help i am stuck in a rut

kayla

hello, i am very worried and in a panic. i have lots of debts at the moment most of them are only a few hundred pounds which i am trying to sort out. the main thing i am worried about is my electricity and gas bill. my husband and i have had a few bad patches with money and we just buried our heads in the sand, ignored letters and now it has got out of hand. we owe scottish power £2,700 now and a debt agency has said they want to fit a prepayment meter on the 15th may to pay it off, which obviously i dont want. i have tried to phoned the company and scottish power to try and make some sort of payment arrangement to get it payed off but all they said was that they will only accept payment in full. i am reclaiming bank charges of nearly £5000 but dont think i will get that in time. i dont know what to do anymore and at the end of my tether please help!!!!!!!

gemsaysdontdodebtkids

The first thing to do is calm down. Have you offered the electricity companies token payments? Have you explained your financial situation to them in writing? If not then do so asap.

Tell them how much you can afford, make a budget and send it to them.

Welshlassie

Hi Kayla
First things first, well done on facing up to your debts. The best things you can do is prepare a SOA (see "First Time Postsers" thread on page 1) this will list all your income, outgoings and debts including the APRs. This can help the wonderful folk on here identify areas where savings can be made and release some extra cash for you.

With regardrs Scottish Power, how much can you afford to pay off initially? By paying some of the debt off this might hold them off for long enough for the bank charges to come through so the balance can be paid off then.

I know it must be really scary to be in this position and facing up to the debts, but the sooner you do it, the quicker you wil be able to get it sorted. You should also consider calling Payplan, CCCS or Citizen Advise Bureau, these are all free and impartial and can help you organise the best way to pay back your debts.

Good luck.

Little_Miss_Winner

Hiya Kayla,

Welcome to mse :wave:, I agree with the other two posters above, havent got much to add really, but will pop in today from time tot ime to see how you are getting on.

Grab a pen and paper (oh and a cuppa!) and start making out your soa.....

Hugs for now
pot
x

kayla

i have offered to pay them £50 a month extra on top of my usual bill but they just told me they want the payment in full.

GirlRacer_2

Hi guys, anyone able to offer Kayla some advice here....

chevalier

I would suggest that you send the extra payment anyway as a sign of good faith