2014 Debt Busting - 37.4% clear

BILLIE

I am pleased to read that your % is rising and in effect your arrears are balancing as you are now on this year's bills. Very motivational posts. Keep at it you will get there. x

mr2jay

Thanks Billie

It's made me realise that despite some of the bills still growing, I am still making a difference to the overall percentage

I know that it is swings and roundabouts and largely academic but taking solace in the most favorable way of displaying the same numbers is definitely the way forward

in_need_of_direction

It really is. You're doing so well

mr2jay

Sorry I have been away for a few weeks - it has been mental here of late with too many bank holidays (get paid by the hour so they mean I don't get paid), my little'un's first birthday, visits to Devon/Cornwall to see family, weddings ....

Basically I haven't had a free weekend since my last post.

That doesn't mean that the debt busting has stayed still, it just means I haven't had time to update the post

Another little development is that I have given up the smokes Made it a month now since my last one and considering I was a 20 a day person for 20 years (roll ups, not straights), that's something I am VERY proud of.

What I have done is bought a ceramic savings jar that needs to be smashed to get the money out and get what I would normally spend on tobacco in £2 coins. This is put into the jar and can't be touched until the jar is full I know I could put the money towards debts but I needed something psychological to keep me going and feeling the weight increase every week in the jar is doing that for me. That is satisfying and the money that is being saved in there will be for our next car

So things are still moving forward - I have increased the rent arrears total to the target value. Strictly speaking we aren't that far in arrears but I know that once we have reached that figure, That's one crossed off the list and we are back to a regular "pay the rent monthly" scenario.

A couple of other bills have come in - one very scary EOn bill (that'll teach me not to let them calculate on estimates) and another small Water bill but all in all, I am still postive and striking more off the totals each week than they are increasing by, gradually bringing this down.

Judging by my spreadsheet (which is a work of art by the way), I should be about 60% cleared off by the end of June

So, that's an update - Friday will see another pay day and another dent in the debts, each one a step closer to being rid of these

**edit** For some reason the title isn't changing....for the record I am at 41.7% clear now

E.ON_Company_Representative:_Helena

Hi mr2jay,

I don't want to stick my nose in, but just wanted to offer help you may need from us

You say you've just had a big bill from us, have you made sure the account is billed up to accurate reads now?

Also make sure you're on the best tariff for your needs, they're on the website to have a look through.

There's also some great energy efficiency on there as well, to help you save a bit on how much you're using.

But if you do need any help with the account, please just let me know

Helena

Oh and very well done so far

mr2jay

Thanks Helena,

I know this isn't your fault personally but I am a little miffed with EOn to be honest. We switched from NPower last year and got stung badly as we ended up with a huge final bill from NPower to clear and when I looked into things, despite your lovely telesales team telling my partner that we would be better off, in truth we are paying about £300 a year more. Once I am back on track, I WILL be trying to switch away from your company....

As I say, it isn't your fault personally which is why I am not flying off the handle but as a company, I am less than impressed with how you have dealt with us...

Anyhow, moving on

Getting there slowly

Now 45.05% cleared off....nearly at the 50% mark now

Managed to clear £504.44 off the debts today. Good smash there

Former_E.ON_Company_Representative:_Malc

Hi mr2jay

Helena's not in the office at the moment so hope you don't mind if I reply instead.

I'm sorry you're miffed with us because of the way we handled your switch last year. Are you aware of the recent Ofgem investigation into our selling practices between June 2010 and December 2013?

I posted more about this on the Energy Board last week.

Basically, we were concerned we might have given some of our customers the wrong information when they switched to us. To sort this, we'll be contacting those customers we believe were affected.

These accounts will be reviewed and, if customers are worse off as a result, we'll be offering compensation to cover any financial loss.

As you switched to us during this time, might be worth contacting us to see if you fall into this bracket.

There's a dedicated support team dealing with this. Their contact details are on our website under 'Help and Support.'

The same page has a Compensation Form, too, and you can use this to start a review if you prefer. There's also some FAQs that might help.

To help us answer you quickly, please let us know your previous supplier and a few details about your arrangement with them.

This includes the tariff name (with or without a Standing Charge), whether Economy 7 or single rate, how you paid them and your usage whilst with them.

An old statement/bill will probably have all the information we need. If you don't have any, another form of correspondence like a welcome letter may do instead.

Also, your account number with us.

Not making any promises mr2jay but might be worth a shot.

Malc