Can't take much more

Nekoda

Hi everyone, me and my partner moved to Durham late 2014, we landed some jobs with a care company working zero hours, we got as many hours as they could throw at is and money just was not a problem, we splashed out and as my credit rating was excellent was able to get a nice car on cheap finance.

Towards the middle of 2015 the hours dropped, we were making no where near as much and could not keep up with our debts and so ended up in a debt management plan.

Cut to nov 2015 we found an agency, I went to sign up, they couldn't believe the bad hours we were being offerd and asiured us there was plenty of work if we wanted it. Great! We started today and they are offering 20 hours a week. Each.

We left our old jobs on the basis there was work with these people and they just lied to us. So now we will be struggling to pay our rent, utilities, the car finance and the debt management plan.

I'm a part law student so I can't afford ccjs or bankrupcy on my file as it almost makes becoming a solicitor (what I'm aiming for) impossible. I'm at my wits end with stress. To top it off we are getting married in 6 months and it's only half paid off. It's on France so all our families have booked hotels etc we can't possibly cal it off but we have about £2000 still left to pay on it. All these decisions were made when money was great we didn't expect our old company to just drop our hours, they couldn't even explain why but it was obvious they were giving them to new staff.

Sorry for the long winded story, I just need advice on where to go from here as it's getting me down every day I can't even think straight

BrandNewStart

Hang in there Nekoda. It's good to get it all out! Cleverer moneysavers than me will be along soon to give more concrete help. In the meantime well done on taking a good first step by posting on here.

whitewing

Can you keep the agency job and see if your old employer will take you back part time?

sourcrates

Hi Nekoda,

Who is your DMP with, and how much debt do you have, roughly ?

Do you know if the debts are still with original creditors, or debt collectors ?

Cheers

luhrmann

i think the number one thing you need to do is get another job. even if it's not in the same industry, you need a stable income, no matter how little that is. i know it's easier said than done, but when you feel like you're drowning you need to set goals you can focus on and keep from drowning. start by sending out as many CVs as possible!

Nekoda

The plan is with payplan, who to be fair have been great but sometimes when I call it feels like they can't wait to get you of the phone, that and calling them is expensive. Current debt is around £8000 inc car it's closer to £12000.

I've just had my mobile network cut off because I can't afford the bill anymore and they are threatening a £500 early leaving fee which I just can't afford.

The agency job is £10 an hour and was the answer to our prayers so after finding out we only have 20 hours today is just the last straw, I've just been taking hit after hit, or so it feels. Nearly a month behind on the car payments so there will be a default letter due soon I'm sure.

Me and my partner are currently looking for altnertive work but the problem is we are paid weekly, to go suddenly to a monthly paid "normal" job would cripple us even more financially as we would be a month without pay

Nekoda

Thankyou for your replies and kind words people it is nice to see

And the debts are afaik still with the original companies and haven't been passed on (apart from natwest whom I took a loan out with, who slapped me with a default and sold my debt)

luhrmann

do you absolutely need the car? because if you can get around without it, that's a big expense you can cross off.

if you do find a monthly paid job you can talk to your bill providers and tell them about the transition period, see if they can shift things around to make it easier. i went from weekly to monthly and it is hard at first but it does all balance out!

Nekoda

We do need the car unfortunately, ive tried to talk to the finance about maybe giving it back and getting a cheaper one but they said they don't do that so I'm stuck with it

crazy_cat_lady

Is there not another agency you can try?

sourcrates

Ok,

Maybe the debts can wait, for a while at least, make sure you can manage essential bills, it looks like the car payment is essential, to you anyway, so you should pay that.

All the other debts can be out on hold, as the majority are with original creditors, you could safely not pay them for at least two years, if nessessary, before they get sold on and DCA's start hassling you.

You have to prioritise what you pay, if money is tight, until work picks up.

Nothing else you can do, you need to take control and make some tough decisions now, so you don't waste the only money you have paying creditors.