NOt been this low before

andymc29

You'll be okay, the best advice is being honest with your family at all times. Don't try to save face by pretending everything's fine. For all you know your parents will offer to help you out.

I actually moved home to clear my debts, this may not be an option for you but you have to avoid getting CCJ's and DCA coming after you at all costs.

sickasachip13

We're involved with DCAs and they've accepted our DMP that we've set up with CCCS. I was made redundant and it was horrible, I felt so embarrassed and scared of these companies as well. But they're accepting £5 per month on some pretty significant debts.

Don't let the situation swamp you. You'll feel so much better as you start tackling it - you did well using Payplan and trying previously, now is the time to re-engage with this process. Can you go back to Payplan for advice as to what to do next?

This must feel like a horrifically large problem at the moment but there are ways forward xxx

bargainbetty

Ben,

I know my mother (lost my dad many years ago sadly) would be more angry about me hiding it from her and making it worse than finding out I was having a problem. I've been made redundant before, and she was the first one helping me celebrate the end of a job I hated, and worrying for me while I got myself sorted. She calls it being 'financially embarrassed' and offered all sorts of help, from advising me on household savings, to looking at job opportunities in the papers for me, to treating me to a cheap pub lunch when I was down.

Your dad no doubt loves you and will be worried. Tell him what is going on, and let him be your dad.

Good luck x

BenS1

well guys and girls,
I just rang my dad. I'm actually fuming with a DCA!

I've managed to find some work, but it's not contracted. I started work last Tuesday, doing 4 hours a evening. I've just finished a 7 hour shift, and got the same to do tomorrow. I do get a bonus for it, but for the project I'm doing it's an extra 50p! I've hit the bonus for the last 3 days! We get paid every friday, and I was hoping to get paid yesterday but I can't until next friday as I can't get paid for work I hadn't done yet. I got £4 in my pocket to last me the weekend, until Monday when partner comes back. I'm even walking to work to save money since it's a 30 minute walk.

So, I have Metropolitan Collection Services on me looking for just under £2000 (I didn't ask the actual amount but that's what he said). To make things worse, apparently family are thinking of selling the house and decided to send all my post back. They think that this will affect the credit rating of the house although I tried to tell them it's personal and won't affect anyone but me. My dad said that after the surveyors go around the property, they do a credit check so that's why they sent it all away.

My dad texted me today, saying that I had 2 debt collectors looking for me and went to the family house and that incensed me! I found this out in the middle of my shift, and it wasn't exactly good to know that when your working! But what I don't understand is that I was trying to get charges back when I was unemployed, which are about £400 all together.

Surely they can't do that when I was trying to get charges back? All banks are con artists, I put in £180 over 3 months when I was at a previous job to try and put my account back within my overdraft limit, only for most of that to be eaten up by the interest. They didn't mention interest still being charged when I agreed £60 a month on the phone, through they said no bank charges.

Partner has gone away for the weekend for a friend's engagement, and I've been trying to get enough money to pop the question to her!

dancingfairy

Ben - a couple of thoughts from me:
1) You seem to be trying to manage this all on your own without much of a plan? I suggest you get some impartial advice from one of the debt charities and they will probably suggest a payment plan and help you set one up. At the end of the day you have your important bills to pay - rent/mortgage, electric, gas, food , council tax - that sort of thing. The companies you owe money to may jump up and down and huff and puff and threaten this that and the other but paying your priority bills is more important and the debt collectors will have to have a share of what's left whether they like it or not.
2) I suggest you send your creditors a letter with your address on it and get them to contact you only in writing - it's not really fair for debt collectors to be visiting your family home, although you can send the debt collectors a letter saying you will do not give them permission to visit you at home and you will basically send them away with a flea in their ear if they bother trying to turn up- but do it though your own address so they can at least write to you so you know what's going on - last thing you want is a court document going to your parents house and them returning it and you not knowing about a court hearing or anything.
3) I don't know whether you have told your girlfriend of your problems but it might be wise just to let her know that you are currently struggling a bit due to having been out of work which she should understand - even if you don't share the amount you owe - if she knows that you are getting help and sorting it she should respect you.
4) I suggest you change bank account and get your new salary paid into their - at least then you can ensure your money goes to the most important bills first and isn't swallowed up in bank charges. Ditch your old bank account and they can have a share of what you have spare each month rather than holding you to ransom and taking all your wages to pay their charges.
Best of Luck with everything.
df

barbiedoll

Hi Ben

It sounds as though this is all getting on top of you and I can see why!

