Hiya, I'm new! (SOA)

beckysld

NeverAgain wrote: »

Becky.

Thanks, you can always rely on an internet forum for a misunderstanding.

Council tax looks high for a cheap rental property.

Are you getting the single person's discount?

Assuming that applies in Scotland.

I am definitely on single person's discount. I couldn't believe it either - this is a band A one bed place! I applied for rented housing allowance but they deemed my income "too high", without considering my outgoings! Wrote, refused on appeal.

amyloofoo

beckysld wrote: »

amyloofoo - thanks for your comments. Definitely going to look to contact Lloyds re my graduate OD and Very re my credit, etc. Do they need an official letter from CAB or is it simply worth calling them myself? Will it affect my credit rating substantially to have interest rates frozen?

Thanks everyone!

You should be fine to contact them both by yourself. If you have the time, it might be worth popping into a Lloyds branch to speak to someone in person as I've found this tends to resolve things quicker. In my experience, they've been pretty understanding so hopefully you will find this to be the case too. Also, if you've ever had any bank charges from them, write to them and note your financial hardship and you may be able to get some of these back.

In terms of very, you can email them at [EMAIL="queries@very.co.uk"]queries@very.co.uk[/EMAIL] and they should pass it along to the relevant department. I've not noticed any difference on my credit report since I made an arrangement to pay and they have been pretty reasonable in accepting reduced payments and allowing me to overpay when I'm able to.

beckysld

Time_to_face_the_music wrote: »

Hi beckysld and welcome :hello:

You have two debts listed as secured/HP @ £170 each, is this actually the same debt?

Are you at the limit on all your CCs and your ODs? Is there any room for transfer to a lower rate on some of your high interest debts?

Are you getting any benefits from the fee paying RBS and Halifax ODs?

It must be very difficult to get a second job in a remote area, do you have any uni books you can sell via Amazon etc? Or anything to ebay?

Have you signed up for any survey sites to earn cash/vouchers? YouGov and Valued Opinions are both good.

You've come to the right place for help, lots of people will offer you advice and the benefit of their experiences :T

Great post, thanks very much! Oh, yes, they are the same debt (car).

I listed all my old uni books but I actually lost money on the 3 which sold due to the set postage fees on Amazon which was mad! Still got the rest and will list them on my old uni book selling page, maybe leave them with a friend to sell next time I'm down in Edinburgh.

Ah, I wondered what YouGov and Valued Opinions were like! Do you find putting, say, an hour a day in helps or is it a very long and painful process of selection of people they need?

beckysld

amyloofoo wrote: »

You should be fine to contact them both by yourself. If you have the time, it might be worth popping into a Lloyds branch to speak to someone in person as I've found this tends to resolve things quicker. In my experience, they've been pretty understanding so hopefully you will find this to be the case too. Also, if you've ever had any bank charges from them, write to them and note your financial hardship and you may be able to get some of these back.

In terms of very, you can email them at [EMAIL="queries@very.co.uk"]queries@very.co.uk[/EMAIL] and they should pass it along to the relevant department. I've not noticed any difference on my credit report since I made an arrangement to pay and they have been pretty reasonable in accepting reduced payments and allowing me to overpay when I'm able to.

Thanks very much - great advice and will start this tomorrow!

DCFC79

beckysld wrote: »

Hiya everyone, I'm new and have been reading these forums for years but now I really need to pluck up the courage and post my SOA. I find this whole community really helpful so I appreciate any advice and support I am given!

Briefly, I am 21, moved away to uni aged 17, worked full time during my degree to fund my living expenses but unfortunately Edinburgh prices lead me deeper and deeper into debt. I have never been good at organising money and tended to bury my head in the sand. Now I'm back home and working but finding every month harder to deal with.

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 1
Number of children in household......... 0
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1004
Partners monthly income after tax.......
Benefits................................ 0
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 1004

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 170
Rent.................................... 295
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 78
Electricity............................. 20
Gas..................................... 20
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 0
Telephone (land line)................... 6
Mobile phone............................ 29 Too high, maybe speak to your provider to lower it or are you close to end of contract as you can either get a better deal eg threaten to leave or get a sim only deal/pay monthly sim or payg sim.
TV Licence.............................. 13
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 19 Can you get this cheaper ?
Groceries etc. ......................... 80 Seems ok but others wouild know if this is ok for 1 person
Clothing................................ 5
Petrol/diesel........................... 160
Road tax................................ 10
Car Insurance........................... 79 Too high but might be due to your age/location etc but if close to last month of insurnce then look for cheaper quote or speak to insurance company to see if they cna reduce it.
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 10
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 0
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 10
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Total monthly expenses.................. 1004 (If this is added up correctly, it is a complete cooincidence!)


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 1020 (paid to HP so far/against finance?)
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 1020


Secured & HP Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Mortgage...................... 0........0...............0
HP................................7100.....170.........9%(can't remember)
Total secured & HP debts...... 0.........-.........-

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly.. .APR
Very credit account........350.....50........39.9% as interest free period expiring
Capital One CC................200.......5.........19.9%
Creation/FlyBe CC..........1800.......50....... .19.9%
Vanquis CC....................250.......250 (if possible, then live out of it, can barely ever afford to do that).......49.9%!
Barclaycard CC...............400.......0........39.9% (interest free for 3 more months)
Debenhams.....................1000.......30.........19.9%
Halifax OD.......................900.......40..........not sure, it's the Ultimate Reward Account which basically costs £10+£1/day
Lloyds Graduate OD...........2000.......0....... .? (interest free period ends end July, then staggered interest)
RBS OD...........................250.......12.95.......Royalties Gold Account £12.95/month (no interest on OD)
Total unsecured debts..........7150......437.95.......-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 1004
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 1004
Available for debt repayments........... 0
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 437.95
Amount left after debt repayments....... -437.95

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 1020
Total HP & Secured debt................. -7100
Total Unsecured debt.................... -7150
Net Assets.............................. -13580

Hope I've filled it all in okay. Most of it is pretty accurate. I cannot cut costs on petrol unfortunately -- my car does 60mpg and I live 20 miles away from my work in a very rural area with an infrequent bus service. I have no relatives I can move in with to be nearby and rental prices in the town I work in are higher than what I am paying now by almost as much as the fuel. I know a lot of people find a car expendable but due to some family circumstances/in the event of an emergency, I don't know what I would do. Anyway, I am very open to help, suggestions, etc. I am having to live off new expensive credit every month. I have had a raise at work after trying to negotiate but it just doesn't stretch. I have tried everything to consolidate the debt - bank loans, 0% credit cards etc but am turned down for everything due to poor credit rating. I'm on the electoral role and follow my manage my accounts the best I can. Do I have to turn to a DMP/DAS?

Thanks everyone.

Can you not take a lodger in ?

You tried the Martin Lewis down shift challenge ?

limoservicec

hey I am new too....