Debt advice help

tappyfeet92

Anyone able to help RE which debt management charity/company would work best for me please?

Debts currently:
£613 credit card (fees and interest means rising faster than I can pay)
£212 british gas (last house, now on prepayment)
£1000 interest free overdraft (not currently even thinking about paying this one)
£60 water bill (just been passed to recovery people)
plus a social fund loan that I've honestly no clue of the amount of

It looks so small compared to some others, but I'm struggling massively to pay it off I don't know how we'll be eating this summer, my last student loan payment was lower than expected by an awful lot so we're finding things very tight!

I should have:
£71 income support
£63 tax credits
£20 child benefit
£5 csa

a week during the holidays, as well as some savings to cover most of my holiday childcare fees as my childminder charges full fees to keep the place for september. I'm just waiting on is being processed.

Bills come to £376 a month ish not including rent (covered by housing benefit). This also doesn't include food or petrol. And I need to put at least £20 a week away to cover the shortfall in childcare fees. I can't work over the summer as it means paying for more childcare with no help as I won't qualify for tax credits besides the basic CTC as a full time student, as well as meaning the help I get currently will fall.

It's feeling impossible, I'm beginning to get letters from people that my debt's been passed onto and I don't know how much further I can cut costs It leaves me with about £45 a week to cover food, petrol, nappies, toiletries and anything else that crops up.

Would a debt management charity be able to help me? It'll be a lot more manageable come the end of september once my next loan instalment comes in, the one I tried (think it may be stepchange) wanted my full yearly income, including student loans, etc... Which is no help in these shorter term issues as I don't currently have as much money as my yearly income would suggest Is there anyone who can help that anyone knows who can do something based on my short term circumstances?

I struggle with anxiety and depression and at the minute am having panic attacks when it comes to speaking on the phone, I'm hoping someone'll have a suggestion of someone who can help to avoid having to ring multiple people as it's causing as much stress as the money issues at the minute

Thanks for any help, it's feeling like a never ending battle at the minute and I'm struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel

emskyxx

Hi there,

I'm in the process of going on a debt management plan with stepchange. I visited their website https://www.stepchange.org and then filled in the "get debt help section" it takes about 15 minutes and at the end they advise how they can help.

I haven't had to speak to anybody on the phone at the moment as it's all being done online.

I really feel for you, as I said I'm going through similar troubles and also suffer depression and anxiety.

Give stepchange a go, they've helped loads of people and it's completely free.
I forgot to add, I was able to put in monthly incomings rather than yearly. Just put what you're getting now. If things change later in the year then you can give them a call and they'll go through your budget again with you.

I wish you all the luck for the future.

tappyfeet92

I think it was step change I tried online, I got to a point where they said I wasn't allowing enough for certain things and they made me increase it, I then got to the next step and it said my outgoings were higher than my income so wouldn't let me I any further! I had to speak to an advisor, who then wouldn't let me proceed without using my yearly income as ta guaranteed I'm about £800 down this last loan payment so it isn't a small amount, we'll be fine once we hit the end of September but I'm going to end up with issues that I pay off in September, then have similar issues to solve in jan if it keep adding up as it is

National_Debtline

Hello there,

I'm really sorry to learn about your situation and the stress it's causing you. Please do ensure that you keep as much of your income to cover your essential outgoings as you need. It is quite common for someone to have more going out then coming in - and of course this can have quite significant problems for the repaying of the debts. You may wish to post up your statement of account for us to see - this helps everyone on the forum give you some practical help and advice about your budget. Here's the link: http://www.stoozing.com/calculator/soa.php

In addition, please be aware that there are various options open to you when it comes to dealing with the debts. Given what you've mentioned about feeling stressed you may with to consider applying for a 'Debt Relief Order'. If your DRO application is successful, most creditors cannot take action to recover your debts for 12 months. The debts are then written off after the 12 months are up. The application fee for a DRO is £90.

We have a useful fact sheet that explains more about a DRO and what one is, you can find it by clicking here.

Very best wishes,

David @ National Debtline

wildincrawley

Hi Tappyfeet, I would recommend the Citizen's Advice Bureau, as they helped me.

It's a 2 step process, first I had to queue in the centre to meet a general volunteer, and outline my problem. She then booked an appointment with a trained debt adviser and told me what information I would have to bring to that appointment. She also gave me some forms to fill in.

After that, they will "hold your hand" as much as you want in terms of advice on cutting spending, letters to creditors (if needed), etc.

All the other free ways to get advice are probably equally valid, just letting you know what worked for me, and not 1 phone call needed!