How can I survive this please?

PenniesIntoPounds

Please, please could somebody give me some advice as I really don't know what to do. I have a good job - not the highest paid but regular and secure. I am a single mum and live as much as I can within my means. I am lucky enough (or so I believed) not to have a credit card. I have an overdraft and a loan. I have never missed a payment on my loan and I am up to date with all my utility bills apart from one where I have an agreement to pay an energy company back £40 a month for the next two months following a high final bill.

All was going well today, until I tried to draw some money from my current account. I am £150 over my overdraft due to a cheque that has been presented from my son's school. I was promised that the cheque would not be presented until October (I have to pay childcare fees in advance), so thought I would be okay to limp along until I got paid at the end of the month.

I tried not to panic and thought that I could apply for a Payday Loan for £200 to cover the cheque and food. I applied for a Payday Loan once three years ago and was accepted no trouble. I paid the loan back in full the next month.

I applied to Wonga and Quickquid this afternoon and to my horror I have been refused credit with both lenders. I am gutted but also terrified. If the cheque bounces, my son will lose his place with the child care provider. I also literally have no food at all - nothing for my son or pets.

I don't know how I am going to survive this.

I am now considering applying for a payday loan where no credit checks are requested, but the website looks 'dodgy'. I don't see what other choice I have.

I can not turn to friends or family and my current account provider will not increase my credit any further (and are closed at the weekend).

I feel such a failure. I have let my son down badly. Don't know how I'm going to tell him that we can't eat. I try my best and work hard to support us, but it has been an expensive month with new school uniform, etc.

I stupidly didn't think that borrowing money from a payday loan company would be an issue, in an emergency. How bad must my circumstances be to be refused one.

Thank you for reading.

CH27

Go to the childcare place & explain your circumstances & ask will they defer your payment if you ay it as soon as you can.

McKneff

Pawnshop, do you have anything of value you could use in the short term to get some cash.

Cash Converters, is there anything you can sell

McKneff

CH27 wrote: »

Go to the childcare place & explain your circumstances & ask will they defer your payment if you ay it as soon as you can.

I took it from the OP that the post dated cheque has been presented and the money taken which is why the OP is in this position.

Why did you give them a post dated cheque, why not just pay them in October.

Banks often dont look at dates, which is why I would never issue one.

chalkie99

I was promised that the cheque would not be presented until October

If the cheque bounces, my son will lose his place with the child care provider

Firstly, stop panicking and speak to the child care provider on Monday. Explain that they promised not to present the cheque this month and they have caused you a problem by doing so. The deed has been done so if it going to bounce then it already has. Having said that, you need to realise that post-dating a cheque does not stop it going through anyway.

If you have been refused by Wonga and Quickquid your credit must be very shot indeed, far worse than you imply.

Whatever you do, DO NOT APPLY TO THE DODGY WEBSITES You will be back here telling us they have taken a fee and you still won't have a loan.

Speak to the child care first and see if you can resolve it in a friendly way. otherwise, is there a possibility of an emergency advance from your employer?

iolanthe07

This is not your fault, it is the fault of the nursery. You have the moral high ground since they cashed the cheque early. Don't let them fob you off and first thing Monday morning ask for the funds to be reimbursed until the date in October that you agreed to.

PenniesIntoPounds

Hi, thanks for your replies. CH27, it looks like the cheque will bounce anyway, but they will be really angry if I explain what has happened. Nothing of any value to sell McKneff sadly - plenty of tat / stuff which I have recently started to sell on Ebay. Unfortunately I have already met my 10 item limit for new customers. I thought about the small amount of money I have in the Paypal account following the sales, but to get at it, I would have to transfer the funds to my current account and they would be absorbed into the overdraft debt. Thank you anyway though.

PenniesIntoPounds

Thanks again, for your replies. Yes, the cheque is cashed and the money is gone. I know that I shouldn't have written a post dated cheque, but this is how the child care provider operates. I have been pushing them to accept cash or bank transfers but they won't just now, although they are looking into it. This happens a lot - you never know when they will present the cheque and some months they haven't put anything through then the following month they present two - fine if I have just been paid but otherwise not. I know I should keep the funds available but my life isn't like that and sometimes I have to rob Peter to pay Paul for a couple of days.

I am now very worried about my credit score. I last checked it 12 months ago - I had an account with all credit agencies but cancelled this as I wasn't using the service. 12 months ago I only had 1 default (fully paid) for £512. I haven't borrowed anything at all since, apart from using the overdraft. I pay my rent, mobile phone and loan on time and all bills apart from the utility one for which I owe £80. I need to look at my score but will have to wait til I get *pad to do this. God only knows what has happened. I thought I had been declined on the basis that I am single with a dependant, I rent an unfurnished property and have been here for less than a year and that I don't have a land line, only a mobile to save money. Also, my work's desk phone is an 0845 number, so maybe they thought that was a bit dubious? On paper, I don't look like a great candidate but I managed to keep my head above water - until now.

Elle7

Is your overdraft unauthorised, or have you gone over your unauthorised overdraft?

This will affect your credit rating, especially if it happens regularly. You also mention robbing Peter to pay Paul - late payments affect your credit too, and so will that default, until it drops off in 5 years.

I don't think Wonga look at circumstances too closely, to be honest, they just look at your credit rating and whether you are likely to pay them back. You won't get any form of credit if they have declined you.

I don't really see what options you've got other then explaining the situation to the childcare provider and asking for the money back, or a portion of it, or asking your bank for an overdraft increase, which seems very unlikely.

You might find some charities near you which send food parcels to those in need, which could help to ease your situation for a while, but I haven't heard of any which provide pet food.

skintandscared_2

How long til payday?

Is there absolutely no way on earth you can ask friends or family to help you out just until then? I know it's humiliating, but better than starving...

Only other alternatives I can think of are:

• pawn stuff, or sell at cash converters
• use any Boots/Nectar/Tesco vouchers/points you have
• Go through the cupboards/freezer and be inventive
• last resort - hang around in the supermarket until they start their price-cuts or visit the skips at the back of M&S at closing time...

Hope one or more of the first three alternatives are possible before considering the fourth, but I've read posts on here where people literally LIVE off food discarded by shops at the end of the day!!

CH27

Could you ask your employer for a small advance on your wages?