Help with Capital One/Fredricksons

hcurves

Hi first post so please be gentle.. I;m still finding my way around.

Husband and I separated summer last year and kids and I ended up leaving the marital home and going into housing association house due to domestic violence.

I only work part time term time only (in a school) and have a small income of £502 a month which is then topped up with tax credits and child benefit.

I claim housing and council tax benefit but still have little actual money on a day to day basis.

I have a credit card (which hasnt been used since april 2010) which has a credit limit of £800 and was hovering at about that but I couldnt afford to pay cap one anything more than a token payment when we seperated which they refused.

Today I have a letter from Fredricksons International Ltd telling me they are taking over the debt and require immediate payment of £1007.40.

A colleague has directed me to this forum for some help... so please help... still skint, unlikely to ever come into any money, single mum to 2 kids with no assets.

Many thanks

[Deleted User]

Start by filling in an SOA: http://www.makesenseofcards.com/soacalc.html

This will show all your income and expenditure, this way people will be able to understand your situation better and be able to give advice

D9

hcurves

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 2
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 502
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 844
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1346

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 142
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 36
Electricity............................. 45
Gas..................................... 120
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 12
Mobile phone............................ 10
TV Licence.............................. 15
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 7
Groceries etc. ......................... 300
Clothing................................ 100
Petrol/diesel........................... 120
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 68
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 25
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 70
Other child related expenses............ 16
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 16
Life assurance ......................... 10
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 20
Haircuts................................ 30
Entertainment........................... 20
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 30
School Dinners.......................... 72
Total monthly expenses.................. 1334


Assets
Cash.................................... 63
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1600
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1663

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Capital 1 credit card..........1008......45........34
halifax loan...................4200......209.......19
aqua credit card...............3100......80........34
Total unsecured debts..........8308......334.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1,346
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1,334
Available for debt repayments........... 12
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 334
Amount short for making debt repayments. -322

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1,663
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -8,308
Net Assets.............................. -6,645



PLease advise.... also starting to get letters from Blair oliver re: Halifax and aqua debts

hcurves

Please advise me guys.... I dont know what to do and you all seem so knowledgable on here

fermi

How likely is it that you ever be able to pay off this £8,000 odd of debt?

Have you spoken to CCCS, National Debline or CAB?

HappyMJ

If you have no money to pay and that is reflected by the fact you need to claim benefits then don't pay the debts until you get back on your feet. They'll send letters...lots of them...ignore them as long as you can. You have no assets so they can't get anything. They "may" eventually get a CCJ which will secure repayment of the debt but if still can't pay then there is very little they can do.

Please note your credit rating will be destroyed but I imagine you already have defaults so it probably already has been.

It's not enough debt to declare bankruptcy so you could get a debt relief order if you wanted but most creditors will give up once they figure out you have nothing.

Oh and your SOA...Clothing is a bit high and groceries is a bit low and you've made no allowance for a weekend break (holiday).

barbiedoll

At a quick glance, your gas bill looks very high, is that what you are paying each month?
Same for clothing, don't buy anything that you don't need, how old are the children? Buy in Peacocks, Primarks, etc, they grow so quickly so don't spend a fortune on clothes.
£30 on haircuts also seems a little high, can you get a junior in a salon to do it cheaper?
Car insurance, again, looks high. Do shop around, it takes 10 mins online to check for a cheaper quote, so many people just renew with their current provider, the premiums only ever increase!

All utilities and insurance can probably be reduced by shopping around, you can do all of this in half a day. Martin publishes lists of the current cheapest providers, sign up to his weekly email if you don't already.

As for Cap One/Fredericksons/Blair Oliver: Write to them (don't ring) and offer them your token payment (keeping a copy), enclosing a postal order or cheque with your letter. Don't speak to them on the phone, they will bully you and try to get your debit card or bank details so that they can increase payments whenever they like. You can offer to pay them by standing order if you like, don't be fobbed off if they say they cannot accept it.
Make sure that you pay them regularly, without fail. If they start going on about court proceedings, you will be able to prove to the court that you have made regular payments, even if it is only a token amount.

You should think about contacting one of the DMP (free) companies, as posted by Fermi. Are all of the debts in your name only? You're not being chased for husband's debts?

hcurves

Cant imagine I will ever be able to pay debts off.... marital home in HIS sole name and in negative equity to tune of about £15k

Clothing may seem high but I have a 10 year old in size 5 shoes and ruins at least a pair of school trousers EVERY week... and by ruin i mean great holes in them! Also teenage daughter who is taller than me and changing size constantly. Also I averaged it over the year to take into account school uniforms and shoes. Only ever shop in Tesco, Asda, Primark etc cant afford to shop anywhere else. SHoes are supermarkets or wynsors shoes except for PE trainers.

Haircuts isnt something I can scrimp on.. 3 people... 2 classed as adults at £20 a time plus child at £9 a time going every 6 weeks. This is local village salon not anywhere special.

As for car insurance my renewal for my peugeot 307 came through at a massive £1027!!!! as I had driven on his insurance for all our married life. Have got it down to about £700 a year through shopping about.

Gas/Electric are on prepayment meters and they want silly money to let me go on direct debit.. want a security bond of £250 EACH which I just havent got.

House is only single glazed and really draughty.

All debts are in my name only

hcurves

Anymore thoughts anyone?

hcurves

Blair oliver scott... are these still halifax or bona fide solicitors? any ideas?