Working to skint in the blink of an eye

ph80

I left my full time well paid job in October of last year and set up my own limited company as I had attracted a contract.

I had an operation in March 2013 and have been unable to work since then (although I became fit this week). My client cancelled my contract last week meaning I have no source of income.

Whilst off work I was paying my bills by credit card as I didn't want to claim benefits and I am now in £4000 of credit card debt (thinking I could have paid it back once I was working).

I'm skint beyond belief. I live in private rented accommodation with my fiancee who only earns £18k per year and cant afford to meet all our bills. Our rent and council tax alone is £685 a month!

I've been on EntitledTo which says i'm not entitled to any benefits.

What can I do?

Do I have to close down my limited company? Although I actually can't afford to do it! I can't afford to go bankrupt as my skills lie in an employment area where bankruptcy would stop me from gaining employment.

I'm keeping a brave face at home but feel like crying. I can't even afford to get to my local CAB office or Jobcentre! Both are a 1 hour and 30 minute walk away and my nearest family and friends live 30 miles away!

xylophone

Can you claim contrib JSA? https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/61692993#Comment_61692993 post 5

ph80

I thought I would be but according to EntitledTo i'm not entitled to anything! I had heard that housing benefit might pay a part of my rent and would keep a roof over my head but apparently that's not available either!

p00hsticks

The best laid plans.....

Are you now in a position to start looking for another contract ? Amd what are your chances of finding one - when you set up your own company you presumably didn't see yourself going on forever with just one contract with a single company ? Or have you now decided that you would prefer to go back to being an employee ? Any chance of rebuilding bridges with your old employers ?

I know it's not much help now but for future reference - as i'm sure you now realise - if you run your own one-man-band company you really need to be putting money aside in the good times to cover you in the bad times - your company could then have possibly paid you sick pay. Are you the company director ? Hopefully you still have money in the company to cover things like corporation tax, and any PAYE / NI due. If you;re up to date with all this and there's been no money coming into the company I think you can simply declare it dormant for a while until you sorrt out how you;re going to go forward.

If you've chalked up £4000 of credit card debt in only three months, then unless you can get another contract or find a job quicly you are in danger of drowning in debt, as I think you realise. You really need to be seriously tightening your belt. When does your tenancy expire ? Any chance you can move somewhere cheaper ? What savings can you make in terms of cutting down on luxuries like mobile contracts, cable TV etc. Draw up a SOA (Statement of Affairs) to give you a clear idea of what your outgoings are every month and see how you can cut down - have a look at the Debt Free Wannabee board for inspiration.

p00hsticks

ph80 wrote: »

I thought I would be but according to EntitledTo i'm not entitled to anything! I had heard that housing benefit might pay a part of my rent and would keep a roof over my head but apparently that's not available either!

Have you actually *tried* submitting a claim for JSA ? If your previous full time job started before April 2010 then you should have the two years worth of NI contributions necessary (they'll be currently looking at tax years 2010-11 and 2011-12). I'm not sure what the position is with you still presumably being director/employee of your company, but if you are now intending on closing down the company and looking for employment elsewhere you may be eligible. It's worth a shot.

dodger1

ph80 wrote: »

I'm skint beyond belief. I live in private rented accommodation with my fiancee who only earns £18k per year and cant afford to meet all our bills. Our rent and council tax alone is £685 a month!

That's just about my circumstances a couple of years ago. After rent and council tax you still have about £565 a month to live on, so until you can get a job yourself you just need to tighten up your spending.

RAS

ph80 wrote: »

I thought I would be but according to EntitledTo i'm not entitled to anything! I had heard that housing benefit might pay a part of my rent and would keep a roof over my head but apparently that's not available either!

Has your partner tried to claim WTC, CTB or LHA?

What is the LHA rate for a one bedroom property in your area?

Brassedoff

When is the end of your company tax year? I assume as you started in November, its then. It is important with regard to the end of years and the liabilities you would have chalked up. As for going dormant, thst depends on what year you traded, end of year and all thst.

For immediate income have you thought of doing any freelance work in the meantime?

ph80

p00hsticks wrote: »

The best laid plans.....

Are you now in a position to start looking for another contract ? Amd what are your chances of finding one - when you set up your own company you presumably didn't see yourself going on forever with just one contract with a single company ? Or have you now decided that you would prefer to go back to being an employee ? Any chance of rebuilding bridges with your old employers ?

I know it's not much help now but for future reference - as i'm sure you now realise - if you run your own one-man-band company you really need to be putting money aside in the good times to cover you in the bad times - your company could then have possibly paid you sick pay. Are you the company director ? Hopefully you still have money in the company to cover things like corporation tax, and any PAYE / NI due. If you;re up to date with all this and there's been no money coming into the company I think you can simply declare it dormant for a while until you sorrt out how you;re going to go forward.

If you've chalked up £4000 of credit card debt in only three months, then unless you can get another contract or find a job quicly you are in danger of drowning in debt, as I think you realise. You really need to be seriously tightening your belt. When does your tenancy expire ? Any chance you can move somewhere cheaper ? What savings can you make in terms of cutting down on luxuries like mobile contracts, cable TV etc. Draw up a SOA (Statement of Affairs) to give you a clear idea of what your outgoings are every month and see how you can cut down - have a look at the Debt Free Wannabee board for inspiration.

I'm looking for another contract but i've had no luck so far. Now I don't expect that to be something that happens overnight. It took me 6 months of discussions/interviews to get the initial contract. I never expected to have 1 contract but my website has produced no leads, even friends/family have tried to get the company name 'out there' but to no avail.

I'd love to keep running my company but with no prospect of income I have to face reality that it isn't looking likely that it is going to keep a roof over my head. Therefore, i'm looking for employed work. There's no way of rebuilding the relationship with my client. I asked for a review and they persisted with their position.

I was putting money aside for the tax man and that money is still there as I do not want to owe the tax man and its the companies money, not mine. I could never put any money aside for myself as the contract never paid as much as I would need to have done so. The contract managed to just about cover my outgoings with maybe £1 to spare!

We looked at moving to save money but landlords wanted access to bank statements to ensure we could pay. The bank statements showed that I was skint so we can't go anywhere. There's nothing more we can cut down on. We have been reducing over the last 3 months and there's nothing left.

sulkisu

You might need to apply for anything and everything, even if it is not in your chosen field. Supermarkets, betting shops and bars always seem to be hiring, especially if you can work pretty much any shift pattern. Also try temping agencies for short term admin or even factory work.

p00hsticks

ph80 wrote: »

There's no way of rebuilding the relationship with my client. I asked for a review and they persisted with their position.

When I talked about rebuilding bridges, I was thinking more in terms of the employer you left to start contracting - is there any chance you could go back to your old job ?