Please help a newbie!

dangermouse83

Hi there,

Been browsing this site for a while now, and decided it was time to sign up! So please be gentle with me, a newbie!

I'm in desparate need of some advice. I have an old debt of nearly £400 with t mobile, which bloodhounds Lowell Financial have now got hold of. I'm paying off another debt with these of a similiar amount for an old capital one debt.
I am completley useless with things like this, but have got better over the years. These debts are from around 5-6 years ago, when i was 18 and naieve. Since then, I have moved city, and they have caught up with me.

I had a letter months back from Lowell, ststing that I must pay this T mobile debt off ASAP. I called them, and was told the standard "you must pay this ballance off in full or we'll send you to court and you'll have a visit from the bailifs".
After telling them I'm an apprentice on 12k a year, with a house to run, they told me I'd have to pay a minimum of £63 per month. No way I can afford this, i tell them and get it down to £17.50 per month. They agreed the total and requested my bank details.

Rightly or wrongly, I do NOT give out my bank details on the phone, and requested a direct debit mandate.

I was told this was no problem, and it would be sent. Heard nothing from them until yesterday, when I received a nasty letter stating that if I don't pay in full in the next 7 days I'll be took to court.

I rang them again, quite angrilly asking where my mandate was. I was told that they can't send mandates and that I was mis-informed. (the other debt I'm paying to them is via direct debit!) They told me to pay NOW in full via a debit or credit card (i have neither) or to borrow it! ooh, the irony.
They then proceded to ask about my partner's income, and if HE could pay it!!!
I cant afford to pay them £60 odd per month. I was in tears all day yesterday about it and am feeling really miserable. I made an offer but it just aint good enough for them!
I have been told to send in my bank statement and wage slip.

Please, please someone give me some advice, as I'm trying so hard to clear these debts, as in the next few years we're looking at buying a house.

Thank you all, and sorry for my lengthy 1st post

lynsayjane

hi dm (cool name btw!)

don't get yourself upset by the vultures, they can't take what you don't have to give and no court will demand you pay them more than you can afford so they will use it as a threat only. you have shown willing to make payments and you'd think they'd be happy with something rather than nothing eh? for advice on this I'd sugges contacting the cab office who will be able to give you good help.

other than this if you would like advice to help you make your payments please post your soa and we can see what we can do for you. if you need help with this see southern scousers sticky post at the top of the thread.

best of luck and welcome to mse!

dangermouse83

lynsayjane,

Thanks so much for your quick reply!

You are right, these people are vultures. It's easier said than done not to get upset though! Talk about kicking you when you're down, lol

I will take a look at southern scouse's sticky and follow the directions there.
Bit of a daft question, what is a soa?

Once again, thank you for your kind comments

lynsayjane

yoru most welcome hun. an soa is a statement of affairs, it's basically a list of all your incomings and outgoings. sometimes it's hard to look at your own finances with an objective eye and so allowing some others in similar situations to have a look can show some changes that you may not have noticed.

dangermouse83

cool, that explains it!

that makes sense. Is my partner's income included in that or just mine?

Broken_hearted

The debt is yours nothing to do with your partner and they can't ask you to borrow money. work out what you can afford to pay that and nothing more.

dangermouse83

Thats what i thought, broken hearted. They were having none of it.

Glad I know where I stand now.

thanks

lynsayjane

dangermouse83 wrote: »

cool, that explains it!

that makes sense. Is my partner's income included in that or just mine?

I agree that your partners income has nothing to do with your debt, but as for your soa that would depend on how you work out bills etc. does it all get piled into one account or do one of you pay the other a certain amount each month towards it?

eg previously when I had a partner living here he payed me 'rent'. the house and all bills/utilities were in my name so he paid me a part of the ones he was liable for ie electric, sky, council tax etc but not my mobile or cinema card. so I would have included the money from him as an incoming and all bills as outgoings. I know other people have the bills split so they pay certain ones and their oh's pay the others, no handing of money either way.

dangermouse83

Here's my SOA, thanks for the patience. I read southern scousers' sticky.


Monthly Incomings:

My salary - £756

Monthly Outgoings:

Mortgage/Rent - £230
Council Tax - £90
Gas - £30
Electric - £40
Water: £10
TV License - £10.99
Phone - £15
Mobile: £15
Food - £100
Car: £65 (tax, insurance etc- my partner pays £200 on the repayments)
Petrol - £30
Pension: £40
Capital One debt: £25
Washing Machine Rental: £13
Contents Insurance: £5.85
Expenses for when i'm away training: £20

Total: £749.84

oh dear

tealady

Gas and electric seem a bit high. Check you are on the cheapest tarifs by using an energy comparison website. DON'T EVER leave things on standby, they use an awful lot of electricity that way. Check your Council Tax banding as wellto make sure yours is correct. Finally DON'T give in to these bullies (thats all they are). They don't care about people, they just want money

pinkshoes

Just ignore all the threats, and if they take you to court, then you can offer to pay at £1 a week or something... The only luxury item on your list is your mobile phone, so you're not exactly leading a frivoulous life!!

Could you not get a 2nd job for 1 evening a week? a 4 hour shift one night a week wouldn't be too bad, and at minimum wage would give you an extra £90 per month. I know it's not the idea solution, but might be worth considering.