Help help help - we don;t know where to turn!

bast

Are you claiming JSA, you will only be able to get JSA contribution based but put in a claim. £67.50 a week check out https://www.direct.gov.uk ...

lemonpopsicle

Hi,

If you are looking for work have you claimed job seekers allowance? It doesn't seem to be on your Soa.

merlot123

You can simply edit your SOA, can you see the edit button on your post? bottom right hand corner.

As for a bank account, you can do these online, MAKE SURE you do not have any debts with the bank you intend to go with, remember some banks are linked, e.g first direct and the hsbc. Halifax and the bank of scotland, there are many more, you need to check, otherwise they can offset the debt (remember the link I gave you earlier).

Whilst you are not working at the moment, could you start selling things on Ebay, you must have spent the money on stuff you no longer need/want or can afford to keep. If its not stuck to the floor, flog it, you need the money, see it as a challenge if you can make enough money to buy your groceries with this month instead of using a credit card.

mandi

Hi Blushing,


What you need to do is separate your priority debits.. Mortgage/gas/electricity etc from your non priority debits as in your credit cards and overdraft .

You can write to the CC company's explain your situation & offer a token payment and an interest freeze .



I would highly recommend http://www.nationaldebtline.co.uk/ for free & confidential advice and template letters to your CCC .

Good luck with this & keep posting ( your not alone ):)

merlot123

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/690499

Blushing, you posted back in 2008 (thread above) about these debts and then in 2010, you need to do something about them, you are getting deeper and deeper into debt and you seem to have ignored it in the past.

I see from the thread above, you weren't working then, are you a stay at home parent, or have a reason you cannot work. No shame in admitting this, but you need to be honest with yourself and us.

YOU NEED TO ACT AND ACT TOMORROW, it will only get worse.

tommytynan123

2 years ago we were there - awful at the time but it can be overcome with focus. AND in about 12 months minimum (only short term fix is Lottery) you will feel 100% better. My little bits:

1. Move your bank account NOW if not sooner. The bank will take your money for o/drafts at will and YOU should decide who gets what. If you are concerned about a high street a/c taking a time then try ''Think banking'' (part of RBS). I used them 2 years back for the same reason. Yes you pay a fee (joint is £18.50 pcm) I think BUT that is all you pay - no more charges. Cx them on the i/net. Account is opened in 15 mins on the phone providing they can prove who you are. (Voting reg is 1 way) M/Card and no cheque book and no o/draft facility - ever.
2. Move your bank account NOW if not sooner. Talk to people like C/Tax, Water, Elec, Gas, Loans etc - explain and make a small offer per month for say 2 months. They will say yes because it is pointless them going to court if you have no money. Offer something though that YOU can afford. Think about an elec key (meter). In my worse position I owed Elec about £500 and asked for a meter. Debt is then built into the meter so for eg when you put £10 on the key £8 is elec and £2 is against debt.
3. Move your bank account NOW if not sooner: Shopping - think own brand. We did and we are all still living. Some folk say don't buy prepacked meals but ASDA always have meals on offer at £1.00 (and not their cheapest range either). If required bulk out with veg.
4. Move your bank account NOW NOW if not sooner. Every single penny - think and think again. I look forward to your post in about 12 months saying you've just opened a bottle of wine. Also DO NOT let yourself get bullied - use this forum if in any doubt.

Now - what must you do tomorrow ????????????????

BlushingRose

I can't move the bank account as it's my OH's account - we have talked about it though and he wants to wait and see what the bank says in reply to his letter. MY worry is that we have bills equalling/more than our income so opening a different account, well I'm really not sure how it'll help. Sorry for sounding dense, but I think I need Noddy language when it comes to why we should move banks. We're with the Yorkshire who, until relatively recently have been very helpful, but I get the impression they've been taken over recently as suddenly a human cannot make the decisions any more.

We are not owing the gas/elec/water/council tax as yet, we have no arrears, but we will have very soon. If it wasn't for the CC and loan, we'd be fine...

Merlot - yes, we've been battling these for a while and until now, we've managed to either re-mortgage or get a loan which has given us more time, but now we've run out of time and credit.
WE have a little pile of stuff which we were planning to sell at a car boot or similar but just never got round to. I was thinking of eBaying at least some of the stuff, if only to get rid of it!
I'm not claiming JSA (which is why it's not on the SOA) as the last time I did try and claim, they told me I wouldn't get any money. As for why I'm 'still not working' it's because no-one wants to give me a job!
I have an application form which came through the door today though, so keep your fingers crossed!

On Tuesday evening we're going to visit Aldi and Lidl with our normal shopping list to see if we can our usual shop there, and how much it might be, to hopefully save some money on groceries. We're also going to write down everything we spend, and I've started a 5p pot.

BlushingRose

Was just reading the thread you posted Merlot - seems like a distant dream....we now have 3 credit cards, 2 cats...ah, the heady days of yesteryear.

ladybez

The idea behind changing your bank account is that it puts you in control of who gets paid what. If you owe money to a bank, or on a credit card associated with a bank they CAN take money from your account to pay what they are owed which can leave you in the mire.
EG if you had an account with Barclays and had a Barclaycard, you are struggling to make payments on the card and write to barclays saying " I cannot afford to pay my payment of £x this month, but can offer you £y" it is possible for them to still take £x under a rule known as "offsetting" (it is in the terms and conditions of every credit agreement). If your acccount is moved to the Co-op, for example, they cannot take money from it, they can only get what you pay them, so it is to prevent this possibility that a new account has been suggested, your overdraft, being part of your unsecured debt could be added in to a DMP, if you go down that road, so it would be reduced by a certain amount each month. Hope that makes sense
Good luck

DS4215

BlushingRose wrote: »

We'd love to stop using credit cards, but that is the only way we can afford to buy food and petrol because there is nothing left from our income.
As I've mentioned earlier in the thread, I have been looking for work, so far with no luck.

I'm going to be a little blunt here, but your debts are equal to 100% of your joint income for the next TWO YEARS!! If you put every penny you earn towards the debts and interest is frozen that is how long it will take you to pay it off.

You need to split your payments into priority payments (Mortgage, Gas, Electric, Water, Council Tax, food) and the rest (overdraft, credit cards).

Open a new bank account ASAP, transfer wages into it and work out how much you need to live (food, petrol, etc). CCCS can help to work out your budget. Any leftover will be split pro-rata between the debts and then you can start to pay them off. It will take a long time and will get harder, especially as the cost of living is going up faster than wages, but you can do it.

Cut up your credit cards, because you need to learn how to live without them and it will be at least six years before you can get another (that is how long a default will stay on your credit record). To save a lot of hassle, write to your creditors and tell them only to contact you by letter. It will save a lot of phone calls.