advise me please im in a dilema!!

rinkydink_2

Am new to all this so please bear with me, i have just this week lost my job was weekly paid and had only been there 6 months so only have my week in hands money to come then that is it nothing (a very scary thought ) DH also will find out this week if his job is safe his co just been taken over and they are laying people off also he to was weekly paid and only has week in hand to come neither of us are entitiled to redundancy or has any holiday pay owing.

On top of all this A&L are closing my premier account on the 8th of this month due to the fact i claimed back my £400 in bank charges which would have been fine as i have opened up a basic cash card account with Barclays. But now i am not working and have no more regular income i am wondering wether to ran sack my A&L account for the £500 overdraft that i have before Friday when they close it all together and stash it in my Barclays account just to get me through the next month. Il need atleast that to pay my share of the bills and debts each month doesnt touch what DH has to bring in each month to do his share he pays alot more than me on account he earns much more but that could well come to an end this week any way ,
I cant sleep at night at the moment and am very very worried about everything this is not the best time of year for this to be happening luckily i bought well in advance DS pressies so im ok there.

Also i have a Loan and 2 credit cards that are due to go out in a week or so mounting to a £200 unless i take this money i wont be able to pay them and they will charge me horrendously and it will all start spiralling out of control,

Please advise me on what the best thing to do would be just to get me through the next month at least! am looking hard for a job but still might have to go to monthly pay or do a week in hand again and so might DH if he does loose his job

PLEASE HELP NOT SLEEPING AT ALL

yung

Welcome to the forum, it is so worrying and upsetting indeed when everything start to go belly up so near Christmas, however you need to take it one step at a time first you need to deal with your problem. you need to get down to the Job centre to find out if you are entitle to any benefits like jobseekers allowance. then try and post an S.O.A (example here:http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=107280)the
the good folks can give helps and advises. I don't think it is a good idea ransacking an account that is going to be closed as this will only make matter worse

CLAPTON

really rough situation but i wont recommend raiding the A&L overdraft but i would stop spending anything except absolute essentials (absolutely no comfort spending and dont try to maintain the old life style )...your friends/family will understand if you explain you have been made redundant, see if you can get JSA asap, and see what other jobs there are..maybe there will be tempory jobs in the run up to xmas.

diekleinemue

Hello rinkydink,

how are you doing? I just read your post and wanted to let you know that I hope you will find a way to take some of this weight off your shoulders soon.

I only stumbled upon this website a couple of weeks ago, but since I am here and talking about my debt I feel a lot lighter. There is plenty of great advice on these pages and the regular folk in the chat rooms also have a lot of experience with all sorts of situations.

When I read about your concern regarding the credit cards and loan payments that are due shortly I remembered something I read here about calling your creditors and explaining your situation. Maybe they let you arrange to pay less for a month or two until your situation is sorted out. I am not sure if they would go for it, but I'd think they'd appreciate to hear from you that things might be shaky for a short while and they will also see you being proactive about it.

I hope things will look up soon!
Take care and try to sleep.
mue

diekleinemue

*snip*

Ooops, sorry! My post came through twice so I edited it out once... sorry!
nite nite
mue

piggeh

I agree - you should contact your creditors and say you need to reduce your payments until you find a job. You should pay all bills relating to the necessities (mortgage, gas, elec..) and then any other creditors will need to take a back seat and should only accept what you can afford.

Nuclear_Tom

I would definitely NOT raid the A&L overdraft. Things could get out of control very quickly if you make a rash decision like that in desperation...

I feel for you. Do as said and write to your creditors asking them to accept reduced payments until you are back in a job.

moozie_2

Hi there

I am very sorry for your desperate situation. I hope another job comes very quickly and your OH is not let go as you fear.

I agree with the other postes about the A&L account. If you withdraw the funds, you will instantly owe a lot more money than you are able to pay back at present and things could get much worse.

I suggest you do the below four things as soon as possible:
1. Get down to the job centre and sign up for jobs/support
2. Find out if you are eligible for Housing and Council Tax Benefit
3. Pay all your priority bills on time and fully as much as possible: rent/mortgage, Council Tax, utilities.
4. Cancel all your Direct Debits/Standing orders to creditors and write to them with cheques/postal orders for reduced amount (£1 until you are sorted is not unheard of) and advise them of your change in circumstances. You may want to contact CAB/Payplan/CCCS for advice/support on this.

I know it seems a lot at the moment but you need to try and keep a straight head as much as possible.

Lots of hugs, hope things improve quickly.

rinkydink_2

Thanks all of you for such kind quick replies, when we are working our debts and bills are managable hopefully DHwill be in work soon he is skilled and agencies are pretty good at getting him in work. i wont take the money out of A&L very tempting though only have till friday then it will be to late and worry about it later i wont though xxx

dips_3

If you are worried about finding another job before Christmas (not a great time of year to be looking for new work) don't be put off looking at part time work.

There are lots of seasonal jobs being offered in my area (don;t know if you are near a large town or city) and two or three part time jobs at a supermarket and in a pub would see you over Christmas. Then you can start looking for full time work again in the New Year.

A job in a pub would probably pay quick (e.g at the end of the first night or week), unless you work in a large chain.

joeblack066

Hi there, one of my skills is CV's and I am happy to do them free for anyone here. You are welcome to PM me, and I can re-vamp your CV. Keep all your personal details out, and the CV will be in a format the you can easily add them on yourself in Word.
Depending what your background is, I would recommend the following for quick work;
Customer Service/ Retail - Try Christmas jobs (I found 14 in half an hour last week just by ringing round shops/ pubs etc). also Call Centres (always recruiting)
Warehouse/ Picking & Packing - register with ALL the local agencies, don't sit back and wait for one to come through.
Care Even if you have no experience in this area, many care-homes will train you up, and don't forget that life experience is what many companies still want!
Sit back and think what your skills are, and whether you can turn this into cash ie ironing, cleaning, babysitting, dogwalking.
Best of luck, and keep us posted!
Debs