19 year old in NEED of help!

De4noVincent

Hello All!

First post so please go easy!

Right, where to start! Basically I'm in alot of trouble!

Per month I'm on £741.59.

Outgoings are:
Rent: £160
Car Insurance: £65
Deisel (Roughly per month): £80
Mobile Phone Bill: £35 (minimum)

These are my priorities costing £340. This leaves me with £401.59.

Now this month is going to be very scary.
I also have to pay out:
£60 - Ontop of phone bill
£77 - Dental Fees
£25 - Owed to a friend
£150 - Owed to parents
£500 - Fathers credit card he gave me to help me out a bit - maxed!

I then have problems with my bank. My current balance is -£251.92, with bank charges of £78.95 between the period 26/2/11 - 25/3/11, add an extra £6 per day since then, as I am with natwest. What confused me, my father has used his credit card to top up my account, pay off what I owed natwest rounding up to £320, BUT, i have noticed natwest (i think) re-enabled my direct debit which i had cancelled a couple of weeks ago, which has took me down to -£251.92. So what do i do about this?

ALSO!

I am currently receiving letters off debt collectors/solicitors, be being a good friend taking a contract out for two friends and my sister, the two (so called) friends have screwed me over, with t-mobile and vodafone. I owe t-mobile about £800 last time I checked, and vodafone about £500. I also got a contract phone out for my sister with three, who I am currently with also, but my sister has given up her job as she is pregnant, and of course, no longer has an income, making her unable to pay for her phone bill, so I'm absoloutely ******* myself, waiting for more letters off debt collectors on behalf of three.

I really don't know what to do about all of this mess guys. I got the contract phones out, thinking I could trust them all, hoping to up my credit rating. I'm currently going through the phase of, shut my bank account, don't want one, I'll have my money paid into my parents account. Natwest have been charging me every month for bank charges and it's really annoying for a couple of pence or a couple of quid! I was thinking about just closing Natwest and opening an account with another bank, but my credit rating is that bad, all major banks decline me! What can I do to get out of this mess? I'm just a 19 year old trying to make a start to life, I'm on minimum wage working 9-5, 5 days per week, and I'm just working to be skint within one week!

Could anyone advise me on what to do?!

Kind Regards

Dean

Hannah_10

1. What DD was it that was reinstated?
2. These friends and relatives you got contracts for, were the contracts in your own name or were you a guarantor?
3. Get basic bank account. You wont be offered these unless you specifically ask for them by name so I'll give you a tip. Co-Op cashminder. They WILL accept you for a cashminder account (they take bankrupts and your situation isn't anything like that bad). The only time that Co-Op cashminder is a bad idea is if you owe the Co-Op money already or you owe Britannia Building Society, but it doesn't look like you do. It charges no fees, none.
4. Do not mix your money up with other peoples again. This means you can't let your Dad pay your bills, or put your money in your Mums account. It also means you can't get a contract phone for your mates.
5. Including the debts other people contributed to, I would like to see a list of everything in your name, to the penny.

PS: On that list I mentioned in point 5, I would like to know who the original creditor was and who it is with now, eg: Originally owed to T Mobile, now with Moorcroft/ Lowells/ Scotcall/ Whoever.

De4noVincent

1. Sorry - im a newbie - what is DD?
2. The contracts are under my name, fool I know!
3. I shall apply for one right away!!
4. I know, I don't really want to, I just want to get back onto my feet so I can happily goto work without so much stress thinking about money!
5. It is a bit late now as I start work a bit earlier tomorrow so will be hitting the bed, tomorrow during my lunch i will go through everything to the penny and post it here!

Hannah_10

DD= Direct Debit

Great about doing the list in your lunch hour, although it's not so urgent it can't wait till after work. Nothing is ever more of a priority than having enough food (buying it or eating it). That's an important thing to remember as you start on the journey to being debt free because some sharks would have the sandwich from between your fingers if you let them, let alone the shirt off your back!

*madcat*

Hi De4noVincent

Many18/19 year olds seem to get themselves in debt these days so you are not on your own, it seems to be part of the growing up learning curve, in fact most people of all ages will get into some kind of debt at some stage but you are doing the right thing now by facing up to these debts before they get out of hand, so Well Done you!

