Help - I need to clear debt so I can get rid of credit cards.

GhostHunter_3

Sorry for long post and a few moans but I cant understand why when I hold my hands up to needing help and shout I don’t want to get into more debt the credit card companies don’t want to help. We are told time and time again to get help before its too late, when we are brave enough to be open honest upfront and ask for that help they shut the door in our faces and say come back when you’ve paid off what you owe us!

Please be nice I’ve had enough of bullies - Ok here we go! _pale_

Monthly SOA

MONTHLY EXPENDITURE

TV License £ 11.61
Contents insurance £ 14.97
Landline Phone £ 10.50 (includes line rental and anytime calls)
Gas & Electric £ 50.00
Internet £ 24.97
Pet insurance £ 13.01
Electrical goods
insurance £ 2.99
Sky insurance £ 7.90
Water (supply) £ 20.05
Council Tax £120.00
Electric store finance £ 47.27 (3 items combined most have 1 year or less left)
Water (drainage) £ 8.82
Sky subscription £ 23.00
________
£355.09p
________
MONTHLY INCOME (which goes straight to pay above)
Working Tax Credit £298.52

Food/
Cleaning & household £100. or less (I don’t usually pay this myself as my husband chips in). This feeds / caters for 2 big dogs, my husband and me! We get Value stuff wherever possible unless its more economical / cheaper to get a different brand.
Rent is supposed to be £500 a month but we cannot pay this and are not entitled to help as we rent from family (the cost of mortgage on property is now £900 they bought it as an investment not for us, but are more happy for us to live here than in a caravan!) If we could claim housing benefits would pay £450 a month.
Mobile phone - my mobile is on Pay and Go and gets toped up £10 a month if the penny jar is full enough!
My husband has a contract mobile and his own SOA plus his business SOA but I don’t get involved with either - Except to argue when his bills are not paid on time again and the companies are on the phone chasing him up.
We are downgrading our internet in September when the 12 month contract expires.
A lot of the household bills are with Tesco services, simply because we save the points and use them at Christmas so we have minimum extra expenditure in December and January.

My husband is self employed and I do not work due to illness. Again we are heading towards winter where my husbands business almost ceases due to its nature. Thankfully this year he has a few more contracts that will see him through, however all the income he does get from them often goes to keep his business bank balance from going withdrawn, plus a little cash to keep us in food.
Dont even go there with expecting him to give up his self emplyment. Thats another story ive told before - he still wont, but usually at some point he will go out and find a small part time job so he can pay his bills and bring some bread, baked beans and milk home each week!

We have tried ‘the joint account’ but to be honest it didn’t work, got me into more debt because I was bailing us out and now repaying a big loan over a long period. That’s why we decided to keep our own individual accounts, he runs his and his business one, I run the households and my one. Its easier to control the finances and make sure the important bills are paid, well the ones that affect the house anyway - if he doesn’t pay his bills on time its not my problem unless it affects my credit score!

I have just applied for Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Incapacity Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Credit CARDS :rolleyes2

Nationwide - APR 17.9% Credit limit £1,000 (Balance £1003.94)

Skycard - APR 16.9% Credit limit £800 (Balance £791.99)

Capital One - *:huh:APR 29.9% (?) Credit limit £800 (Balance £838.18)

*:shocked: I rang Capital One today to ask for APR and the advisor didn’t know what APR meant so I told them and they said they couldn’t see it on my statement and asked me to explain again what it was, which I did, I was then abruptly transferred to someone else who said until I paid off my over limit amount they couldn’t tell me - if I paid off my over limit amount of £79.39 and waited 4 days then called back they could tell me.
All 3 cards refused to help me saying they would consider a balance transfer once I had repaid the card in full. :mad:


Up until June I had been able to pay off my card in full, then I could manage to find £150 which I spread over the 3 cards, now I’m finding it a struggle to get the minimum repayments together!


So rounded up £3,000 :eek:

I am looking to clear up my finances as I have 3 Credit Cards They are all over their limit and I want to combine them all together so I can concentrate on repaying 1 amount.

I would be grateful for some advice on the best way to do this as I will then destroy 2 cards and just be left with 1 credit card for controlled and emergency use and 1 card for repayment. I will destroy 2 cards and not be tempted to hold onto them, trust me I’ve learnt my lesson already!

Ideally I would prefer to keep NW credit card for 'spending emergencies' as I can keep all my finances online in 1 place.

If it would be cheaper or better for me to apply for a small loan (if someone will accept me) I will do so. I can then keep my NW credit card.

Please can you advise me the best way forward so I can sort my finances before getting into bad debt again. I haven’t gone on a spending spree with these cards, just been used the past year for payment emergencies on unpaid bills and online supermarket shopping.

Dont think I am pinning our poverty onto my husband as i am not, far from it if it wernt for him working so hard we wouldnt be surviving at all!

