Desperate help & advice needed - Pending eviction

bongo67

Hi all. I'm a newbie to the forums. I need URGENT help & advice please. Due to ill health, I was off work from EO Jan this year up to Mid Sept this year. In May my company sick pay ended so I was left with SSP which was exhausted in Aug. Because of my health problem (depression, anxiety & stress), I totally neglected all of my financial obligations ie mortgage, utility bills etc etc to the point where I am now being theatened with eviction on my property. I have spoken to my lender & ideally they require a lump sum payment (arrears are £3700) which I cannot pay. They have asked me to fax copies of my sick notes (which I will) to support the fact I have been off work. They have advised that in their experience, bailiffs take between 3-5 weeks to action and, as Xmas is coming up, it is also very unlikley they will force eviction in Dec.

I am now back at work but, in a reduced capacity (phased return/working hours) so that come Dec, I will be back to full time hours & wages. however, when I get paid at the end of this month, it will only be 50% of what my "normal" take home salary is. I have explained this to the mortgage co but at the moment, as I do not know how much I will be taking home, I cant make them an offer.

On top of this (as if thats not enough), neither the water or electric have been paid either. The water is appx £450 now & a CCJ has been issued for this. The electric company have advised that they are going to court to obtain a warrent for entry to disconnect.

No council tax payments have been made at all this year + I also have arrears from last year - in total, its about £1700+. Bailiffs have been instructed but, so far I have not acknowledged them or allowed entry. The matter has now been passed baxck t the council for them to decide the next course of action.

Finally, the maintenance & service charges on my property have not been paid now for nearly 2 years. This is appx £2500.

The above constitutes my "priority" debts. In addition to all this, I also have significant unsecured personal debts which, again because of poor management, have all been passed to external agencies &/or CCJ's issued.

Come EO Dec, I am back to full time salary. Until then, I'm shafted. My biggest worry is the mortgage/eviction notice - Can anybody offer any help/advice please?

Thank you!

KiKi

Bumping up the board...

RoseRed1234

Talk to someone at National Debtline, they offer free impartial advice.

They will be able to help you, I'm sure of it.

0808 808 4000

RAS

Hi

You need to talk to one of the debt charities - perhaps CAP as they do home visits. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/loans/debt-help-plan?utm_source=forum&utm_medium=clicks&utm_campaign=resourcebar#help

Also to Shelter regarding the arrears. www.shelter.org.uk

have you made any applications for benefits whilst you were off sick? Check the current situation on www.turn2us.org.uk

Tjrw1985

How many months worth of arrears are on your mortgage?

bongo67

Hi everyone and thank you for your responses. Re mortgage arrears, 10 months.

Whilst off sick I didn't claim any benefits - I was hoping I would get better & be able to return to work quicker than I did.

I've started the CCCS Debt remedy income/outgoings & literally just faxed GE Money (mortgage) copies of my sick notes to prove I was off. I've had my head in the sand for so long over this. My wife has bought me back to reality by pointing out that when the bailiffs arrive, you have an hour - Im sick with worry & really dont know what to expect/do next. I'm just hopeful that GE will be sympathetic to me albeit at the 11th hour & can agree terms. Come EO Dec, I can resume normal monthly mortgage payments + tackle the arrears but until then, I'm stuck.

Thanks re advice re Shelter, I'll take a look & see

del2210

Firstly you have done the right thing in going to the cccs as they wont rip you off like some debt management companies.What you need to do is contact your mortgage company and by doing this they will try and help to come to a arrangemant over your arrears.I had debts of £29000 in 2003 and faced up to my money worries.Now i have payed off the £29000 and am now saving and i could not have done this without the cccs.Try to offer the bank something as this will show them that you are trying .Remember the roof over your head is is the debt you must pay and all the rest let the cccs deal with and that is what i did.

del2210

bongo67

Hi Del2210! thanks for your update. I've spoken to the mortgage co again & by the sounds of it, unless I can stump up most iof not all of the arrears then they dont want to know. I've contacted Shelter & they are going to get their mortgage advice team to contact me & then they will negotiate with them or on my behalf. Re CCCS, I know that I'm doing the right thing by using them but it's also very reassuring that a lot of other people have used them & praise their service & help very highly...

recurrent-ostrich

Hiya
Can't offer any practical advice, but just wanted to say a huge "well dome" for facing up to your problems. I know how insidious depression can be and how hard it is to pull yourself out of the pit, and to face up to your financial demons means you are doing really well. I hope you manage to get some sort of resolution and get back on track.

del2210

Hi bongo67

Thanks for the reply.Let me know how you get on but CCCS are very good and seek there advice on how to deal with arrears.As long as you keep offering the more lenient the banks will be.Keep going higher to when you finally find someone who can help!Remember to talk and let your closest and dearest know and not to bottle it up inside

Remember your not alone and i came through it so can you