Wherediditallgo’s ‘path to enlightenment’ bankruptcy diary

tigerfeet2006

eek! I won't will I.

So there is no extra stars between 2000 and 10,000. That's not fair

wherediditallgo

17 Feb - Haven't been able to post here for a couple of weeks, as things have been a bit chaotic. I got sent away by work for 10 days to a conference & training course at very short notice, because the person who should have been going had to take compassionate leave, & my employers couldn't afford to lose the money they'd paid for them to attend. It was OK, but it wasn't as appropriate for me as it would have been for the person who was meant to go, & I didn't understand some of what was being discussed. It also (a) mucked up things a bit for me at home, as there were things I had to cancel in order to go, & (b) has given me a backlog of work at the office to catch up on. I've been able to do occasional posts, but my diary fell by the wayside, & I also missed out on a chance to do some filming for MSE, which could have been fun.

Anyway, I got back late Thursday night, glared at the housework that has to be done before I go back to work on Monday, then went to a karaoke competition last night with some friends. I came second to someone who claimed to have never sung before - I didn't believe that as soon as she opened her mouth; she was just too comfortable on stage (danced as well as sung). One of the judges came up to me straight after the results were announced & told me to enter again next week as it was a very close thing. I really didn't mind coming second, but the way it came about irritated me, so I'll probably go back next week for another try.

Looks like I'll have to report two of my creditors to the Information Commissioner. They acknowledge that they've received the info about my BR & my ED, but now they're squabbling about whose responsibility it is to update my credit file. In one case, the original creditor sold the debt on & is saying it's the new creditor who I've got to sort it out with. When I spoke to the buyer of the debt, they said I've got to get the OR to do it! That's a load of rubbish. :mad: I spent far too long trying to sort it out on Friday when I should have been resting as I was absolutely exhausted, & I don't have any inclination to waste money repeatedly ringing them about it. I shouldn't have to keep speaking to them about it anyway once they'd had the paperwork, as they as credit providers should know their legal responsibilities. If I don't hear from them on Monday I'll be faxing a complaint to the ICO, as they've had over the 28 calendar days to get it done.

The good news is that my management have agreed to me reducing my hours at work - I'm so pleased. :j I'll be on reduced hours from 1 April - I could do it earlier if I wanted to, but I've got loads of annual leave to use up first before the end of the financial year, & I dont want that to be factored into the recalculation of my annual leave that will need to be done. Also, I finally had enough money to get my music software & a new keyboard. :j I'm going to install it today. If it works, I'll be able to start writing again on my computer at long last. A good end to an annoying couple of weeks.

dodecanese

Have never replied to a post before, so hope I do this right! Have just read your post from start to present day and just want to say how helpful it is. After months of struggling, burying head in sand and getting more and more depressed, I have realised BR is my only option. Its - quite frankly- terrifying, depressing, humiliating and I cant quite believe this is happening to me.
Reading your post has really helped- in fact this entire forum helps- so thank you for writing it.

fiveyearplan

Hi WDIAG. I hope your software was installed successfully and you still have the energy to do some work with it. Have fun and congratulations for your reduced working hours.

wherediditallgo

23 Feb - Got two letters from creditors confirming that they'd checked my credit files & had either updated the entries or had removed all reference to the debt altogether!! :j Some creditors really don't seem to know how to update the files properly, even with the info in the letters to guide them. However, but they seem to understand the words "You've had over 28 days to update my file, & if I file a complaint against you with the Information Commissioner, they can instigate action against you which will force you to do it, & that might affect your ability to give credit in future. I'm therefore doing you a big favour by contacting you to give you a final opportunity to meet your legal obligations". Those two sentences seem to shift them pretty quickly - makes a pleasant change to have them on the back foot for once.

wherediditallgo

26 Feb - Sometimes I really wish I lived in a field with no neighbours for at least a couple of acres in any direction! A woman moved in a couple of months ago & our small gardens back onto each other. Almost every weekend has been filled with her blaring out music from mid-morning through to late evening - even with your windows shut, you can still hear her racket, & it's been driving me mad. Earlier this month, I asked her if she could turn it down a bit & she let rip, going on about how she likes music & she's not turning it down no matter what I say to her, etc. After a few minutes of her going on at me, I walked off - though I was steaming inside, I kept my cool the whole time & was polite from beginning to end. This morning I came out to go to work, & found someone had thrown a raw egg a my front door, so my white paintwork now has egg stains running down it & my front door has dried egg stuck to it, with bits of eggshell decorating my doorstep. :mad: I'm so angry. Why are people so incredibly selfish, ignorant & nasty?

