This is the end of the world as we know it.

grasscastle

Hi all, i pop in from time to time to search the forums and such but now my p*ss pot debt ridden life has gotten so bad im at my wits end. I have debt up to my eye balls behind with all my bills and struggling to even put food on the table for my son.

I really am not sure what to do and the thoughts of just drinking a co-codamol cocktail are getting stronger as time goes on, so i will try to provide you with as much information to my circumstances as possible to help with any advice.

In 2012 i was diagnosed with mental health issues which ended up with me spending some time in a psychiatric ward. I had to end my career and was signed onto long term sick from the doctors. When i tried to claim job seekers and such i had to go through the whole ATOS rubbish in which they said i was fit for working even tho i had a perfectly 150% proof reasons for not being + Dr signed letter.

So struggling with this + financial worries wasn't the best for me but i managed and pulled myself out of that dark place, even now I dont get job seekers money because my wife works and the dwp have decided im not entitled to anything, and its been like this since my 6months of NI contributions ran out way back in 2012.

My wife is a part time student (mon-wed) and works the rest of the week as a home carer barely ever getting the chance to spend time with us and sometimes having to drive 300mile round trip in 1 day, to bring home a measly £800 a month. We get £80 a month from housing benefit, £90 a month for child benefit and £95 a week from work and tax credits. Making a grand total of £1350 a month.

So with this in mind here is our out goings:

Rent: £525pm
EON: £220pm
Council Tax: £110pm
Car Insurance: £80pm
TV Licence: £12.12pm
Wifes College Fee: £30.40pm
Water: £20pm
Benefit overpayment: £20pm
Argos card: £20pm
Fuel/Desil: £70 per week

Total: £1317.52
Leaves us £32.48 per month for 3 people to eat, thats around £0.38p a day.


We are behind 1 month with the rent, we owe wonga £560 which we had to get out to have the car repaired just so my wife could continue getting to work, and on top of this the total that we now owe e-on is £2100 from the amount of months we just havent had the money to pay them.

Im using the foodbank as much as possible but the stuff you can pick up there its not a complete diet for a family thats for sure.
Also now i see they killed the crisis loan so thats 1 less resource i can call upon when things are so bad. Im pleeding with anyone who can give me advice here because jobs just are not available and having my child crying from hunger every day is just too hard to watch for much longer.

Thank you in advance.

jmhgibson123

hi, the only thing i can see is the car is eating your money, thats a lot of fuel for a week and insurance seems very high, could you downgrade the car to a cheaper more economical one? i would visit cab for advice on the benefits for yourself and good luck

themarsbargirl

Hi hun,
a co-codamol cocktail is not the answer, this problem can be solved!
First thing that jumps out at me is council tax-have you applied for council tax benefit? judging by the amount of hb you get it wouldn't be a lot but every penny helps!
Have you applied for dla? it's a nightmare filling in the forms for mental health, but again, if you are unable to work due to your mental health then you should be entitled to some.
You could also appeal the ATOS decision.

Your gas/elec is astronomical, i assume due to paying arrears. I suggest you contact a debt charity such as stepchange and see what solutions they can suggest.

no phone/internet at home?

themarsbargirl

Just thought as well-can wife claim mileage back from work for the journeys to and from clients houses?

in_need_of_direction

Sweetie, I've been where you are not due to debt but for a variety of other reasons. I'd rule out the drugs cocktail. Having researched extensively, I discovered how difficult it is to get the amounts right. The last thing your family needs is to have to deal with a totally incapacitated you on top of everything else. You've got to realise that irrespective of what anyone else determines,your thinking clearly shows you're unwell. Get an emergency gp appointment and be blunt with them not just about how you feel but also your circs. In the meantime, do you have any family or close friends you could talk to. The worst thing you can do, as I did, is be too proud to admit how bad things truly are. Not sure this is of much help but hopefully you'll at least know thru these posts that people are rooting for you. Stay strong and stay in tough. Take care

Monkeyballs

Hi,

As Marsbargirl and INoD have already pointed out, a co-codamol cocktail is not the answer! If nothing else it would taste disgusting and be a terrible waste of alcohol which you can ill afford anyway

Ok, I'm not going to patronise you and tell you it's all ok and things will get better... They will, but not on their own I'm afraid - you need to take control of your situation, let your family be the driving force in helping yourself! Even if you are unable to find work, have you looked to se if there are any other benefits available to you?

