What happens when I cant pay?

fatbelly

Sourcrates may have missed that you own a house with a lot of equity (mortgage free in 7 years). You cannot declare bankruptcy or you will lose the house.

Re forced bankruptcy (statutory demand) I work in debt advice and I haven't seen one for nearly ten years. Stop worrying about things that won't happen.

Re token offers I admit I take a hard line on this. I think it's a rubbish strategy unless it's short-term with something else happening in a few months. Long term, it continually acknowledges the debt without paying it off. There's no evidence it stops court action it may even have the opposite effect.

I said most of what I can say in post#5:

You need to be putting a budget together to allow you to live as best you can on what is coming in. I would suggest you revisit a benefits checker like Turn2Us - you're on very low income and anything you can get, like council tax support, would help. You have nothing to lose by starting a PIP claim.

sourcrates

fatbelly wrote: »

Sourcrates may have missed that you own a house with a lot of equity (mortgage free in 7 years). You cannot declare bankruptcy or you will lose the house.

Re forced bankruptcy (statutory demand) I work in debt advice and I haven't seen one for nearly ten years. Stop worrying about things that won't happen.

Re token offers I admit I take a hard line on this. I think it's a rubbish strategy unless it's short-term with something else happening in a few months. Long term, it continually acknowledges the debt without paying it off. There's no evidence it stops court action it may even have the opposite effect.

I said most of what I can say in post#5:

Sorry, just picked up on that.

(Rather a long read)

Obviously with such a short time left on the mortgage bankruptcy is the last thing you need, I was implying worst case scenario.

I would go with the advice Fatbelly has given you, he is the expert in this area.

Iwanttobefree

Many many thanks everyone.

One more piece of advice please.

What should I put in a letter to them all? Obviously include income and outgoings.

Do I just say that due to my inability to work, we simply have no money to pay them for the foreseeable future?

Should i explain why I cant work or simply say I'm unable to work due to health reasons?

probably wont be able to respond until next week as family home for Easter.

Many thanks

pmlindyloo

This is all so stressful for you both I am wondering if your wife could be persuaded to sell the house and release some equity to pay off your debts. It is a wrench to do this I know but sometimes making a decision and following up on it relieves the stress and pressure straight away.

Of course I do not know whether this would be feasible as I don't know your circumstances and what kind of house you are living in now.

And just one more possibility - have you got a spare bedroom which you could rent to a lodger? This would give you some leeway to continue with your DMP and you could use the rent a room scheme to avoid paying tax on the income.

And don't forget to apply for PIP if you think you meet the criteria. Go to CAB and get some help with the application.

foxtrotoscar_2

Turkey meat can be as cheap as chicken. Making your own fresh pasta is not expensive either. I used to drink milk by the pint daily...I don't think I've drunk a pint in total so far this year. Make adjustments where you can.

smem18

I had a look at your outgoings and can see you are really not spending on anything silly. The two areas that stood out for me were your electricity bill. £124 a month seems high to me - have you done a comparison on your tariff recently? Is your heating on full blast? Just wonder if there is a way you can reduce that.
Secondly, your food bill. This is really high for two people. I know you say you have a special diet but is there absolutely no way you can save money there? You mention you can eat turkey but not chicken - chicken is usually more expensive anyway. Could you buy frozen in iceland instead of fresh? Could you try making your own pasta? Do you make your own sauces etc?

Maybe this doesn't help but they were a couple of areas where I thought it looked like you might just be able to save.

I do agree with the other posters about selling your house - I don't know how large your house is or how much its worth but could you downsize and release some equity?

Its quite clear you can't afford to pay your debts right now so I agree with others that this isn't even the biggest issue as they cant take what you don't have. Definitely write to them asap.

Iwanttobefree

All electric house with storage heaters, immersion heater.

Storage heaters only on overnight.

Immersion heater only on for an hour or so overnight.

I've looked at various other companies, but mine still always comes back cheaper (pre-payment meter)

Iwanttobefree

All the companies have been written to with the same letter, just account details changed, with us saying we are sorry but we cant afford to pay them anything.

I ended all the letters (well before Yours Faithfully .......) with

"Please ONLY contact me about this in writing and NOT the phone."

Today we received the first two replys, one from Argos (emphasis mine).

quote

"Thank you for your recent letter regarding your Argos Card account, I am sorry to hear about your current circumstances.

Before we are able to make a decision on how to proceed with your account we require some further information. We have been unable to reach you, so please contact us at your earliest convenience to discuss this. Your account has been placed on hold for the next 30 days awaiting your reply.

Please do not hesitate to contact us on .......

Kind regards

xxxxxxxxx
Specialist Team Manager"

What is it with companies that they insist on phoning when we have specifically asked them not to do so.

I don't use the phone for anyone I don't know, it's permanently on answer phone.

The last time (last year) a company managed to get through to me, they promised something on the phone and I had to go to the ombudsman and they had to retrieve the conversation to get what I was promised done.

I don't want them asking on the phone about various things where there's no time to think, no record for me, I only want it done in writing. My short term memory isn't always that good and often by the time I've come off the phone I've forgotten what was said.

This particular account is in my wifes name, hence they want her to speak to them, but I'm the one doing the DMP, I'm the one that's half clued up on the various laws (thanks to this forum), what I would tell them and what I wouldn't etc.

I really really hope the other 9 companies don't respond like this.

I did also get a response from Fredrickson today, they simply said

"We are writing to inform you that we are no longer instructed in connection with this matter and have returned the account to our client ............."

Iwanttobefree

It's interesting how the same letter opened by different people give different results.

Same original letter (explaining the health reasons why I couldn't work), sent to Vanquis

My letter saying, "my health" etc, my wife's letter saying "my husbands" health, both identical apart from that and account number.

I received a very very very nice, compassionate reply from them saying they would need further info from my GP but they are happy to pay for it.

Mine was sent from "Specialist Support Team" and asked to address my reply to that department.

My wifes was a much more short reply saying they had tried to contact her without success and can she contact them at her earliest convenience (they did say this could be done via email).

Hers wants my wife to contact (and was sent from) the collections department.

zippygeorgeandben

I am incredibly sorry to hear about the circumstances you and your family find themselves in. Take all the advice posted and sourcrates/fat belly are a real credit to MSE.
Can I gently say, in the nicest possible way, that you need to build some resilience here. As a teacher, I find children have hardly any resilience and I find the same with many adults. It's not a criticism and by no way am I judging because I'm with you 100% but a self help book about building resilience and becoming stronger would, I think, help you towards your goal.
Best of luck