset/ (thanks Fermi) and find one that you are not currently connected to.
Co-op cashminder and barclays basic accounts are popular (if you are not linked to either bank). Once you have the new account set up and your benefits being paid into there then we can tackle your creditors. Basically you'll be offering them a token payment of £1 per month to start with whilst you decide what is the right action for you to go forwards, but you cannot do that until you have a new account in place.

You say you paid for loan protection/PPI on the loan? can you find out the paperwork, I assume you haven't put in a claim yet?

Regarding the contribution you paid your mother - add it in as a seperate line for now as an average figure. You almost certainly won't be able to carry on doing this but put it in to start so we can see how things stand at the moment.

handyman123_2

stubruscooby wrote: »

how do i read the meter

ill let you guys know now i have no idea how to do alot of this stuff ive had my head in the sand for a long time and its onnly today ive pulled it out

the bank idea is a good point and now ill have to change my bank details on monday with the meeting...as for the rent it is my understanding that it will be fully paid for....as for food...well its too late for that...i am getting some food in the part time kitchens i am working in but thats about it really

Hi scooby, Some meters have a night and a day reading and a total, some only 1 reading. Gas meters normally only have one reading. Ignore the last or the red digit (these are 10ths of a unit and not required).

Any problems PM me. I am what it says on the tin, Regards the Handyman.:D

NewStart09

As you debt is less than £15k they would most likely place you on a debt repayment plan lasting up to 5 years, this is so you won't have to file bankrupt, not sure how that really works, I believe they freeze all your accounts negotiate interest rates, or even freeze them to allow you to clear your debt in the 5 year period.

Don't despair, your debt compared to others on this site is small, and with some budgeting and getting all your benefits, to help you from falling further into debt.

Keep you chin up. Look at the other posts on this site about earning extra money, some of them are quite good.

Getting yourself back in employment asap, good luck

NewStart09