First Step

monkeycowboy

Dont know where to start, so I'll start at the beginning...

3 years ago, I bought a house with my now ex-gf, we lived in relative comfort, and had a few luxuries, which little did she know I paid for using credit etc, on top of this I had to get a loan out to put down as the deposit on the house.

Time has moved on, and so did she, leaving me with the house whilst I tried to come to an ammicable agreement on what I would pay her for her share of the house. All fine so far....

Well the solicitors letters from her and back from me took its toll, I was becoming depressed and wanted to move on.... I started to drink heavily and found myself dissapearing into a black hole of alcohol and depression, money started to become an issue, a missed bill here and another their, then debt collection letters, I was struggling to cope, and hadnt told anyone, not even the Dr. who was treating me for the depression. The final straw came when I realised she had failed to pay her share of the mortgage, this happened for a few consecutive months, there were problems with letters going missing, and me having no visibility of account balances, partly me to blame....

So that was it, I had had enough and on March 29th this year I travelled to London with all the money I could muster together in a very short time on EBay and spent just over £1000 to get away, (I didnt care where I was going I just wanted out, there were two options this one meant I stayed alive) I ended up staying in a backpackers hostel in london for the night, and flew to SE Asia the following afternoon.

Okay, there are some amazing stories that I experienced through travelling, and coping for so long with no money whilst away, but thats not my reason for writing.

The reason is now Im back, Ive some uncomfortable living arrangements, no job and masses of debt piling up somewhere, my house has since been repossessed, I have few belongings, but an amazing girlfriend who is the only thing keeping me sane. I dont know where to begin really, I can recall most of my debts, but have no records of exacts. Im estimating my debts, all unsecured are ~£15k. Then theres the house, which has recently sold with an asking price of £180k, the mortgage on it when owned was £116k, and the outstanding arrears would have been approx ~£3500. Im guessing all the equity will be taken by the mortgage company?

I know I need to do a SOA, but I dont even know where to start. Ive no income, a bank account that has gone for recovery, and am unsure on what can be done apart from becoming bankrupt?

lynzpower

where are you living, who with etc?

monkeycowboy

Im living this week at my parents, but its uncomfortable, arguements are always bubbling up and I feel isolated. Ive been living with my girlfriend, who is in full time education, but shes moved back to her holiday job for christmas.

oakdale_minx

Hi - the only bit of advice I can offer is to get hold of your credit records, both the experian and the equifax ones. You will be able to see all the debts recorded against you, the stage they are at and the amount outstanding.

lynzpower

OK, well your first step is to either a) try and sign on (which if you left a job willingly Im not sure you will get job seekers allowance so probalby b) do everything in your power to get a job.

Not many people will going to enjoy living with the parents ( me very much included!) but maybe they are worried about you? Or worried what youll do next

As its the run up to Xmas, theres LOADS of work about, even if its just temp, you need to get some cash in the bank.

Do you have a bank account? If not head down to a bank ( natwest/ co-op are 2 I know of and open a BASIC bank account, no overdraft, no credit checks, no switch card, the most basic account possible, then at the least you can get some money paid into it. In any case benefits or wages you have to have a bank account now for them to be paid into .

As Oakdale mix says, getting hold of your credit record is imperitive. It shows whats where and what the situation is. Things will feel out of control toill you shine the light in the dark places and know what you are dealing with.


All the best
lynz