First of all, tell your dad that under no circumstances will your debt problems affect any credit search done on him or any other member of your family (unless you have a joint account or any shared financial products with them.)

As dancing fairy said, write to all of your creditors telling them where you live now. You cannot run away from this BUT..you can begin to deal with it. Open a basic bank account as soon as you can, you should be able to do this online. Many MSEers recommend the Co-op cashbuilder, but all of the major banks offer these type of accounts. There are no overdraft facilities, you will get a visa card but no credit account of any kind. Write to your current bank stating that you are in financial difficulties and that you cannot afford to repay your overdraft at present but you are willing to pay x amount each month. Ask them to freeze the interest and charges, if you don't ask, you won't get. (Although this will be easier if you use the services of one of the free DMP companies, many people do manage to do this themselves.)

The DCA's coming round to your dad's place are easy to deal with. Send them a copy of this letter...

Dear Sirs,

Account No: XXXXXXXX

Please be advised that I will only communicate with you in writing. I have noted your repeated attempts to contact me over the past few weeks and these have been duly logged by time and date. Should it be your intention to arrange a doorstep visit, please be advised that under OFT rules, you can only visit me at my home if you make an appointment and I have no wish to make such an appointment with you.

There is an implied license under English Common Law for people to be able to visit me on my property without express permission; the postman and people asking for directions etc (Armstrong v Sheppard & Short Ltd [1959] 2 QB 384. per Lord Evershed M.R.). Therefore take note that I revoke license under Common Law for you, or your representatives to visit me at my property and, if you do so, you will be liable to damages for a tort of trespass and action will be taken, including but not limited to, police attendance.

Yours faithfully



Don't sign it, just print your name. Send it by recorded delivery and keep a copy. Don't phone any DCA, or collections department, you will end up agreeing to a payment plan which they will then deny all knowledge of when they hassle you later on for more cash.

Could you post up your SOA? Or at least some details of what you owe and to whom? We can help you to sort out how much you need to pay, there are also legal requirements that DCA's have to comply with, we may be able to help you to complain about some of this harassment.

Being in debt and being made redundant is not something that you should feel ashamed about. Most of us on here have had to deal with similar issues, you really aren't alone. Talk to your girlfriend about this, it's not fair to propose to her then land all this in her lap after she has said yes!
Good luck, let us know if you need any more help.

BenS1

How do I do a SOA?

I already got a basic account, which I got when I first tried claiming back charges. I did it just in case HBSC decided to close my account as a penalty for claiming charges. I think I read that in Martin's guide.

Here's the details for what I owe:
HSBC.. circa £2000.
Capital One.. £600.
Orange.. £530.
RBS.. £220.

I've heard that my employer has an arrangement with the barclays near work, and we get paid by cheque. Apparently, I can just ask for cash over the counter according to my supervisor. I'm hoping to try and get some more stable income, 20 hours in week days isn't enough, that's why I've been eager to get all weekend work as well. I'm not sure how regular weekend work is through, but I can get around 13 extra hours in by doing both Saturdays and Sundays.

Rent is £440 a month, my girlfriend has been paying that since she knew about the redundancy. We've agreed to half that so it's £220 each. Water is included in the rent, but gas and electricity is separate. I think it's an extra £100 or so combined for both of us (we share with 3 others). We're on one of those prepayment meters for those. We get quarterly billing for phoneline to use the internet, which we paid our share 2 months ago. It's £30 for our share, which is done not using direct debit.

I'm also worried about our housing situation. Our landlord had 2 surveyors around last week, and I think they are convincing him to sell the house. Photographer was here on Thursday morning. This is our 4th house in 2 years! He hasn't said what's happening but will give us notice. His brother is apparently interested in buying it.

Jesthar

Hi Ben

Here's a link to our favourite Statement of Affairs (SoA) calculator:

http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

You might find it helps to have a good read of this thread (which also contains the link to the SoA calculator:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/107280

If you think the landlord might be getting ready to sell (I had this happen to me!), maybe you should all see about starting to look for a new place to live? Better to be prepared than have to rush, and househunting is more fun when you don't have a deadline to worry about.

