Help with Debts

AJolly1983

First time poster, no idea what i should do but im tired of trying to make ends meat each week // month. My family deserve a lot better than this;

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 790
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2190

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 695
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 245
Electricity............................. 80
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 40
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 320
Clothing................................ 25
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 16
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 5
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 196
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0
Attachment of Earnings.................. 140
Over Payment of HB...................... 40
Over Payment of TC...................... 15
School Dinner........................... 92
Total monthly expenses.................. 2291


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 100
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 100

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Vanquis........................383.......0.........0
Halifax Credit Card............1875......0.........0
Halifax Credit Card............1765......0.........0
Lowell.........................337.......0.........0
Lowell.........................301.......0.........0
Lowell.........................415.......0.........0
Nationwide.....................300.......0.........0
NWB Current Account............236.......0.........0
Anglian Water Service..........687.......0.........0
My Jar.........................332.......0.........0
Active Securities LTD..........273.......0.........0
Ferratum.......................357.......0.........0
Payday UK......................243.......0.........0
Kapama Limited.................826.......0.........0
DJs LTD........................357.......0.........0
Vanquis........................198.......0.........0
Amigo..........................5396......0.........0
UK Credit......................2544......0.........0
Bamboo.........................1698......0.........0
Merligen Investments...........600.......0.........0
George Banco...................8268......0.........0
Indigo Michael.................541.......0.........0
Lloyds Card....................1682......0.........0
Lloyds Card....................1598......0.........0
Bank of Scotland Card..........1769......0.........0
Bank of Scotland Card..........1799......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........34780.....0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,190
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,291
Available for debt repayments........... -101
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -101

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 100
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -34,780
Net Assets.............................. -34,680

Created using the SOA calculator
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

I have no idea what to do. HELP!

National_Debtline

Hi AJolly and welcome to MSE,

AJolly1983 wrote: »

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0
Benefits................................ 790 – Child benefit for 3 children is £208.43, so presumably the rest is tax credits (£581.57per month)?
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2190

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 695
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 245 – This seems quite high, are there any arrears rolled into this?
Electricity............................. 80 – Try and shop around for both gas and electric to get a better deal. Again, are they high bills due to arrears?
Gas..................................... 80
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 40
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 320
Clothing................................ 25 – This is quite low for a family of 5.
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 16
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 5
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 196 – Can you give a breakdown of this, there may be some savings?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0 – You should try and get contents insurance.
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 – You should try and put £10/ £20 per month a side if possible.
Attachment of Earnings.................. 140 – This is a debt and not a living expense (although I appreciate you may have little control over this at the moment – what debt is it for please)?
Over Payment of HB...................... 40 – Same as above, it is a debt, not a living expense.
Over Payment of TC...................... 15 – Same again.
School Dinner........................... 92
Total monthly expenses.................. 2291

I have included some notes above to try and help. The attachment of earnings order and benefit overpayments cost you approximately £195 per month. They are priority debts and if you decide to continue negotiations with your debts on a whole they would still need payments, but the monthly payments may be adjustable. You can then look to pay what you can afford to your credit debts - even if that is as little as £1 per month.


Alternatively, based on the debt level, you may be able consider bankruptcy. This is obviously a big decision, and you would need full advice from one of the free charities for this. We have a factsheet that you may want to read - https://www.nationaldebtline.org/EW/factsheets/Pages/bankruptcy/how-to-go-bankrupt.aspx Good luck,


Laura
@natdebtline

MoneyMission

Hi AJolly. Not sure I can offer any advice over and above what Laura said. Just didn't want to read and run. Hope you get sorted. MM

AJolly1983

Hi thanks for the reply

To answer where you have hi-lighted things on my SOA;

Benefits are Tax Credits and Child Benefit, we only receive £190 every 4 weeks child benefit not £208.43 as you noted should I look into this? Then we receive £153.86 a week child tax credits.

The council tax is high as they have adjusted our bill from a single occupant bill to now a joint bill as they were unaware I was living with my partner even though we told them and have proof, so they are wanting £245 a month so the bill is paid by the end of the tax year so we don’t fall into arrears.

