Time to get it sorted

Squidge123

So my cheque is in the bank waiting to clear. However all my debt busting and I have gone nd got myself a parking ticket! My OH says he's going to pay for it for me though on payday while it's still in the 14 days £35 period.

However I do have a dilema. Whats the best way to correspond with a debt collection company - phone or writing?

My credit card is 2 payments behind and its gone to debt collection. I can't pay the full amount that it is in one go and they say to phone them to to arrange a payment arrangement. Should I phone and then write to them if I don't get any success? I have 7 days to make contact with them.

snozberry

I wanted the ground to open up and swallow me when I got my first (and only) parking ticket. I was sooooo ashamed! lol

I would ring them and follow it up with a written letter. Keep a copy and send it recorded (signed for) so that you have some proof of postage.

Squidge123

I've phoned and spoken to them. I have to make a "token" payment of what I can afford on payday before xmas and then see what I can afford after that and we'll go from there.

The loan from my nan was going to be used to pay off wonga and it will depending on how much its going to cost to fix my car which broke down in a multistorey this afternoon!!! Was not impressed. If it costs too much to fix the car I'm going to have to extend and pay as much as I can this month and the rest next month.

InsertWittyName

You're not having much luck Squidge!

Sounds like you have a priority of debts however:

- Car (assuming you need it for work)
- Payday loan
- DCA credit card

If you don't need the car for work, may be worth paying off the other debts before the repairs on that.

The danger is that the car will swallow up the £1k and you'll be £1k worse off and still have the other debts to cover!

Squidge123

Ok so I just spoke to my friend who's dad is great with cars and the problem he thinks it is will cost me £100 or less. I do need the car for work and work were not amused that I can't make it in tomorrow!!

I've set a strict budget so I can still get everything paid off like normal. It will be a tight month but I am determined to do it! I just need to stick to my budget and keep coming here for the support!!

InsertWittyName

Glad it sounds like a cheap problem with the car Squidge!

Consider the following a proverbial kick up the bum!

We're 10 pages and 3 months into your diary and we've only just found out about the PDL and the missed CC payments!...

You need to be brutally honest on here Squidge to get the support you need - we don't judge, all we can do is try and provide advice.

I never want to hear about a PDL or missed CC/DCA payment from you again, consider yourself told off!

The number of times in previous years when I was sooooo close to missing a payment is massive - but I always managed it from cashing in the penny jar, or even robbing Peter to pay Paul sometimes.

You seem to be on top of it though, so I'll not wag my finger at you too much...

Reassure us you'll use the £1k loan to pay off debts where they're most appropriate

Put it this way, I have £5.06 in my bank account for the next 10 days and I'm not worried in the slightest (all bills paid however!).

You can do it Squidge!

Squidge123

I have been "lacking" the push I needed partly because I've been an ostrich for the past few years so to speak.

The car is going to cost £173 and it's the ignition coil thats gone. My dad reminded me that I took out the extended warranty so I'm just waiting to find out if that covers it or not. If not there is a company that promises to do things cheaper than anyone else so I will phone them and hope I can get the car to them!!!

On a good note I did ask my parents to put some money towards my car insurance renewal as my xmas present. There isn't really anything else that I want.

Squidge123

I've paid for the car. Logically thinking I'm going to have to extend the payday loan a final time to keep my head above water this month because of what I've just had to pay and with other things I need to pay out on. I've had my hours cut at work due to health so I don't see myself getting an awful lot this payday to help me out. If I get more that will be great and I can reduce the loan big time!

InsertWittyName

Leave it as long as you possibly can before extending it Squidge (obviously without missing any deadline).

Surely the £1k cheque more than covers the PDL of less then £500? I'm pushing you again - pay off the PDL!

The thing with PDL is that you're gonna have to find the money next money to pay it off if you can't clear it this month!.

I don't know about you, but personally I would live on pasta and rice for a month in order to ditch a PDL

Squidge123

The 1k has already gone on other bills that needed paying. I'm going to phone them up and ask them if I can pay it in 2 halves. Half this month and half next month with it coming up to my car insurance needing to be renewed this month too.

I'm feeling a bit low at the moment. A colleague at work who I thought was a trusted friend "loaned" me some money when work were sorting out my wages. I say "loaned" she told me she never wanted it back because she's in a great situation that she doesn't need it back. I told her I would pay it back because I don't like borrowing money from friends. So she told me to wait until after Christmas and that was that. I told her I was so greatful and never once asked to borrow said money.
I was called into an office at work with two managers who have told me that she felt pressured into loaning me the money. I told them that I never once asked to borrow it. She told me I could talk to her about anything so I did and she offered me a solution to help me out this month.

Now I feel like I bit of a fool for trusting her with something that is so big to me. I've asked her to confirm the exact amount I owe her so I can make sure I've got it right and get her paid back as soon as possible. I don't think I'm going to trust her with anything again.