Hope all this makes sense. Please be kind
(it may happen to you one day )

Thanks.
:idea:

GH

floss2

Just one question, why can you not claim HB if renting from family? Do you have a tenancy agreement?

izzybusy23

GhostHunter wrote: »

Sorry for long post and a few moans but I cant understand why when I hold my hands up to needing help and shout I don’t want to get into more debt the credit card companies don’t want to help. We are told time and time again to get help before its too late, when we are brave enough to be open honest upfront and ask for that help they shut the door in our faces and say come back when you’ve paid off what you owe us!

Please be nice I’ve had enough of bullies - Ok here we go! _pale_

Monthly SOA

MONTHLY EXPENDITURE

TV License £ 11.61
Contents insurance £ 14.97
Landline Phone £ 10.50 (includes line rental and anytime calls)
Gas & Electric £ 50.00
Internet £ 24.97 - as you have a BT line, what about sky's 3 for £26 deal (six packages, broadband and anytime calls) ??
Pet insurance £ 13.01
Electrical goods
insurance £ 2.99
Sky insurance £ 7.90 - lose this.. should be covered on house insurance.
Water (supply) £ 20.05
Council Tax £120.00 - can you get this spread over 12 months instead of 10?
Electric store finance £ 47.27 (3 items combined most have 1 year or less left)
Water (drainage) £ 8.82
Sky subscription £ 23.00 - again as above, seems daft paying this plus £24.97 for internet when sky do a package for £26
________
£355.09p
________
MONTHLY INCOME (which goes straight to pay above)
Working Tax Credit £298.52

Food/
Cleaning & household £100. or less (I don’t usually pay this myself as my husband chips in). This feeds / caters for 2 big dogs, my husband and me! We get Value stuff wherever possible unless its more economical / cheaper to get a different brand.
Rent is supposed to be £500 a month but we cannot pay this and are not entitled to help as we rent from family (the cost of mortgage on property is now £900 they bought it as an investment not for us, but are more happy for us to live here than in a caravan!) If we could claim housing benefits would pay £450 a month.
Mobile phone - my mobile is on Pay and Go and gets toped up £10 a month if the penny jar is full enough!
My husband has a contract mobile and his own SOA plus his business SOA but I don’t get involved with either - Except to argue when his bills are not paid on time again and the companies are on the phone chasing him up.
We are downgrading our internet in September when the 12 month contract expires.
A lot of the household bills are with Tesco services, simply because we save the points and use them at Christmas so we have minimum extra expenditure in December and January.

My husband is self employed and I do not work due to illness. Again we are heading towards winter where my husbands business almost ceases due to its nature. Thankfully this year he has a few more contracts that will see him through, however all the income he does get from them often goes to keep his business bank balance from going withdrawn, plus a little cash to keep us in food.
Dont even go there with expecting him to give up his self emplyment. Thats another story ive told before - he still wont, but usually at some point he will go out and find a small part time job so he can pay his bills and bring some bread, baked beans and milk home each week!

We have tried ‘the joint account’ but to be honest it didn’t work, got me into more debt because I was bailing us out and now repaying a big loan over a long period. That’s why we decided to keep our own individual accounts, he runs his and his business one, I run the households and my one. Its easier to control the finances and make sure the important bills are paid, well the ones that affect the house anyway - if he doesn’t pay his bills on time its not my problem unless it affects my credit score!

I have just applied for Disability Living Allowance (DLA), Incapacity Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.

Credit CARDS :rolleyes2

Nationwide - APR 17.9% Credit limit £1,000 (Balance £1003.94)

Skycard - APR 16.9% Credit limit £800 (Balance £791.99)

Capital One - *:huh:APR 29.9% (?) Credit limit £800 (Balance £838.18)

*:shocked: I rang Capital One today to ask for APR and the advisor didn’t know what APR meant so I told them and they said they couldn’t see it on my statement and asked me to explain again what it was, which I did, I was then abruptly transferred to someone else who said until I paid off my over limit amount they couldn’t tell me - if I paid off my over limit amount of £79.39 and waited 4 days then called back they could tell me.
All 3 cards refused to help me saying they would consider a balance transfer once I had repaid the card in full. :mad:


Up until June I had been able to pay off my card in full, then I could manage to find £150 which I spread over the 3 cards, now I’m finding it a struggle to get the minimum repayments together!


So rounded up £3,000 :eek:

I am looking to clear up my finances as I have 3 Credit Cards They are all over their limit and I want to combine them all together so I can concentrate on repaying 1 amount.

I would be grateful for some advice on the best way to do this as I will then destroy 2 cards and just be left with 1 credit card for controlled and emergency use and 1 card for repayment. I will destroy 2 cards and not be tempted to hold onto them, trust me I’ve learnt my lesson already!

Ideally I would prefer to keep NW credit card for 'spending emergencies' as I can keep all my finances online in 1 place.

If it would be cheaper or better for me to apply for a small loan (if someone will accept me) I will do so. I can then keep my NW credit card.