The Gas and Electricity are on pre-paid meters in all honesty we probably only use £15 a week on each but we still top up £20 encase we are unable to get to the shop and with Winter coming the heating is going to be on more.

Can’t even remember the last time we actually brought any clothes, so this was just an estimate. I wear my work clothes outside of work as I don’t even own any jeans.

The other child related expense is maintenance to my ex for my other 3 children who do not live with me and I see only 3 Saturdays a month.

If I could afford contents insurance I would buy some

The attachment of earnings (1st payment made today) is for a CCJ for a solicitors bill of just over £1600 which I incurred chasing the ex through the courts to see my other 3 children. Wish I hadn’t bothered tbh, done nothing but cause more stress and further debt.

The overpayments and attachment are non-negotiable I have already negotiated them to the lowest they would possibly let us.

I’ve looked at Bankruptcy and am more than happy to file for it as it does seem the most logical solution to clearing up my debts, but with it now costing £705 I cannot afford to unless one of my creditors does it for me.

EssexHebridean

welcome aboard and well done for facing up to the fact that you have a problem.
Comments on your SOA in red as usual (I see Nat Debtline have already commented the same way!)

AJolly1983 wrote: »

First time poster, no idea what i should do but im tired of trying to make ends meat each week // month. My family deserve a lot better than this;

Statement of Affairs and Personal Balance Sheet

Household Information
Number of adults in household........... 2
Number of children in household......... 3
Number of cars owned.................... 1

Monthly Income Details
Monthly income after tax................ 1400
Partners monthly income after tax....... 0 Can your partner do anything to boost funds? Avon works well for SAHM/D's as a rule, and can usually slot into a category that means benefits aren't affected I believe.
Benefits................................ 790 You've checked this is everything you're entitled to?
Other income............................ 0
Total monthly income.................... 2190

Monthly Expense Details
Mortgage................................ 0
Secured/HP loan repayments.............. 0
Rent.................................... 695
Management charge (leasehold property).. 0
Council tax............................. 245 This seems high compared to the level of your rent?
Electricity............................. 80 Check you're on the best tarrif for you (MSE Energy Club is free to join) and then go round the house turning everything unecessary off.
Turn off lights when nobody's in the room, don't leave TV's on standby/chargers plugged in.
Boil what water you need in the kettle, and use a timer for showers if you have an electric one.
Gas..................................... 80 Put jumpers on everyone and turn the thermostat down.As with electric - check you're on the right tariff, and remember to check dual fuel AND single account options - dual fuel isn't always cheaper.
Oil..................................... 0
Water rates............................. 40
Telephone (land line)................... 40 Does this include internet as well?
Mobile phone............................ 25
TV Licence.............................. 12 12.37 now I think?
Satellite/Cable TV...................... 0
Internet Services....................... 0
Groceries etc. ......................... 320 You can probably reduce this a bit -
use Aldi/Lidl, and remind your non-working partner to shop about a bit to grab the bargains especially on items like nappies,washing powder etc.
Clothing................................ 25
Petrol/diesel........................... 150
Road tax................................ 16 Do you actually pay this monthly? They charge a premium for that - so start as soon as possible to look to set aside monthly towards paying it annually.
Car Insurance........................... 50
Car maintenance (including MOT)......... 5 Not even close to enough - think about servicing, MoT, tyres (You're pretty high mileage so I bet you do a set a year) wiper blades, screenwash...everything you spend on running the car needs to be accounted -
this wants to be at LEAST £50 a month, at a guess.
Car parking............................. 0
Other travel............................ 0
Childcare/nursery....................... 0
Other child related expenses............ 196 What's this?
Medical (prescriptions, dentist etc).... 0
Pet insurance/vet bills................. 0
Buildings insurance..................... 0
Contents insurance...................... 0 Get this sorted - right now. It'll cost you less than £10 a month and it's a false economy not to have it.
Life assurance ......................... 0
Other insurance......................... 0
Presents (birthday, christmas etc)...... 25 Are you really putting this aside?
You presumably don;t spend it every month, and you're showing no cash assets?
Haircuts................................ 0
Entertainment........................... 0 Never? Not an occasional McD's with the littles, a quick coffee, the occasional magazine?
Holiday................................. 0
Emergency fund.......................... 0 You need to build something here.
Attachment of Earnings.................. 140 When does this finish?
Over Payment of HB...................... 40 When does this finish?
Over Payment of TC...................... 15 When does this finish?
School Dinner........................... 92 No eligibilty for free ones on those benefits?
that seems odd. If definitely not then you can do better than this by sending them with packed lunches.
Total monthly expenses.................. 2291


