help quick please on phone..

sourcrates

gawebb99 wrote: »

thank you

can i ask another question please- what should we do with our money now until we start procedures whether that be dro, iva, dmp etc. for example, my wages went in on friday, normally most of these would be eaten up by paying off debts. we've now cancelled direct debits so i have 'money' we wouldnt normally have. we've actually managed to do a food shop today which feels great. in a strange way- but we couldnt afford food last month because all money went on bills.

should we withdraw cash- to keep for emergencies?

our new basic account wont be up and running for another week ish. waiting on cards to arrive

Yes it's good to build up an emergency fund.

It's also good your taking steps to address this, because when your putting debt repayments ahead of food shopping, clearly something needs to change !!!!

gawebb99

sourcrates wrote: »

Yes it's good to build up an emergency fund.

It's also good your taking steps to address this, because when your putting debt repayments ahead of food shopping, clearly something needs to change !!!!

thank you, wont they see we are withdrawing cash ?
is it ok?

yes- we had to take action, last month was incredibly low.

thank you so much for all of your help

still lots of creditors to phone to let them know we cant pay and are dealing with stepchange

will continue ringing them after work tomorrow!

sourcrates

gawebb99 wrote: »

thank you, wont they see we are withdrawing cash ?
is it ok?
!

It's your money, it's no one else Buisness at the moment.

You have to switch your way of thinking now, essential bills come first, in your case I assume it's rent, then council tax and utility bills, food and household expenses next, then whatever else you need to get you through the month.

What's left is going to be what your creditors get, dependant on what you choose to do.

gawebb99

sourcrates wrote: »

It's your money, it's no one else Buisness at the moment.

You have to switch your way of thinking now, essential bills come first, in your case I assume it's rent, then council tax and utility bills, food and household expenses next, then whatever else you need to get you through the month.

What's left is going to be what your creditors get, dependant on what you choose to do.

thank you. much appreciated ! kinda bit worried about having cash laying around the house... would it be ok to get a savings account or are 'savings ' not allowed?

dancingfairy

If you are worried money is going to go out that you don't want to go out then, yes its probably best to withdraw the cash.
If you put it somewhere else that's fine. I'm not sure who you're worried about not letting you have savings? On a DMP it is an informal agreement so shouldn't be a problem. If you're going for a formal option like a dro or bankruptcy then yes, you will need to disclose any savings. You may be allowed to keep a small amount t as an emergency account in a dro/ bankrupty I'm not sure.
If you need to spend any of the money that's fine as long as you are being sensible. Ie paying priority bills.
Df

sourcrates

dancingfairy wrote: »

If you're going for a formal option like a dro or bankruptcy then yes, you will need to disclose any savings.
Df

That's why it may be wise to put some cash aside now, just as a precaution, call it forward planning, no ones going to come and look under your mattress are they !!

gawebb99

thank you- the whole thing seems so scary ! never imagined we'd be in this situation. lessons learnt anyhow!

any suggestions as to which option may be best? a dmp will take 9-10 years stepchange told us. i prefer the sound of it as its informal, but am worried as creditors dont have to stop interest or charges.

scary times x

sourcrates

gawebb99 wrote: »

thank you- the whole thing seems so scary ! never imagined we'd be in this situation. lessons learnt anyhow!

any suggestions as to which option may be best? a dmp will take 9-10 years stepchange told us. i prefer the sound of it as its informal, but am worried as creditors dont have to stop interest or charges.

scary times x

I wouldn't worry too much, as I said before, your a long way off any action by your creditors, put bluntly, you could stop paying them now, and it would be a couple of years before you would need to worry about it getting serious !!

Take your time, look into the ins and outs of all your options, National Debt line has a great website with tons of information, I'd have a look on there.
Don't rush into anything, get all the facts first, then decide.

gawebb99

Wow a couple of years !? My husband is worrying we won't speak to everyone on the phone to explain the situation before the next payment is due - some this week .

sourcrates

gawebb99 wrote: »

Wow a couple of years !? My husband is worrying we won't speak to everyone on the phone to explain the situation before the next payment is due - some this week .

You may get calls and letters, but that's all that will happen.

Ignore them completely for the time being.

Debts are passed around different depts, the telephone been the weapon of choice.
Best advice is never speak to them on the phone, you will only agree to something you will later regret.
Do everything in writing, if they are persistent, a simple letter stating you are looking at different options to tackle your debt, and to go away for now, and only contact me in writing until we decide, will suffice to keep them quiet.