I really recommend that you contact your GP but also CAB and a debt charity because talking about your problems always helps. I've added a couple of links below;

MSE Benefits checker: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/benefits-check

Step Change homepage: http://www.stepchange.org/

Step Change, advice on payday lender debt: http://www.stepchange.org/Debtinformationandadvice/Typesofdebt/Paydayloandebt.aspx

Step Change, advice on utility debt: http://www.stepchange.org/Debtinformationandadvice/Typesofdebt/Utilitybillsdebt.aspx

Knowledge is power, and if you empower yourself then you are fighting back!

Take a look at these sites and do some digging of your own, at some stage more people will start posting advice too but the best I can offer is to not be a victim, look at what is good in your life and fight for it!

Keep posting!!!

MB

in_need_of_direction

I've just had another quick look at your outgoings. can you approach DWP and get your overpayment down to £10 a month. I know it's small but given there's no interest, provided you've a good track record, they can probably accommodate that. Also, do you have council tax free months approaching? like someone else said, the car insurance seems ridiculously high also, do you make use of loyalty cards when purchasing fuel for the car? even if it just means you can pick up some stuff to throw on gumtree.

Sam1984

Don't have anything to add other than to reiterate what the others have said, check the links and speak to your GP as soon as you can. I can't imagine how you feel hearing your little boy so upset but it would be immeasurable how much worse it would be without you. Stay strong and keep posting xx

Raggydoll85

If you have the time and access to the internet you could try and earn extra cash by doing surveys etc.. I have so far earned £21 from my survey and £3 from Pinecone..
Also in nectar points ive earnt £5 which i spent on ebay on xmas gifts...

Its not a lot but it might help a bit, and you can do them as and when you have time.

I also do Onepoll and am on £15 on that but they only pay out once you hit £40 xxx

Good luck and remember you are not alone x

Shelley2005_2

I know you feel like things are so dire that the only way out is your 'cocktail'. Believe me it's not. Your family would much rather be skint than not have you.

When we signed up with our debt management programme they said the most important things were our priority debts/outgoings - rent, gas, electric, council tax and food. These are the things you must focus on first. You can deal with everything else later.

I wonder if you can speak to your wife's college and ask them to reduce her monthly payments? Also, does your EON payment include arrears? I have found them to be quite helpful in reducing my repayments in the past so give them a ring.

If your council tax payments are up to date you will have a break soon between the last bill ending and the new one beginning. That should help out a bit.

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi grasscastle

Sorry I'm late but just thought I'd pop on with a few suggestions regarding your payments to us.

I'm assuming your monthly payments include so much towards the arrears you mention. Talk to us and tell us about your circumstances. It might be possible to spread the arrears over a longer period. This will reduce the monthly payments a bit.

Check you're on the best tariff for your circumstances. Pop your annual usage in kWh on to the comparison sites. This will show all the deals available to you, both with us and with the other suppliers.

Make sure you're on our Priority Services Register. This is a gateway into various free services that might help your situation going forward.

We've a team who specialise in helping customers in your sort of situation. They're our Caring Energy team and they'll be happy to talk to you about various options that could help.

One thing that comes to mind, there might be help available through the Water Trust Funds. This depends on the area you're in and who supplies your water. Some water companies have funds available to help with utility debts. Again, our Caring Energy team will be able to advise more.

Have you applied for Warm Home Discount? This is a Government led scheme that gives a one off payment towards energy bills for eligible customers. Too late for this year, I'm afraid, but might be worth thinking about for the future. Last year it was £135.

As a last resort, you could consider prepayment meters. They'll let you buy your energy as you need it from local retail outlets. Sometimes helps customers budget better.

We can also set the debt on the meter to collect at a lower weekly rate than I suspect you're paying at the moment.

There's no charge to fit prepayment meters if you think they'll help. Just be aware, although prices on prepayment are about the same as standard credit tariffs, you won't receive the cash adjustment for paying with a Monthly Direct Debit.

Hope this is of some interest grasscastle. Let me know if you need any more details. Always happy to help and best wishes for the future.

Malc