Assets
Cash.................................... 0
House value (Gross)..................... 0
Shares and bonds........................ 0
Car(s).................................. 100
Other assets............................ 0
Total Assets............................ 100

No Secured nor Hire Purchase Debts

Unsecured Debts
Description....................Debt......Monthly...APR
Vanquis........................383.......0.........0
Halifax Credit Card............1875......0.........0
Halifax Credit Card............1765......0.........0
Lowell.........................337.......0.........0
Lowell.........................301.......0.........0
Lowell.........................415.......0.........0
Nationwide.....................300.......0.........0
NWB Current Account............236.......0.........0
Anglian Water Service..........687.......0.........0
My Jar.........................332.......0.........0
Active Securities LTD..........273.......0.........0
Ferratum.......................357.......0.........0
Payday UK......................243.......0.........0
Kapama Limited.................826.......0.........0
DJs LTD........................357.......0.........0
Vanquis........................198.......0.........0
Amigo..........................5396......0.........0
UK Credit......................2544......0.........0
Bamboo.........................1698......0.........0
Merligen Investments...........600.......0.........0
George Banco...................8268......0.........0
Indigo Michael.................541.......0.........0
Lloyds Card....................1682......0.........0
Lloyds Card....................1598......0.........0
Bank of Scotland Card..........1769......0.........0
Bank of Scotland Card..........1799......0.........0
Total unsecured debts..........34780.....0.........-


Monthly Budget Summary
Total monthly income.................... 2,190
Expenses (including HP & secured debts). 2,291
Available for debt repayments........... -101
Monthly UNsecured debt repayments....... 0
Amount short for making debt repayments. -101

Personal Balance Sheet Summary
Total assets (things you own)........... 100
Total HP & Secured debt................. -0
Total Unsecured debt.................... -34,780
Net Assets.............................. -34,680

Created using the SOA calculator
Reproduced on Moneysavingexpert with permission, using other browser.

I have no idea what to do. HELP!

Are your debts other than those Laura mentioned really all on zero interest and payments?

If you can come back with a bit more info then we might be able to come up with a plan for you. First thing is that you MUST start living to a budget - so you HAVE to make a saving in your expenses to cover that shortfall, that's key and you need to make it your priority. Oh and sort that contents insurance - in fact do it before you reply to this please!

EssexHebridean

AJolly1983 wrote: »

Hi thanks for the reply

To answer where you have hi-lighted things on my SOA;

Benefits are Tax Credits and Child Benefit, we only receive £190 every 4 weeks child benefit not £208.43 as you noted should I look into this? Then we receive £153.86 a week child tax credits.

The council tax is high as they have adjusted our bill from a single occupant bill to now a joint bill as they were unaware I was living with my partner even though we told them and have proof, so they are wanting £245 a month so the bill is paid by the end of the tax year so we don’t fall into arrears.

The Gas and Electricity are on pre-paid meters in all honesty we probably only use £15 a week on each but we still top up £20 encase we are unable to get to the shop and with Winter coming the heating is going to be on more.

Can’t even remember the last time we actually brought any clothes, so this was just an estimate. I wear my work clothes outside of work as I don’t even own any jeans.

The other child related expense is maintenance to my ex for my other 3 children who do not live with me and I see only 3 Saturdays a month.

If I could afford contents insurance I would buy some You can - make a £10 a month saving on that grocery bill (yes you can) and get it sorted. Seriously - this is a real priority.

The attachment of earnings (1st payment made today) is for a CCJ for a solicitors bill of just over £1600 which I incurred chasing the ex through the courts to see my other 3 children. Wish I hadn’t bothered tbh, done nothing but cause more stress and further debt.

The overpayments and attachment are non-negotiable I have already negotiated them to the lowest they would possibly let us. well done.