I wont try and give you any advice as there are others on here far more qualified than I am, so follow their advice and you will soon be straight again and all the better for having learnt valuable lessons early on, Good Luck!


PS Hannah-10 is right about not leaving yourself so short of cash that you couldn't possibly keep it up because then it would feel impossible and that you had let yourself down, keep it realistic, after all you need to have a life too :j

Loanranger

De4noVincent wrote: »

Hello All!

First post so please go easy!

Right, where to start! Basically I'm in alot of trouble!

Per month I'm on £741.59.

Outgoings are:
Rent: £160
Car Insurance: £65
Deisel (Roughly per month): £80
Mobile Phone Bill: £35 (minimum)

These are my priorities costing £340. This leaves me with £401.59.

Now this month is going to be very scary.
I also have to pay out:
£60 - Ontop of phone bill
£77 - Dental Fees
£25 - Owed to a friend
£150 - Owed to parents
£500 - Fathers credit card he gave me to help me out a bit - maxed!

I then have problems with my bank. My current balance is -£251.92, with bank charges of £78.95 between the period 26/2/11 - 25/3/11, add an extra £6 per day since then, as I am with natwest. What confused me, my father has used his credit card to top up my account, pay off what I owed natwest rounding up to £320, BUT, i have noticed natwest (i think) re-enabled my direct debit which i had cancelled a couple of weeks ago, which has took me down to -£251.92. So what do i do about this?

ALSO!

I am currently receiving letters off debt collectors/solicitors, be being a good friend taking a contract out for two friends and my sister, the two (so called) friends have screwed me over, with t-mobile and vodafone. I owe t-mobile about £800 last time I checked, and vodafone about £500. I also got a contract phone out for my sister with three, who I am currently with also, but my sister has given up her job as she is pregnant, and of course, no longer has an income, making her unable to pay for her phone bill, so I'm absoloutely ******* myself, waiting for more letters off debt collectors on behalf of three.

I really don't know what to do about all of this mess guys. I got the contract phones out, thinking I could trust them all, hoping to up my credit rating. I'm currently going through the phase of, shut my bank account, don't want one, I'll have my money paid into my parents account. Natwest have been charging me every month for bank charges and it's really annoying for a couple of pence or a couple of quid! I was thinking about just closing Natwest and opening an account with another bank, but my credit rating is that bad, all major banks decline me! What can I do to get out of this mess? I'm just a 19 year old trying to make a start to life, I'm on minimum wage working 9-5, 5 days per week, and I'm just working to be skint within one week!

Could anyone advise me on what to do?!

Kind Regards

Dean

Dean
Can you get an additional part time job? Working a few evenings a week or at weekends? Another income stream would help you to get back on your feet while you clear your debts.
There have been four times in my life when I needed extra cash to make ends meet or to save for something and I worked, on first occasion, on a Saturday in addition to my full time job and second occasion I took on a further 20 hour a week job in addition to working full time.
This latter was hard going - I did it for ten months working 58 hours a week every week.
If you can get part time work go for it.

londonpride77

I would add the £25 you owe to a friend as a priority, it is one of the smaller figures but it may well be a big deal to your friend. You dont know if your friend was banking on it or needing it back when they helped you out and you never know if you may need the help again. Once you have messed them about once they will not likely consider you a friend or help again in the future. Do not burn that bridge.

De4noVincent

Ok, the DD that was reinstated (without my permission) was my phone bill, but again its disappeared, probably because there just simply isnt enough money in my account, my balance is now down to -£194.34. I think this is good news but, I am now being paid weekly as i requested to my Finance Director. I think this will help me a little.
Londonpride77 - I will be paying the £25 when i get the £100 off a friend that he owes me, then the extra £75 i will be paying off my fathers virgin credit card.
Loanranger - I have infact been looking for a part time job, I've done this before and it killed me, but it did help me out a hell of a lot! So I am currently looking but no luck so far!
madcat - Thank you for your support and your reply, I feel better already!
Hannah10 - I refuse to pay the price of food in my works, I never eat during work ours, and don't even have breakfast anymore! I just wait till i get home. As for point 5, when I get home I will go through everything with my father, but afaik, every letter I have been receiving off solicitors and debt collectors etc. saying I owe them x amount, he has been shredding, due to it was making me stressed/depressed and thinking about quitting my job, his advise to me was forget about them and let them take me to court, and when they do, just write a load of crap so I end up paying them off £5 per week, but I just cant get it off my mind, but I'm sure there will be a letter somewhere stating how much i owe, or I may be due one!