Hope things improve for you soon

~Jes

BenS1

Hey Jes,
just put it all together. I assumed working all weekdays and one of Saturday or Sunday since my partner said she knows I'm trying to get money together but wants sometime together.

I hope I got this right, I estimated the APR for RBS. Not sure if the APR for HSBC is still running as Metropolitan Collection Services is trying to collect it. Fairly confident that I got Capital One right, it's a Classic card. I tried ringing Metro after finding a geographical number to call them from using my phone (got unlimited landline on my contract). They shut at 4 today, not open tomorrow just to try and find out about the details about the amount and interest.
Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 594
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 594

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 220
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0
Electricity............................. 30
Gas..................................... 40
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 5
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100
Clothing................................ 40
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 10
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 80
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 5
Total monthly expenses.................. 555


Assets
Cash.................................... 4
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 4

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
HSBC...........................2000......0.........20
Orange.........................530.......0.........0
Capital One....................600.......0.........34.5
RBS............................250.......0.........18.5
Total unsecured debts..........3380......0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 594
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 555
Available for debt repayments........... 39
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 39

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 4
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,380
Net Assets.............................. -3,376

Created using the SOA calculator at https://www.makesenseofcards.com.
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

Right, I'm going to have a fag. I havn't spoken a word since I got off the phone with my dad tonight, and I need to try and de stress. Hope you can make sense of the SOA, and spot any cut backs. I tried answering it honestly as I could.

Jesthar

Hey Ben,

Nice one, let's have a look

BenS1 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household.........
Number of cars owned....................

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 594
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 594

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 220
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 0 - is this covered in the rent?
Electricity............................. 30 - seems high if there are five sharing and an even split! Suppose there's nothing you can do about it though
Gas..................................... 40 - seems high if there are five sharing and an even split! Suppose there's nothing you can do about it though
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 5
Mobile phone............................ 25 - any way you can reduce this?
TV Licence.............................. 0
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 100 - is this for just you? If so, you should be able to knock at least £20 off this with careful planning and taking your own food to work, maybe as much as £40
Clothing................................ 40 - go 'essentials only' (i.e. underwear!) and wear what you have
Petrol/diesel........................... 0
Road tax................................ 0
Car Insurance........................... 0
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 0
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 10
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 0
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 80 - sorry, but this needs to be greatly reduced to as near zero as possible, you can't afford it right now. If it's the smoking, now's a great time to quit!
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 5 - right now your debts ARE your emergency
Total monthly expenses.................. 555


Assets
Cash.................................... 4
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 0
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 4

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts - can you put the monthly payments in?
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
HSBC...........................2000......0.........20
Orange.........................530.......0.........0
Capital One....................600.......0.........34.5 - this is your first target due to the horrible interest rate
RBS............................250.......0.........18.5
Total unsecured debts..........3380......0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 594
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 555
Available for debt repayments........... 39
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount left after debt repayments....... 39

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 4
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -3,380
Net Assets.............................. -3,376

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

Right, I'm going to have a fag. I havn't spoken a word since I got off the phone with my dad tonight, and I need to try and de stress. Hope you can make sense of the SOA, and spot any cut backs. I tried answering it honestly as I could.

First things first, you need to put in your monthly repayments on the cards - without that it's hard to tell whether or not you can theoretically meet your payments, or need to consider a debt management plan.

Secondly, DON'T call Metro. It will only give them the chance to bully/harass/lie to you over the phone, and they are very good at that. It is best to deal with DCAs only in writing, but NEVER sign your letters, just print or type your name only. Some of them have been known to forge documents with sample signatures. And the other golden rule is to NEVER give them any bank or credit card details, as they often use them to take more money than you agreed. Make any payments to them by either standing order or postal only, as you are in charge of those, and cheques require a signature on them. You may well, however, have a very hard time getting their bank details out of them so you can pay them, as they very much prefer to talk you into setting up a direct debit, as that way they can just empty your account if they feel like it...

What was the HSBC debt for - credit card, loan, overdraft? And when did you open the account?

I've pointed our a few areas where you can definitely make savings - you should be able to reduce outgoings by maybe £100 if you're careful. It's hard to know whether or not that will be enough without the monthly payment information, but it's probably going to be close - hopefully the right way!

~Jes