I’ve looked at Bankruptcy and am more than happy to file for it as it does seem the most logical solution to clearing up my debts, but with it now costing £705 I cannot afford to unless one of my creditors does it for me.

Just a couple more comments.

Definitely make sure the tariff is right for your meters - I know they're pre-payment but you can still look about for the best deals. Have you asked about switching to "proper" meters?

enthusiasticsaver

I think bankruptcy is your only option. As you have no assets and none of those debts are huge I think it unlikely any of the creditors will push for it so you may have to just let them default. I think if I were you though I would contact them all with your soa to see if this stops them hassling you.

fatbelly

Child Benefit is 48.10 pw, paid 4-weekly so 192.40

What Laura did is convert that to a calendar month (x52/12) to give £208.43

It's worth checking all your figures are per calendar month

Contents insurance need only be for the minimum and if you use topcashback/quidco, most of the first year's premium will come back to you.

You also need to check that you are on the best deals for your prepayment electricity and gas.

Allow £3-5 per person per week for clothes and £200 per year for car maintenance

However, that is all nibbling at the edges. You need to bite the bullet and go bankrupt. That aoe will be killed off. There will be some issues with joint debts going to your other half so they may need advice too.

Bankruptcy costs £680 not £705 (you have been looking at out of date info) and it's now an online process with the fees being paid on a credit or debit card.

National_Debtline

Hello again,


Your child benefit will be paid to you every 4 weeks, but as there are 4.33 weeks in a month it calculates to £208.43 per calendar month as you will have 13 payments of child benefit per year. Same with the tax credits. If it is £153.86 per week that is £666.73 per month. It is important to list all of the income and expenses on the same timescale for consistency.


It is important to note that you can apply to the court to vary the attachment of earnings order that is in place for the CCJ. It is done on an N244 form, but, unfortunately, can cost up to £255 to submit. You can request that to be discounted based on your financial situation (with an EX160 form) but this will be at the courts discretion.


It is a difficult situation, and I appreciate cash flow is an issue, meaning you may struggle to pay a bankruptcy fee. I will make you aware though that there are some charities that will help with the deposit (£550) and you can pay the court fee (£130) gradually by instalments of £5. Hope that helps.


Laura
@natdebtline


CROSS POSTS with Fatbelly

EssexHebridean

fatbelly wrote: »

Child Benefit is 48.10 pw, paid 4-weekly so 192.40

What Laura did is convert that to a calendar month (x52/12) to give £208.43

It's worth checking all your figures are per calendar month

Contents insurance need only be for the minimum and if you use topcashback/quidco, most of the first year's premium will come back to you.

You also need to check that you are on the best deals for your prepayment electricity and gas.

Allow £3-5 per person per week for clothes and £200 per year for car maintenance

However, that is all nibbling at the edges. You need to bite the bullet and go bankrupt. That aoe will be killed off. There will be some issues with joint debts going to your other half so they may need advice too.

Bankruptcy costs £680 not £705 (you have been looking at out of date info) and it's now an online process with the fees being paid on a credit or debit card.

OP's spending £150 a month on fuel for the car - £200 a year isn't going to come close on that mileage. You struggle to get a full set of (even budget) tyres now for less than £150 for a small car - add in an MoT, and possibly more than one service per year assuming 10 or 12k intervals on what is clearly an elderly car, plus the trimmings, it's going to be a good chunk above £200 a year.

Sorry - incredibly rare I disagree with your posts, but in all conscience I have to this time!

fatbelly

EssexHebridean wrote: »

OP's spending £150 a month on fuel for the car - £200 a year isn't going to come close on that mileage. You struggle to get a full set of (even budget) tyres now for less than £150 for a small car - add in an MoT, and possibly more than one service per year assuming 10 or 12k intervals on what is clearly an elderly car, plus the trimmings, it's going to be a good chunk above £200 a year.

Sorry - incredibly rare I disagree with your posts, but in all conscience I have to this time!

No, I agree.

I just thought £5 per month was unrealistic. I hadn't considered the mileage is probably high (prob double the average) on that fuel spend. Could double it to £400 no problems.