Debts :(

simonrudd

hi,

well i got into debt a few years ago - about £35,000 i think. I lost my job and started to fall into arrears - I then foolishly paid a lot of money to a debt managment company to help me pay my debts - which i found out 1 1/2 years later they were paying my creditors pennies and charging me over £150 a month .

as my debts were not being paid (the DMC was called harrington brooks) the debts were sold to debt collectors, so I'm not 100% sure what my debt is now - but i'm paying a number of my creditors (the ones i know of) £1 each a month as a token payment - this means my debts are never going to get paid off.

what i'd like to know is if : -

1. can i get a list of all the people i owe money to for free - i dont have a debit/credit card so paying for things on-line is hard/impossible

2. I have very little disposable income - i went self employed early last year after being unemployed for 4 years (so glad i went to uni). what would be the best suggestion to get rid of my debt - i have thought about bankrupcy - but dont feel its the best thing - it wouldnt make me much better off. although if anyone can point me in the direction of some good advice i'd be greatful.

thanks in advance.

Simon

moozie_2

Hello and welcome

The best way to see who you owe money to is to ask for your credit file from the three main credit reference agencies. Details here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/cgi-bin/viewnews.cgi?newsid1149605730,95768,#standard

If you send them a postal order for £2 with a note, they should send you a hard copy of your record.

After you receive that, then you can start looking at who you owe money to and how much.

We can't advise the best way forward without a full statement of affairs (soa): full list of money coming in, going out and debts. Please post at least your incomings/outgoings until you have the debt info and we'll see what we can do

There is a sticky by southernscouser at the top of this forum that shows an soa example.

Hope this helps to get you started

bride2be2006

Are all your debts with one company now? I dont really have any advice I'm afraid but just wanted to offer support

Mrs_Sparkle

Welcome to the board! You're in the right place for support. I can't offer any advice I'm afraid but just wanted to let you know that you're not on your own.

debtCollector_3

simonrudd wrote:

hi,

i'm paying a number of my creditors (the ones i know of) £1 each a month as a token payment - this means my debts are never going to get paid off.

Simon

Hi Simon,

I'm new here to so not really able to offer advice re your creditor, however can I ask how long it took for your creditors to agree to £1 token payment, in the last 24 hours this is the action I've decided to take, just scared what the reaction of creditors will be....

Good luck...;)

simonrudd

this is about right i think...

income -

Child benefit / child tax credit £ 416
working family tax credits £ 284

outgoings per month

Rent £ 13
Gas £ 15 (paid quarterly)
Electric £ 60
Water £ 31
Insurance (life, house etc.) £ 12
Telephone (include mobile) & ISP £ 25
Housekeeping (include food) £ 440
Clothing (at the very most) £ 50
Storage £ 51

Total Expenditure £ 696

debts roughly -
Kays £300 paying £1
Cahoot £6,000 not paying anyone at the moment
Barclays £11,000 Paying £1
egg £11,000 paying £1
Adams £300 not paying anyone at the moment
Burtons (CCJ) £1400 paying £1
Natwest £1,000 paying £1

this comes out as £31,000 so i might either over estimate in my first post or screwed up my estimates

simonrudd

debtCollector wrote:

Hi Simon,

I'm new here to so not really able to offer advice re your creditor, however can I ask how long it took for your creditors to agree to £1 token payment, in the last 24 hours this is the action I've decided to take, just scared what the reaction of creditors will be....

Good luck...;)

Hi debtCollector, well most of my creditors were more than happy to accept a token payment - i just wrote to them with my budget and offer of £1 per month after talking to the cccs and the cab for advice . only one took me to court (burtons) but i still only pay them £1 although its a CCJ.

i found this site very helpful http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/england_wales/debt_advice.php#3

moozie_2

Right, let's see then...

simonrudd wrote:

this is about right i think...

income - £700

Child benefit / child tax credit £ 416
working family tax credits £ 284

outgoings per month
Can you tell us a bit about your living arrangements as these figures are strange...
Rent £ 13
Gas £ 15 (paid quarterly)
Electric £ 60 This is very high. I pay £38 for both G&E. Look at uswitch.com for comparisons.
Water £ 31 Are you on a meter?
Insurance (life, house etc.) £ 12
Telephone (include mobile) & ISP £ 25
Housekeeping (include food) £ 440 Apart from food what else is in this? This is very high! You can lower the food bill to £50pp with some planning and tips from the old style board.
Clothing (at the very most) £ 50 This is high if it's monthly.
Storage £ 51 For what?

Total Expenditure £ 696

Income - expenses = 700 - 696 = 4 available for debts before making any savings

I won't comment on the debts as there are no APRs or up to date information there. You can reduced your outgoings considerably before you get your credit reports and then tackle the debts with more vigour.

Are you or anyone else in your household able to work/ebay/mystery shop to boost your income?

You have missed things out such as socialising/medical/haircuts/presents etc - or do you include them in household?

A good start, keep at it!

simonrudd

well i work - but dont get paid much (self employed artist) - my partner is unemployed but looks after our children when i'm working. although i know she'd love to do something.
everything that is misc is under house keepings as thats where all the non-bill money is filed under

edit sorry didnt see the other bits

living arrangements - two adults 2 children
electric is a meter around £15 a week paying back arrears of £300 as the mayment meter wasnt working correctly.

water - payement book asked if they would reduce and was told nope.

well our food budget for all of us is £100 or less a week, the other £40 is misc expenses

£50 for clothing is expensive and probably waaaaaaaaaaaaay out of esimation. probably more like £10-£15 - but i was including shoes which cost £25 ever few months for my daughter and extra school clothing.

storage is something i'm trying to sort out - we had to move from a big house to a tiny flat and we hired storage to store some items we didnt have room for in the flat - but didnt want to sell. trying to get rid or down grade at the moment

moozie_2

Even though you don't earn much, that should still be under your income in your soa. Could you partner work part time perhaps when you are around to look after your children?

Could either of you take up mystery shopping? Plenty of threads with advice on that in this forum.

Do you have things to ebay? I don't know what your art is but could you make things to sell on ebay?

I suggest you start keeping a spending diary for everything under misc as that will give youa better understanding and control over your expenditure. It is still as important to know where your money goes, even when it's not on bills.

Finally,are you claiming all the benefits you should be claiming? There is a website that allows you to check that in just a few minutes - I'll look for it for you.

moozie_2

I think this is the one but someone else please confirm http://www.entitledto.co.uk/