Please can you advise me the best way forward so I can sort my finances before getting into bad debt again. I haven’t gone on a spending spree with these cards, just been used the past year for payment emergencies on unpaid bills and online supermarket shopping.

Dont think I am pinning our poverty onto my husband as i am not, far from it if it wernt for him working so hard we wouldnt be surviving at all!

Hope all this makes sense. Please be kind
(it may happen to you one day )

Thanks.
:idea:

GH

Personally I think the Sky cover is a bit of a con. My OH agreed to it a couple of weeks ago, but we are covered for all accidental damages on our house insurance.. check to see if your house insurance does the same and cancel the sky cover.

fiveyearplan

What kind/age of dogs do you have. I think your pet insurance is cheap and would like to investigate changing mine. Who are you insured with?

GhostHunter_3

Hi

Thanks for replies so far.

To answer the questions:

HB To cut a long story short we can submit a claim for HB but I have been warned by council benefits its not going to be easy. The lady who came round to go through C/tax claim told me this and said we would have to fight. We do have a tenancy agreement but as we have not paid rent until its null and void in benefits eyes (anyone can see we cant afford to pay). They will need to see a comercial tenency to be satisfied we are renting fairly from family.

I do not have line rental with BT, I have both line and house phone with Tesco. I am considering changing this as theyre not helping debt problems either - but thats another complaint!

Council Tax is spread over 12 months it is £120 a month full amount (Just submitted a claim for benefit).

The Contents insurance doesnt cover the Sky box for faults or breakdowns, just damage - I checked. However the box has been playing up lately after all it is 7 years old now!

We have just 1 dog insured with E & L insurance, the other dog doesnt go out for walks as it has problems.

Like the idea of looking into 3 for 1 package with Sky. Have actually considered Virgin Media but they only offer FreeView equivelant in our area. We have thought about ditching Sky altogether but thats a final resort!

Thanks

GH

Conor_3

GET RID OF THE SKY INSURANCE. It's a whopping big con. You can buy a replacement box off Ebay should it fail and SKY ONLY CHARGE A £60 FLAT CALLOUT FEE WHICH INCLUDES A REPLACEMENT BOX SHOULD IT NEED IT if you've not got Sky Insurance. Hell, if it's a normal digibox, you may find someone who has upgraded to Sky+ who'll give you one free. I know I've got a spare here kicking about in a box.

Pet insurance is also a con. The excess you have to pay just strangely happens to be the amount most vet bills are. For example, last week we took our dog to the vets for a tooth clean and he needed 7 extractions which came to £135 - LESS THAN THE EXCESS. Also our cat got hit by a car last year and needed its broken jaw fixing which cost £102 in total - LESS THAN THE EXCESS. In both cases, pet insurance WOULD NOT have paid out.

pollyanna24

I'm not sure you should be saying pet insurance is a con just because it wouldn't have worked out so well for you!!

My excess on my pets is £40 for the cat and £50 for the dog, so I would have been covered in both the examples you used.

Plus the year before last, our dog got cancer and we ended up spending £6,000 to help him have a nice last year of his life. This we couldn't have done without insurance.

rayday2

Our cat got salmonela and cost us £400 luckily we had pet insurance.

I pay £7.95 a month and it covers two cats and one dog. Excess is about £50 - you should always set your excess to be an amount you can find easily rather than just going for a high excess to get cheaper insurance and then finding you are not spending more than the excess.

Did that make sense?

spud30

I agree with Polly.

We have pet insurance for our dog, and things would have to be really desperate before I would consider cancelling the policy.

The excess on our policy is £80, but when you consider it's £50 just for a course of antibiotics, £80 is nothing when it comes to vet bills.

Our dog has had to have 2 operations so far, both far exceeded the excess and paid out without a problem.

Spendaholic_Chick

GhostHunter wrote: »

:shocked: I rang Capital One today to ask for APR and the advisor didn’t know what APR meant so I told them and they said they couldn’t see it on my statement and asked me to explain again what it was, which I did, I was then abruptly transferred to someone else who said until I paid off my over limit amount they couldn’t tell me - if I paid off my over limit amount of £79.39 and waited 4 days then called back they could tell me.

THe advisr didn't know what an APR was?!! :eek: :eek: :eek:

(it may happen to you one day )

Most of us are in a similar situation, or have been in the past, that's why we're here


As you don't work and I'm guessing have plenty of timeon your hands, are you able to ebay/amazon stuff to make a start?

vanilla

I have just got my internet for nothing for the next 3 months and then £12.99 a month after that for 12 months, i'm with orange and have been for 2 years and i was paying £17.99 so i phoned and complained about the price so they done a deal. Worth a try.
I agree with the sky get rid of it, mine broke last month so i phoned and they said it would cost £60 for someone to come out i said no way and i'd cancel sky altogether so they said forget the £60 and came out and fixed it for nothing.
I rent from my FIL and MIL and it's houseing benefit.
I would go to CAB with all the credit cards and let them deal with it plus it gives you a bit of time to gather up money.
Hope i've helped a bit.