I've decided to get a cctv setup asap for the front & back of the house - I'll have to fit it myself as I can't afford to get someone to do it for me. I can't prove she did it, but it's very likely given that (a) nothing like that has ever happened to me before, (b) I checked the whole road & my house was the only one hit overnight, & (c) I won't feel totally comfortable now until I've got the cameras up & running. I don't mind getting the system, as I meant to get one a couple of years ago but couldn't afford it, but I'm really annoyed at being forced to get it thanks to someone else's horrible behaviour. I spoke to the police, who advised me on what I can & can't do with it, so I'll try my best to order it very soon. It looks like it's going to cost me about £200 for something that will motion detect, allow me to save footage on my pc or a dvr & let me access the cameras over the internet - it'll also be able to time & date-stamp the recordings, & I can put the footage on cd/dvd to give to the police if necessary. If any of you know a cheaper way to set this up I'd appreciate the details from you, otherwise I'll be going to Maplin's by the end of the week. I'm not going to allow someone to harass me out of my home. :mad:

Scarlett.1974

OMG WDIAG, that's just awful :eek:

!!!!!!, it's not you were asking anything unreasonable of her, just to turn her stupid music down. It really does beggar belief, the utter selfishness of some people and their lack of consideration for others :mad: It makes me incredibly angry and <old woman> does make me wonder how they were brought up? Were they not taught manners and how their actions effect other people as children? Grrrrrrr :mad: How effing DARE she deface your property like that? God, I'm absolutely fuming for you.

I'm sorry, I know nothing about CCTV, but hopefully someone more technically minded will come along soon and advise.

Keep your chin up and don't let the bee-atch get you down.

wherediditallgo

Thanks, Scarlett. What's even more annoying is that my council say they'd like residents to talk to their neighbours when they're creating a disturbance rather than just make official complaints about them, as they may not even realise that they're causing a problem. Fair enough, I don't mind doing that at all (I'd rather have someone come & speak to me than just report me too), & if you're dealing with reasonable people that'll usually be the end of it. Another neighbour (a single man in his twenties) used to thump the bass on his music, & when I asked him to keep it down & told him why, he thanked me for letting him know as he'd rather hear it from a neighbour than have an official complaint made. There hasn't been an issue since, & he never sees me without saying hello. So if he can be so reasonable about it, there's no reason for her to kick off the way she did, & there's certainly no excuse for any harassment.

I couldn't have been more polite if I tried, yet she was so nasty in response. She's got children - is she so thick that she's prepared to risk a criminal conviction and/or having her name in the local papers for the whole community to see? If that happens, the council could evict her for breaching the terms of her tenancy - is she prepared to risk that just to make a point with me?

I've downloaded an 'incident log' from my council's website this morning, & I'll start filling that in, making sure everything from the start of the music is included. Her next-door neighbour knows about the music issue & they're friends, & her friend left her back security light on all night, knowing full well it'll shine into people's bedrooms & disturb their sleep. I've had about 3 hours sleep at most - I feel like I haven't had any sleep at all. :mad:

blind-as-a-bat_2

Sorry to hear about your problem WDIAG, its a sign of the way the country is going at the moment, theres just no consideration or respect left anymore.

As for the CCTV £200 for a system that could be used as evidence in a court is pretty cheap to be honet, its not as simple as just sticking a couple of cameras up im afraid ( even though that in itself is easy)as there is a mountain of rules and regs of what you can and cant do.

Im glad you have talked to the police and do follow what they said closely as you could find your the one in court if you dont, for invasion of privousy or something even dafter.

To be honest i think you will be wasting your money too as most of the "of the shelf" systems that the likes of maplins sell (although they do sell pro stuff too) just doesnt give a good enough image, unless your within feet of it, to be usable, and i do know two people that have found this out after an incident as the police couldnt use it as evidence for various reasons. One was even given a cation for it recording the footpath for the reasos stated above.

Its crazy i know but there are more rules and law,s protecting the people who commit these acts to stop them being caught than there are to help catch them in the act, again a sign of the times im afraid.

wherediditallgo

Hi blind,

Thanks for the info. I'm going to have a look at Maplins, if only because a nice chap has agreed to show me one they've got set up in the shop to give me an idea of the picture quality, plus they'll allow me to return it within 14 days for a full refund. I'd love to not spend the money, but unfortunately these people have taken away my peace of mind, & as I spend time away in hospital, I'll be on pins wondering what they've been up to unless I install something soon. One of my friends said even a dummy camera would probably be enough to put them off coming back, so I'll look into that as well.

My local PCSOs are very proactive - the one I spoke to yesterday was very helpful, & has said that when I've got it he'll come round to make sure it's installed properly. I definitely don't want to fall foul of the law, but neither am I going to put up with these berks indefinitely.

I'm so angry about the whole thing. I was brought up to respect other people, their property & their right to live in their homes without being disturbed by my noise, so I make sure I don't play music loud, don't use hoovers etc late at night or early in the morning & I don't allow my visitors to create a disturbance either. Then I'm forced to live near these morons with their "I'll do as I f***ing well please" attitude, as if me having manners & consideration for others just gives them a licence to take the mick. I swear - if I ever win on the lottery & am able to afford to move away from these idiots, my parting gift to them will be a truckload of rotten manure outside their front door steps, piled high & steaming with freshness, & topped with a nice thick layer of broken eggs if I could get the trucker to play ball. Left overnight during the summer, that would be reeking to high heaven by the time they got up in the morning.