A Debt Free Journey From Stress to Success

Upsidedown_Bear

purple.sarah wrote: »

NSD number 1 today, hopefully the first of many!

Well done :T

purple.sarah

The meeting was today and it went well. The advisor was helpful. She said we had done the right thing by appealing and suggested we chased it up. We contacted the Benefits Call Centre who said that there is a delay in processing appeals at the moment and it could take about 3 weeks but they don't need any more information from us. CAB also gave us information about Debt Relief Orders and suggested DH could get a DRO for his HSBC debt and the Housing Benefit overpayment. We are reluctant to do this in a way because we were hoping to be able to pay off our debt ourselves before we got hit by the Housing Benefit debt. However it is good to know there is a back up. So now we are waiting to hear back about the HB appeal and considering a DRO.

purple.sarah

When we got home our quarterly gas and electric bill was waiting for us and it was due out on the 20th, one day before we get paid! I panicked for a minute but then took a deep breath and took action. I rang them up, explained the situation and asked them to delay it a couple of days and they did. It just goes to show it is important to communicate and companies can be co-operative. The old me might have left it and hoped it would work out, which could have lead to bank charges.

mineallmine

Good choice. You need gas this time of year :j

Ref the HB people, yes they may have a backlog but find out what their target is for responding to appeals.

:j

purple.sarah

I have started the filing but it will be an ongoing process. While I was moving stuff from my old filing system (the floor) I read a letter from Capital One confirming the DD I set up last month to make my payments. I suddenly realised I had made a bad mistake. I had set the DD up to make the payments from an account I don't normally use but had not transferred the funds into the account! I've transferred the funds now and I don't think the DD has come out yet but I will ring tomorrow and check! Filing the paperwork was a much needed wake up call! I don't know how I could have tolerated being so disorganised for so long. I have just been so afraid of facing up to things but hiding just makes them worse. I feel bad that I let things get into this situation but I feel better that I am taking action every day to fix it.

mineallmine

Don't be too harsh on yourself :A We all let things slip from time to time. Just focus on taking actions, however small, every day.

:j

purple.sarah

I'm sorry I owe you some updates ...

purple.sarah

I only got round to applying for two jobs.

1. Sales Assistant in the Clothing department at my current workplace. I think this would be more interesting than the area I currently work in and it's 24 hours a week instead of the 16 ½ I'm doing now so it would help our finances. I am waiting to hear back.
2. Canine Hydrotherapy Assistant- This is my dream job as I have always wanted to work with animals. I got an interview but unfortunately didn't get the job. They gave me some positive feedback though:
   Dear Sarah,
   Thank-you for applying for the position of hydrotherapy assistant. It was lovely to meet you. Unfortunately you have not been successful on this occasion. You gave a very strong interview, I just had other candidates with more experience. The position will be offered on a 3 month trial basis, so I will keep your details on file should a position come up in the future.

I am applying for other jobs and also looking into volunteering to gain more experience.

Upsidedown_Bear

Hello :santa2:

Sorry you didn't get one job (good feedback ), hope it's positive news about the other job.

Wishing you a very happy Christmas and new year x

mineallmine

Good to hear these updates, why not volunteer at the place you applied for? You never know if a position may then come up

:j