What I've also tried doing, is a £1 bet with Coral on the weekend with football, bet about 10/11 games and the returns are silly, like £8k, so I've been thinking off £1 a week, you can't go wrong! I've come so close recently, with about 2 teams letting me down. Maybe one day this will come in and get me back up on my feet! Do you agree with me doing this? £1 a week?

Thank you all for your very fast and efficient replies!

Appreciate it!

RAS

Hi

Stop betting now.

We need that list of debts, because despite what your dad thinks, it is possible to deal with these debts pro-actively rather than waiting for all the creditors to take you to court. And some of them may behave reasonably if you do that.

There are debt charities that can help you too. (do not go near anyone advertising on day-time TV).

And please get your life organised so you get something for breakfast; you will perform so much better. Even if it is just a couple of bisuits and an apple.

Loanranger

De4noVincent wrote: »

Ok, the DD that was reinstated (without my permission) was my phone bill, but again its disappeared, probably because there just simply isnt enough money in my account, my balance is now down to -£194.34. I think this is good news but, I am now being paid weekly as i requested to my Finance Director. I think this will help me a little.
Londonpride77 - I will be paying the £25 when i get the £100 off a friend that he owes me, then the extra £75 i will be paying off my fathers virgin credit card.
Loanranger - I have infact been looking for a part time job, I've done this before and it killed me, but it did help me out a hell of a lot! So I am currently looking but no luck so far!
madcat - Thank you for your support and your reply, I feel better already!
Hannah10 - I refuse to pay the price of food in my works, I never eat during work ours, and don't even have breakfast anymore! I just wait till i get home. As for point 5, when I get home I will go through everything with my father, but afaik, every letter I have been receiving off solicitors and debt collectors etc. saying I owe them x amount, he has been shredding, due to it was making me stressed/depressed and thinking about quitting my job, his advise to me was forget about them and let them take me to court, and when they do, just write a load of crap so I end up paying them off £5 per week, but I just cant get it off my mind, but I'm sure there will be a letter somewhere stating how much i owe, or I may be due one!

What I've also tried doing, is a £1 bet with Coral on the weekend with football, bet about 10/11 games and the returns are silly, like £8k, so I've been thinking off £1 a week, you can't go wrong! I've come so close recently, with about 2 teams letting me down. Maybe one day this will come in and get me back up on my feet! Do you agree with me doing this? £1 a week?

Thank you all for your very fast and efficient replies!

Appreciate it!

Betting even £1 a week is foolhardy and thinking like this puts you on a very slippery slope to financial ruin.
The bookies are in business to make a very handsome profit from their punters, and they do.
You can't afford to lose even £1 a week. That £1 soon turns into £5 and upwards from there because just occasionally you will win.
The occasional win acts as positive reinforcement in psychological terms and it encourages you to take another chance on winning. Stop it now before it develops into an addiction.

Getting a part time job will not only benefit your finances but also stop you spending money on socialising so it's win:win for you.
Yes, it's a killer, as I acknowledged in my previous post from having done it, but step up your efforts from today and make this your priority.

Putting your energy into getting an additional part time job will distract you from worrying yourself sick about debt collectors.

What's done is done about your debt. The important thing now is to stop further debt accruing, to put a plan in place to pay off the existing debt and to change your attitude towards spending money you don't have in future.

It's a hard lesson you've learnt about your friends. They have taken advantage of you. Never ever let yourself get into this situation again. Just be quietly assertive if friends want you to help them in future. Just say smile and say no. No explanations required from you. Just no.

Always remember that you are the captain of your ship. You're in charge of what happens on the ship: your ship, your rules. If the ship sinks it's your responsibility. The seas are rough out there from the safe harbour of childhood and the parental home.

I admire your courage on asking for help on this forum but please do get that part time job.

RAS

Hi

I would also suggest that you get all those phones back off the people who you bouight them for. Try and negiotiate down the packages on each and then see if you can sell the phones?